What is the Cup You Would Create? Our Journey Towards Excellence

When we were kids, don’t we get excited anytime we got a “cup” (trophy) that signified our achievements? Back then, it meant something special, no matter how cheap or small the cup it was. I realized that we keep craving that cup when we get older. We keep expecting those cups in our personal and professional lives. However, each of those cups later in life either came at a cost or came for a reason.

For the last few years, I had been on a journey that I could sum up in a metaphor of cups (trophies). Let’s think of a cup as representing an opportunity, a good or bad investment, good or bad options, and good or bad creations.

1) THE CUP YOU LEARN FROM

All of us prepare for some life career, we work hard for it; we train ourselves to be the best in that career. This is the cup that brings us experiences to learn from and perhaps use later in our lives. A learning leader for a $ 50 billion corporation, leading a hall of the fame training organization, this cup has shaped my understanding to a large extent.

Some of us continue to define our existence in terms of this cup. But it is not your job, profession, title, or business that defines you. It is your “cause” (for something) that defines your identity. And it is your “legacy” (you leave behind) that defines your value.

What do you do to get your “cause” to drive you toward excellence?

2) THE CUP YOU INVEST IN

There are some cups that metaphorically represent your investments – some are good, and some are bad, but ultimately, you learn even from poor investments while you create your own cups.

Marshall Goldsmith says what got you here won’t get you there. You need excellent mentors and coaches to get you there next.

Despite being a conference speaker and despite having the world’s highest training design certifications, I needed the world’s best coaches to know how to transform what I know into excellence. I invested my two month’s salary into a training and mentoring program with Speakers Institute. I am grateful to Sam Cawthorn, a power-packed speaking coach for enabling me with the foundational tools to get me started on that path.

Taking the next step, I needed to figure out exactly how to package, position, and promote that vast amount of know-how I had learned and researched while authoring 23 books and 2 doctorates. I am thankful to Kane Minkus, one of the best platform speakers and coaches, for his outstanding training on how to craft powerful wisdom-based speaking platforms.

What are the cups in which you invest?

3) THE CUP YOU EARN

There comes a time when your investments sync well with the opportunities passing by. Like a trophy in any sport, this is the cup that represents that your dollars, time, emotions, and hard work are well spent.

I am thankful to the legendary Les Brown, undoubtedly the world’s number #1 speaker, who shared down-to-earth genuine tips. Those tips, coupled with tips from Sam Cawthorn (Sam Thành Un) and Kane Minkus, have finally got me to deliver my first TEDx talk effortlessly within just two weeks’ notice.

What cups have you earned that made you believe in yourself more than ever?

4) THE CUP YOU CREATE

Then we have the cups that represent the value you create for the world. For some, it could be a lifetime chase to find the value you want to create and the legacy you want to leave.

Sometimes it takes a different approach to get more clarity on what you really want to do and how you want to do it. I was lucky to have gotten some rare opportunity to learn from Joel Bauer, known as the mentor to the mentors, and unarguably the best-speaking business guru. I have got to learn how to convert my high-flying ideas, speaking keynotes, and training concepts into something I could offer as long-term value to others. I thought it hard. What’s that unique value I can add to others? Well, I thought how would I feel if I could cut 50% of the time out from people’s journeys? What if I could speed them up by 2x? What if I could show you how to improve yourself by 200% in the same or less time?

I decided to spend my money and time on creating that cup I have created – how to cut the time out and speed up the mastery process. That’s what led me to create the GetThereFaster™ learning portal.

What are the cups you are creating?