Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - The Adventure of a Lifetime

Ceoarob · 06-05-2010, 02:53 AM

As I was saying, I tried everything but it never really satisfied me. The conventional means that others suggested to me just never really clicked with me. People would say, "Do this" and I'd do it, give it everything that I could muster with enthusiasm, but it would maybe have a temporary "glow" which created a burst of happiness, but after the glow started to wear off, I would usually end up just more frustrated than where I was before.

This is the same way in which we seek externally through for happiness. We look for a special person, an object, a number of objects, an event, a college degree, a relationship, a substance, a certain status - whether financial, social, educational, physical, etc. in order to make us happy. However, I always had to ask myself, "Why am I doing all these things if I know they aren't going to lead me to the road I want in the end?"

It was only after I came to the realization from "Way of the Superior Man" by David Deida. It said the following:

"Most people make the error of thinking that one day it will be done.
They think, "If I can work enough, then one day I could rest." Or,
"One day my partner will understand something and then she will
stop complaining." Or, "I'm only doing this now so that one day I can
do what I really want with my life." The common error is to think
that eventually things will be different in some fundamental way. They
won't. It never ends. As long as life continues, the creative challenge is to
tussle, play, and make love with the present moment while giving your unique gift."

Specifically, it was this statement, "I'm only doing this now so that one day I can do what I really want with my life.", that really affected me most. Every night when I closed my eyes, I always imagined myself doing something OTHER than what I was already doing at the time. Most of it would either revolve either around visions of me starting a business, teaching others, playing the piano, being in a band, or doing whatever activity. However, the activity themselves are not what are most important - it is what I thought each activity could DO for me and for others. When I analyzed what was the deeper picture behind everything, I realized that I always wanted to make a change in other people's lives. I wanted to help others break free from their fears and become who they're meant to be.

I always had this vision for myself:

I imagined myself graduating high school, going through college, getting my degree, working for some massive corporation while earning a lot of money, eventually quitting that job, starting my own successful business from scratch, turning it into a Fortune 500 company, becoming a multi-billionaire and ultimately the richest man on the planet, and then giving away all my money to help make the world a better place to live and grow in.

Here's my error: I would've spent years of my life "building up" and ultimately procrastinating to what I felt would be my life purpose - to help others live consciously and grow. While I'm sure that would've been a good thing to do, I could've helped others on a REALLY large international scale (In the way that Bill and Melinda Gates help the world), I realized that ultimately I'd be procrastinating on the most important thing: living my life in the present.

When we look to the future as a means for escape, we allow misery and negative emotions to creep into our lives and ultimately ruin living life in the present. In addition, when we stop viewing life as a Journey and start viewing it as always "trying to arrive at a destination", we start doing things that we intuitively know aren't helping us and are incongruent with the person we're truly trying to be.

Honestly, I thought that I one day, maybe with enough money or with the right girlfriend or enough friends, I would be able to be who I'm meant to be. Basically, I thought that when the circumstances were right, THEN I could start being who I'm meant to be.

** I thought that I could have everything line up, THEN I could do what I wanted, THEN I be who I'm meant to be **

Rather, the cause and effect was just COMPLETELY skewed.

The process is actually "Be --> Do --> Have", not, "Have-- > Do --> Be"

By waiting for the proper circumstances to line up in my life, I was hoping to Have first, then I was going to Do, then I was going to "Be who I'm meant to be."

Now, if you've ever "waited" for the perfect opportunity to come to you, then you know, you'll usually "wait" forever to have the "perfect" circumstances in your life.

However, if you've ever hung out with me, you know that I 1) Like to be adventurous 2) TRUST that things will take care of themselves, and 3) Simply take things one step at a time.

I had to reach a point in my life where I could step out on a leap of faith, accept what was truly in my heart, and just go with it regardless of the circumstances. I could write all the details about what I believe, but I think that would take a REALLY long time. So I'll just give the basics.

What am I going to do with my life?

Instead of finishing college for all my four years, I'm actually going to start a Blog. If you aren't familiar with a blog, it's short for a Web Log which is basically just an Online Journal of thoughts, ideas, etc. You make money from having them and it's pretty easy when you've found the right information and niche. I'm not going to go into details about this, but ask me in person if you want the specifics.

It's going to mainly be focused on self-development, personal growth, and helping people really come into their own. If you've gotten to know me this year, you know that every night, I journal my thought and reflections about the day - some of them have been kinda purely for self-entertainment like "Barcode tonight...Guido...Jersey Shore...buddy and dude" (inside joke to though who get it - BY) but most of them have really been a search for self, me figuring out what is my role not only in my current location, but also in this WORLD.

I hope to really help raise awareness for those who are consciously ready to make changes in their lives and bring their lives "to the next level". I agree that not everyone should follow the path I've taken, but rather, they should find their own internal path and follow what it is their heart tells them. I want to help people find this path and serve as a guide for those on that journey.

Why am I doing this?

I have to really ask myself this on a regular basis. "Why am I going to change my life even though it is so perfect right now? I've got everything that I could ever ask for, why am I going to risk it when I could just play it safe?" I'm sure that on the outside, if someone who firmly believes in college is looking at the decisions that I've made in my life they tend to look in shock and awe and ask questions like, "Oh God...how could you do something like this? Do you know what you're missing out on? How are you going to be successful without a college education? Do you know what you're doing?"

I'm really doing all of this to grow as a person. I know what I'm "missing out" on if I don't continue on the college path, but I know what I'm missing out on if I don't take my life path. In the broad scheme of things - because it is so very aligned with what I've realized about myself, it's the path that I MUST take. The more I explore it, the more I realize that it would have been "inevitable" that I took this path.

People tend to view "bad" events in their lives as disasters, tragedies, and calamities. However, it is through these events in out lives that we grow MOST as human beings. Without challenge and without struggle, we become complacent, we stagnate, and we actually start dying. If we aren't actively growing, then we're dying. But to answer the question, "Why am I doing this?" - it's really all for freedom, self-expression, and growth.

Sometimes you gotta do something that most disagree with. However, I firmly believe that if you're doing something that you believe in with all your heart and you're convicted on all levels, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, then the only person that can stop you is yourself. This goes with ANYTHING in life - and by anything, I truly mean ANYTHING.

06-05-2010, 02:53 AM	#30 (permalink)
Ceoarob Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 663	As I was saying, I tried everything but it never really satisfied me. The conventional means that others suggested to me just never really clicked with me. People would say, "Do this" and I'd do it, give it everything that I could muster with enthusiasm, but it would maybe have a temporary "glow" which created a burst of happiness, but after the glow started to wear off, I would usually end up just more frustrated than where I was before. This is the same way in which we seek externally through for happiness. We look for a special person, an object, a number of objects, an event, a college degree, a relationship, a substance, a certain status - whether financial, social, educational, physical, etc. in order to make us happy. However, I always had to ask myself, "Why am I doing all these things if I know they aren't going to lead me to the road I want in the end?" It was only after I came to the realization from "Way of the Superior Man" by David Deida. It said the following: "Most people make the error of thinking that one day it will be done. They think, "If I can work enough, then one day I could rest." Or, "One day my partner will understand something and then she will stop complaining." Or, "I'm only doing this now so that one day I can do what I really want with my life." The common error is to think that eventually things will be different in some fundamental way. They won't. It never ends. As long as life continues, the creative challenge is to tussle, play, and make love with the present moment while giving your unique gift." Specifically, it was this statement, "I'm only doing this now so that one day I can do what I really want with my life.", that really affected me most. Every night when I closed my eyes, I always imagined myself doing something OTHER than what I was already doing at the time. Most of it would either revolve either around visions of me starting a business, teaching others, playing the piano, being in a band, or doing whatever activity. However, the activity themselves are not what are most important - it is what I thought each activity could DO for me and for others. When I analyzed what was the deeper picture behind everything, I realized that I always wanted to make a change in other people's lives. I wanted to help others break free from their fears and become who they're meant to be. I always had this vision for myself: I imagined myself graduating high school, going through college, getting my degree, working for some massive corporation while earning a lot of money, eventually quitting that job, starting my own successful business from scratch, turning it into a Fortune 500 company, becoming a multi-billionaire and ultimately the richest man on the planet, and then giving away all my money to help make the world a better place to live and grow in. Here's my error: I would've spent years of my life "building up" and ultimately procrastinating to what I felt would be my life purpose - to help others live consciously and grow. While I'm sure that would've been a good thing to do, I could've helped others on a REALLY large international scale (In the way that Bill and Melinda Gates help the world), I realized that ultimately I'd be procrastinating on the most important thing: living my life in the present. When we look to the future as a means for escape, we allow misery and negative emotions to creep into our lives and ultimately ruin living life in the present. In addition, when we stop viewing life as a Journey and start viewing it as always "trying to arrive at a destination", we start doing things that we intuitively know aren't helping us and are incongruent with the person we're truly trying to be. Honestly, I thought that I one day, maybe with enough money or with the right girlfriend or enough friends, I would be able to be who I'm meant to be. Basically, I thought that when the circumstances were right, THEN I could start being who I'm meant to be. I thought that I could have everything line up, THEN I could do what I wanted, THEN I be who I'm meant to be Rather, the cause and effect was just COMPLETELY skewed. The process is actually "Be --> Do --> Have", not, "Have-- > Do --> Be" By waiting for the proper circumstances to line up in my life, I was hoping to Have first, then I was going to Do, then I was going to "Be who I'm meant to be." Now, if you've ever "waited" for the perfect opportunity to come to you, then you know, you'll usually "wait" forever to have the "perfect" circumstances in your life. However, if you've ever hung out with me, you know that I 1) Like to be adventurous 2) TRUST that things will take care of themselves, and 3) Simply take things one step at a time. I had to reach a point in my life where I could step out on a leap of faith, accept what was truly in my heart, and just go with it regardless of the circumstances. I could write all the details about what I believe, but I think that would take a REALLY long time. So I'll just give the basics. What am I going to do with my life? Instead of finishing college for all my four years, I'm actually going to start a Blog. If you aren't familiar with a blog, it's short for a Web Log which is basically just an Online Journal of thoughts, ideas, etc. You make money from having them and it's pretty easy when you've found the right information and niche. I'm not going to go into details about this, but ask me in person if you want the specifics. It's going to mainly be focused on self-development, personal growth, and helping people really come into their own. If you've gotten to know me this year, you know that every night, I journal my thought and reflections about the day - some of them have been kinda purely for self-entertainment like "Barcode tonight...Guido...Jersey Shore...buddy and dude" (inside joke to though who get it - BY) but most of them have really been a search for self, me figuring out what is my role not only in my current location, but also in this WORLD. I hope to really help raise awareness for those who are consciously ready to make changes in their lives and bring their lives "to the next level". I agree that not everyone should follow the path I've taken, but rather, they should find their own internal path and follow what it is their heart tells them. I want to help people find this path and serve as a guide for those on that journey. Why am I doing this? I have to really ask myself this on a regular basis. "Why am I going to change my life even though it is so perfect right now? I've got everything that I could ever ask for, why am I going to risk it when I could just play it safe?" I'm sure that on the outside, if someone who firmly believes in college is looking at the decisions that I've made in my life they tend to look in shock and awe and ask questions like, "Oh God...how could you do something like this? Do you know what you're missing out on? How are you going to be successful without a college education? Do you know what you're doing?" I'm really doing all of this to grow as a person. I know what I'm "missing out" on if I don't continue on the college path, but I know what I'm missing out on if I don't take my life path. In the broad scheme of things - because it is so very aligned with what I've realized about myself, it's the path that I MUST take. The more I explore it, the more I realize that it would have been "inevitable" that I took this path. People tend to view "bad" events in their lives as disasters, tragedies, and calamities. However, it is through these events in out lives that we grow MOST as human beings. Without challenge and without struggle, we become complacent, we stagnate, and we actually start dying. If we aren't actively growing, then we're dying. But to answer the question, "Why am I doing this?" - it's really all for freedom, self-expression, and growth. Sometimes you gotta do something that most disagree with. However, I firmly believe that if you're doing something that you believe in with all your heart and you're convicted on all levels, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, then the only person that can stop you is yourself. This goes with ANYTHING in life - and by anything, I truly mean ANYTHING.