Unlocking Your Highest Potential: 2 Brief Lessons from Death.

Happy April 1^st Everyone! A new month, a new start, a new everything! Just the way I like it. March was not a good blogging month for me because I worked on a big project due at the end of the month, and it occupied most of my time. However, the deadline was extended so now I can breathe and relax a little bit.

Loved it! 

This weekend I finally had a chance to watch Les Miserables and I loved it because of its grand story, plethora of interesting characters, and a message of hope for tomorrow despite the wretchedness, pain, and darkness that surrounds existence. It unveiled the amazing power of love and mercy, and how one act of kindness or cruelty can ripple into the future to dramatically change the lives of people interconnected by faith, hope, and despair. And I love musicals so of course I replayed the songs on Spotify until the melodies were stitched on my brain. Despite all the death and sorrow diffused throughout Les Mis, I found it inspiring and uplifting. Ironic, I know.

This brings me to today’s topic of Death. This is not my first post on Death. However, I want to expand a little more on what can be learned from this morose truth of our lives.

Death helps one to stop sweating the small stuff.

A good friend forgot a birthday or rescinded a promise to meet-up? Sister or brother annoyed the hell of out of you because they forgot to do something important? Parents on your case about this or that, and you’ve finally hit the red zone? Boss gave you crap over something that wasn’t your fault? That important package didn’t arrive on time? Another rejection from a coveted job application? Agent? Potential love interest? An idiot made an ignorant comment about you or others? And so on and so on.

via samishra.com

These things may be small as isolated problems but do the addition and it all becomes an overwhelming mess that turns you into a sour patch kid when you expend energy on losing your cool. When I think that I’ll die tomorrow or that the person annoying me at some particular moment might die tomorrow too, that insignificant problem diminishes even further and I recover from it quickly. The steam escapes, I take a deep breath, and I choose love and calm, the path of peace and onward to bigger and better things. Because they’re really are bigger and better things out there. Ain’t nobody got time for sweating the small stuff!

Death helps one to focus on the bigger and better things.

Usually people are very concerned about safety and security, and they are within their rights to be so concerned. Nobody likes the feeling that his or her life is in danger of failure or that tomorrow looms like a big question mark. It’s easy to settle because settling usually offers a means of safety and security. Some people don’t mind settling and they’re quite content with it. Good for them. However, if you’re like me, I don’t want to settle in anything—career, life partner, dreams, etc. To settle is to throw time away, invite boredom, which is worse than death, and slowly torture and kill passion. One of my worst case scenarios is to die knowing that I had settled in the most important things, that I didn’t have the gall to take risks, dance a little with danger and uncertainty, be patient in the long journey to achieve my dreams, and attain the rewards for such courage in the midst of voices preaching reason to settle.  

I don’t want to live that way, and my decision to pursue the bigger and better things has put me in a vulnerable place. I don’t have misguided fantasies about working on what I love and rejecting stability and security through a means I know will make me unhappy. When you make a decision to pursue dreams, difficulties will come like a flood, people will talk negatively about or to you, and doubts and impatience will rise, along with the fears that you’re wasting your years on some big idea or project you can’t let go. There will be tears and grinding of the teeth. In other words, you will be tested and walk through fire. And that’s what sets you apart from others who can’t take the heat, so they settle.  

via daybreaksdevotions.wordpress.com 

However, it’s in the fire that you grow more than you ever thought you could, develop the endurance to withstand the darkest days and nights, inspire others and stand out for your uniqueness and courage, and ultimately find and receive something even grander than your dreams. If I must die, I want to die doing something above and beyond myself, not living a life of a person who settled. I want to die living, not die dying. Like Victor Hugo said, “It’s nothing to die. It is frightful not to live.” 

How about you? What has death taught you? I’d love to hear your responses!

Thanks for reading,

Sammy :)

Unlocking Your Highest Potential: Feed Your Environment to the Fishes

Happy Monday, March 11^th! I hope that you’ve been well and feel ready to conquer whatever comes your way. I know I feel that way, although times have been difficult and tiring. The most important thing is not to lose faith, stay strong, and know that better times are coming if you believe. Sometimes, I wish I could transport myself to a relaxing island where I can have some time alone to sort out my feelings, heal my mind, and soul, but of course the thing about wishes is that they’re disappointing and sometimes leave you feeling worse because you’re powerless to make them come true. The only thing you truly have power over is your mind, your attitude, and your reaction to your environment. Now, if you’re like me and have a less than ideal external conditions or are bound to them by forces beyond your control, you have to learn to feed your environment to the fishes. My circumstances have taught me that when I’m in a rough place, the most important thing I can do is live comfortably in my mind instead of trying to force my environment to bring comfort to my mind. Today, I want to share a few things I do to overcome my environment.

Go forth and conquer the obstacles to your dreams!

Draw and Invest Strength and Hope from and into Your Ideal Future

This is not just going to your happy place, nor am I suggesting that you live in the future, but rather that you give and receive power in the future you know you want to achieve someday. I’ve learned to nurture my dreams and trust them without question. Whenever a horrible situation comes up or I feel discouragement tugging at my chest, I draw strength from thinking about how my present situation does not reflect entirely who I am and who I will be. I know where I’ve been and I know where I’m going, so I don’t need to be afraid, lose hope and give up. On the contrary, I face the now with fierce determination to work hard on my current projects and not doubt about whether they’ll pan out or not. I see victory and its inevitability. Doing so helps me a ton!

Brush Aside the Excuses and Limiters

Excuses, excuses, excuses! If people adhered and believed their excuses, nothing great in this world would have ever been done. Or will be done. The same is true in our lives. I have a mountain of excuses and statistics and odds that chirp louder than birds in the morning:

It’s too difficult.

You don’t have time.

The competition is too high.

Failure is unavoidable.

The economy is too rough right now.

There are no more opportunities.

All the doors are closed.

You need a better occupation.

You should settle down.

You’re crazy. Stop before you regret it.

You need stability.

And blah blah blah blah

It’s actually quite easy for me tune this out; especially when it comes from loved ones. All I hear is Charlie Brown’s teacher when all these excuses, put downs, or negative points pour like acid on my dreams and ambitions. They’re the small fry distractions that you have to learn to brush aside and rise above from with no looking back. Excuses do not have your best interest in mind. They exist to stop you from reaching greatness, but don’t let them. You were meant to be great. Believe it, work it, and watch it happen. 

Make a Nice Home in Your Mind

I’ve said this often to myself: you can go far and wide in the world, but you cannot leave yourself behind. Since you’re stuck with yourself, it makes sense to make a nice home in your mind. Are your thoughts encouraging or aggressive? Are the conversation partners up there pleasant or vindictive? Are you served cookies with a warm blanket or given clamps for your feet and hands? Is your mind a paradise or a dungeon? Several years ago, my mind was the latter of the two. I hated living in my mind along with my environment so that made for a very unhappy life. However, now that I’ve managed to see the illusions of my negativity, open my eyes to my unlimited potential to make my dreams come true, along with trust my God-given abilities to make a good life for myself, I can say without too much doubt that I’ve made a nice place for myself in my mind. There’s still much cleaning and rearranging to do, but I must stay it’s a whole lot bearable than what it was last time, and it’s one of the main reasons why I can overcome my environment. I live in two places: the physical and mental. As long as my mental space is pleasant and I can laugh and make fun of my physical place, I can gather strength to weather my tough external situations.

So, how about you? How do you feed your environment to the fishes? Or do you? I’d love to hear your thoughts about how you overcome the outside world.

Thanks for reading,

Sammy :)

P.S. Be Brave. 

     

Feature: My Top Five Favorite Articles from Brain Pickings (So far…)

Good Day, Folks!

Happy March 3^rd! I’m excited about this month, and it actually has little to do with my birthday, which is March 26^th by the way! March is about spring and spring means new beginnings and new beginnings are what I’m all about this season. Begin anew and finish, of course. I have a list of many projects that I want to finish, and I’m marking March with a big fat X to get it all done. My music of choice this month has an epic grand sound that makes me brave –think E.S. Posthumus, Immediate, Hans Zimmer, and many more. Onward and forward!

via animals.howstuffworks.com

However, enough of my rambling, I want to feature a website today that has tingled my creativity and turn the dial high on my inspiration meter. I’m talking about Brain Pickings, and you’ve probably already heard of it. In a nutshell, Brain Pickings offers delightful servings of inspiration, advice, and thought-provoking articles from artistic and intellectual legends of the past and artists and intellectual from the now. It is a truly awesome website that I highly recommend you follow and support.  Anyway, I wanted to feature five of my favorite Brain Pickings articles so far. Enjoy!! (These selections are ordered randomly.)

1.

How to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word by Maria Popova. http://bit.ly/13MF7JH

In this article, writers aspiring for greatness receive ageless advice from Vonnegut on the craft of writing, which includes creating a voice that moves readers, makes them care, and most importantly, keeps them reading your work. My favorite is this:

“Keep it Simple

As for your use of language: Remember that two great masters of language, William Shakespeare and James Joyce, wrote sentences which were almost childlike when their subjects were most profound. ‘To be or not to be?’ asks Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The longest word is three letters long. Joyce, when he was frisky, could put together a sentence as intricate and as glittering as a necklace for Cleopatra, but my favorite sentence in his short story ‘Eveline’ is just this one: ‘She was tired.’ At that point in the story, no other words could break the heart of a reader as those three words do. Simplicity of language is not only reputable, but perhaps even sacred. The Bible opens with a sentence well within the writing skills of a lively fourteen-year-old: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and earth.’”

2.

How to Find Your Purpose and Do What You Love by Maria Popova. http://bit.ly/VwtGmx

This list of advice from many great sources helps the wanderer in the desert of no dreams and confusion take hold of a branch leading to a spring that was within our weary traveler from the beginning. My favorite is the Holstee Manifesto, which is on the lower right bar of this blog.

“This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love.”

&

“Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people, we are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once, seize them.”

3.

F. Scott Fitzgerald on the Secret of Great Writing by Maria Popova. http://bit.ly/14hnjVr

Always on the prowl for writing advice, I found these letters from Fitzgerald to an aspiring writer in her second year of college and to his daughter, Scottie, compelling and enlightening. These excerpts from the letters stuck with me the most:

“You’ve got to sell your heart, your strongest reactions, not the little minor things that only touch you lightly, the little experiences that you might tell at dinner. ”

&

“But the amateur can only realize his ability to transfer his emotions to another person by some such desperate and radical expedient as tearing your first tragic love story out of your heart and putting it on pages for people to see.”

&

“If have anything to say, anything you feel nobody has ever said before, you have got to feel it so desperately that you will find some way to say it that nobody has ever found before, so that the thing you have to say and the way of saying it blend as one matter –as indissolubly as if they were conceived together.”

4.

9 Rules for Success by British Novelist Amelia E. Barr, 1901 by Maria Popova. http://bit.ly/Y7qefH

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I’ve never heard of novelist Amelia E. Barr until I came upon this article who knows how long ago. However, I did bookmark the page, and when I finished reading it again, I remembered why I liked it so much. With my focus on super-achievement, dreams, and perseverance, Barr turns the light on in many dark spaces concerning the simplest things. I am partial to advice number six, which is pretty close to the mantra of my blog! Number 9 is a gem too: be cheerful.

“6. Everything good needs time. Don’t do work in a hurry. Go into details; it pays in every way. Time means power for your work. Mediocrity is always in a rush; but whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing with consideration. For genius is nothing more nor less than doing well what anyone can do badly.” (Bold emphasis mine.)

&

“9. Don’t fail through defects of temper and over-sensitiveness at moments of trial. One of the great helps to success is to be cheerful; to go to work with a full sense of life; to be determined to put hindrances out of the way; to prevail over them and to get the mastery. Above all things else, be cheerful; there is no beatitude for the despairing.”

5.

Anton Chekhov on the 8 qualities of cultured people by Maria Popova. http://bit.ly/13zNJG7

This article surprised me—pleasantly of course. What I thought would be a list of stuck-up attitudes to uphold or access to resources afforded by wealth ended up stating qualities found in endless reservoir of our hearts. These are some of my favorite lines take from the various numbers: Cultured people…

“They do not pose, they behave in the street as they do at home, they do not show off before their humbler comrades. They are not given to babbling and forcing their uninvited confidences on others. Out of respect for other people’s ears they more often keep silent than talk.”

&

“They do not disparage themselves to rouse compassion. They do not play on the strings of other people’s hearts so that they may sigh and make much of them. They do not say “I am misunderstood,” or “I have become second-rate,” because all this is striving after cheap effect, is vulgar, stale, false….”

&

“The truly talented always keep in obscurity among the crowd, as far as possible from advertisement…. Even Krylov has said that an empty barrel echoes more loudly than a full one.”

So, what do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!!

thanks for reading,

Sammy :)

Unlocking Your Highest Potential: Don’t be Afraid or Embarrassed by Your Dreams.

Hello Folks!

I chose this topic to be next because it’s something that I personally need to tackle, and it addresses a problem surrounding mindset as well. The mind is pretty powerful because it puts into motion our habits that in turn influence our future. 

"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit. Watch your habits; they become characters. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." ~Lao Tzu 

via thinkpositive30.com

SO, our heroine Amy talks to someone for the first time at some function or other, and this person decides to the pop the question. No, not that one. This one. “So Amy, what are your dreams?” Amy chuckles nervously, widens her eyes, and torments her brain for an answer that won’t elicit a laugh, look of puzzlement, or snort from her new neighbor. 

“Possibly start my own business?” comes her reply with a shrug and little side eye glance. She smiles but knows deep down that her dream is more than to start a business. She desires to start her own media company that will enlist a slew of great, inspiring female artists from all backgrounds and walks of life so that they can be a more prominent voice in the male-dominated mediaverse.

So, why doesn’t she tell the whole truth instead of serving up a tame version? Maybe it’s the possibility of rejection. Maybe it’s the possibility that the person will throw down unsupportive words, take her dream apart and point to the holes and obstacles, or even feel uncomfortable hearing such grand proclamations. 

But it’s a stranger, why should she care? It’s surprising to discover the great lengths we take for people, sometimes people we don’t know, to accept us, to not fear or reject us because in reality, we really are that amazing, fierce, and powerful. The human spirit, once properly harnessed, is a frightening force that can achieve whatever it desires.

But how about the people we care about? Ever notice how parents, family members, and sometimes even friends hardly ask us what our dreams are? We usually get questions like:

“What’s the next step?”

“What are your plans?”

“What kind of job are you looking for?”   

“What career are you thinking about?”

“What’s your priority move right now?”

Or this awful statement:

“Here, let me tell you what you should do.”

We get these questions if we’re lucky because other times family and friends want to prescribe their own life plan for us or tell us what we should be interested in without even asking for our input, which is the worst.  No wonder we’re so embarrassed or afraid to talk about our dreams. It’s just not a topic that comes up as often as it should within our circles. Is it possible that we’re also afraid of asking other people what their dreams are? Sometimes people dodge hearing about other people’s dreams because it reveals something lacking in their own dream setting attempts. And the minute people start talking about dreams, everyone’s favorite phrase of death always manages to creep in. “Be realistic.” John Eliot says, “As soon as anyone starts telling you to be ‘realistic,’ cross that person off your invitation list.”

I don’t take his words to mean to completely cut off those who don’t support our dreams, but rather to give them some well needed space. Celestine Chua offers similar words of wisdom and encourages that we stay away from the naysayers, the doomsday proclaimers, and all around negative soul suckers.  That’s not to say that our lives should be solely driven by blind, unintelligent passion. It helps if there’s a sound structure and plan to our dreams, of course.

The most important thing is not to feel discouraged or shirk from dreaming big because we can’t see the whole picture of how it all comes together, especially in this horrible worldwide economy of ours where jobs are scarce, opportunities appear bleak, and hope is close to running on empty. However, it is particularly in these dark, depressing times that we dare to dream the biggest, boldest, and most ambitious. Instead of allowing our insecurities, weaknesses, and other people’s opinions influence our actions, we should challenge, and yes, even scare ourselves into supporting our dreams and sharing them without shame. I see my dreams as children, an extension of myself that I want to protect.

Now, that's what I call courage. via icanhasinternets.com

Remember, the results, success or failure, don’t matter right now. What matters is the now, the process in getting to where we want to be. Because it’s when we focus all our energy in doing instead of fearing and analyzing that the achievement part happens, sometimes without us realizing. So, to end, the next time we’re asked about our dreams, we can let the words slide out without fear or shame because who knows? Maybe sharing your dream might just help another person embrace and share his or her own dream too.

How about you? What are some ways that you gather courage for your dreams? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Next week: Be Honest with Yourself.

Thanks for reading,

Sammy :)

Unlocking Your Highest Potential: It all Begins and Ends with the State of Your Mind.

Hello Folks! 

I never cease to be amazed by how much I’ve changed in the past five years. Before, I was painfully timid, insecure, and hopeless about my dreams and future direction in life. A decision to change and a fresh new perspective on my faith drastically turned things around, and now I’m on this inspiring journey to unlock my highest potential and purge negativity and needless suffering from my life. I also have more confidence and motivation to pursue my dreams without fear or self-doubts. And even when I have to endure life’s harsh reality, it hardly perturbs my laser focus on where I want to go and what I want to accomplish. Today, I want to share the first of seven things I’ve learned about unlocking potential. I hope these posts will serve as reminders for whenever we find ourselves lost and wandering, but never hopeless.

via odewire.com

It all Begins and Ends with the State of Your Mind.

Before you dive into all the steps available out there to increase your productivity, maximize the output of your time, or even understand what you want to do with your life, you have to make sure your mind is in the right state to foster all those dreams, motivate you to act, and charge forward like an angry elephant when everything in life tries to push you back into mediocrity and boring existence. Several days ago, I started reading Overachievement by John Eliot, Ph.D. during my subway rides to work. I’m more than two-thirds done with the book, but already I’ve taken away substantial points he makes about what sets exceptional people apart from ordinary people; what the smart overachiever does over the burnt-out and zealous underachiever. I can’t reveal too much, but I’ll give you enough so you can read the book yourself. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, exceptional, highly successful people are able to reach their highest potential by possessing what Eliot calls the “Trusting Mindset” as opposed to the “Training Mindset” of the mediocre.  The “Trusting Mindset” is in the moment and pays no attention to judgment, second-guesses, criticism, over-analysis, rationality, result-orientation, or impatience. It’s not something as superficial as blocking out all these things that are ever present in your mind, but rather zeroing on what needs to be done right now without allowing the rational part of your mind to interfere and undermine the legitimacy of your actions.

Patience, letting things happen, instincts, acceptance, playfulness, and an empty mind are some of the tenants of the “Trusting Mindset”. Ever notice that when reading a really good book, you are chin deep into the moment that when some unfortunate soul comes up to tap you on the shoulder from behind, you jump like you’ve just seen a zombie ready tear at your flesh, or in my case, I become a harpy and yell, “What do you want?” The “Trusting Mindset” is like that except you’re deep into whatever it is you’re doing to achieve your dreams, and anything that isn’t part of helping you get to your destination is irrelevant. 
          As you can guess, the “Training Mindset” is all about the components that the “Trusting Mindset” ignores as it achieves success. The “Training Mindset” has it place when you’re in school or going through the training you need to achieve your dreams, but when it’s time to perform you have to leave the “Training Mindset” behind and take hold of the “Trusting Mindset.”

There’s more. Eliot says exceptional people don’t put on many different suits for the many different occasions in life that come up. They have a mind focused on achieving whatever their dream may be no matter the obstacles, no matter what people say, no matter the number of failures, and no matter their external conditions—they have that scary confidence that they will make it. Again: I. Will. Make. It. 
         Another thing: exceptional people relish and utilize stress for their success. Not worry or anxiety, but stress: the butterflies in your stomach kind of stress; the high stakes; the numerous eyes on you, watching your every move; the feeling that your guts are boiling; the heartbeat in your throat; and your mind high and alert in the moment. This is not the time to get yourself relaxed and de-stressed, it's time to go with the flow and act! It is exactly at this moment  that the “Trusting Mindset” is essential because the minute you lose yourself in analysis, results, being calm and rational, and double guessing, you fall and fall hard. 

via wallpaperswide.com

Before I end on this segment, I also want to add a little of what Celestine Chua has to say from her amazing website, Personal Excellence, about your state of mind when achieving your dreams. One of her most important points is to channel your inner desires to motivate you rather than rely on external factors for motivation and inspiration. Sometimes you try to change your settings by moving from one place to another, or even leaving the country, but you still have the same problems you left behind in your previous location. It doesn’t work. No matter where you go, you can’t escape yourself. Or other times you force discipline into your life, think that if you get rid of your laziness, or even stop thinking negatively, you’ll achieve your goals or dreams. However, the steps you take to counter these problems are short-lived, and you eventually return back to where you started. You have to make an effort to understand the deeper meanings behind the culprits that cripple your actions and dreams or drown you in a negative mindset. Once you target the root of the problem instead of tackling surface obstacles, you can move on confidently to your destination. The big difference is now you move forward and act without feeling bored, unhappy, or worried because the purpose you’ve uncovered fuels your actions.

To end, just remember that the state of your mind can be your most powerful ally on the course to achieve your dreams, or, if you’re not careful and aware, it can be your greatest enemy.

Next week’s topic: Don’t be Afraid or Embarrassed by Your Dreams.

How about you? How do you get your mind in the right state to achieve your dreams? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading,

Sammy  :)

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