Angela Gargano (00:00)
So if you've made it to this episode, want you to pause for a second and just acknowledge yourself. Seriously.
We don't do that enough. We spend so much time chasing, moving forward, trying to level that we forget to stop and just say, I showed up. You've been on this journey pushing through your own doubts, shifting your mindset, taking action, embracing failure and working towards that what if it all goes right version of yourself. And listen, if you're just joining, I highly recommend you go back to the beginning of the series because
This entire process, it's something you'll come back to and you can utilize again and again. Today, as we wrap up the series, I want to talk about the most powerful shift of all. And honestly, this one I wish I'd understood sooner. Because for years, I chase goals thinking that once I achieve them, then I'd feel successful. I thought once I had the money,
the alcholades, the opportunities, then I'll be confident. I thought once I got the validation, then I'd be happy. And let me tell you, that mindset, it keeps you stuck in an infinite waiting room. Because if you don't embody success, confidence, and happiness now, you won't suddenly have it because you reached a goal. So today, I want to talk about being before you become.
And to do that, I want to take you back to a time when I was chasing something so hard that I almost missed the fact that I was already loving it. So let me take you back a few years ago. I had this big audacious goal of wanting to be on the cover of a fitness magazine. Not just any magazine, Oxygen Magazine. And let me tell you, I was delusional about it. So.
I photoshopped myself on the cover, I sent emails, hundreds of emails to every oxygen contact I could find and I followed up over and over again. I mean everything. mean like accounting at oxygenmagazine.com. Like things that didn't even make sense, magazine.com. And I was checking my inbox obsessively hoping this time someone would say yes and guess what? Nobody said anything. It was silent. I kept going, I kept emailing and finally I got a response. Not for cover.
not for a feature, well, kind of for a feature, but for a tiny photo shoot in a church basement. And yes, a church basement, y'all, for wrist exercises. And you know what? I said yes, because at that moment, it wasn't about where I was. It was about the person I was becoming. I built relationships with the editors during this. I kept showing up. I kept proving that I belonged in that space. And I started to help the editor. started to help her with
getting makeup artists, utilizing other models, which are my friends. And I was realizing that she really needed this extra support and I was like, cool, I actually really enjoy doing this. And I kind of put the idea of the whole cover thing on the back burner for that. I'm like, you know what, I'm just gonna create a really great relationship with her and I'm really enjoying this process, so why not? And I did every year ask about a cover. I'd be like, is it cover time? Cover yet? I kind of like always ease myself in there.
But then I finally just stopped. was like, you know what? I'm gonna stop chasing because one day I realized I was already living the life that the cover would give me. I was already able to be a part of the whole process. was already able to...
embody that person that was on the cover. I was already making an impact. I was already inspiring people. I was already the person I wanted to be. And if I would have gotten a cover when I first asked for the cover back in 2016, reason I wanted to be in the cover really was to be like another hot fitness girl on the cover with abs, right? And there was more of me becoming
somebody who embodies a cover, who is able to have a bigger effect and a bigger impact. And it was about really going through that process and embodying that as they went. through that journey, mean, I tore my ACL through this process and I had this epic comeback, right? And that person who was able to come over that ACL tear, that was the person who really had overcome such a massive challenge and was able to inspire so many people and women around the world.
Finally, in 2021, I got the call. She said, Angela, we have an opportunity for you. And it involves a cover. I remember like almost dying when I got this text message. I think I was outside. I was doing a shoot with a friend for like another company. And I just remember being like, need to call her like right away. I'm like, wait, I need to call her. I'm like, I can't, like I need to know right now that this is gonna happen. But the reason I finally got the opportunity was because I had already become the person I thought I needed to be.
on that cover. Like I had become, I was embodying every piece of that. I was the cover girl before the world even saw it. And I think this is a really important piece, right? The whole being before becoming concepts makes me think we think it's flipped. We think, okay, cool, I'm gonna become that when I get that thing. But that's not true at all. And this goes for so many other aspects of life. This goes for leaders. This goes for entrepreneurs, right?
You wanna be that thing that you're looking to achieve, you have to start being it now. You have to start figuring out what those characteristics and what it is that they have now so you can start to become it right now. So I want you to let this sink in. You don't get the thing first and then become the person. You become the person first and then the thing comes to you. I'm gonna say that again. You don't get the thing first and then become the person. You become the person first and then the thing comes to you.
We've been conditioned to believe that success, confidence, and happiness comes after the achievement, but it's actually the other way around. You become wealthy before you have money. You become a leader before you get the title. You become an athlete before you win the race. You become confident before anyone else believes in you. It's not about faking it until you make it.
it's about being it until you see it. And in this book I'm reading right now called A Happy Pocket Full of Money, the book that changed my entire perspective on this. And I loved the chapter on this. said, happy conditions don't make you happy. Being happy causes happy conditions. Unhappy conditions only shows up to demonstrate your preexisting state of unhappiness. It's not
have, be. It's be, do, have. If you want success, you have to start being the person who succeeds right now. Anyone reading this right now, anyone listening to this just like have chills? You just have chills right now? But then in lies the question, right? Because we could be like all day, I can say to everyone on here, I could say, just be it.
And then you might be like, well, I don't even know what being it is. Like, what does that even look like? How does it even feel? And it really takes you sitting down, really kind of understanding that awareness around what that might be. And that might be researching somebody else who has what you have and looking at them right now and seeing the type of ways that they embody their every day so that you can start to be it now. Maybe the first thing you do is you start to adjust some of your routines in your day-to-day life, right? If you're trying to be a successful person and a successful entrepreneur,
You might notice that the successful entrepreneurs, they are taking care of themselves and taking care of their body. So you can start even with that. But of course, I want to give you actionable steps because that was what if it all goes right is all about. So number one, you want to choose your identity now. So you want to write it down. feel free to pause this video, grab a piece of paper and start to do it. I am, I am a CEO. I am a leader. I am an athlete.
or maybe I am financially free. You don't have to wait for proof, you can be it now and you can start to write those I am statements and it sounds so silly, right? Just like writing down gratitude seems silly, but when you start to embody it, you start to write it down. You start to say, I am that thing. You start to understand a little bit more about what it is and who it is that you truly want to be.
Now, when I did the cover, I wasn't writing I am. I didn't know that these things were happening. You when you're manifesting and you've manifested things and you didn't even realize how you did it and then you go back and reflect, you're like, that makes sense. And it's great because now you're like, cool, I have a formula so I can hopefully do it again, right? That's exactly what this is. So right now, think about what it is that you might be. Maybe it's looking for a raise. Maybe it is trying to be that best leader you can possibly be in your department. Write it down, I am.
Number two, you need to embody the habits of your future self, just like we just talked about. So you may need to study some people who already have it. Ask yourself, if I already have what I wanted, how would I be showing up and acting today in all areas of life? And maybe pick one habit that aligns with your future self and start with it today. So want to be a CEO? Make decisions like one. Be sure of them. Be confident in your decisions when you're making them.
You want to be fit? Start training like an athlete now. Go in there and start to take it seriously. Don't just like la-di-da on there. Like take it seriously. You want to be financially free? Manage your money like someone who is. Or at least make that first step of, cool, I'm going to have awareness around my finances like someone who financially free is. They're aware of every single dollar and where it goes. You can start to start to do that now. Even if you're not fully there yet, you can start to embody these things.
you can start to embody these confidence. So I guess it's a little bit like, a little faking it till you make it, but.
You really going to start to understand it more when you start to become it right now. Number three, celebrate who you're becoming. So at the end of the day, right I showed up as someone who doesn't quit. Today, I embodied confidence in my decisions. Today, I handled stress like a leader. Celebrate it. Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for validation. Start being that person today and validate it when you're doing it.
Just do it. I was listening to something, I can't remember where it was, but it was talking about this essence of time and how we really don't have a lot of time and how if you really want to be that thing or do that thing or whatever it might be, you need to stop waiting and you need to start doing it now. And you really can start being that person today. You don't need to wait.
And like we talked about in prior episodes, no one's coming to save you. No one's coming to pick you up and tell you to do it. You have to do it. You get to decide. And you can make that decision right now here as we're here on this podcast.
and now powerful.
So this is it, the final episode of the What If It All Goes Right series. Of course, we're gonna continue to do more episodes of What If It All Goes Right, so I'm excited to have you, but you can always come back to it. And if you take one thing from this, let it be this. You are already on your way. You don't have to wait until you reach the finish line to feel successful. You don't have to see the outcome before you believe in yourself. Be it now.
Live it now and watch how the world shifts around you by doing that. Your final challenge is to write down one identity statement today. Take one action that aligns with that identity. And I want you to tag me at Angela underscore Gargano and tell me what that identity statement is. And before you go,
If you're looking for a keynote speaker to ignite your team, to help them shift their mindset and teach them the right framework to be there, let's talk. Because if I know one thing's for sure, the only way you don't succeed is if you quit.
And reminder, what if it all goes right? What if it's already going right?
