I’ve just returned from a long weekend in Portland where I attended the very first “World Domination Summit”. Now it’s not what you’re thinking…I’m not stockpiling weapons in my house and wearing camouflage every day. What it was, was a gathering of 500 creative, energetic, and eternally hopeful people of all ages, races, and backgrounds from all over the world… all with one common belief…

“I can create the life I want to live.”

The gathering began on a Friday evening and ended on Monday and was the brainchild of the soft-spoken author, blogger, world traveler, and life changer Chris Guillebeau. Chris is the author of the book, The Art of Non-Conformity. I’m not going to go into the premise of the book, because if you’re interested…you’ll find it.

I’m also not going to give you a debrief of how amazing the weekend was. Here again, if you’re interested you can read about it by searching: World Domination Summit 2011

But what I would like to note are several things that I learned about myself over the weekend. They were not really apparent then…but in the aftermath and reflection of the weekend, I can see them quite clearly. They seem simple, but I believe their impact can be quite significant.

Here are my 3 takeaways from the weekend and how they fit into my life.

1. Anything that is good for us…is above us or “uphill” so to speak. Think about it. Is anything in your life that is good for you really easy? Can you achieve it by “doing nothing”? It seems that everything that is good for me is going to require some effort. So in order to achieve it…we are going to have to climb. Climbing is tough. It requires exertion, effort, and discipline. Yet, as we continue to climb…the view gets progressively more beautiful. Life is difficult. Make sure you are always pointed uphill.

2. Like attracts Like. Spending a long weekend immersed in a sea of people that were each creating their own path in life was encouraging, refreshing, and energizing. One person I met explained it this way; he said that there was a frequency that attracted all these people. I liked that because it’s true. So it is with our lives. We need to surround ourselves with people that are tuned to the same frequency as we are. We need these people to “get us”, encourage us, and hold us accountable for the things we want to create in our lives.

3. I’m re-branding the “3-second rule”. We are all aware of the “3-second rule” when we drop food on the floor right? Well, I’m finding a new use for it. You see, I can sometimes be a procrastinator. I can research things, plan, strategize and spend countless hours preparing for an action…only to never take the ACTION. It’s not intentional…it’s just what I do.

So, what I’ve come to learn about successful people is that they ACT FIRST and figure it out as they go!

When I was at the conference in Portland, I would see someone interesting that I wanted to meet and I forced myself to approach them within 3 seconds of that thought. I didn’t overthink what I would say, what they would say in response, and all that jazz…I just acted.

Since I’ve returned, I’ve put this into practice at work as well. If I think of a person I need to call…3 seconds…bam…I’m dialing the number. Email I need to write…bam. At the very least, I am taking action towards the result I want…not creating a “plan”. So far so good. This may have some merit!

I’ll be the first to say that I don’t have it all figured out. But what I can say is that taking the time out of my life to get out of my comfort zone and into a mix of people that are “doing life” differently was an amazing use of my time. It gives me hope. It tells me that in these times of uncertainty, people are no longer finding comfort in conformance…it fact it’s quite the opposite.

Keeping up with the Jones has finally run its course. It’s time to create, to live, to dream, and to act, and to live the life you want rather than just dreaming or making excuses about it.

My heartfelt thanks go out to Chris and all the volunteers and attendees at the 2011 World Domination Summit. You are definitely world changers. I thank each of you for making your way to Portland and through a life that you are in the process of creating. See you all next year and in the meantime…. let me know where can I get some cool camouflage shorts!