What is a Level Upper?

I’ve been thinking of the future of Level Up! With Shay and I really believe it can be a lot bigger than a podcast and a blog. And I believe it will be! One of the additions I want to make in the near future is establish an accountability group. A place where people who want support can go to for positivity, motivation, inspiration, and just a good rooting on! A community of people who want to level up their lives – careers, relationships, physically, mentally, spiritually – in whatever way! (And this WILL happen so keep an eye out!)

We will be called the Level Uppers.

You may have seen me refer to y’all as Level Uppers in previous blog posts. Just tryin’ it out, I guess. And when I thought of what this group would look like, what qualities the members would have, what the expectations would be, it got me thinking. It kind of reminds me of the episode in Parks and Recreation with the Pawnee Rangers.

So what is a level upper?

A level upper is someone who craves success – to be a better YOU than you were the day before. Someone who believes in the power of possibility. The status quo ain’t got nothin’ on you! Someone who believes the future is bright even if the days seem dim. We are a strong people! Here are some of the attributes (thus far) that a level upper carries.

Fail Forward

“Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.” – John C. Maxwell

Fail forward was a term coined by John C. Maxwell, a very successful leadership author amongst many other professions, that suggests the more you fail, the more you learn, the better you get. His book “Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones for Success” focuses on dealing with problems on your way to success. It is inevitable!

A level upper FAILS FORWARD. This comes from persistence, tenacity, and they will to keep going no matter the hardships, challenges, or failures. Why? Because they crave success! They don’t take no for an answer, they don’t let mistakes turn into setbacks. Instead, they go until they get a yes and they turn any setback into a comeback.

Always Learning & Applying

I have been a part of an awesome book club for a little over two years now. Honestly, not sure what I would have done without them. Every Wednesday I would go for a little pick-me-up, some motivation, and a good book! And our book club leader, Yancy Berry, started saying “We come together, we read, we discuss, we learn, that’s great – but we also apply.” And that has really stuck with me. Sometimes the social aspect of book club can be nice, but we don’t want to come to BC each week and talk about the same problems, stuck in the same part of our life that could’ve been “solved” with the previous book. We want to APPLY these practices that we spend so much time learning about!

So, level uppers do the same. We don’t just post up quotes for the clout or for others to think we are enlightened. We reiterate that information because we are learning and using it in our lives. If I could pick the most important attribute of a level upper, it would be this one. I’ve been guilty of reading self-help book after self-help book, so many podcast episodes, and so on and thought “wow that’s a great idea” and never REALLY implemented that in my life. At least for the long term. It can be easy and very intriguing to be a personal development junkie and you can read about confidence all you want but unless you get OUT THERE and talk to people even though it makes you uncomfortable, YOU WILL NOT LEVEL UP! Learn and APPLY.

Roots for Others

“Nobody wins unless everybody wins.” – Bruce Springsteen

So many people are stuck in a competition mentality these days. A lot of women don’t help other women, not having as many social media followers as the next person, The Bachelor! Obviously it doesn’t help that there are competition-based reality shows. But have we seen anything good come out of that? Most of it is jealousy, bickering, fighting, gossip, crying and so on. Don’t you think women would be more ahead in the work force if they all stuck together and supported each other? Don’t you think the HUMAN race would be elevated if all races came together and supported each other? It’s really a no-brainer.

Level Uppers root for others. Just because someone else in their circle wins, doesn’t mean there’s not a win out there for themselves as well. Don’t you know that when you surround yourself with successful people, your success thermometer rises as well. Just being in proximity will increase your chances of growing too! (That is, if you take the opportunity). Level Uppers DO NOT waste their time and energy on tearing others down. Instead, they make the choice to raise those even higher even when they have nothing to gain. Level Uppers ROOT FOR OTHERS!

I understand some of this can sound like Navy SEALS type stuff, right? But let me get one thing straight – we’re learning. I’m not perfect – no one is! We create more understanding of these principles as we TRY. That’s the only way! Level Uppers put themselves to the test because they know it will make them better. They don’t mind if they fail because they know it will only make them level up. They are always learning and applying because that is the only way to grow. And they root for others because if we’re going together, we’re growing together.

Of course, there will be more attributes that I think of as the days go by, but this is a good start.

Do you have what it takes to be a Level Upper? You do 🙂 Comment your thoughts below! I’d love to read them!

Thanks for reading! Keep an eye out for this accountability group. Will be starting soon and YOU’RE INVITED! ❤

Level Up! With Shay