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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Shift Into a Higher Gear summary
Delatorro McNeal II
Better Your Best and Live Life to the Fullest
22 mins
Table of Contents
Shift Into a Higher Gear
Summary of 7 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 7
Make sure you’re facing life in the right direction – with the past behind you and the future in front of you.
Imagine you’ve got a motorcycle and you want to take it for a ride. You put on your helmet, zip up your jacket, and mount your bike. You’re ready to hit the road – except for one little problem: you’re sitting backward! The rear wheel is in front of you, and the handlebar is behind you.
Of course, you wouldn’t actually do that. Even if you’ve never ridden a motorcycle, you know the right way to sit on one. Your body should be facing the front of the bike. Pretty obvious, right?
But obvious as it might be, many of us are, in fact, sitting on the motorcycle of life backward, metaphorically speaking. And that brings us to one of the first things you’ve got to do to shift into a higher gear.
The key message here is: Make sure you’re facing life in the right direction – with the past behind you and the future in front of you.
Most motorcycles are rear-wheel drive. The engine’s power goes to the back wheel – spinning it to make the bike go forward. Meanwhile, the front wheel rotates freely and can be turned in different directions, allowing you to steer the bike.
If you think of a motorcycle as a metaphorical representation of your life, the rear wheel is your past: the skills, knowledge, and lessons you’ve learned from previous experiences. By leveraging the gifts you’ve gained from the past, you can move forward in the present
But where are you going? That brings us to the other end of the bike: the front wheel, which is your vision for the future – the goals and dreams that give you direction in life.
Unfortunately, many of us lose sight of our vision for the future and become preoccupied with the past. We idealize the “good ol’ days” and tell ourselves our best times are behind us. Or we dwell on our mistakes, failures, and perceived shortcomings, like not having the “right” credentials to succeed.
Either way, we end up trapping ourselves in backward-looking, self-limiting mindsets, attitudes, and beliefs. Fixating on the past, we see it as something that disqualifies us from achieving our desired future.
The solution? Turn around. Look ahead. Focus on the vision of the future in front of you, and let that be the wheel that steers you. Keep your past where it belongs: behind you, propelling you forward.
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What is Shift Into a Higher Gear about?
Shift Into a Higher Gear (2021) uses the metaphor of a motorcycle to deliver some inspiring lessons on pursuing your dreams, achieving self-growth, and living your life to the fullest. Drawing from the author’s years of motorcycling experience, its teachings are equally applicable to your personal and professional lives.
Who should read Shift Into a Higher Gear?
- People who want to fire on all cylinders in life
- Motorcycle enthusiasts and those curious about motorcycling
- Anyone who can relate to that ’90s song about always being “stuck in second gear”
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