Before we continue, please allow me to honor this moment.
If you are reading this, please know, I value the fact that you are here. Not only reading this, but here on the planet. Alive. I hope that happiness finds you always and that I waste none of the precious moments of your life by distracting you with these words.
Let’s dig in….
The story goes.
Once lived a Prince who enjoyed a sheltered life, surrounded by beauty, and protected from seeing any form of human suffering, illness, or poverty.
One day, the Prince leaves the walls of his sheltered existence, where for the first time he meets an impoverished, sick, and dying man.
That experienced changed everything.
The Prince decides he needs to understand how to end human suffering, so he goes on a quest for spiritual illumination.
He walks away from the comfort, safety, and luxury of his Kingdom, goes out to explore the world and find a cure for human suffering.
He went from Guru to Guru. Some were good; others not so much.
The Prince tried his best to learn all the principles, philosophies, and practices with the goal to experience Enlightenment.
After renouncing all material possessions, the prince became a beggar, and meditated as intensely as anyone has ever meditated, but only caught a glimpse. Nothing more.
The one day he meets Gautama, the Enlightened One — The Buddha, the one you’ve heard of, and maybe studied a little. That Buddha, and after talking Buddha, the Prince did something completely unexpected.
The Prince chose to not become a disciple of Gautama.
The beggar who was once a Prince, met the living Buddha and realized something vitally important for us all to realize…
Each person seeks something unique.
Personal meaning can not come from a teacher.
A guru is better viewed as a sherpa; a guide who can best guide from their own experience and hope to lead you through your own experience.
With that realization, our Beggar Prince walked down to the river, contemplated suicide, and just before taking his own life, he found what he’d been looking for the whole time.
A timeless state of being.
Then, he made a deal with a Ferryman. The Prince turned Beggar, now became the Ferryman, and spent the rest of his life sitting next to the river watching it and life flow. He talked with fellow travelers, ferrying them across the river’s flow.
That’s the story of Siddhartha. Herman Hess wrote it around part of human experience where cars replaced horses.
I rewrite this section, a century later, post divorce. A few days ago, Elon Musk announced Robo-taxis and Robots, and discussed the rate of change in the space of AI. Few paid attention.
Self-driving cars, drones, and robots have the potential to transform the world in some strange, beautiful, and possibly some frightening ways.
I’m no wise fish, Prince, or guru, but I’ve traveled my own version of the Princes Guru-filled path.
I’ve studied, read, learned, and practiced all sorts of weird stuff, seeking that ever illusive state of timelessness.
More than a few times, I’ve contemplated taking my own life, though not since my TMS treatment.
Anyhow…
(taking a break for now. Letting this all soak in. Maybe this lesson isn’t the one.) Pause here…. Come back later.
The point of sharing a synopsis of Siddhartha, our first lesson…
Detachment is Key.
The end of Hess’s classic book offers us timeless wisdom. Siddhartha tells us that language distorts truth, and every true statement carries an opposite valid statement.
Humans have an almost confrontational relationship with objective reality. The experience of living is filtered.
We are hardwired to adhere to a fixed set of beliefs, cultural norms and values. We form an identity around the way our brain processes it’s experience, and that identity becomes a self-sustaining, and self-fulfilling prophecy – a delusion that the mind creates based prediction and response. It’s the way we make ourselves feel safe in such a seemingly chaotic and meaningless existence.
Through Siddhartha, Hesse suggested, in order to make the most out of life, we must first realize the world is already complete.
He suggests that we fall in love with the world as it is, because when we do we open ourselves to a deeper layer of consciousness — a timeless state of being and a much more magical experience.
I like that shit right there. And I’ll add….
When you cultivate your sense of timelessness, live as if you have no where to go, nothing to complete, and nothing to prove to anyone things are really fun again.
I should also add, that it takes time to unwind tension and unravel the delusion of your own identity, but it’s not nearly as difficult as I made it out to be.
Takes a little practice to unlearn being who you’ve always been and just be your magical Self.
Hopefully, Mikey’s book here, will help guide you back home, so you can experience life with as little resistance as possible.
Herman Hess’s 9th novel Siddhartha is one of my all time favorite books to read. (Wikipedia here).
The Story of Siddhartha follows the framework Joseph Campbell calls the Monomyth. You might know it as the hero’s journey. George Lucas used it to create Star Wars. Hollywood blockbusters use it til today. Most good stories use it.
We’re starting this conversation out here so you can be hero of your own story. Hesse’s fictional character, took a vow of poverty, denounced the world of pleasure, and contemplated suicide. We’re not going down that path.
If this were a real school, I’d ask you to consider, and urge you to take the time to study the story telling framework that Campbell wrote about, taught, and Star Wars, the Matrix, and almost every story that you love follows.
Here’s a short synopsis of it.
The reason I think it’s so important is…
side note: Tom Satterly is a real life hero. If you’ve seen Blackhawk Down – he lived it. He ran the Mogodishu Mile.
Please follow him on Instagram above and here. Support the All Secure Foundation – Tom’s life mission is to help Heroes live and love by helping them manage symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress
Stories Have the Power to Change the World.
When Alexander the Great left Macedonia to fight the Persian Empire, in addition well trained men ready to march to and through the gates of hell… and back, Alexander of Macedonia carried a few secret weapons — His mind and his favorite book.
The Mind of the Great. Some dude name Aristotle, taught by a cat named Plato studied with the father of Western Philosophy — Socrates the father of Western Philosophy… that dude Aristotle was the tutor and mentor who helped shape the mind of Alexander the Great.
Aristotle was his personal tutor, mentor, guide — a wise old sage who helped train Alexander from boy, to man, to world conquerer.
The Great’s Favorite Book. Homer’s Iliad — an epic poem that shaped the Philosophies of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and laid the groundwork for the mental models of the western civilization as we know it today.
He slept with that book, read it daily and it guided his thinking, choices, decisions and leadership. The leadership that defeated most powerful fighting force the world.
Even today, military leaders study the philosopher king Alexander the Great. That’s how powerful stories are. A story inspired a boy into a man who brought down the Persian Empire – his life story still inspires.
Stories are the fabric – the thread that binds us together. Stories take us to war, bring us to peace, and drive innovation along with the human spirit. They also distract, scare, and convince us of the damndest things.
And, I were the tutor, mentor, and teacher who helped shape your mind so you could unleash your greatness in the world, you would study stories, and marketing.
Both can be weaponized. And both open a world of possibilities.
But mainly, so you don’t go to the grave with your real life Un-Lived.
Life is mostly a story we tell ourselves.
“The Hero’s Journey,” aka The Monomyth, taught by Joseph Campbell maps out the path of transformation in three parts: Separation, Initiation, Return. Have a look.
It goes counterclockwise from Call to adventure.
Action and tension drive stories forward. Beat by beat. Scene by scene.
That video above walks you through it. For our purposes, I want to bring your attention to the “Return.” As your coach, we’d start there. I’ll explain why as we go.
The End is the Beginning.
The end of Siddhartha says it all. In short — love the world as if it’s complete already – yourself included.
Be timeless.
No where else to go. Nothing complete or prove. The creative energy of the Universe is inside ever fiber of your being.
Points 15-17 — Integrate wisdom and share it with the kingdom. Be the Master of both worlds (spiritual and material — inner and outer).
In other words, you are free to live in the present moment.
Seems simple enough.
Why is so damn hard to live in the present moment?
Sort version, Identity gets in the way. Prince Siddhartha’s, mine, yours, everyone’s identity has a confrontational relationship with objective reality.
Ever watch Star Wars?
Remember how whiny, and annoying Luke Skywalker was?
That’s Luke’s Identity getting in the way.
Maybe it sounds like that in your head too, whiny. Mine still does sometimes, not as much as it used to, but sometimes. A little angrier than Luke, but definitely fights with accepting reality for what it is, expecting myself and other people to magically be better.
Doesn’t have to be that way, though. We don’t have to get sucked into the noise. We can actually settle into a timeless state of being, and a sense of knowing. I’ll share a few resources for your consideration a little later.
The point is, just know, awe and wonder are freely available.
We can play, like we did when we were children. Have fun with life again, even if things don’t seem to be working out the way we want it. We can just let go. Enjoy the magical mystery ride with a lot less resistance and confusion.
Or not. It’s a choice.
Maybe I’m wrong.
Seems that way to me.
And I am just speaking from my own struggles and experiences here.
What you think?
Would love to hear about it, easiest way to reach me is here, let me know your thoughts.
Anyhow. Here’s what I’ve noticed
Life has its own Rhythm
The universe as a whole, the planet, seasons, weather — night and day — great stories, your life, everything has its own rhythm.
I want to help you dance to the beat of your own drummer.
The Old Man Mikey used to chuckle “That Boy ain’t right” usually when I’d break some social norm.
I mean, for the most part, I’ve sort of lived by my own set of rules. Did whatever the hell I wanted to do, because. Well, just because. Always figured as long as I wan’t intentionally hurting anyone, we’re all free to make whatever choices we feel like making, whenever… even if doesn’t fit someone else’s idea of who we are supposed to be or how we should to act.
Like, when I lived in Dana Point and still drank all day long every day.
During that time, 2002ish, if you saw me before 5pm you probably noticed my blue Leopard Print Bathrobe and jammies, either cowboy or duckies. It was standard attire for me and Jimbo, my roommate at the time.
It was sort of a rule – bathrobe until the sun goes down. Didn’t matter if I was at home, at the bar on the pier in San Clemente watching my friend try to pick up Teri Hatcher, or at a strip club ordering Pizzas for everyone. I wore a bathrobe. Because…. that’s why, just because.
Anyhow, stories.
Some stories grab your attention and transport you to another place in time. You feel them in your bones, they viscerally pull you along. Good stories stir up emotions. And all good stories have an a rhythm, a rise of tension followed by resolution.
Like good music, good stories have a beat, an underlying framework – a structure. And so does your life. Everything has a structure and when you learn the process of creating and understand the nuances of being in the proper structure, your life will take on an entirely new rhythm.
Throughout this collection of random stories, I share the structures that help me build and create things — a life with my wife, the lifestyle and business of my dreams.
So, let’s look at another structure used for stories, that I use for mapping out transformational process and goals.
Hope this helps.
During COVID lockdown, after expressing impotent outrage and arguing on social media with random people from high school, I realized it was time to shift gears.
After sitting for a few days, I started thinking about Mikey’s book, and a client opened up a conversation about Resistance, which lead me down a few research rabbit holes, that eventually lead me to StoryMastery.com.
Michael Hague and Chris Vogel taught a workshop together. Chris uses Campbell’s framework, and Michael has a formula to the beat sheet that he believes nearly all BlockBuster Movies share.
You can find it on StoryMastery.com. For me, it’s as much a self-help course as it is for storytelling. I can’t recommend it enough.
To Paraphrase Michael Hague..
“Every story is the story of struggle between Identity and Essence.”
He says most movies start out and we meet the main character, who is paying lip service to some ideal.”
Note to Self: Stop Paying Lip Service.
Ever know what to do, but just can’t do it?
You know exactly what you want to create, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t happen. That’s lip service. It happens when the identity gets stuck and resists its own destiny. It happens to almost everyone – part of the experience of being human. So, if you just realized you’ve been paying lip service to living your best life… no worries, it’s natural.
Did I mention I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was 6 years old?
It’s true. Since I can remember, and I even remember making homemade books. Couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old.
You just take several sheets of papers, the kind with three holes on the left side. Line up the holes and thread some yarn through and tie the sheets together. Crayons make for good the cover design.
Back then, when I wrote in crayon the letters were so big that I couldn’t fit my name Timmy Shawn McAuley on one line, so after a few tries, I settled for T.S. McAuley. And practiced signing autographs, checks, and letters to my pen pals. It was the 1980s, I had no clue we’d just be chatting on Facebook, so I assumed I’d be writing letters from the road.
I paid lip service to wanting to be a writer my whole life, then during the summer between eight grade and freshman year, I found weed and instead of telling stories, I got super stoned a lot and they danced in my head.
… often times wearing a bathrobe, jammies with duckies on them.
Anyhow.
Micheal Hague’s Six Stage Plot Structure.
It divides the flow of tension and resolution into beats.
A framework that just works and produces the desired result – a story that moves people.
Replace movie with New Year’s resolution – get in shape – and it maps out the same.
Not sure if you know this, but personal trainers generally use a framework called periodization. It’s where they switch things up on 12 week cycles to help your body transform and push through plateaus.
If you do that, map out a path from couch potato to the first level of reasonable expected results, week three – “Change of Plans” – the week when gyms empty again, and desert sales pick back up.
Point being, the story structure below is the structure of transformation, and that’s why I’d suggest you pay attention and study it a little bit.
Hague’s framework gives us a predictive model, an idea what the path forward might look like including the sticking points. It provides us with a shared language to discuss the sticking points with a little bit of detachment, so we can get you out of your own way quicker.
Figure out where the identity is stuck, and take control of your life.
You don’t have to study it, but when we work together, I reference it from time to time. It gives us a shared language and a framework to discuss sticking points in your transformational journey in a more detached manner. If you don’t study it a little bit, the dynamics of our work together will shift
Again. Not required. You choose. I’ll adjust, because, my roles as your guide figure out how to bring out your best, and help you navigate your way back home. with or without the MAP. That framework just makes it easier to create a path of least resistance.
But, let me clear here, I don’t want to give you the impression that you have to walk step by arduous step along this path to transform your life, every time you want to bring a different version of yourself and create your next level experience.
It doesn’t need to work like that. Change can happen in the blink of an eye. One moment or a conversation can change everything.
For example. The day I quit smoking, the waves were pumping.
I’d been sober a few years, and had traded robe and jammies for board shorts, and rainbows (the flip flops). The moment that changed everything happened at Trail 6, San O’nofre State Beach.
If you’ve never been to Trails at San O’, the parking lot for Trail 6 is all the way at the end. It’s a hike to get to the water. Nothing major, but annoying enough that when you do get there, you feel like you won something.
Oh, and there’s a Nude Beach, but, that’s not nearly as cool as it sounds. Volleyball. That’s all I’m sayin’ ’bout that right there.
Other than that, the beach at trail six is usually not crowded, so you get rewarded with your own section of waves, and don’t have to worry about being the world’s worst surfer. You can just go play.
As you make the trek, when the path begins its decent, you see the bench at the edge of the cliff. The bench overlooks the ocean. Gives you a view to see if the waves are closed out, or surf-able.
You see a sign just to the right of the bench, warning of danger. The short cut, a narrow billygoat trail to the beach is just behind that sign. It’s steep. Only one person wide. So, Pay Attention, and yield to travelers climbing up.
You don’t have to take the shortcut. It’ll save your arm and you some time to take it. Choice is yours.
That day, I took it, and when I got to the water, waves rose a few feet overhead, six more than I was comfortable with, but after that walk I was like, “eehhh… Screw it. Let’s see what happens.”
Well.
What had happened was this.
Third. Maybe fourth or sixth wave I was feeling pretty damn good. Hittin’ bottom turns, gettin’ back to lip, and down again. Really carving the waves, having the time of my life. Not feeling like a kook at all.
And then I ate it.
Wiped out in the worst possible place to eat it on a big day, the stretch of water where waves break and several thousand pounds of sea come crashing down. From the shore it looks beautiful. Mountains of white foam. Spray making rainbows. (not the slippers). The sound of fury. It’s just awe inspiring to watch that moment unfold.
Inside the impact zone you get a completely different perspective.
I assume its what a sock goes through rolling around in washing machine — the kind at the laundry mat with the windows. You just hope you don’t become the lost sock – hold your breath. Hope for the best.
And when your head bobs out of the water, you gotta take a deep breath quickly, because the next wave is about to land on your face and shove it into the sand before you get sucked back up again.
Not sure how many face pounders I took that day.
Thought for sure the last one was the end of me.
Felt little pinpricks – burning tiny holes in my lungs and cascading throughout my body.
Then a moment of surrender. Stopped fighting. Just let go.
I didn’t die that day, but, Tim the Smoker did. Just like that. With the help of nicotine laced lozenges.
And that’s just one example how change can happen at any moment.
Sometimes it feels bad, like a car accident or the death of a loved one, and other times it feels amazing, like when you meet the love of your life.
But, life is a lot like surfing, you can’t control the waves. The best you can do is surrender, stop fighting, and let go. Trust that everything might change, for better or worse, in a moment yet to come.
Oh yeah. The Identity has to die over and over again. Almost forgot to mention that. My bad.
If you’ve been stuck at some level, and can’t seem to do what you know you need to do, we start by practicing being a different person, not in a fake it til you make it kind of way. We just create a process to help you top paying lip service to the person you are meant to be.
That’s an important concept. So, let’s unpack that next. Then we’ll discuss the three thresholds, and wrap this section up with the Rule of ONE.
Before we do, I want to share a bit of advice a writing coach gave me, that I believe applies to life in general.
He said use the framework, plan it, outline it, and show up every day to write, and if you get to the end and nothing surprised you, if at least one character doesn’t take on a life of their own, then either start a new story, or fix that one, because the good ones, the stories that move people, surprise you first.
My point sharing that is, to remind you that life is a mystery. Yes. Use a framework, plan out your goals, outline the steps, and show up every day do do the work. That’s all vitally important in the process of creating anything.
But, make damn sure you’re not trying to control every detail. Stay open to allowing life to surprise you, because it will whether you like it or not.
If I were coaching you, I’d say – Pay attention – notice tension in your life, and your response to it.
How you resolve inner tension makes all the difference, especially when you have a bigger vision for your life.
Think of inspiration like lightening – both follows the path of least resistance. Imagine the energy of inspiration building and bursting out towards fruition. Resistance points such as mental models, internal rules, and self-esteem get energized when struck by the energy of inspiration.
It’s natural. All the self doubt, fear, anxiety at the end of the comfort zone is your brain’s attempt at keeping you safe. The brain misinterprets “often” for safe and good, and it also identifies itself with the things, conditions, and realities of your life.
If you were a client of mine I would tell you this…
Slow down.
Now that we know what you want to create, press pause.
Observe your current reality. Notice patterns of resistance, habits, and rhythms that are less likely to produce the outcomes you desire. You know, figure out what gets in the way of living the life you wish you lived.
And then, I’d explain to you that two things keep you trapped and will for the rest of your life if you don’t figure out how to stop them from messing up your flow.
Other people’s opinions and Other people’s rules.
OPOs (Other People’s Opinions)
A mix of mirror neurons and a region of the brain help us predict what other people might do. It’s natural and a very useful. You can train your brain to be more empathetic. Learn to read people. It will make a huge difference in your experience of life.
Studies show that people hardly even notice you, the same way you hardly notice them. Unless they’re in your way. But, some ancient wiring in the brain is obsessed with acceptance and outside validation. It’s primal. And it was necessary for a few hundred thousand years.
We started out as small bans of nomadic hunter gatherers. Back then, different was dangerous. And shunned equaled death. You relied on the tribe. Knew the pecking order, and understood your place in it.
Circumstance changed. Agriculture. Renaissance. Industrial. Now….
The Information Age. The era where technology shooting up the exponential curve almost on cue with the predictions Ray Kurzweil laid out while Nirvana captured the world’s attention and looking like a out of work lumberjack seemed cool.
Human Nature hasn’t kept up.
The drive to fit in is gravitational. If your own mind doesn’t try to “keep you in your place,” your family, friends, and random trolls on the internet definitely will.
As a client of mine we’d unpack these stupid rules, and short circuit the fear mechanism that makes you afraid to do the stuff you want to do.
We’d peel the onion and uncover the space of freedom within. Tap into the Cosmic Google, your personal algorithm of fulfillment, freedom, and fun. The GPS that guides your choices and helps you make better decisions.
And we’d do this through action. We’d push the edges of your comfort zone over and over again to see how you show up to what shows up in your life. Then test strategies to retrain your brain, detach the Identity from events and outcomes, and set your Self free.
My job as your coach is to help you realize that you don’t have to search for purpose, or find your passion, and that we don’t even have to search for meaning – we can make it up as we go.
OPRs (Other People’s Rules) go hand in hand with OPOs.
“That’s just the way things are.” People say it for a few reasons. They either like how it is, they’re romanticizing the way things were, or they’re just too damn lazy to imagine or create something different.
Most people don’t even realize it could be different. Even more people can’t fathom they actually have the power to create. They can’t see how they affect the world around them.
Something in me is driven to fight for the way things could be.
I want to create a better tomorrow, through the work I do today.
“That’s the way we always do it.” Code for I’m too lazy to find a solution (or that way makes me feel good).
Most of the time those words “that’s the way we’ve always done it” precede something that’s widely inefficient and often times blatantly stupid.
Like “Time Change – spring forward, fall back – American stupidity on full display, instead of adjusting our life to be in harmony with the rhythms of nature…. some assholes years ago decided to adjust our measurement of time to match the rhythm of Industry.
Then they made a rule. And we just follow it.
Can you just hear someone say…
“Change the clock. Give ’em an extra hour of daylight. Maybe they can see the sun set a few times as they’re leaving the plant, and won’t ask for more money. Mwahhaahaha!”
Assholes.
Anyhow…
That’s how Stupid Rules work.
Every society has a lot of them. Different depending on region and dialect. But, they’re still stupid. Most of them go unnoticed until you bump up against them, and then follow them because Tradition!… or because you face consequences for not following them.
Those rules suck. They are unnecessary. And your brain is full of them.
Take all the Shoulds… Ought tos… and rules on how to be good little boys and girls. Shuffle them around like a deck of cards. Play third my favorite game — 52 Card Pick up.
bwwwwwwahhaaapp!
Let those rules fly out of your head, onto the floor. Distance yourself from them. Some are true. First principles. Identify first principles and reason out from there. Don’t pick the bullshit rules back up. Go enjoy your life.
Simple. Not easy. The brain uses all sorts of shortcuts to create reality for us, and we don’t even notice how our thinking actually gets in the way of a good time.
The brain will build a “box” to put you in – a comfort zone of discomfort. It will get you stuck in the past or convince you to live for some day. It’s human nature. You don’t have to fix it, because it’s unfixable.
You just have to train yourself to pay attention, learn, and train up some skills. You’re not broken. It’s figure-out-able.
Once you get clear on what you want to create, know the process of creating, and have an objective view of your current reality it gets a lot easier. Fun. And sometimes even feels magical.
Living a life by other people’s rules sucks.
Cultural codes, norms make little to no sense, and just perpetuate some old tribal us vs them bullshit. Other rules we built and adopted ourselves when were young as a way to process some sort of perceived trauma, slight, or hurt. All of that stands in the way of living in your own truth, in your true nature, and on purpose.
Charles Duhigg suggests that somewhere between 40-60% of each day is a programed response. Compulsion. A habit loop that your brain and biology must play out or suffer some sort of consequence.
Some people have healthy habits and programs in some areas, and not so much in others. Look at your habits, change them. Freedom waits.
If I were coaching you, I’d suggest you pay close attention to your life each day. Figure out why you do the things you do. Notice. Look for better ways of living your life. Reduce stress. Increase joy. (Pause. Get Stoked). Get on with it.
Then, I’d remind you that…
Your experience of life is filtered.
Two levels of the human mind play a big role in the set point. The rules are anchored in the Unconscious part of the mind, which control the ‘self conscious’ part.
We all have sort of a set point — comfort zone — like a thermostat in your home, the temperature will fluctuate. In the winter, when it drops a few degrees. Vrrrrrooom.
Heater kicks on. Stays on until it’s above the set point, then aaaahhhh.
The noise is gone. The room feels like home again.
I don’t know if you realize this, but hedonic tone is a real thing.
Your experience. The way your body processes information, turns it into emotions, which become thoughts, and stories is hard wired. It’s genetic. It’s also learned and practiced.
Unlearning takes time.
The process to unwind the tangled mess of other people’s rules and opinions, that mix with and become the mental models that help you make your decisions, is just that.. a process, like everything else in life – it’s a practice.
But, don’t worry, this isn’t the part where the “guru guy” starts talking about how you just need to rewrite your limiting beliefs. First, I’m not a guru, and second I don’t think limiting beliefs ever go away – and it’s a waste of precious time to try to fix stuff that isn’t broken.
Working with me we won’t waste time trying to rewire the subconscious, or any of that shit. Don’t get me wrong, I mean, I did that from one El Nino year to the next, and it worked to some degree. A very small one.
If I were teaching you how to write your own rules for living, I’d suggest that you do yourself a favor and figure out how to relax your nervous system first.
Bring your brain online. Get all three parts of your consciousness on the same page. Then, write new rules for living.
And, I’d remind you that you are not broken, you don’t need fixed, and life is messy.
Most likely, you’d need me to clarify that over and over again until you realize it’s true…
You are not broken.
Hesse taught us, what you seek is unique to you.
Personal meaning for you can not come from me, your teacher can only guide from their own experience, through the perspective of the path they took, and share principles and processes that worked for them, and that might work for you – eventually. Maybe. No guarantees.
Think in First Principles. Some values are timeless. Live by those. Some rules are universal. Identify them. And keep upgrading your experience through a process of ongoing improvements.
I would remind you that you are probably living by someone else’s rules right now and encourage you to not go to the grave life un-lived.
The good news is…
There are no Gatekeepers
Well, at least not as many as there used to be.
Gatekeepers are a relic of the past, and some still rightfully exist today. But, gone are the days where you have to wait for some authority to grant you permission to do whatever the hell it is you want to do.
Take writing for example. Used to need an agent, proof of concept, and a platform to publish a book. In 2011, I proved any idiot can publish a book – even a horribly edited book full of hyperbole.
Point is, you don’t need anyone’s permission to do most things today.
On the next page we start with “The Systems Theory of Production” and the story of how I went from feeling like a perpetual loser who could never be loved, back to my happy go luck self — and found a wife.
Then, we will kill a few sacred cows of Personal Development and discuss why you don’t actually need to believe in yourself or affirm your way to success.
If what you’ve read so far resonates, click here to continue.
If not, I hope it entertained you for a few precious minutes.
Either way, I hope you Enjoy life.
And I hope this helps.
Love your face!
Tim
PS Hey. If you like this, could you click here and copy the link to the first page and tell whoever you think it would resonate with?
It would really help out the mission for you to spread the word.