Welcome to the next article in this series on positive change. By now you should have had a chance to read the first four articles, in the following order. If not, please do so before you read this article.
- Is It Really Possible To Create The Change You Want In Your Life?
- What I Can Teach You About Getting What You Want
- Why Creating The Change You Want Is All About You
- Don’t Let Ignorance Stop You
You already have all the tools you need, and some advice on major pitfalls to avoid as you pursue the changes you want to manifest in your life. I’ve attempted to make this series as practical as possible, at least to the degree that I find these concepts practical in my own life.
All of the ideas I’ve presented to you thus far relate entirely to your own mindset, everything is internal. Some things might appear external on first inspection, but they are not, all of this is about your own interpretation and use of what is in the world around you.
As a recap, here is the structure for reaping positive change in your life -
- Repeat processes until you have what you want, you are where you want to be and can do what you want to do. Masters become masters through continuous improvement over time, but everyone starts at the beginning.
- Become self aware so you take the power of interpreting the world into your own hands. With this power your emotional response and follow-up actions are congruent with the kind of person you are becoming. Choose the positive viewpoint if you want to be happier and healthier.
- Master the art of continuous improvement even in the face of set-backs, which are inevitable. Your emotions are varied, and unless you master the previous two steps, at some point during your journey towards change, you will experience feelings that will hinder or even completely derail your attempt to change your life for the better. Being able to do it anyway, even when you don’t feel like it, means your negative emotions will not last long and will have minimal impact on your performance.
- Make smart choices and don’t follow the crowd by default. Most people do what everyone else does, and unfortunately the group consensus often causes more harm than good. Your power rests in your ability to think, and importantly, act independently based on what you believe is the right choice for your given situation, not just what everyone else does.
- When you’re not sure what the smart choice is, or you require more information to determine the right choice, then follow the success models of people who have done what you want to do or have what you want. Whenever you have the opportunity to learn from verifiable experts, gurus, teachers, trainers or mentors – which is pretty much all the time thanks to the knowledge economy we presently live in – do it.
- Avoid defaulting to ignorance in response to new inputs. As much as possible, drop preconceived notions and view everything in the world without judgment. The opposite of self awareness is ignorance. While it’s important to remain as open as possible, at some point you do have to make a choice. Balance smart decision making based on previous success models, within a flexible belief structure, but make sure you eventually take action.
The next step in this process is where things can become a little tricky. Up to this point everything we’ve looked at is within the realm of your control to some degree because it’s about you, however you don’t operate within a vacuum.
You have the power to interpret all things around you as you choose, but the physical world is also influenced by all the other people and things in it. Since you choose to exist in the world, you have to become aware of how the outside realm impacts you, and how you impact it, especially if you want to leverage it to help you realize positive change.
A Study In Spirituality
To continue this series it’s inevitable that spirituality enters the conversation. I’ve skirted around the subject already when looking at the nature of truth, however it has been possible up to this point to “understand” the ideas I’ve introduced in an intellectual way.
From this point forward in the series, intellectual understanding may have to give way at times to belief, which if you are deeply pragmatic, a hard-line scientist or academic, are restricted by a religion you have decided to adhere to, or have beliefs that contradict what I write, will cause friction.
There’s not much I can say about this, other than I hope as I clearly outlined in the previous chapter of this series, that you can open your mind to these ideas, even if you don’t consider them valid. You don’t have to agree, but don’t default to ignorance either.
It will help now, if I give you a little insight into my own background when it comes to matters of spirituality, starting with the subject of religion. Although religion is not necessarily the same thing as spirituality, it is often the first influence in our lives when it comes to subjects not of a physical nature.
My parents are not religious. In fact part of their motivation to move away from their families to come to Australia just before I was born, was to escape certain religious pressures that were present in their previous lives in Canada. If you take one step further back in my family lineage to my grandparents, religion played a huge part in their lives.
In my own upbringing religion played very little part. I was exposed to certain practices of the Jewish faith because of family in Canada, but only while visiting them there, and also the Christian faith because of the cultural background of Australia and my Ukrainian church-going grandmother on my father’s side (who also lives in Canada). Mainstream media, and certain religious friends, have offered further insights, however it’s fair to say, like most of my current contemporaries in Australia who are part of a largely secular generation, religion is not important to me.
As far as I can tell, religion has been a terribly corrupted force in human history, which is unfortunate because in its purest form, appears to offer truly enlightened ideas. Truth is in practice, and religion is one of the most misinterpreted and thus poorly executed set of ideas I’ve ever come across.
A long story short, I’ve never experienced a calling, and do not adhere to any specific religious order. I see parallels with the ideas I do follow and religious concepts, particularly in Buddhism, though I haven’t studied any religion enough to really talk conclusively, so it’s best to say that most of the concepts I’ve developed are very much a collective of influences, which includes religion, but is not strictly religious.
If not religion, then how exactly does “spirituality” come into this conversation on manifesting positive change, and why should you care?
That answer is complex, so let me explain…
Oh My God I Am Going To Die
I have a very specific memory from when I was a child, probably sometime around the age of five.
At the time I wouldn’t have called it a spiritual question, because I was too young to know what that means, but as far as I can tell it’s the first time I challenged the nature of my existence …and unfortunately came out wanting for an answer.
I was lying in bed just before going to sleep, in that state where you are tired so your mind and emotions can be a little haphazard, especially as a child still not fully developed and in control of all the tools your body gifts you with.
I found myself thinking about how I am just a tiny speck on this massively diverse planet, full of so many things I will never understand, and this planet is just one in a galaxy full of more things I don’t understand, and the galaxy exists in a universe so vast that the tools I’m trying to use to understand these things, my mind and body, are not capable of doing so.
I felt infinitely insignificant, yet I existed and that must have a reason behind it, which is something I was trying to understand.
Then I realized at some point I won’t be here. I’ll be dead and this sense of awareness I have now will no longer exist. I won’t exist.
As a five year old, heck, as an anything-year-old, the concept of non-existence, of no longer being physical or experiencing conscious reality, is, well, impossible to comprehend. I found these ideas extremely uncomfortable and more than anything I wanted to know why – what’s the point of “being” if in the end you don’t anymore?
I don’t know why I questioned these things or how I started along this thought train, but I’m sure it has something to do with a fear of death and very likely has a lot to do with television, in particular science fiction, which challenges the notion of reality on a regular basis (I was a fan from a young age, in particular Doctor Who and Star Trek).
I’ve since had these thoughts throughout my life many times, which unfortunately I cannot ever hope to “understand” in a physical sense, though I have managed to move closer to a sense of acceptance of the ideas, though I’m far from at peace with them.
The Scariest Moment In My Life
Ultimately I believe, and certainly for me this is the case, that you find – or at least go searching for – some form of spirituality when you start asking questions like why you exist and what is death. Often a tragedy can accelerate this process, which is unfortunate, but seems to be a mechanism the universe employs to force change when it really needs to happen.
In my case nothing concrete happened until my early twenties. I cruised through my teen years largely entertained by the material world, then suffered through typical teen angst and experienced all kinds of lows and highs – the best and worst that life has to offer.
As I entered my early twenties, plenty of poor thinking habits, bad self-esteem and self-inflicted drama resulted in anxiety and panic attacks, which I have written about before on this blog.
As much as I experienced fear and suffering during this phase of my life, as is often the case in our world of polarity, it forced me to really ask myself some important questions and come to terms with who I am.
I’ve not written about this on my blog before because I haven’t felt it appropriate, and frankly I don’t like talking about it, so I’m going to be brief. There was an incident in my life that really rocked me, but it was the catalyst for some serious awakening, which has forever improved my life since then. In many ways I’m thankful for this horrible experience.
I have an inherited heart condition from my father, which although not that big a deal (he’s lived all of his life with it with no significant problems), when combined with panic attacks and anxiety, which I cleverly added to the mix, makes for a nasty combination. During my twenties this condition, or really the fear I had of it, had a profound impact on how I lived, and in particular how I thought.
One particular incident, you could call it the epicenter of this earthquake of fear, occurred during a particularly “dramatic” part of my life (of my own doing of course), on top of which I was also experiencing a cold, and I managed to trigger the heart condition.
I was taken to hospital, and because I couldn’t stop the condition myself was given a drug that slowed my heart down for a moment to help it right itself. It was literally the scariest thing that has ever happened to me.
Those who have never experienced panic attacks or haven’t had things go a little wayward with their heart, or experienced a significant illness or challenge to their sense of existence, won’t understand this, but when these things happen you really do question death because you are very clearly reminded of it. Your heart is your engine, and when it doesn’t work right, you realize how fragile your body really is. You FEEL how fragile it is.
This wasn’t my only trip to hospital, but it was the worst experience and a turning point in my life. I remember leaving hospital with my mother, walking the corridor to the car park. I was thinking about what I was going to do and feeling fear about what I had experienced.
Then something inside me changed.
I’m not going to say this was a moment in time that changed me forever in an instant, but it was a spark of clarity and determination, which combined with many other moments of a similar nature, led to permanent change.
You see most of the problems I had, although resulting in physical symptoms, where actually a result of my broken mind. At least that’s what I chose to believe, because then I knew I could repair myself. Of course you can’t control what you are born with, but I could choose how I dealt with it, reacted to it and thought about it.
This experience forced me to make smarter choices, led me on a path to much greater self awareness and frankly, made me a much happier person. It took a long time, over many years, but this moment and many experiences like it, opened in me a very powerful sense of awareness, which ultimately led me to foster a form of spirituality as well. I changed how my mind worked, and started to build a new belief system.
The Force Behind Everything
You could be wondering what all this has to do with creating positive change in your life.
I’ve related these stories from my past because they started me on a path that has led to very significant positive changes in my life. Every single major improvement in my life has come about largely because I question the nature of my reality. If I have a greater sense of my purpose and place in life, then I’m in a better position to leverage how the physical world works.
In the upcoming articles in this series I will explain how your ability to manifest the change you want depends a lot on how capable you are of working within the system that you exist in. It’s an infinitely complex system, but because you exist in your body, the amount of input from everything around you is minimal, at least compared to what’s actually happening.
In other words, your body and mind is filtering everything so you’re capable of functioning within the world. This is neither good nor bad (or both), it’s just the way it is, and as a result, you need to learn what are the variables outside of you that have the greatest impact on you. What are the 80/20 elements that have the strongest influence on how you live your life, and how you can best leverage them for benefit?
Based on my understanding and experience as a human thus far, I’ve noticed there are two key elements, one very tangible, and one much more spiritual, which have the strongest impact on what happens to you. They are -
- All the other humans on this planet, in particular those you come into contact with somehow during your life time.
- The greater universe, or intelligence, or spirit, or god, or whatever you want to call it, behind how everything works.
I will discuss other humans later, I want to deal with point number two now.
For much of my life, I wasn’t sure whether there was any kind of god or intelligence behind how things work.
Personally the word “god” has way too much baggage for me to take it as an accurate label. It doesn’t work very well as a label because everyone defines it differently. Considering how fundamental “god” is to so many people on this planet, in particular within religion, this is not a label you want to misinterpret, so I prefer to use something else.
I went about calling the force behind things, the “universe”, for lack of a better word. Frankly, I don’t think a single word is ever going to be accurate to describe a concept so large and not entirely comprehensible by our senses, such is the limitation of our current communication system, our languages.
Regardless, in my life, I’ve come to know this force and decided, if it’s real and impacts how my life progresses, I should learn how it works and become friends with it.
I wasn’t always like this, for much of my life I was closer to agnostic. That was until I started to seriously look for answers to these questions rather than choose to suffer in the futility of a meaningless existence, or at least that was how I viewed the world when feeling less than happy.
Coming up next in this series I will reveal to you the process I went through to discover what forces are at play, how they influence me, and if I choose to perceive them and accept them as real, how I can leverage them for my benefit.
Even if you are not at all spiritual, the process I will reveal to you is just as relevant, because you can do it from a purely practical sense, if you choose to. I’ll begin explaining the process in the next chapter in this series.
Update: Part 6 is now available: Is There A Force Behind Everything In Life?
Yaro Starak
Revealed
Your Message
Thanks Yaro for sharing your insights! I agree with the the two key elements .And whatever is happening to us…we play a big role. Our thoughts and emotions can bring many desires of the heart into manifestations.
For me…i count my blessings..even the tiniest, the smallest that i received for the day…later on..i realized it becomes magnified…and i feel more blessed.
seeing your blog…is such a great blessing to me. you are inspiring and motivating.
Heaven Bless you!
Beautifully done Yaro. I appreciate your strength in showing another side of yourself and applaud your eloquent posting on something a little more personal to you. Its genuine and self-aware and I loved it. in joy, Anne
Hi Yaro!
Interesting post. I was raised religiously, both at home and school. I was 26 before I ever entered another church besides the one in which I was raised. I have studied many of them now, and have come to believe that no matter what labels/beliefs you put on “God”, there seems to be a unity of behaviours exhibited by those who are truly spiritual. Which has led me to believe that the following is more important than the labels. Talk is cheap and actions are more meaningful than an excess of words.
Awesome post Yaro!
It takes some real cojones to be so candid and open about your experiences like that which is a major reason why you have the respect of so many intelligent entrepreneurs. You the man…
Thank you!
I have been enjoying this series so much! Thank you for sharing your journey of self awareness and acceptance.
It is so inspiring and the way you write connects with people on a whole different level. I feel like you were writing about me in some parts!
We are all connected, so perhaps we all go through the same path at some point.
Looking forward to your next post…
Debbie Peck
Over the past year or so I’ve become increasingly impressed by the thoughtfulness and clarity of your writing, and by your ability to teach and inspire others. This new direction your blog is taking is fascinating–both the personal narrative and the reader responses. Seems like a big move beyond “down to earth advice and tips for bloggers and internet marketers.” Or is it? It will be interesting to see where you are heading with all this. Regardless, you say some important things very well here. Thanks.
Your Message
I think there is a point here:
“Live a simple life, be free, be yourself, and be close to nature. Do these things and you will be wise and happy.”
Lao Tzu
“To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”
Henry David Thoreau
“To live by Zen is the same as to live an ordinary daily life.”
Zazen Rules, Master Dogen
“To have some deep feeling about Buddhism is not the point; we should just do what we should do, like eating supper and going to bed. This is Buddhism.”
And Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Contentment and happiness become possible the moment you cease striving for them.
Chuang Tzu
I love this post and your raw honesty. As a five year old I often had similar thoughts about the universe and my tiny, tiny, tiny place within it. My parents thought it was odd that I concerned myself with something so complex at such a young age. It’s nice to know I wasn’t the only one!
Thank you for sharing. It’s interesting to see you approach the subject of spirituality by initially addressing the preconceived beliefs of everyone first.
You have an important message to share with people. Very inspiring and moving.
Thank you.
Lara Jane
Thank you for this post. My discovery of it is timely. I am a new blogger and I also got a little scary news today in the doctor’s office. So I am emotionally challenged at the moment.
Thank you for the inspiration.
I too, do not believe in an afterlife, and for most, that’s one of the most scariest thoughts of all, that this blip of time is ALL you have. Are we going to spend it working jobs, paying taxes, worrying about celebrity gossip or other nonsense?
I for one, have diligently tried to Live, while a/Live, as much as possible, spending much of my free moments on mountain tops, expansive meadows, and swimming and bathing in wild waters, paying my attention to the forces that GIVE me Life! This Lifestyle has also cost my dearly, as I have not been following the crowd at all…
The problem being, is the fact that the MOB rules. That’s one reason why I think living only for yourself is a mistake. The mob has decided that you work most of your adult life, having been trained by schooling to do so, then you can retire, broken, battered, and lost, to try and enjoy what little life remains in your veins.
We will only be unified through our common Biological Birthrights, whereby I honor and acknowledge your biological needs, as well as my own. Setting up a civilization that reflects this, is the first step towards enjoying an awe inspiring time here, but you can NEVER do it alone…
We can only go to Paradise, when we ALL go to Paradise…
Hello Yaro,
Great post. the 80/20 rule is something that most of the people ignore. Thanks for reminding us
Yaro,
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Now either He was a liar, lunatic or he is truly the Lord. God created us to have fellowship with Him. He gave us a free will from the beginning but since Adam we have been astray. If you are seeking purpose and truth, you will find it in biblical scripture. Our purpose is clearly spelled out in the New Testament; read John’s Gospel.
Our time here on earth is a vapor considering eternity. The decision you make about your spirituality here will determine how you spend eternity. How can I be sure? the Bible is historically and prophetically accurate. Forget about those prime time televangelists; they are fleecing sincere folk and their deeds will catch up with them. I’m talking about true spirituality and a personal relationship with God, which is what I believe you are looking for. I pray you will find it.
Jose
Thanks Yarak, for sharing your religious/spiritual struggles with such candor and insight.
Re my own religious/spiritual development: I was born in 1938 in England, of non-religious parents. My German mother had fled Hitler. Ironically, my Welsh father became a decorated WW2 RAF fighter pilot.
During my school years, I learned the meaning of prejudice. Although I was ostracized for being a “Nazi”, I was also warned (unsuccessfully) by older boys, against associating with my Jewish school friends!
The upside was, I became (and remain), a political activist for social/eco-justice and defender of people who are “different”.
In 1960, following a brief romance with an Italian girl (who made no attempt to convert me), I became a Catholic, to the astonishment of my friends and disappointment of my parents.
Since then, I’m often beset by doubt about my faith in the Catholic Church. But I’ve never doubted the depth of wisdom in the words of Jesus, especially his Sermon on the Mount, (Blessed are the peacemakers, etc.).
In 1983, I emigrated with my Aussie wife and three children to Australia. The same year I became a founder member of the Australian chapter of the international peace movement Pax Christi (www.paxchristi.org.au). Incidentally, they’re always looking for new members – whether you’re “a Catholic, a Jew, a Protestant or a Hindu” as one poetic member said to me – provided you support the aims of Pax Christi.
If this appeals to you, and you’re unfortunate enough to live somewhere other than Australia
, visit http://www.paxchristi.net or (for USA residents) paxchristiusa.org.
Thanks for sharing such great insight! Looking forward to reading more.
Hi Yaro!
How are you?
I know exactly what you mean about almost everything, in general terms. My epiphany was multiple, culminating in accidently driving my car off a 200 foot cliff and surviving. (I do not recommend this. Not even for professionals)
This quote demanded my attention “I went about calling the force behind things, the “universe”, for lack of a better word.” From Wikipedia: “Pantheism is the view that the Universe (Nature) and God are identical,[1] or that the Universe (including Nature on Earth) is the only thing deserving the deepest kind of reverence.”
There is a word for what you are, at least a “Theist”, and more likely a “Pantheist”.
If you google my name “Mama Fortuna”, you will find a number of worship services that I am producing and performing in on blogtalkradio, which I only know about because you referred me there some time ago.
While you are in this sensitive, spiritual state of mind, perhaps you may consider whether you would wish to be a guest on this series? If so, please contact me directly. I’ve had quite a few very good guests and you would be very welcome. It’s Pagan Goddess worship, and I have an informal membership in Australia, even though the show is very new.
Have a great day!
Mama Fortuna
May you have good fortune!
Thanks Yaro u’ve speak da fact! Can’t wait for ur nxt post kip kickin man!
As imagine a life like you it’s been good sense of how you perceive you life I hope I can like be with you
She looked at me in that sad kind way that says, “I’m going to explain this to you but I don’t know if you have the time to hear it all.” Then she managed to spew out lots of things I didn’t understand, only speaking English when I explicitly stopped her and said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.
Yaro, TY for the post. Acknowledging you, below there is a tiny bit of a larger article written some time ago. The implications and assumptions in the paragraph may be slightly to the side of the path you indicated, but I’m guessing it’s going in your direction.
Since personalities recycle but the Being does not, I wonder if ‘name’ is a handy kind of location finder used by Self to find self. When waking up in the larger Self, the first action is a narrowing down and homing in to the vibe signature of the individual. Always a disappointment not to stay in the wider point of view for a moment, but, after all, what we’re here for is to generate experience so the One may know Itself through us.
Hey Yaro,
Just finished reading all of your positive change articles and I really specifically enjoyed the one about not letting ignorance stop you… I’m going to have to work on that one.
Another great post. I have used the 80/20 rule very often and it works.
“Become self aware” – great advice, in all aspects of life.
Very inspirational post, yet again.
Yes, it really is. Nothing’s more useful than a knowledge of yourself, as simple as it sounds.
Till then,
Jean
Really liked this post Yaro, even more than your previous one. I live by just about every one of your points and live by my own personal reflections and continuous self improvement. Many not in congruence with your methods would be wise to follow the methods stating above. It’s what make you shine and builds character.
Thanks for the helpful post,
DA
http://FinanciallyEliteBlog.com
It’s like my professor for Existential Studies said the first day in class. “Everyone in this room will experience an existential crises. Some already have early in their lives, for who I feel bad for, and those who will have a mid-life crises, for who I feel worse for.” Of course, the feeling bad for them was said as a joke, but there is a certain darkness behind the angst that I believe you keep locked up and don’t share with anyone. Having said this, I also think that the earlier one experiences this, the faster he is able to learn ways to becoming a complete human being, more mature, and more sensitive to the universe within and outside himself.
I ,and I think many, agree with your preceptive comments on religion. Which, while presenting itself as a unifying force, accomplishes exactly the opposite.
Kudos for taking the time to share your thoughts on personal improvement and social responsibility. Something no other “entrepeneural” blogger is doing.
Thank you for the upfront post Yaro, I am a student of your Blog Mastermind program and a few other ones. I can’t say that I have heard many internet marketing gurus bring up the subject of spirituality and just how important it is in your life no matter what your following is. Glad you are addressing the subject as I also believe its a very important, Its all about the balance.
Thank you very much i believe this post is really sending me in a positive direction.
After all, it’s not just about succeeding materially and professionally. Our work is just one aspect of whom we are. In fact, what we do ultimately defines us. You’re not alone if you find that making a living is inseparable from self development and self identity, especially if you love what you do.
I also believe that spirituality affects our thoughts and how we react to other people and events. However, it is influenced greatly by what other people tell and teach us. So for me, finding my own beliefs and purpose can be quite a challenge, but I am certain it all begins with learning what spirituality really means to me.
Yaro
thoroughly enjoyed / absorbed the recent post and all subsequent related information which I devoured this weekend.
I was particularly struck by the honesty of the discussion not in relation to the personal exposure but the addressing of issues not talked about such as striving for a dream but recognising inherent constraints, recognition of the existance of factors outside of our control, the replication of sucessful model’s and the acknowledgement of uncertainty and unexpected outcome despite systematic planning.
Having risked becoming a guru junkie in my brief 3 years in the internet arena I have noticed a trend with the genuine leaders of a congruency of personal satisfaction with business achievement. I have been exposed to a new world which is certainly “reformatting” my thinking – I wish it happend before I was 46 but better late than never.
Many thanks for your input – it is refreshing to see this clarity without strings attached (even though I’ve bought most of your products!!).
PS
Would it be useful to comple a list of personal development resources / books which readers could aspirei to reading / discussing. I may be behind the curve in that it may already exist – here but just a thought?
Sincerely
David
“46 but better late than never”. I wouldn’t call 46 “late”, David.
Aged 49, in the midst of a successful career as an osteopath, I re-entered the education system to pursue my twin passions of art/design and ecology/nature.
4 years later I emerged as a landscape designer, and have since developed a reputation for designing beautiful, eco-friendly gardens.
I’m now 71 (going on 40) and hope to be “working” till the day I die. (At this stage, aiming for a round century.)
Wow Gordon! I also got the calling to work with plants, and quite frankly I found god, or the universe (whatever you want to call it) in growing plants. To me one of the greatest miracles is watching a tiny seed germinate and grow into a beautiful plant. It gets me every time
Hi Web Marketing Man, and thanks for your comments.
I’ve just taken a quick look at your impressive website. When deadlines are behind me, I shall return.
I’m on the verge of upgrading my old website http://www.ilda.com.au to web 2.0, that may interest you
To preview, visit http://ilda.sitesuite.net.au.
I love your story too Gordon! That’s really inspirational. I just had my back cracked by an osteo yesterday – heh heh!
The new website is a huge improvement, but what I would be showing straight-up is photos of what you have done. Get them up on the first page, and allow them to flick through. Landscape design is a very visual thing, and so I think you need examples/evidence to show what you can do.
Thanks Startup Girl for your kind comments.
To keep the home page uncluttered, I’ve decided to include a photo gallery instead. I hope to add photos after I’ve prepared and given an audio-visual presentation on the 1st of May.
PS. This reply box doesn’t allow me to see the end of each line, so I hope my comment is readable.
Funny how awful events become a turning point of ones life. For others, they might perceive them as an end point of everything and just start whining about their fate. I still haven’t encounter such turning point in my life but I’m gonna make sure, I’ll be positive about it, just like you did Yaro.
Jane
Thank you for a frank and honest post, Yaro! Coming to grips with the temporary nature of our physical existence has been part of my journey too, and once I had learned the lesson opf non-attachment and letting go I only started to achieve some inner peace. Every living breathing moment is precious, and deserves to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest. I dont want to go to the grave with too many unanswered questions.
Good going, Grasshopper.
You see, you not only found out for yourself but you are becoming a voice to help others.
Grandmother Redhand
Yaro,
I appreciate your willingness to be vulnerable. That allows others to let down their walls too. With the world going the way it is, I think it is important to be honest about these issues. At the “end of the end,” to quote Paul McCartney, it seems that what will matter a great deal is how we have treated one another.
Thanks for opening up to the world,
Joy
Nice article Yaro. I needed something positive to read after a hard day yesterday and it’s put in a good mood for the day. Thanks. I haven’t been here for a while but will be back to read more stuff. Keep up the good work. Thanks.
Awesome post – looking forward to the next one….
I love the fact that you have decided to become friends with the “universe”… It makes me smile
I am in the middle of a spiritual journey myself, and it is nice to hear some good word about spirituality without religion/faith becoming a part of the ideology
Thanks Yaro,
It is somehow comforting that others struggle with the meaning of existence. I am now 44 yrs old and continue the struggle like you will surely do.
Four yrs ago I had open heart surgery for Bicuspid aortic disease a surprisingly common problem in us males. When I was wheeled into the operating suite I can truly say that I was not at odds with my own beliefs but it did cross my mind that I may soon find out…
I wish to thank you for many things but mainly your interesting story telling style and the affiliate links that you send. Many such links get deleted but I frequently put yours to the side and consume them on a rainy day like today.
One such link I believe has given me a new career path to pursue and only time will tell how successful that will be…
Sorry if I don’t keep up with future posts now that you have given me a new project to act upon but I will definitely place them aside for the next rainy day.
These are my favorite articles of yours Yaro… how many do you have planned for this series? Infinity is my wish
I love how you recognize the “force” to be the Universe. I actually am the exact same way. My favorite teacher from The Secret is hands down Mike Dooley. I receive a note from “The Universe” 5 days a week. It is Mike writing them, but he acts as the universe. It is really cool. It is great to here that my mentor also likes to relate to the universe and is possibly a fan of Mike Dooley?
Are you a fan? What about anyone else reading this comment?
Thanks Yaro! Keep this series going!
Well Yaro, it’s taken me a while to get to this post, but it was worth the wait. You asked for comments and I give two thumbs up, mostly because I value greatly your authenticity and that you decided to be brave enough to share it, come what may. Also, my own spiritual beliefs do align with a greater power, and a spark of It is within each and every one of us. How cool is that?!
Christine Kane said this at some point and I contemplate it a lot. It may be inspiring to your readers who poo poo any type of revelations or deeper introspections, and feel they may impede their business(es).
Old Business Model: Work really hard and try to make a lot of money
New Business Model: AUTHENTICITY SERVICE ABUNDANCE
Cheers!
And keep ‘em coming.
I’m glad to say that I’m getting to know myself more and more, and this series has been one of my guidance. The good thing about this process is that when you work on one step (e.g. making smart decisions), you’d somehow accomplish certain tasks related to the next set of steps. This makes the journey a lot easier.
Thanks for sharing Yaro. I really like these kind of post you made.
It’s very good and very well worth the RT.
It’s interesting that you first became aware of your own mortality at such a young age. I didn’t first realise it, that is fully understand that I will soon be dead until I was about 30. My problem is that I’m having a hard time shaking that feeling. It’s as though I lost all motivation for life when knew that nothing I’ve done, nothing I will ever do, will make a bit of difference to me or anyone else. If I became a musical genius or business superstar, in 1000 years…so what? If I continue on my current path, in 40 years…so what? Did it matter?
Sorry to sound so negative about it all. I’m not depressed or anything. I’m just trying to come to terms with death and move on. I’ve accepted it, know that it’s coming, and don’t really fear it. But I would like to fill the next half of my life with something worth doing. And being an entreprenuer seems so silly an idea to waste my time on. But I suppose, the alternative is to do nothing. And that is more of a waste.
JP, I believe it matters to us most whether we are able to pay our bills. That’s the basics. If we are able to pay our bills doing what we enjoy, then we will live a life much happier than if we simply work for a J-O-B. If we live a happy life, paying our bills while doing what we enjoy, there’s a slim-to-zero chance that 40 to 1000 years from now we will have made a difference to someone aside from ourselves.
We must start with ourselves.
If you have made just one person happy in your life, and that person is yourself, then that happiness radiates naturally from you and touches other people in your life. And so on, and so on.
If such things, such greatness, is meant for you it will come to you in its own time.
I hope you are happy.
Have a great day!
Mama Fortuna
May you have good fortune!
Another great thing is making a lot of decisions every day. You become Unstoppable!
Really inspiring story, Yaro. Many times in life good decisions create better chances for ourselves and for other people too.
After being raised on conventional protestantism, with fear of god and hell being the ultimate destination, because we are all sinners, I baulked when the time came up to commit to the institution by partaking in holy communion for the first time. Eating the body = cannabalism, and drinking the blood = vampirism, and after mentioning that fact to a shacked family and group of peers then refused to partake and have never been to church again. Needles to say, my familty ain’t very fond of me
Very inspiring! Thank you for posting this.