Show Transcript

00:00:00.857 --> 00:00:05.897

When was the last time that you were given an opportunity that had you letting

00:00:05.897 --> 00:00:10.777

your hair down, throwing your hands in the air and saying, well, why the hell not?

00:00:11.077 --> 00:00:16.777

If it's been a little bit, well, then consider today's episode your rally cry, your support.

00:00:16.917 --> 00:00:19.417

Because my friend, this world is too big.

00:00:20.177 --> 00:00:24.717

Opportunities are too abundant. And me and you, we ain't getting any younger.

00:00:24.717 --> 00:00:29.137

So if we want an opportunity to live like we're supposed to live,

00:00:29.297 --> 00:00:32.837

then we need to be saying, why the hell not?

00:00:33.117 --> 00:00:37.937

My friend, this is the 347th episode of Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

00:00:38.437 --> 00:00:42.797

I'm excited you're here, and I'm excited for us to dive into today's topic.

00:00:44.277 --> 00:00:48.117

Yo, are you ready to flip the script on life? Because those bad days,

00:00:48.257 --> 00:00:50.237

they're just doors to better days.

00:00:50.237 --> 00:00:54.217

And that's exactly what we do here at Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

00:00:54.217 --> 00:00:58.017

Your host, Kevin Lowe, he's been flipping the script on his own life,

00:00:58.317 --> 00:01:02.557

turning over 20 years of being completely blind into straight-up inspiration,

00:01:02.917 --> 00:01:05.297

motivation, and encouragement just for you.

00:01:05.557 --> 00:01:10.817

So, kick back, relax, and let me introduce you to your host, Kevin Lowe.

00:01:11.317 --> 00:01:16.457

I don't know if you caught my interview with Nia McAnally in our previous episode.

00:01:16.477 --> 00:01:18.957

That would have been episode 346.

00:01:19.457 --> 00:01:24.037

But if you did, then you got to hear her amazing story. Now,

00:01:24.197 --> 00:01:27.857

if you didn't, let me paint a picture for you, because it's going to set the

00:01:27.857 --> 00:01:29.217

scene for today's topic.

00:01:30.197 --> 00:01:34.477

Nia, she was in her mid-50s and suddenly jobless, homeless.

00:01:35.297 --> 00:01:38.257

Literally, the only home she owned were the shoes on her feet.

00:01:38.917 --> 00:01:42.637

And if you want to be honest, talk about a horrible situation.

00:01:42.897 --> 00:01:47.837

Her future looked bleak. It looked discouraging to be at this point in her life

00:01:47.837 --> 00:01:53.797

and to have everything gone. But thankfully, Nia understood that she had more

00:01:53.797 --> 00:01:55.977

life in her. She had more life to live.

00:01:56.317 --> 00:02:01.957

And so what did she do? Well, maybe she didn't actually say these words,

00:02:01.997 --> 00:02:04.537

but just go with me for today's topic.

00:02:04.657 --> 00:02:08.117

Because I'm thinking that whether she said them out loud or not,

00:02:08.377 --> 00:02:11.697

she was thinking, why the hell not?

00:02:12.037 --> 00:02:18.637

Why would I not go ahead and start traveling the world? She would set off on

00:02:18.637 --> 00:02:24.277

a trip around the world, volunteering, making enough money just for housing and food.

00:02:24.477 --> 00:02:29.537

She was living the life because she said, why not?

00:02:30.397 --> 00:02:35.757

Now, I'm sharing that with you not to suggest that you should quick grab a backpack

00:02:35.757 --> 00:02:39.257

and take off around the world, although why not?

00:02:39.257 --> 00:02:47.917

But more so to get across this idea that amazing things can happen when we simply say, why not?

00:02:48.137 --> 00:02:51.577

And here's the whole meaning behind today's topic.

00:02:51.877 --> 00:02:57.797

We are all experts at coming up with reasons why we can't, why we shouldn't.

00:02:58.427 --> 00:03:03.387

Why we will never. We have so many of those, it is ridiculous.

00:03:03.807 --> 00:03:07.267

We say it all the time. No, I don't have enough money.

00:03:07.527 --> 00:03:11.047

No, I don't have enough time. I'm not qualified enough for that.

00:03:11.187 --> 00:03:14.427

I'm not smart enough. I'm not pretty enough, strong enough.

00:03:14.907 --> 00:03:20.327

We come up with every excuse under the sun as to why we can't do something.

00:03:20.707 --> 00:03:24.207

So what I'm suggesting is what if you flip the script?

00:03:24.787 --> 00:03:29.427

What if you instead say, why not take that Spanish class?

00:03:29.627 --> 00:03:35.147

Yeah, I might be older and learning something new might not be so easy, but why not?

00:03:35.627 --> 00:03:40.507

Why not take that vacation? Am I ever going to get this opportunity again?

00:03:40.827 --> 00:03:43.007

Probably not. So I might as well do it.

00:03:43.467 --> 00:03:48.467

Why not just go for it? It's been something I've been dreaming about for so

00:03:48.467 --> 00:03:51.767

long, and yet I keep coming up with reasons why I shouldn't.

00:03:51.767 --> 00:03:56.687

Today is your day, my friend, to say why the hell not to your dreams,

00:03:56.847 --> 00:04:00.987

to your goals, to those last minute invitations that you get.

00:04:01.347 --> 00:04:05.267

That on one shoulder, you have a voice telling you you shouldn't.

00:04:05.447 --> 00:04:06.847

No, that's irresponsible.

00:04:07.287 --> 00:04:11.467

You got bills to pay. You got things to do, responsibilities.

00:04:11.867 --> 00:04:16.027

But on the other shoulder, you have the other voice saying, what the heck?

00:04:16.247 --> 00:04:19.647

Go with it. How many times do you get to live? Once.

00:04:20.227 --> 00:04:25.247

This is your time to shine. And that is exactly what I'm encouraging today.

00:04:25.887 --> 00:04:30.847

Now, I guess it's important to note, I'm not suggesting doing anything reckless, crazy.

00:04:31.287 --> 00:04:36.307

No, I'm literally just talking about you giving yourself permission to live

00:04:36.307 --> 00:04:38.407

life the way that you want to live it.

00:04:38.567 --> 00:04:44.927

Referring back to the story of Nia McAnally, when she decided to take that opportunity

00:04:44.927 --> 00:04:50.687

to crew a sailboat, she was done traveling. She knew she just wanted to do one more trip.

00:04:51.027 --> 00:04:56.867

She said yes to that opportunity, to set sail on a sailboat with a stranger,

00:04:57.187 --> 00:05:03.067

to help him sail his boat from Florida to the Bahamas. And what happened then?

00:05:03.467 --> 00:05:08.267

She said yes, and it led to a lifetime of happiness.

00:05:08.447 --> 00:05:16.927

It led to her healing past traumas, finding love, and igniting a whole new passion of riding.

00:05:17.547 --> 00:05:23.547

She found love on the sea because she adopted this idea of saying, why not?

00:05:23.847 --> 00:05:28.967

If you think about it, every time you say, ha, why not? And throw your hands

00:05:28.967 --> 00:05:30.727

in the air, let your hair down.

00:05:31.007 --> 00:05:35.187

You are giving yourself an opportunity to open a new door.

00:05:35.427 --> 00:05:41.107

And behind that door, who knows? You never know what lies on the other side.

00:05:41.307 --> 00:05:44.227

If we are willing to just go for it.

00:05:44.567 --> 00:05:50.727

Now, I will admit, I get it. The unknown is scary. I understand completely.

00:05:51.507 --> 00:05:55.407

But you know what's worse than playing it safe?

00:05:56.387 --> 00:05:57.567

It's regret.

00:05:58.527 --> 00:06:05.427

The regret of the decisions that we didn't make. Regret of the things that we didn't say yes to.

00:06:06.127 --> 00:06:10.447

More times than not, my friend, you're going to regret the things that you didn't

00:06:10.447 --> 00:06:11.947

do than the things you did.

00:06:12.247 --> 00:06:16.987

You're going to regret not answering the phone and going out on that date.

00:06:17.207 --> 00:06:21.227

You're going to regret not taking a chance and starting that business.

00:06:21.847 --> 00:06:29.487

You, my friend, have to be willing to put life on the line because the payoff is so amazing.

00:06:29.867 --> 00:06:34.247

It's worth the risk for you to simply say, why not?

00:06:34.487 --> 00:06:38.147

I deserve it. I'm able to do this. I'm capable.

00:06:38.547 --> 00:06:44.627

So why not do it? And if we look back at Nia McAnally, she could have played it safe.

00:06:45.087 --> 00:06:49.467

Heck, when she was at that point in her life, divorced, homeless,

00:06:49.707 --> 00:06:52.067

jobless, She could have thrown it all away.

00:06:52.447 --> 00:06:56.547

She could have just gone back home and called it quits on her dreams.

00:06:56.807 --> 00:06:58.867

And yet, what did she do? She said yes.

00:06:59.247 --> 00:07:06.827

Yes to one last opportunity that led to years sailing with who would become her husband.

00:07:07.047 --> 00:07:10.727

And when it came time for them to get married, what happened?

00:07:10.967 --> 00:07:16.747

She didn't say yes just once. She said it three times because they got married

00:07:16.747 --> 00:07:21.687

in Antigua, back in her home country in Ireland. and in America.

00:07:22.027 --> 00:07:24.147

Yes, three weddings, three yeses.

00:07:24.567 --> 00:07:29.867

Three is better than one all day long. And she is proof of it.

00:07:30.584 --> 00:07:33.144

The biggest thing I want you to understand, my friend, is that life,

00:07:33.284 --> 00:07:34.724

it's not about following a script.

00:07:35.304 --> 00:07:39.644

Life is crazy as it is, and life, honestly, is going to do what it's going to

00:07:39.644 --> 00:07:42.384

do. But it's up to us to make the most of it.

00:07:42.744 --> 00:07:48.704

We all have the same amount of hours in every day. We have the same amount of days in a year.

00:07:49.344 --> 00:07:53.244

But what separates us is what we choose to do with that time.

00:07:53.544 --> 00:07:58.784

Do you choose to live it out loud? Do you choose to say, why not, a little bit more?

00:07:59.424 --> 00:08:05.484

Or do you continue to just think, no, no, no, I'll wait till tomorrow.

00:08:05.924 --> 00:08:10.344

I'll wait till next year. Well, friend, maybe right now is your opportunity

00:08:10.344 --> 00:08:12.324

to just go ahead and say yes.

00:08:12.744 --> 00:08:17.304

To say, why the hell not? I deserve it. I'm going to do it.

00:08:17.804 --> 00:08:23.064

That is what I want for you. That is what I want today's episode to instill

00:08:23.064 --> 00:08:32.104

in you, is this confidence, this bravery, this willingness to just say, why the hell not?

00:08:32.704 --> 00:08:38.484

My friend, if you could ever use somebody to talk to, maybe it's about deciding

00:08:38.484 --> 00:08:45.104

whether or not you should say yes, no, or why the hell not. Well, you reach out to me.

00:08:45.544 --> 00:08:48.384

Contact information is inside of today's show notes.

00:08:48.524 --> 00:08:53.564

You can book a free virtual coffee date with me, or you can also just send me

00:08:53.564 --> 00:09:00.264

a private voice message all right there in today's show notes as well as on the website.

00:09:01.864 --> 00:09:07.124

Gritgraceinspiration.com Until next time, this is another episode of Grit,

00:09:07.184 --> 00:09:09.704

Grace & Inspiration. I'm your host, Kevin Lowe.

00:09:10.084 --> 00:09:15.364

And just because, why not say it one last time? Why the hell do you want to say it?

00:09:15.280 --> 00:09:34.779

Music.