What Can Lead To That Breakthrough?
There are phases and cycles of life. We encounter much on our journey both joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, pleasing people, and the most vile of humans, fact and fiction, truths, and lies, acts of kindness, and acts of deceit, profits and losses. With each win, we gain something in the form of self-esteem, respect, energy, and it acts as a deposit into our emotional and spiritual bank account. And with each crushing blow, rejection, humiliation, trial, obstacle we lose something and that acts as a debit from our emotional and spiritual bank account.
We ideally need and strive for a somewhat precarious balance in life. For some it’s easier to achieve and in more constructive linear fashions than others.
Yet, each of us has a completely different path and journey. With each new level we approach a new test, perhaps there is a blessing, but there is also a sense of futility. Sometimes when we give our all and invest much energy, resources, time, and money in other words blood, sweat, and tears into a business, a project, a pursuit, or even a relationship, we come up empty. It is here that we have a choice as we stand at the crossroads do we become better or bitter from the phase of the journey?
There have been many people who think of, write about, pray, hope and work for breakthroughs. Breakthroughs can be understood in many different areas of life.
A breakthrough can come after a break down in life. A breakthrough idea can arise after much research, reflection, and fresh new insights, or the otherwise unique method of combining new ideas, techniques, or drawing from a host of other disciplines. Or by suddenly noticing how and where the weakness arises in the way this has been done before.
Breakthroughs in technology, science, health, well- being, psychology, and our political realm always have a price associated with them. When we desire to be more, give more, and work more there are sacrifices that we make. Some prices and sacrifices we can comprehend when we make them; others we don’t get the full bill until years later.
In our youth, we may recklessly and carelessly approach life and we discount the wise advice from our elders. Or we may bury our heads so deep in work and our career, academic professional pursuits, chasing certification after certification, pursuing leads, courses, focus on skill building, efficiency, and miss out on the heart of the matter while hastily engaging in the business of living.
It is here when we experience frustration, stagnation with our rate of progress and a falling away of people who we have outgrown, things and places that no longer serve us as we make progress in our lives that we at a crossroads can choose.
Go through the heart of the storm, take on the risks, calculate, weigh the benefits and the costs in our full analysis. Do we soldier on and accept the original lot that has come to us? How do we stand out from the hordes of other people who want the same things that we do?
Do we dismiss the reality of competition and instead embrace a more loving, unified, holistic view of the universe and the corporate world?
That sought after client is going to one agency, not all 20,000 of them. There’s only so much room on the New York Times’ Bestsellers list. Can everyone do a Ted Talk or become a Thought leader? The man or woman of our dreams may or may not choose us. Is that the pain we bear? We may be the most ambitious, kindest, best child, but the parents may love your brother or sister more than you and you may have to forgive them for that even if you look at your sibling (rival) as a failure in life. I went to college, She had a baby at a very young age and stayed in the same hometown and the father is a psychopathic drug user with many health issues.
Here we see the alarm bell going off. Are you letting the trials of life make you bitter or will you look on all with love and adopt a new mindset?
Shift your beliefs and thoughts into a healthier territory and then experience joy and your breakthrough looms.
Sometimes the breakthrough comes after the breakdown. When all falls apart and things go terribly wrong, and there seems to be a destructive cycle and the storm is blowing ever stronger, this can lead to that time spent alone, reading, studying, journaling- assessing where you are on your life path. Are you in alignment with who you truly are? Are you using your gift? Are the people in your life encouraging, supportive,and overall beneficial? Do you ever go on retreats and take time out for yourself? Do you know how and understand the importance of setting boundaries?
Sometimes we have to clean our vessel. We purge to make room to create space for growth, for the new to emerge, and to surface in our lives in a powerful way.
We may feel like nothing is really happening. You may be steadily working behind the scenes, preparing for your big break, learning and practicing new skills, publishing, producing, cultivating your network, and you take a step back to assess your growth and progress. You notice you haven’t met many of your benchmarks and you have not reached many of your goals.
Now you have a choice: do you stop here and become discouraged and go on a Netflix binge for the next 6 months? Or do you take another course of action such as reading a book that is all about encouraging you to take action, or do you sign up for a challenge, or adopt a new “atomic” habit, create your success routine- morning and night?
Yes, sometimes you need to accept the loss. Then you begin the rebuilding and after some degree of frustration peaks, letting go, re-inventing yourself and your life takes precedence. You navigate a new course.
Then the breakthrough is on the horizon. You may feel alone, misunderstood, overlooked or underappreciated, but things happen when you are not looking or that you may not be aware of.
Some breakthroughs take time. Some may wait decades. I think those who have to wait the longest; their journey is about learning the art of perseverance, determination, consistency and patience.
Remember frequently our commitment(s) are tested.
What can lead to that breakthrough?
In a noisy world teeming with IDEAS. How do you stand out from all the rest- your peers, your colleagues, and your competitors? (Or should we instead think of the others as potential co-collaborators, co-creators) etc.?
To overcome a significant obstacle
To achieve something worthwhile or even remarkable
To be on the path of substance and contribution
Discovery is in our DNA and shall become our modus operandi or raison d’etre.
Events that occur in our lives- can either break us or boost us. Determining the significance of events allows us to gain a healthy perspective. Twenty years from now will you even remember the thief’s name? Rehearse the positive. Cast out the negativity that others may sometimes try to saddle you with. There’s no need for you to adopt opinions solely based on the views of others that don’t reflect your own personal values or beliefs. Nor should you ever be haunted by the disparaging comments of others. When criticisms show up, objectively view them, and just utilize them as a basis to adjust your approach (if warranted) or adapt your performance to improve your craft or practice.
There’s a fine line here. Some criticism can be for our benefit and some of it is just plain cruel. Discern which is which by how it makes you feel.
Finding that pivotal solution or stumbling upon that all important answer to the question you have been asking is a worthy pursuit and quest.
Ignite your Intuition…listen carefully to your Heart’s Song.
Moments of quiet and contemplative inquiry, seasons of isolation, and hermit like lifestyle for the duration of a cycle…
Can lead up to ideas that transform our world
Advancements, innovations, discoveries, are often products or the fruit of seeds sown for a period of time, seeds watered, nurtured, ideas protected, developed to reach maturity, to evolve, fueled by curiosity, a sense of wonder, a high-spirited imagination, and an engaged healthy inquisitive mind that whispers well- what if…?
Acknowledgment — aspiration- ascension the results of acceptance and then the burning desire for transcendence and transformation spurred on by drive, energy, and fortitude- oh brave heart…
While reading, researching, and studying what it means to have a breakthrough, what leads to a breakthrough, I asked Luke Jean- Louis Podcast Host and Creator of “The Deep Voice Man Show” for his insights and this was his reply:
“You have to live life vicariously through yourself. Be excited to hear a no as you would a yes. No’s lead to yes. They are like yin and yang. Two sides of the same coin. They go together.”
I include this because I sense he is a puzzle piece in my “Breakthrough Puzzle”. Also, I believe in promoting others and their work. Could that idea lead to more collective breakthroughs if we seek to form coalitions, masterminds, and in addition to promoting ourselves daily also promote others in our circle of influence whose mission is in harmony with ours..?
Ask ourselves what if..?
“Steppingstones to Greatness” arrives during the introspective moments in time during the breakdown or the proverbial dark night of the soul or that sudden flash or felt epiphany; the mind at work fetching our desired solutions and possibly conclusions.
Give your subconscious mind some commands and train it as you would a thoroughbred horse or prepare a dog for a dog show. As you learn skills and techniques and have the resources through the application of tools to choose your thoughts, to control your thinking, and refuse to dwell on failures, mistakes, pain, or suffering you progress toward the sought after breakthrough…and will “mount up with wings as eagles and soar”…
Some experts have talked about a breakdown or even the occurrence of having things and stuff break down when there is a massive change in one’s life.
Things and people are often removed.
Bad habits can also be eliminated. Opportunity for character development and building one’s sense of self is at hand.
Breakthrough is a process so honor that and be patient with your rate of growth. Allow wounds to heal.
I recall a workshop that I attended in NYC. There were exercises where we actually used our bodies (a couple of people restrained the selected participant) to illustrate the point of what it will take to break through the obstacles and hurdles placed before us. Yet we had to summon all of our physical strength to escape their hold and the struggle was real…
Prayer leads to breakthroughs. When you want to understand how something functions, look to the one who made or created it. In that case, you would do well to ask your Designer or Creator how and what you are fashioned for and all the other questions you have for “The One” who knows you best and planted in you your Soul’s Cry and Calling.
Your reality and the life you have envisioned for yourself — how far apart are they? How would you venture to bridge or close that gap?
With what tools can you equip yourself and sharpen to assist in your
Transformation? Our identity (chosen or not) influences how we view and feel about ourselves. Learn about self-love and incorporate self- care practices into your routine.
There is a season of preparation prior to the victory often accompanied by a renewing of passion and interest.
Growth may come in many ways. Look out for clues whether it is in the lyrics of a song that is meaningful and moving to you or an inspiring film that moves you deeply and touches something way deep inside- evoking something fresh, new and that needs to be properly attended to…or nurtured perhaps.
Here are some quotes which beautifully and poignantly illustrate ideas, perspectives, and views about the varying layers of breakthrough.
- “You’re closer than you think to breakthrough.” — Anonymous
(You are reading this. That’s an excellent sign).
2. “Breakthroughs happen when limiting thoughts and behaviours are challenged.” — Fabienne Fredrickson
3. “When you are tempted to give up, your breakthrough is probably just around the corner.” — Joyce Meyer
4. “Breakthrough is how to distinguish a leader and who followed.” — Steve Jobs
5. “For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”- Thich Nhat Hanh
6. “All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs.” — Tony Robbins
7. “You’re going into a season where you’re about to experience breakthrough after breakthrough because what you went through didn’t break you.”- Anonymous- soloquotes.com
8. “A breakthrough is a moment in time when the impossible becomes possible.” — Tony Robbins
9. “There is no breakthrough without a breakdown.” — Tony Robbins
10. “When you make a breakthrough it is a moment of scientific exhilaration because you have been on this search and seem to have found it. But it is also a moment where I at least feel closeness to the Creator in the sense of having now perceived something that no human knew before but God knew all along.” — Francis Collins
11. “Success comes when your persistence breaks through resistance.” — Patrick Burns
12. “Life’s greatest difficulties always happen right before life’s greatest breakthroughs.” — Billy Cox
13. “Success doesn’t necessarily come from breakthrough innovation, but from flawless execution. A great strategy alone won’t win a game or a battle: the win comes from basic blocking and tackling.” — quotehd.com
14. “What you end up seeing when you look at history is that people who have been good at pushing the boundaries of possibility, and exploring those frontiers of good IDEAS and innovations, have rarely done it in moments of great inspiration. They don’t just have a brilliant breakthrough idea out of nowhere and leap ahead of everyone else.” — Steve Johnson
15. “By letting go of misguided beliefs, love and compassion can break through.” — Arthur Ciaramicoli
16. “I’ve been writing since I was six. It is a compulsion, so I can’t really say where the desire came from; I’ve always had it. My breakthrough with the first book came through persistence, because a lot of publishers turned it down!” — J.K. Rowling
17. “Successful innovation is not a single breakthrough. It is not a sprint. It is not an event for the solo runner. Successful innovation is a team sport, it’s a relay race.” — Nguyen Quyen
18. “Write and rewrite the problem three or four times. Each time you process the information about the problem, you get a different view-point. Rewrite the problem again. Eventually you will clearly understand the problem, and your mind will focus on an answer.” — Elmer Towns
19. “Every major difficulty you face in life is a fork in the road. You choose which track you will head down, toward breakdown or breakthrough.” — John Maxwell
20. “Chance throws peculiar conditions in everyone’s way. If we apply intelligence, patience, and special vision, we are awarded with new creative breakthroughs.” — Walter Cannon
21. “You can create value with breakthrough innovation, incremental refinement, or complex coordination. Great companies often do two of these. The very best companies do all three.” — Sam Altman
22. “It’s obviously unfair to paint with a broad brush here, but the germ of an idea for a breakthrough in technology doesn’t come out of a business school curriculum. It comes out of a laboratory or a math lecture or a physics tutorial.” — Michael Moritz
23. “All great inventions emerge from a long sequence of small sparks; the first idea often isn’t all that good, but thanks to collaboration it later sparks another IDEA, or it’s reinterpreted in an unexpected way. Collaboration brings small sparks together to generate breakthrough innovation.”
- Scott Belsky
24. “Wisdom is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you.” — Dr. Wayne Dyer
25. “Every breakthrough business IDEA begins with solving a common problem. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity. I discovered a big one when I took apart an IBM PC. I made two interesting discoveries: The components were all manufactured by other companies, and the system that retailed for $3,000 cost about $600 in parts.” — Michael Dell
26. “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
This statement was echoed in the film “Breakthrough”.
I highly recommend the film.
Here are some songs that I would listen to when I needed encouragement to overcome circumstances and obstacles in my path:
- Make It Happen by Mariah Carey
2. Make It Through The Rain by Mariah Carey
3. I Believe I Can Fly- by R. Kelly
4. The Greatest Love of All- by Whitney Houston
5. Breakaway- by Kelly Clarkson (do you have to breakaway for your breakthrough?)
6. Because You Loved Me- by Celine Dion (sometimes another is instrumental in our breakthrough and our journey)
7. When You Believe- Duet by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey
8. My Place In This World- by Michael W. Smith
9. Hero- by Mariah Carey
10. Unwritten- by Natasha Bedingfield
I read in the past that the more you can interact with educational material; using as many senses as you can, the easier and faster the learning process becomes. This is why I have chosen to engage your sense of sight and sound through a recommended list of songs that touch the heart and a movie.
Now including the senses of smell and taste are another ballgame. I can suggest that you drink a fragrant cup of herbal tea or coffee. Or I can also point you to some aromatherapy and encourage you to smell some lavender essential oil or another aroma while you study…
It makes it more fun too. Shouldn’t work and learning be fun as well?
Thank you for reading this far. You made it through my article and love letter to you. Yes, you read that correctly. My intention with everything I create is fueled by love and a desire to give.
Your attention and time are precious. You will be richly rewarded for spending some time with me… ;) =D)