As we’ve discussed many times, we live out in the country outside Austin.

It’s summer time as I type this.

And…

We have a TON of cicadas on our land.

As in… a TON!

I absolutely LOVE their sounds.

And…

Eleanor just brought one in to my office and set it on my desk.

Technically…

She brought in a cicada exoskeleton but it *looks* like it’s an actual cicada.

Do you know the backstory behind cicadas? I didn’t until this summer.

Get this…

Cicadas are bugs that spend the first year (or more!) of their lives UNDERGROUND eating tree roots and stuff like that.

Then…

They emerge from underground, climb up a tree, COMPLETELY shed their ENTIRE exoskeleton, form a new one in a matter of hours, fly around, mate, then die a few weeks later.

It’s crazy.

ChatGPT and I chatted about it.

Here’s how it described it:

A cicada doesn’t just shed a little skin. It sheds its entire exoskeleton. It literally climbs a tree, its back splits open, and it slowly pulls itself out of the body that carried it for years. What’s left behind is a perfect, hollow replica of the insect—legs, claws, eyes, even the outer covering of its body.

It continues by saying…

Imagine if a human did that. Imagine climbing a tree and stepping completely out of your skin, fingernails, toenails, and every other external surface—leaving behind a perfect shell of yourself. That’s essentially what a cicada does.

It spends years preparing underground, then one night emerges, leaves its old self behind, expands into something capable of flight, and never looks back.

It’s one of nature’s most powerful metaphors for transformation: growth sometimes requires leaving an entire former self behind.

Thank you, ChatGPT. As I’ve said, not a line, not a word of these +1s are ever touched by any AI. If I ever do use something, I’ll do what I just did right there.

Today’s +1.

Of course, we can’t step out of our old selves and become an entirely new version of ourselves…

But…

What if we COULD?

What if we could transform a significant part of our lives IN AN INSTANT—shedding the stuff that wasn’t working and creating a NEW, more Heroic version of ourselves?

How powerful would THAT be?!?

With that in mind…

What’s ONE thing you want to “molt” out of your life?

That kryptonite habit or behavior or attitude that just needs to go?

Climb up that metaphorical tree and let it go.

TODAY.

And…

Let’s appreciate that (hopefully!) we have longer than a few weeks to spread our wings and fly!

P.S. Just so you know… I NEVER (!) use ChatGPT to write (or even edit!) these +1s (or PNs) as I want to preserve my voice. The only time you’ll ever see ChatGPT’s presence in here is if I directly quote it like I just did.

P.P.S. Day 1. All in. Let’s go!

Next-Level Metamorphosis #2021

The Cicada on My Desk

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