Ignite Your Future – My Matchbook Analogy

I have a little analogy… I believe people and opportunities are like matches.

Watch the video to see it in action, or if you prefer reading, it’s a little lower down this page.

Imagine you’ve got this book of matches. This is just like people.

There are opportunities all around the world. But what happens is, people don’t see those opportunities…

Because they never leave their house.

If you don’t leave the house – if you don’t go outside – the matches are never going to light.

You’re never going to ignite your future.

In order to do that, you have to get outside. And by the way…

Even just getting outside, that takes a little bit of work. That match is not going to come out on its own.

You’ve got to wiggle it a little bit, you’ve got to tease it a little bit, and finally you put a little pull and then the match comes out.

Woo hoo! Step #1 of success!

Wow, that’s great! Then… you need to know what to do with it.

You want to light that on fire. If you want to inspire, and ignite your future, you’ve got to light it.

So what do you do?

If I took the match and I just rub it on the front of the match case, nothing’s going to happen, because it’s not the right tool… It’s not the right strategy.

Yet in life, people use the wrong strategy all the time.

They try to do something that they think should work, that they heard, “sometimes works” – but they do it over and over again. And they realize…

It didn’t light.

It didn’t light.

It didn’t light.

And yet, they keep using the same strategy over and over again. And they wonder why they haven’t gotten different results.

They wonder why things aren’t different for them.

If you want better results, you need some better information.

You are where you are because of your level of knowledge, understanding and experience up to this point. There’s no problem with that. But if you want more in your life, if you want to ignite change in your life, you’ve got to have some new information.

You need somebody to come and tell you, “Hey, there’s a better way! I have an idea. Here’s what you should do – you should turn the matchbook around.”

And now, on the other side is that friction pad. That’s where the excitement happens, ladies and gentlemen. Friction is good.

Now here’s what happens: People do that. They do it, but it’s change.

Nobody really likes change.

So what they do, is they try that change, and they go really slowly. Because they want to go slow… and nothing happens.

See, they’re in the right spot. They did the work, they went to the effort of getting the match outside of the box. They left their house. And instead of continuing to rub the match on the wrong side of the matchbook, they actually were able to find out the right way to do it.

They had kind of the right strategy… but then what happens is their own limiting beliefs kicked in. And it held them back… And it caused them to go slow… And when you go slow, nothing happens.

There are a lot of people who put a lot of effort in. They lean into that match, and they press down, and they’re really working hard! But they’re going slow at it. And they keep holding themselves back at every opportunity.

There’s another group of people – the people who are, “Woo hoo! I’m IN!!!! I’m going gung ho!!!”

I like to call them “The Dabblers.” They’re like a dog wagging its tail over and over… And they’re in the right spot…

But they never put enough focus on what they want to do.

That focus is the pressure, that focus is what builds the friction.

When it comes to friction, here’s one of the interesting things… Friction is that force when you’re rubbing against something. Friction is maybe even a little bit uncomfortable.

Most people try to avoid friction in their lives.

They try to look for the path of least resistance. They’re willing to go there… they’re willing to go there fast. But without any friction, nothing happens.

If you want success in your life:

1. You have to have found the opportunity. That opportunity is the match.
2. You have to have the right instructions. You have to be using the right portion of the matchbook to ignite your fire.
3. You have to be willing to take action. Not slowly, and not fast without commitment.

You’ve got to be willing to have a little bit of friction, and the right focus, and if you do…

That’s when success will happen for you.

If you do, that’s when your future ignites.

If you do, that’s when you’re going to have anything you’ve ever wanted in your life.

And life becomes amazing.

Be willing to step outside of your box.

Be willing to take the action that you need to… with focus… with dedication… with persistence and with speed.

If you’re willing to do those things, you can set your future on fire.