He was a vibe.

Like a character from a film.

Tight white tee, tucked into vintage tan slacks.
Built. Confident. Tom Selleck moustache.
A smile that hit you like a warm breeze.

I love people like that.
Especially when they walk into the event, swagger straight up to you and say,

‘Hey man! I’m Mitch.
Where do I know you from?
I’m sure we’ve met before!’

Swoon.

We danced around the where and how but I was 97.4% sure I knew exactly where we’d met before.
It was just so out of context it gave me pause.

We were at the brand launch of my buddies new business last night.
Red carpet arrival, rock n roll chic, movers and shakers a plenty.

And yet here I was, talking to this unbelievably magnetic human,
who I swore was the guy who used to work at the local Chicken and Chip Shop…

‘He’s the chicken guy!’

My wife and friends came to the same conclusion.

I couldn’t keep it in any longer.
I turned to Mitch, ‘Mate, I think I’ve got it!’
’Did you ever work at the local chicken shop?’

He paused.
Then smiled.

‘Ah. Yes. Yes I did!’

It was then I launched into a 10 minute homage to his magnificence.

‘Doooood! You were unbelievable. The energy! The hospitality!
You knew our names. You’d connect us to each other.
The jokes, the winks, the handshakes. Y
ou made everyone feel so special.
You were literally the best thing about Geelong for almost a year.’

He took it all graciously, of course.
Then I asked him, ‘so what happened!’

He put down his drink and said, ‘
well…it’s an interesting story…’

‘You’re too big for this place!’

That’s what a customer said to Mitch over the counter.

‘Come work for me! We’re building different kind of real estate agency.
One built on heart and humanity. And you’ve got to join us'!’

So he did. No training. No experience.
He just followed his aliveness.

A new career.
A new identity.

But at first, it was awkward.

People recognised him.
Walking into a potential new listing they’d say, ‘
Hey, aren’t you the guy from the chicken shop?”

It stung.

‘The chicken guy’. Damn.
He wondered if being so alive in his previous role
was going to cost him success in this one.

But something else happened.

They remembered how alive he made them feel.
They already loved him! They already trusted him.
Not because of his promises, because of his presence.
His personality. His passion.

He was new in an industry and yet, he already had a reputation.
He already had real relationships.
He wasn’t just another sales guy.
He was their guy.

And so they chose him.

But then…

The industry hit back

Word got around.
The other agents got nervous.
They started to play dirty.

‘You’re not seriously going with the chicken guy, are you?’,
was thrown around town by the status quo.

They tried to shame him.
Reduce him. Strip him of his power.
Like so many systems that we live in today.

But it backfired.

Because people know aliveness when they feel it.
People defend aliveness when someone tries to take it from them.

Once you’ve felt the kind of aliveness that Mitch had in spades, anything less just feels…dead.

So despite his ‘lack of experience’.
Despite a sea of agents trying to suppress his fabulous spirit.

They chose Mitch.

Again and again.

And he’s never been happier.

Here’s the invitation.

Trust your aliveness. Express your aliveness.
Follow it, feed it, let it lead.

Especially when times are tough.
Or when it doesn’t feel like you’re on the right path.
Because there’s an intelligence inside it.

It’s not a feeling, it’s a frequency.

And it will protect, guide, lift and drive you toward
magnificent states of fulfilment and abundance,
if only you let it.

One day…like Mitch…

You might find yourself working in a Chicken Shop.
Or a Supermarket. Or packing boxes in your friend’s mother’s warehouse
that smells like cardboard and regret.

My wife worked in a Chicken Shop.
My buddy still works in a Supermarket.
And right before my current career as a speaker and author,
I was packing boxes in that warehouse.

It’s not easy.
Your ego will hate it.
But your aliveness,
if you trust it, feed it, and follow it,
will pull you through.

In a world unravelling at the seams, the safest, smartest,
most strategic thing you can do right now…

Is bring yourself alive.

And bring your aliveness into every room.
Every role. Every hello.
Into every version of who you’re becoming.

People can feel it.
People will follow it.
People will want more of it.

And when you least expect it,
just like Mitch…

The world will choose you.