336 - Will Your Passport Outlive You?

0:00Will your passport outlive you? I just renewed my passport in this year, and for the first time, I had a strange thought. Will I expire before my passport does? I just turned 72 in February, and in February of 2035, 10 years from now, is when my passport will expire and I will be 82. First time that's ever happened where I wondered about that. But most people don't think about expiration dates on passports, on opportunities, or on their own time. But let's talk about why you should. So the passport represents an opportunity for us, but only if you use it. A passport allows you to travel, explore, and seize opportunities.

0:54But if it just sits in a drawer, it's worthless. and many entrepreneurs have all the potential in the world but never stamp their passport because they hesitate to take action. So if you don't take action, obviously your opportunities expire without ever being used and I hope that's not happening to you. So what's the biggest opportunity you're letting expire because you're waiting for the right time? Procrastination is indeed the thief of time. And expiration dates exist on basically everything, including your potential. Passports have an expiration date, so does your energy, your creativity, and your ability to take risks.

1:36Many people delay starting their first business, making their first deal, or even reaching out to a mentor. And every delay moves you closer to an expiration date where the opportunity will no longer be available. When I left my first corporate career, one of the things that frustrated me the most is we would have opportunities. And in this big behemoth Fortune 500 environment, it took us so long to make decisions and approve things that oftentimes the opportunity was closed when we had an example to go forward and get this opportunities. Too late, boys. We should have made a decision more quickly.

2:18So think about professional athletes. There's a window where they can perform at their peak. If they waste their energy, their early years, they can't go back and reclaim that last time. And business is the same. Your best time is always to start now. Your passport proves where you've been. What will your life show? Every stamp in a passport tells a story of places visited and experiences had. What does your life's passport look like? Is it blank or are you collecting experiences and achievements? Don't live a life with a blank passport, please. Take risks, make moves, and build something meaningful.

3:05If you know your passport or your time was expiring soon, what would you do differently today? There's a symbol that actually a plaque on my desk. What good shall I do this day? And then I added do it now. And the older I get, I tend to move more quickly and procrastinate less. It's kind of interesting. But don't wait until your opportunities expire. Go out and make your mark now. And I would love to see you do that. There is an email I sent around, and there is an opportunity in there which is going to expire. and that is on March 13th and 14th, my marketing director and I are going to do two days of virtual training.

3:48That's part of the twice-a-year training we do for VIP Mastermind members. And if you were to go over to brucewhipple.com, look at the VIP Mastermind program, understand what it is and want to participate, and you'd have to call. I don't take everyone who wants to get in there. So basically apply. we'd have a discussion and you could join that March 13th and 14th training from 1 to 7 p.m. East Coast time, but you would have to move quickly. So that's an opportunity that will expire, I hope, before either I do or my passport. But that passport experience was pretty impactful for me. And I hope as you think about opportunities lost and time slipping away, which it does for all of us, we can't regain it, that you say, okay, enough procrastination.

4:46Let me act on what it is you want to act on today. So I hope that helps. It certainly helped me. And if you want to join that VIP Mastermind, I look forward to you ringing my mobile and we'll have a discussion on that.