Month: August 2021 (Page 2 of 3)

As I become a more life-experienced human being (a creative way of saying “getting older”) I realize how very important it is to be around people who inspire me to be the best version of myself I can be.

I don’t have much patience for other people. Maybe that sounds a bit critical, but I don’t have the time in my day for such nonsense.

This is why I’m so particular about who I spend my free time with. We must be able to identify either person. And just because someone makes you feel uncomfortable doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad for you. It may just mean they are reflecting truths to you that you don’t want to hear. Or calling you out on your baggage.

However, usually the best of my friends and loved ones tend to not only encourage you to self-reflect areas of your life that aren’t working, they’re able to inspire you as well.

Find that gem of a person who is healthy enough to bring the best out in you as you do the same for them. We all stand on the shoulders of the greats before us. Why not have some beautiful company along the way.

I highly recommend it.

Most people don’t like getting lost in the city or in nature as it’s uncomfortable and feels a bit unsafe. However, once you survive your brief panic attack, you will never forget how to navigate that part of town again.

I just dropped my daughter off at college and left her thousands of miles away. Tough going as a parent. And it’s not easy for her. But, I know the only way she’s going to be able to grow, learn and evolve is to . . . get lost. What I mean is for her to get out of her comfort zone. Risk a bit. Obviously, not too much as I’m her father, but . . . get comfortable being uncomfortable. When we are able to identify what scares us and then walk towards it we are moving in the right direction. Physically. Emotionally, socially and spiritually. We are challenging ourselves. We are expanding ourselves to new growth.

Remaining safe with our maps in hand is certainly an option. But, we have not tested ourselves. We haven’t forged our self-reliance in the experiences of our own doubts. The illusion is we’ve remained “out of danger.” Have we? Or have we just developed a false sense of security? How are we stronger? Do we know more?

It’s a fine dance between risk and growing. If we are to get into shape, we must constantly choose this dance. As it is our initiation. It’s our baptism into a bigger world. There are no cliff notes for this story.

Besides, why would you want to skip all the intricate details. That’s worth every page turn. Every moment of the day. Each tear and most certainly all the laughs.

The difference between egoism and altruism is: one is looking out for the self and the other is looking out for others.

It can be quite a challenge to focus on the latter when we have so much going on in our lives today. So much pressure to succeed with all of the distractions and information coming at us at such a high rate of speed. As well as getting caught up in what society is telling you what’s important in life. And it has nothing to do with helping others.

Wayne Dyer said rather than asking “What’s in it for me?” that maybe you can ask, “How may I serve?”

Seems like a pretty simple question. Maybe that’s what we need right now.

A little simplicity.

It sounds a bit corny I know, but being your own best friend pays dividends more than you know.

We all intend to do our best, but we must let go of our past mistakes in order to move forward. There is a quote from Wayne Dyer that says something like: “Hell is only our past ‘sins’ we choose to relive over and over again in our lives.”

If we can choose to move forward in lieu of our shortcomings and love ourselves right now – we can begin to forge a real relationship with who we are by accepting what is and evolving from there.

Spending time with yourself is a part of a healthy and loving relationship with yourself. After all, if you cannot love yourself for who you are, how in the world do you expect anyone else to.

The farther you go – more you risk, the more you reveal and learn about yourself and eventually everything becomes much more clear.

We have to start somewhere. Everyone does. And rather than stressing about WHERE to start – merely begin. The details are in the doing. Not the pondering about. Nor the thinking of. And especially not the hoping that maybe . . .

It’s in the engagement of the act. There can never be a substitute for the doing. Never. We might like to kid ourselves that there is an approach no one has discovered that includes theorizing about it – but there isn’t. And if anyone tells you that, run quickly in the opposite direction.

Instead, grab your tools of the trade and dig in. If you can find a mentor who has success in an area of your interest, by all means, follow that path, but make it your own.

Anyone who has made a name for themselves in the world knows they have stood on the shoulders of those before them. And then they put their own signature on it.

It certainly didn’t come from repackaging or regurgitating old information. It came from inspiration from those before them, coupled with new ideas and a whole lot of effort.