The Revenant is 2021

Have you seen “The Revenant”? It’s not for the weak of heart.

If 2020 were a movie scene, it would be when mountain man Hugh Glass (played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who won an Oscar for this one) is mauled by a mother grizzly bear and left for dead.

That is the scene that gets all the glory for its gory and storied tale. It is a true story! Incredible he survived! And then we follow Hugh being pulled from place to place in his compromised state by his mostly disinterested peers and very concerned son.

What is overshadowed by the bear scene is what comes next.

If 2021 were a movie scene it would be the part when Glass, laying and dying from what’s just happened from the bear, is mostly paralyzed from his wounds, and watches horrified, helpless, and voiceless, as his nemesis kills his only son before his very eyes…and then buries Glass alive.

True story.

That’s how 2021 has felt to me.

How about you?

I know you come to this blog for uplifting stuff, and you should, it’s my promise to you that you will learn, be entertained, and engaged.

But what I’ve gotten out of 2021, after having been mauled by life itself through 2020, thinking my suffering was over, would be the blindsided experience I’ve had in 2021, as my loved ones have died, my world has fallen in, and I am Hugh Glass – buried alive, wounded, empty.

And somehow I’m still around.

That is what “The Revenant” is about. Yes, driven by “revenge”, but in the end, realizes what he must do in order to have his soul restored to the heavens and nature by not taking revenge…

2020 was keeping The Promise. 2021 is proving The Promise keeps you alive.

I shared a little of this today before a speech in front of an industry of travel and insurance professionals, by stating that I believe if you can comprehend what The Promise is about, it very well may save your marriage, your industry, your job, and your life.

I believe that.

I know I haven’t stated it profoundly, darkly, or comically enough for anyone to actually believe me all these years, but perhaps it’s because I hadn’t been mauled (industry decimated), nearly murdered (emotionally), buried alive (financially), and watched my family suffer (disappointment, hurt, attacked socially) to this extent in my life.

But the switch has flipped.

Today (Monday, Oct. 18) is my final paid travel event (in San Diego) of 2021. It was booked 3 years ago, date and venue changed 3 times to land on this day. I’m so grateful it happened finally! But this is the earliest my traveling season has ever ended, in my 21 year career. That is how unstable the industry and market currently is.

2021 is a year that we thought would be the redemption of 2020, and has instead gone from “dumpster fire 2020” to “dumpster fire with a volcano under it 2021”.

Am I concerned? Sure. It is frustrating to live on savings for 2 years. It is weird to get paid a check for a speech that is more money than some people see in a year, and deposit it, and not see a difference due to the gaping hole that we’ve been living on.

But what have we got instead?

The Promise says that we keep going, we keep pushing, no matter if I, like Hugh Glass, must crawl through the frozen tundra on my stomach to the next possibility.

Currently, I am covered in blood, wounds, and emotionally scarred for life, and social media requires I put on a smile…

I share here with you the truth, and will be sharing more of the reality in the coming months, as I know my story is not the only like it. You relate to my being lashed, trashed, and tossed with the bear droppings, because you’ve had your own version of it.

I applaud you for keeping The Promise: To your job, to your kids, to your partner and spouse, to yourself.

The fact that you’re reading this blog post, in a world where everyone tells me not to write them so long, says you are surviving in 2021 and willing to push to the next level and thrive.

I have coaching clients that are keeping us moving.

I have events that are pending, and we just wait to see what they’ll do in order to “politically” make it work for what they as companies need to do.

I have The Promise Institute that is launching, and we need your help.

We need you there.

We are excited to be doing a LIVE and In-Person Event this coming week.

Friday, October 29, 2021 in SLC, UT you are a fool if you have the day open and miss it. I have watched the talks we will be broadcasting, dissecting, networking around, and you can’t afford within the realm of your life’s promise to miss it if you live anywhere near Utah.

I hope you’ll join us.

RESERVE MY SEAT NOW: CLICK HERE

I also hope you’ll look at Q4 as your chance to “Hugh Glass” your way out of the coffin you may find yourself buried in by the wiles of the world, and even if you’re mangled, destroyed, and your world feels completely ruined, I hope you know this:

I am with you.

I feel you.

I feel your pain, your anger, your confusion.

I am feeling all of it.

And The Promise will help you through it.

Don’t lay down, don’t stop, don’t quit. Keep The Promise to yourself, to your family, to your legacy, to keep going!

The world needs you, your Signature Moves, and your Promise.

Someday maybe I’ll let you read my Journal, and you can see how close I’ve come to closing my eyes and being done…but The Promise is just too strong to stop.

Let’s crawl out of this together.

I Promise we can do it.

RESERVE MY SEAT NOW: CLICK HERE

Amid The Great Resignation we hope you’ll join us for The Great Recommitment.

And if you can’t, because you’re in the trenches, know that we make this promise as leaders in the community: We have your back, we applaud your efforts, we see you. Keep going. Keep on Keeping The Promise.