I am extremely excited to present my very own blog site. When I started this journey 8 weeks ago, my ambition was to share some thoughts with you. This idea has gained momentum and a larger readership - and to manage the process I believe this website will be more conducive.
Please embrace this new look and share your thoughts with me.
Enjoy this week’s read.
Pondering
I came across an interesting story of how the comedian Jerry Seinfeld
Prepares for a show. He will work for up to 2 years on a single joke.
Its not the easiest thing to try and put a smile on a face, but its totally worth it - Jerry Seinfeld.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” — Amelia Earhart
Enter a search for Mental Mastery in google and see how many resources turn up.
I am personally fascinated with mental tenacity. Every time you read about an individual that has out performed the rest of us, we quickly conclude, they are different, genetically superior. This is rarely the case, what they do possess is the right mindset.
The most fascinating display of mental toughness that comes to mind are the Sherpas from the Himalayas.
When the researchers studied the Sherpas in Nepal, they didn’t find anything physically different between them and the visiting Western climbers.
However, they did note this: What’s the Sherpas’ secret for climbing hundreds of miles carrying hundreds of pounds on their backs? “They simply go. And they keep going.”
In other words, they simply decide they’re going to do it, and they get it done. They don’t second guess, they don’t stress, they just do it.
They aren’t stronger. They aren’t smarter. They aren’t more gifted.
But they ARE in total control of their minds. They have a Mental Mastery that allows them to do what they need to do… what they want to do… without any of the hang-ups that would make other people get stuck.
Climbing Everest is a serious achievement. On the way up the mountain you cross countless 100-foot–deep ice chasms on bridges made of flimsy ladders tied together with old rope. As you get higher, the air grows so thin you have to carry oxygen tanks to think straight.
The entire trip takes two months. And more than 280 people have died trying to reach the top. But what most people don’t realise is, no westerner would ever make it to the summit without the help of a unique group of local people called Sherpas.
Sherpas act as guides and porters for the westerners who come to climb the mountain. They make the “once-in-a-lifetime” trek multiple times a year, during climbing season, like a college kid working the ski slopes over winter break.
And they do it wearing 150+ lb packs, rather than the typical load of water bottle, jacket, camera, and lunch like visiting climbers.
For years people thought there had to be something physically different about Sherpas that let them do this. That they had to have some adaptation from generations living in the mountains that made them better suited for the rigours of climbing the highest peaks in the world.
But then, researchers from Belgium's University de Louvain did a study on 113 Sherpas.
Are their bodies specially adapted to handle it? Is their endurance a genetic trait? Is it their diet?
Nothing.
The researchers found no physical differences between Sherpas and the rest of us apart from being slightly more adapted to high altitudes. Totally amazing!
This week, I want to talk about what it is that sets these Sherpas apart from 99.99% of the population. This isn’t just about mountain climbing, it’s about mastery and performance.
The same secret that gives the Sherpas their edge can give you an edge in your life.
Wisdom/ What I am reading
Our beliefs, conditioning and habits shape our perspectives and actions. In “The Code of the Extraordinary Mind”, Vishen Lakhiani presents 10 laws that can help you to break free of old mindsets and achieve exponential results.
Law 9: Be Unfuckwithable
Unfuckwithable means when you are truly at peace and in touch with yourself that no matter what others say or do, they will never bother you or influence you. You have simply become at peace in your own world.
And this is exactly the state that you need to achieve extraordinary results in life. When you become unfuckwithable, you are not afraid to dream, to take bold actions, to do something out of the norm, and to also to fail. Vishen says that this law is important because all the extraordinary people who have accomplished outstanding success in life are able to do so without the influence of others. They act on their own accord.
There are two components of being unfuckwithable. The first is to have self-fueled goals, where you have complete control over your goals and no object or person can take them away from you. The second component is to realise that you are enough.
Thought-provoking...
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Well, to put a finer point on it, try to imagine life on a desert island. Assume you have a nice cozy hut to live in. Your fishing nets and the local fruits you can harvest afford you plenty to eat. The sun shines, the water is warm, and life seems pretty good.
But then a boat shows up one day. People disembark from it dressed in lavish clothes, dripping with gold and jewels. They have technology you never knew existed. And they’re eating exotic foods and drinking fancy wine like nothing you’ve ever seen.
Suddenly, the life you had before - where your needs were met, and you were happy and comfortable - seems pretty substandard by comparison. You start to feel like what was once enough to keep you happy will never satisfy you again.
This is the world so many of us live in now, whether we realise it or not. Because as much of a convenience as modern life is, social media puts us into a place where we’re inevitably comparing our lives to the lives of others we see.
No matter how happy, content, and comfortable we are in our lives, it can be difficult not to be envious when we see someone else who has something we don’t.
Whether in our own friend circles, on television, or on social platforms, we’re constantly inundated with images and stories of the “beautiful people” living it up, and having amazing lives. Which puts the rest of us into the unenviable position of comparing our day-to-day, behind the scenes existence to everyone else’s highlight reel.
The fact is: if you spend all your time worrying about what others are doing, you’ll never have enough energy left over to get ahead. It’s not about what anyone else is doing. It’s about what YOU can do.
And it’s the same with business.
All you need is knowledge. Expertise in your particular field. Whether you have a dozen customers or millions, it’s completely irrelevant to this process.
After all, you’re in business for yourself. Nobody else matters except for you, your customers, and your soon-to-be customers. The people you serve, and WILL serve.
The beauty of this is, the more you focus on that, the better off you’ll be. When you follow this proven plan, the rest falls into place. And when you focus on the proven model, you’ll be able to stop the comparison. Because soon, all you’ll notice are the results.
Widgets that impress me
Kensho Vs. Satori: The Difference Between Growing Through Pain And Growing Through Insight
Pain and Insight. Both of these elements dance with us throughout life.
And they’re designed to help us grow as individuals, as souls, and as human beings
Kensho is growth by pain.
It’s when pain enters our life to prompt us to make a change.
You start a business.
But it fails and you lose a ton of money.
It’s painful.
But you look back at what may have gone wrong and learn what to do and what not to do the next time you attempt your next business.
You may be extremely ambitious at work.
But stress takes its toll and you fall ill.
It’s painful.
But once you recover, you make a commitment to take better care of your health Kensho growth is slow and gradual, often we don't even notice it is happening. The second form of growth is… Satori comes from moments of sudden awakening. It’s growth by insight. And they can seem to come TO you almost at random.
It’s that “A-ha!” moment we’ve all felt when something just clicks.
An idea you picked up from a personal growth program.
A revelation you get from a retreat or a seminar.
A new form of wisdom you may gain from a book or a meditation practice.
Satori is pleasant. It’s pleasurable.
But best of all, it levels you up in a way where the things that used to scare is just a distant memory.
You operate at a completely different level and you can take on new life challenges
Satori moments happen infrequently, but by putting ourselves in personal growth mode, we lean ourselves towards inspiration. Your life will become an ever evolving life of new ideas, insights, and awakenings.
Kensho, growth by pain teaches you that the next time you experience pain, don't fear, as growth is just around the corner. Once again make yourself vulnerable and inspired to learn from every journey and episode in your life.