Why I'm Never Brushing My Teeth Again

Good Morning Rogues!

I hope this week marks another one closer to your goals for everyone.

If not, it’s easy to get back on track!

It’s easy to get down on yourself if you miss a target or your day doesn’t go the way you planned.

Sometimes it feels like things can be stacked against us.

Or worse - you feel like you’ll never be able to build the momentum again.

I know that when I miss on a few new habits I’m trying to build, it can be easy to think “Well I guess I’m just not going to be able to stick to that.”

or worse - “I’m just not good at that.”

The truth is, we can always build it back and pick it back up!

Let me illustrate -

Have you ever been sick?

I mean REALLY sick…

I had the horrible misfortune of getting the worst stomach bug of my 32 year life a couple of months ago.

I’ll spare you most of the graphic details, but I was so ill, that I could barely bring a glass of water to my mouth for 36 hours.

In that time, I accomplished nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

So what did I do -

I decided, “Well I guess I’m just never going to brush my teeth again. I was never really a teeth brusher anyways.”

Then my teeth rotted and and I needed dental surgery.

Okay the last part isn’t true -

Of course I didn’t say that to myself!

Once my legs were less wobbly, I found my way to the bathroom sink (instead of the toilet) and brushed my teeth!

So where did I “find the strength”?

The truth is, it took no mental effort at all for me to brush my teeth.

In fact, it was a huge relief to take that action.

From a habit building perspective, you could say that taking the action of brushing my teeth was a “win” even though it was a small step.

The truth is, there are “wins” like this in your whole life.

We often just neglect to see them as “wins” because they seem obvious and inconsequential.

But where did the “strength” actually come from?

You will stick to your habits that are aligned with your identity.

The key is that the habits and actions have to be part of your identity.

Once your identity shifts, taking the action is automatic.

It takes no effort to brush my teeth or even just put on clothes.

Why?

Because I’m a person that brushes my teeth and wears clothes (most of the time).

That may seem a little silly, but identity and how we see ourselves has a powerful impact on our lives.

Somewhere along the path of my life, I decided (yes, “decided” even though I didn’t realize it), that

I am a person that brushes my teeth and wears clothes.

That identity I gave myself made the action of brushing my teeth completely effortless as soon as I had the physical strength.

And guess what?

I’m still brushing my teeth to this very day :)

So what does all this have to do with anything?

The whole point of this story is to share with you that creating unstoppable progress can be easy through identity shift.

More clearly,

How do we create unstoppable progress?

Shift your identity.

Tell yourself that you are the thing you want to be.

Yes, I mean that in the cheesiest way possible.

Look yourself in the mirror and start a sentence with “I am…”

Finish that sentence with the thing you want to be.

I’ll go first,

“I am a content creator that positively impacts tens of thousands of people's lives.”

“I am financially secure and have created a life full of opportunity for my family.”

I don’t think either of those two things are as true as I’d like them to be yet, but when I say it as “I am,” I start to feel the power of what that means.

I don’t just feel the power…

When I give myself that identity, I also take the actions that are aligned with that identity.

All of a sudden, the actions needed to make those two things happen becomes easier because it’s “Just who I am!”

That’s why it was effortless to “get back on the horse” of brushing my teeth even though I missed a day.

So go ahead, give yourself an “I am” statement that excites you!

Once you take on a new identity, taking the actions you need to take and “getting back on the horse” on the tough days gets 100x easier.

If you feel too cheesy in the mirror, just reply to this email with your “I am” statement so it’s out there in the universe.

I’d love the opportunity to support you in your new identity.

I’ll keep brushing my teeth in the meantime.

In other news, my twitter page has had some very exciting growth over the past week!

I have finally had some breakthroughs and added 12,800 followers this week!

Thank you all very much for your contribution to that (and big WELCOME to all the new subscribers here from twitter!).

I’d love to tell you I did it all myself, but that wouldn’t even be close to the truth.

I’ve met some amazing people who shared with me their tips and secrets to gaining traction on twitter.

I struggled for 2 years to crack 200 followers and have gone from 256 > 15.5k in less than 60 days now.

I took the time to write out the secrets I’ve learned and put together the Twitter Cheat Codes guide with the tools of the Pros so that can be accessible to more people.

I did an exclusive drop on twitter yesterday, but since you guys here are the “Real Rogues,” I want to make that available to you also.

Click Here to get the Twitter Cheat Codes for free, and let me know what you think!

Be sure to read closely because I’ve embedded a secret bonus in there for you too!

I will be taking that down soon though (planning midnight EST on Sunday) so get the guide and save it for later if you don’t have time to check it out now.

I’m so excited that you’re on this journey with me.

I’m truly honored to be part of your day. I’m extremely grateful for your time and take it very seriously.

Please keep me posted on how I can be of service to you, your career, or your business.

Let’s keep winning together!

Forever Forward,

Rush

P.S. There are 3 ways I can help you if you’re ready for more:

#1. For more methods, insights, inspiration and practical advice, Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn

#2. If you’re struggling with twitter content or writer’s block, subscribe to Writers Rescue for free viral tweet templates!

#3. If you’re ready to get serious about your personal or professional growth, reply to this email to see if coaching is the right fit for you. We’ll set up a 15 minute audit to see if there is a right fit for you!