Kevin Buchanan, author of The World Needs Your Hustle

I’m pleased to welcome Kevin Buchanan, author of The World Needs Your Hustle, to the conversation today. That means put on your seatbelt, because we’re about to have a blast of inspiration and affirmation.

If you haven’t met him, you’ll want to check out his web site. He’s a high-energy ball of fun whose greatest joy in life is to help others fulfill their God-given purpose. Kevin is also a goal coach and motivational speaker.

 

Thanks for being here today! How long have you been a goal coach and how did you get into the business?

Thanks so much for having me, Lyneta! I have been helping people accomplish goals for years but decided to make it part of my business about a year ago.

People always ask if I went to school for that and I tell them no, my training came from life experience! I have always been a goal-oriented person and when I looked back at my life I kept noticing a common flow to how I approached goals and what was working. It was actually the encouragement of others that motivated me to take everything I had learned and begin offering those services to others.

I immediately fell in love with it! All of my coaching is done through Skype or Google Hangout and whether it’s through a one-time session or working with someone for weeks, I love seeing the transformation that happens from beginning to end.

Most of my clients know what they want to accomplish but they don’t know where to start. Or they have tried and failed and can’t figure out how to get unstuck. I use the same four-step plan with all of my clients and it’s awesome to see the clarity, focus, and vision that comes from working together. I have seen my clients accomplish all kinds of goals from personal to business and each time, they gain the confidence and belief that if they can accomplish this goal, they can do even more with their life! As a coach, it is the most rewarding experience!

 

Have you always had such a positive outlook on life? If not, what changed?

 

I would say that I have had a positive perspective on life for as far back as I can remember. And a lot of that comes from my parents and the type of environment I was raised in.

Would I say that my life has always been easy? Absolutely not. I have had struggles and setbacks and days where nothing made sense. But the one thing I have learned is that our perspective makes all the difference. If we can grasp the truth that life is working FOR us, not against us, then we can find hope. And hope reminds us that we can.

And also, when I compare times where I complained and whined and threw a pity party about circumstances, nothing good ever came from that. It only got worse. But when I took a breath, got up, and started doing something about my circumstances, that’s when things changed and I always felt better. I am a big believer in the laws of attraction and that negativity breeds more negativity. But the positive outlook will attract more positive things into your life.

A positive outlook doesn’t mean living in a fairy tale full of rainbows and unicorns. It simply means that you choose to understand that your life matters and when difficult times happen it’s up to you to change it. And let’s face it… who wants to be around a negative Nancy? I sure don’t! 

You spend your days motivating others to achieve their goals. Where do you get your motivation?

I get my motivation from lots of places. I lead a #5AMclub online and it is full of amazing people (including Lyneta!) who are accomplishing awesome goals by getting up early! Seeing what they are doing motivates me to keep going. That type of energy is contagious!

My family and closest friends are all people who live in the truth that their life matters. Again, that positive energy is contagious and they motivate, encourage, and aren’t afraid to tell me the truth! I have two nieces, a nephew, and a niece on the way! I want them to know that their life is meant for big things and to go after those dreams. Being around them motivates me to be a living example of one who chooses the best life.

In The World Needs Your Hustle, you say, “I am not sure how or why so many of us fell into this trap, but we convinced ourselves that a better life cannot happen for us. We almost feel guilty for wanting a better way.” Why do you think that is? What do you tell your clients who continue to struggle with a lack of self-worth that keeps them from their goals?

I love that you shared this quote because I want to stand up and scream at all of us to NOT BELIEVE THE LIE! I believe it is one of the top reasons why we don’t live the life we are truly meant to live. We simply don’t believe we are worth it. And nothing could be farther from the truth.

Why do we believe this? Because someone told us to believe it. Somewhere along the way, someone said that where you are in life is all you will ever amount to. And that others who are doing big things are just lucky and you are not. There are so many lies and layers here to be discussed at another time but if this is our view on life it is because someone instilled that into us.

The truth is, we all struggle with it from time to time. When I work with a client who struggles with self-worth, I give them an exercise and a truth-talk.

The exercise is this. Take a sheet of paper and write down what you want your life to look like. How do you want to feel and what things do you want to accomplish? Don’t limit yourself. Dream as big as you can! Don’t worry about how to make it happen, just write it all down. Now put that paper up somewhere you will see every day. Read it every single day. Let those words begin to make their way into your mind and your life. It’s amazing how life will begin to work for us and open up opportunities to make the life you talked about on paper be the life you live today. There is a lot more to it than just writing words on a paper, but this is a great place to start.

The truth-talk is this. If you believe that you do not deserve happiness then it’s never going to come your way. If you allow your mind to be filled with guilt and doubt and you believe the voices that tell you that you are not worth it, then that will be your life. You will remain trapped in those four walls and will never get out.

But I know that’s a lie. I know that your life matters. I know that you were created by a God who loves you and would never want you to live an average life. So stop with these excuses for not pursuing more in life. Because that is what they are – excuses.

When it comes down to it, the only person who hinders us from living the life we are meant to live is us. We are afraid to try for more. But what I know for sure is that living in the truth that we do deserve the best life and hustling hard to make that happen will open us up to experiences we never knew we could have. And then we will look back and wonder why we ever held back in the first place!

 

One of my favorite quotes from the book is this one:

Even your goals and dreams do not define who you are. They allow you to live a fuller and more meaningful existence, but we must remember to never fall into the lie that our worth is dependent on whether or not we fulfill them.

Where would you say our worth does come from?

Yes! This is so true! I am very much pro goals and dreams. But over the years I found myself setting a goal and then for one reason or another, it did not get accomplished. And I would feel like a failure and it would make an impact on how I viewed my worth.

But then something clicked. I knew that goals and dreams were in my life for a reason, but my worth could not be found in whether or not they came true. My worth had to be deeper than that. It had to be built on a stronger foundation than that. My worth could not be dependent on what I did or did not do.

For me, my worth comes from knowing that I matter. I am a Christian and I believe that God created me and placed me in this world because He loves me and wants me to experience all that I can in this life. This truth of understanding that your life matters is not dependent on anything other than those three words. Your. Life Matters.

So if I pursue a goal or dream and it doesn’t work out, it’s OK. Sure I will be disappointed and I will figure out how to do better next time, but I know that my worth as a person never changes. And that confidence allows me to keep going every day and to not be defined by my failures or successes.

Live Your Dreams

 

I appreciate you stopping by to talk with us, Kevin. It’s been great hearing more about finding inspiration and fulfilling our purpose.

 

 

 

Do you have questions or comments for Kevin?

Please jump into the conversation in the comments section. If you want to know more about Kevin’s coaching or The World Needs Your Hustle, visit Kevin’s website.