This week I held a Facebook Live session in my Private Facebook Group and we talked about something that we don’t usually address: Spirituality.  

Now, I’m not talking about organized religion. 

I’m talking about the concept and principle of surrender.

It took me a long time, and a lot of suffering, to reach the point where I could let go of what I *thought* I could control.

My hope for today’s video is that you can learn from my experience and can shorten your path to achieving peace and resilience through your spirituality.

And if you’re already on that path, I invite you to join in the conversation in our group and  Mastermind Community.  Share with us your stories of success through surrender.

Join us in today’s video where we turn our attention to spirituality, and learn how to overcome fear during these troubling times.

Learning from History

We are facing scary and uncertain times, and it reminds me a lot of the beginning of the Great Recession in 2008.

During that time, I experienced a lot of worry, anxiety, and depression.

I had quit my job to become a full-time entrepreneur, which was a scary thing in itself. I was only 3 years into my new career as a restauranteur, which had been going pretty well until the recession hit and my restaurants slowed to a near halt.

I started to lose money, substantially, and I couldn’t pay my bills. I couldn’t even pay my taxes and was getting default letters from the IRS.

Losing money, running out cash; I was really struggling to make ends meet. I started leveraging lines of credit that I’d built up in 2005 just to get by.

It was new territory for me, and it was unbelievably scary. 

There were 2 things I felt during that time: Panic and Depression.

The thing about panic is that it just paralyzes you.  It’s a lot like fear. You’re either paralyzed to the point where you can’t make any decisions, or you react quickly without thinking things through.

Depression is another terrible beast. There were days that I didn’t even want to get out of bed. It was awful.

When I first started going through this rough patch in my life, I resisted what was happening. I was upset, mad, frustrated, and then depressed.  

Finally, I accepted it.

I went through this in several waves from 2008 all the way through 2010. It was very painful. 

And the main lesson I learned was that I don't control anything, and I'm a control freak!

Well, at least I was a control freak.  

I also used to have this unbelievable knack of worrying. It was like a talent of mine. I don't know if you sometimes feel the same way, but right now it's very easy to worry about things;  your career, your family, and your kids.

Here’s the thing: you don't control anything. No one does. It’s maddening, and it's frustrating. 

I was forced to learn this principle, which is surrender. 

Learning to Surrender

There’s a principle to surrendering; one where you realize that you can no longer try to control everything.

That was a big lesson that I learned: to accept what is.  If I can learn to accept what is, then I'm no longer mad, I'm no longer frustrated, and no longer depressed.

I simply accept what is.

In the book  The Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod, he talks about his “5 Minute Rule”. It’s a time where you can rant and rave, swear, yell, or even punch a wall; but you’ve only got 5 minutes.

And once it's done, you will look at your watch and you will realize that you still can't change the situation, and you move on.  Unfortunately, it took me a lot longer than five minutes to learn this lesson. But it's a very, very good lesson. 

I was essentially forced to learn this lesson. Today, I’d like for you to realize it because your life's going to be a lot better if you learn this lesson now.

I had to learn it the hard way over many, many months.  Several times over. Having lost all my money and (almost) losing my home before I simply threw my hands up and said, “That's it! There's not much more I can do!”

And through doing that, I have experienced an unbelievable amount of peace that came from developing my faith and spirituality.

We don't really talk about that a lot. We always talk about self-improvement, personal improvement, mindset, and how to get better at finances, but we don't talk about spiritual development.

Why not? Well, it’s probably because not everybody is part of an organized religion, and that’s what people often associate with the words “faith” and “spirituality.”  

And yet, deep down, we’re all spiritual beings.

Having belief in God, the Universe, a Higher Being, or whatever you wish to call it, really gets you through the hard times. It gives you a sense of peace that something bigger than you has control, and is looking out for you.

Here's what I learned, repeatedly, after having gone through this in so many different ways. I started asking the question – What lesson am I supposed to learn?

And I realized that as bad as it is in a particular situation, there was always a lesson and a reason that I’m experiencing this right now. As painful as it is, someone wants me to be a better person.  With every single challenge since then, I've looked at it in this way. Even if I’m going through a painful time, it brings me peace to look outside of my pain and say, “what is my lesson here?” and, “how is my character going to be shaped?”.

Making the Shift

Look what we're having to go through right now. Right now we're having to do things that we don't really love to do. 

Some people are being forced to stay at home with family, which can be really tough. For others, they are having to stick this thing out alone.  Even more people have lost their only source of income and were forced into unemployment.

We’re all being forced to live differently in one way or another, but maybe there's a silver lining?

So, we're forced to be at home with our family. How can we make the best of it? How can we strengthen our relationships with our loved ones during this time?

For those that have been able to keep their job and are forced to work from home, what can you do with your time that is no longer spent commuting?

Most kids are now learning from home – how can we leverage that? My family has been home-schooling for years and although it can be a tough adjustment at first, it really gives you a lot of flexibility in your lifestyle. 

No matter your exact circumstance, we all are experiencing a shift in our reality. Some may be forced, but now is the time to shift from where you are stationed to where you want to be.

Right now, everyone’s kind of paralyzed. There’s not much action being taken. But if you shift your mindset, you’ll realize that what you really have been presented with is 6-8 weeks to prepare your mind and soul for what’s next. 

In fact, on this note, we were actually doing a 4 week workshop called “The Shift” and we're going to talk about this exact exact thing. We’ll cover topics like:

• How do you go from where you are now to a full-time entrepreneur?
• What is the mindset needed around that shift? 
• How is accountability going to work?

We will be offering this workshop through our Mastermind Community, and it’s only $49 a month. 

This covers the cost of the 4 week live workshop PLUS the opportunity to connect with several hundred people who have similar goals that you can network with to achieve them.

In fact, we’ve had several success stories come from our community.  Companies have been built. Money has been raised. It’s amazing what opportunities can come from dreams and conversations between like-minded individuals.

So make the best of the time that you have right now and check it out here: www.TheMichaelBlank.com/DMM

Keeping the Faith

These are really challenging times and the best way I know to get through these periods is to start developing your spirituality. 

It's one of those things, I think is so powerful.  You know, some people think that believing in God is a sign of weakness. I don't believe that is true at all.

If you have this unbelievably powerful being out there in the universe, and you have the ability to tap into that in some way, why would you not do that? 

I can tell you from my own experience that this really has given me a lot of strength and a lot of peace.  I sincerely hope that you will pursue that as well by developing your spirituality.

Take the time now to make that shift, from where you are right now to what your heart wants you to do.

Start simple.  Create a morning routine where you are silent and introspective, reflecting, praying, or writing. I honestly do believe that if you ask God to show up, he will in some way.

That's been my experience. You know, stepping out in faith is what we do as entrepreneurs every day. That is essentially the definition of an entrepreneur. 

And in my mind, stepping out in faith makes you a better person.

It gives you a life of adventure when you're constantly, slowly taking risks.  You’re taking the steps. Leaps of faith make your life more interesting. 

A life of adventure makes a life worth living. Wouldn’t you agree?

So stay safe out there. Let's get through this together.