You are capable of extraordinary potential.

There are literally billions upon billions of synapses and nerve endings firing and circuiting through your brain as these words drop from the screen through your optic nerves and into your neocortex for split-second processing.

And it’s in that same main hub of conscious thought and language communication that you have tremendous potential for two separate lives: the profound or the profane.

Profound living vs. profane living

Now, I’m not referring to profanity when I talk about profane living, although that may be part of the expression. Profane living is a life of fear, insecurity, regret, resentment, even hatred and complacency. It flies in the face of your God-given potential and says, “No thanks, I’ll live in a limited capacity instead of embracing extraordinary opportunity.” It profanes the opportunity you’ve been given.

A profane life is most pronounced in the lies we entertain and the lies we even tell ourselves. “You don’t have what it takes,” “Am I good enough?” “You’ll fail just like everyone else has.” “Who am I to start my own business?” “I’ll never succeed.”

Quit drinking that Kool-Aid; you were made for more than that.

A profound life reaches past where you are today. It creates something worth celebrating, a life of significance that enhances the lives of others around you. It’s what helps us create and share art, music, romance, philosophy, hope, justice, and most importantly, love.

When it comes to chasing your dreams, it’s easy to flirt between the profane and the profound. One moment you’re making that call, quitting that job, or scheduling that interview. Things start to feel significant, even profound in their meaning. The next moment you’re in the third bathroom stall puking your guts out and wondering, “What have I done?!” Hello, fear.

Profound, profane, profound, profane, lather, rinse, repeat.

What would it take to embrace a profound life and leave a profane past behind?

Living a profound life

Embracing a profound life starts with the words you allow yourself to hear. It starts with changing your mental narrative. Kara and I talked today about how poisonous it is to entertain negative thoughts. Negativity isn’t reality, even if reality is sometimes negative. Negativity profanes our potential. Gossip profanes our spirit.

There are five significant shifts that define a profound life:

1. A profound life pursues significance.
2. A profound life is filled with people who speak constructive criticism out of hope, not Negative Nellie’s out of jealousy.
3. A profound life kicks fear in the face by chasing the possible inside the seemingly impossible.
4. A profound life knows that chasing your dream will be filled with uncertainty and still doesn’t give up.
5. A profound life doesn’t let your inexperience or lack of pedigree change the trajectory of your calling.

You were made to live a profound life. Now’s your time to do something significant and leave a fear-inducing profane life in your rearview mirror.

What are some ways you’ve embraced living a profound life?