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According to Merriam-Webster, the word envelope is a noun and means a flat, usually paper container (as for a letter)”.  Although many have used this specific item to mail something at one time, I will be talking about how we can take a risk and go beyond our comfort zone.  When was the last time you heard the phrase, “You, need to push the envelope?” The phrase “push the envelope” was first used in his 1979 fiction book about astronauts, The Right Stuff.  He mentioned “pushing the outside of the envelope “ where the aeronautic “envelope” is the limits of the plane’s performance. 

Envelop today is referred to as one’s limit, comfort level, boundaries, or levels of one’s performance.  When this phrase is said to you, it means someone wants to motivate you to do something different that will catch someone’s attention or cause them to react positively toward you.  One way to gain some distance on your envelope is to put your promise to yourself or others on the calendar.  You should set them for your week, month, quarter, and year, ensuring they are written down as if they already happened.  Make sure that the promise you write down is something you can measure.  Choose to plan and schedule what you want, or someone else will.  Deciding to schedule what’s important makes you accountable and motivates you to take action toward them.   Set reminders on your calendar to take consistent steps because interruptions may lead to procrastination and failure to live up to your promises.

If something didn’t work last time, brainstorm on how to do something no one else is doing, and you will become a leader many will line up to follow.  Ask yourself what you would have done in this situation or ask a child what they would do, and you might be pleasantly surprised with inspiration.  One of my most extraordinary ideas was landing a Fortune 500 company using a tactic that almost got me in trouble.  Yes, it was a risk, but I had a good rapport with the head CEO, and thus, he knew I meant no harm.  Well, in short, I sent him a small live animal, and let’s say my company and I stayed on his mind, and we got the contract.

My company devised a unique lumpy mail campaign using a floppy diskette for a computer company with a special message that got people to respond.  Remember, you have to be different to engage curiosity.  Do something to arouse your prospect's interest, and they will invite you into their office.

Pushing the envelope doesn’t just deal with businesses but also teens who might have got home ten minutes late.  They figure if they can get away with ten minutes, I will stay out an extra ten minutes, thus acting as twenty minutes late.  Will they be happy with the twenty, or do they try for another ten or twenty, and when do they stop?  Many will keep pushing until they get in trouble or grounded for being late.  Some kids will be happy with the ten minutes and not try to make it, and others will push until they can’t push anymore.  I am not saying that if you are a teen or kid, it is okay to push the limits of your curfew, but those with this spirit will often be successful.

They will be successful because they see what they want, and nothing will keep them from getting what they want.  Thus, they have learned what many business owners and salespeople never do, which is to keep pushing when there is strong demand for our products and services. 

Increasing one’s performance may be accomplished by focusing on one task and doing it well till completion before starting the next.  Multi-tasking tends to cause one to be distracted, incur mistakes, and lose sign of their purpose.

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.  Thus, if you do the same tasks every day and it yields little or no result, why would you not change?  People get into a habit, become comfortable with their actions, and don’t want to alter them.  Creating a pattern takes work; breaking or changing a routine often takes perseverance and determination.  Determination is how motivated you are to achieve your desires; perseverance refers to your ability to achieve that outcome.

I am encouraging you to push your envelope farther each time because it will help you achieve new challenges and thus become a better version of yourself.  Did you know that making the envelope will often help others become a better version of themselves, too?  Notice I said to push the envelope farther each time, not a million files, just slightly farther.  Why?  Each time we make the envelope, succeed, and celebrate that becomes our new comfort level. 

Perhaps you have been toying with your commitment to lose weight, get healthy, eat better, and optimize your body to produce the best results to live that outstanding life.  If you don’t set high expectations, your mind will never bother to work to achieve them.  Dream big, measure your commitment, and be willing to tweak your actions.

Being a Pisces, I love water, but when I was only about three or four, I had not learned how to swim yet and wanted to but was fearful of the water.  My parents hired two of the best swim instructors in the area and got me to feel comfortable with swimming and love it.   I was stressing about how to blow bubbles and how, when, where my hands go that I got so uptight I couldn’t swim.  I am truly blessed to have been taught by people who made the sport of swimming fun and allowed me to achieve an enormous hurdle.  Even today, whether home or traveling, jumping in the pool, swimming under the water, or doing a few crawl stokes is so relaxing.

I shared this story because we may need help from a teacher, friend, counselor, coach, or other professional to help us achieve our desires.  When you cannot get started or feel like there is a constant stop-and-start with little progress, it may be time to ask for help.  Realize that everyone needs help at one or more times, even the Olympic athletes who compete for the honored medals. 

Thus, in closing, whether it is a relationship or business matter, ask yourself what could be done to create the “X” factor to capture their attention.  If you don’t push the envelope of your desires a little farther each day, someone else will, but they won’t be yours. 

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