the riches we all strove for were the inner lights we could possess? What if we all wanted to be rich this way and helped each other attain this wealth?
The great news is that we have the option – the freedom – to choose what wealth is for ourselves. Possessing ambition is fine, but without inner peace, it means nothing.
Rich – adj., abounding in natural resources (Dictionary.com)
The idea for this blog was inspired by Light Watkin’s post on true wealth.
Fear (or terror) is the root of all anger.
Do you get angry often? Want to change but don’t know how? Try the five “whys.” Ramit Sethi recommends asking yourself “why” five times to get to the root of procrastination, but I think it can help identify all types of suffering.
Example:
When I drive, I get angry with drivers who are slow and get in my way.
Why?
Because I’m tired and I just want to get home.
Why?
Because my clients were terrible and I want to relax.
Why?
So I can feel good and forget about the day.
Why?
It was a hard day because I don’t feel good about how I handled one of my meetings. I’m afraid I didn’t seal the deal (or impress the boss, or look good to others, etc.)
Why?
Because I didn’t prepare well enough… I went to bed too late last night….I wasn’t at the top of my game…I don’t like my job…
By the fifth why, you usually get to the real root of the problem. It’s not the traffic, but your fears that drive your anger.
Painful events and relationships are lessons to us. Life is a persistent teacher and homework will keep coming until you’ve passed the test.
A young woman got married at the age of eighteen (like her mother had and her grandmother and all the other women in her family before her). She had five kids in quick succession. “And when the oldest child was ten, and the youngest was three months old, this woman’s husband left her.” (E. Gilbert)
To make a long story short, her heart was broken and she cried in despair. But then – that very day that she realized her husband was not coming back – she decided that the vision of her being poor and pathetic for the rest of her life was not to be. She was going to see the world someday.
The woman decided to save $1 every single day. It was not to be touched under any circumstances. This was her promise to herself. It was not emergency money.
She saved $1 every day for twenty years, filling many coffee cans.
And when the last child left the house, she went on a cargo ship (it was the least expensive way to cruise around the world). It stopped every few days and she’d disembark and see a new country.
This is the story the woman told Elizabeth Gilbert at one of her readings.
Clearly, we can decide to take fate into our own hands.
We can make our dreams come true. It might take longer than we’d like, but it can be realized.
As a teacher, I have many different types of students:
talented, but not diligent,
talented and diligent, and
not naturally so talented, but diligent
I do not have any untalented and non-diligent students.
It is the diligent students who meet the most success. There really is no substitute for hard work, self-discipline and care. With facts and “knowledge” readily available at our fingertips (Internet), it is not “knowing data” that will lead to success, but knowing how to use that data and knowing how to interact with people that will lead to achievement.
Grit is proven day by day, hour by hour, and on a consistent basis.
What will you be dedicated to – every day – in 2018?
You’ve seen plants bend dramatically toward the sun. Be like flowers. Work hard to nurture yourself. Nature proves it is exactly what you ought to do.
“It’s the blank sheet of paper, a pen, and the stillness – it’s a small thing. Be true to the small moment. The series of small moments lead to greatness.” Eckhart Tolle
I love to draw. Drawing requires very careful attention.
“Success” in the career realm often means “climbing up the ladder” or obtaining a promotion. If you are interested in this, Eric Barker has data-driven advice:
Network. There are wrong ways and “right ways” to do this. The right way is to offer help to those around you at work – and not just to the well-liked people. If you can forge a strong working relationships with everyone, you’ll be more likely to hear about opportunities and therefore, be able to apply for them faster than others.
And, stating the obvious: If you are helpful to others before you need their help (advice, introductions to others, etc.) then you won’t be sleazy. In fact, people will want to help you.
If you aren’t interested in climbing the ladder or playing this game, but you’re kind to everyone regardless of your job, you’ve already reached success.
It’s pre-sunset and I navigate the dark to the kitchen,
boil water, grind beans and allow the two to fuse in the French press
Open the drawing tablet and book – smile
choose a page arbitrarily and put pencil to paper
Student Council member: “We didn’t get out Student Council t-shirts in time for Club Picture Day?”
Me: “No, they haven’t arrived.”
StuCo member: “Wow. That’s a problem. That’s a real issue.”
Me: “No, it’s not. We’ll get them when we get them. We will take our pictures wearing what we’re wearing and smile. It is what it is.”
At first blush, this sounds like a negative and cold response. But diving deeper, you can see that “It is what it is” is actually a great way to deflect negativity. Why stew about something that we cannot help? Why feel bad and see “no t-shirts” as a problem? There is no solution except to accept it, happily.
This doesn’t apply to areas where there might be a solution of course. I am a proponent of seeking creative solutions to any and all problems. But in cases where there is nothing to be done, why fret?
S
Kismet 