Control the Vibe, Control Your Life
Sometimes ideas connect from seemingly different places.
If you pay attention, there is always something to learn.
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Grateful to grow with all of you.
Friendsgiving
I was recently at a Friendsgiving having a great time with friends. As the party started to slow down around 1:00 a.m., the heaviness of the food and week started to settle in and I began to feel tired.
My friend was dead set on us keeping the momentum going late into the night, but I wasn’t sure if that was my plan…
I looked over at my friend, and let him know I was getting a little tired and thinking about going home to bed. My friend, then said in a disappointed voice,
That my words changed the vibe and that he was now more tired himself.
He said, your actions and words matter. They effect other people.
This got me thinking about controlling the vibe…
Quarterbacks are Generals
A few days later, I was watching football and admiring the quarterback position.
The quarterback is such a unique position in a team sport.
They control when the ball is hiked and thus when the next play begins.
The quarterback calls the play which determines how the other 10 players are lined up.
The quarterback knows what every other player on their team is doing on every play.
They touch the ball on every play.
The quarterback is truly the general of their team. They have the opportunity to control the vibe of the game.
Watching a good quarterback manage the tempo of game is akin to the conductor of an orchestra controlling the music’s pace.
This got me thinking about the way the quarterback thinks and manages the game can be more important than their physical skill level.
Alexander the Great
A few days later, I was listening to the How to Take Over the World podcast (which is a podcast I have mentioned before in my newsletter). This episode was on Alexander the Great.
During the episode, we heard how Alexander was losing a battle to Persia, who was the dominant power at the time. Alexander’s army was outnumbered and his soldiers were dying in massive numbers compared to Persia’s.
Alexander decided to attack the Persian king directly head on himself with his elite group of soldiers. The Persian king, saw that Alexander was coming directly for him, and then fled on his chariot with his elite soldiers.
The Persian soldiers then saw that their king and his elite soldiers had fled the battle and although Persia was winning at the time, this changed the vibe of the Persian army which changed the outcome of the battle.
The podcast then quoted Napoleon,
More battles are lost from loss of hope than loss of bloodshed.
You Can Change the World from Your Mind
I share these three seemingly different stories because I think they have a common theme.
Our minds are powerful. What goes on in the inner-world can dramatically change the outer-world.
Once you set your intention internally, you have the power to shape your friends at the party, the players on the field and the soldiers in a war.
Even in scenarios where physically you may seem beaten — such as your tiredness, or your lack of physical skill or losing the battle — you can change the vibe with your mind to change the outcome.
Your thoughts, your words, and your actions matter. They can change things.
Be aware of that. Use it to your advantage.