LIFESTYLE

Society really is downgrading. Even with all this modern technology, fancy gadgets and world of upgrades, the quality of life simply isn’t keeping up. Everywhere you look, people are ensnared in it.

The garbage is all around.

Instead of eating whole, natural foods we consume processed garbage. We watch garbage on TV instead of doing something more beneficial like reading an educational book, boosting our knowledge and empowering ourselves.

People view garbage on their phones and social media, rather than actually physically interacting with others. As a result they’re becoming more robotic themselves.

Society is turning us into lazy slobs. We’re ultimately to blame however, because we don’t do ourselves justice.

We conform to all the bullshit. The common excuse is convenience.

It’s more convenient to order out pizza and ice cream than it is to cook chicken, rice and veggies at home. It’s more convenient to take the car down the road to the supermarket than it is to walk. (Moaning about the heaviness of shopping is no excuse).

No matter how  hard or tough we consider ourselves, there’s no denying the fact that as humans we’re more likely to opt for the easy way out. We’re always looking for short cuts to everything.  (I’m guilty of it as well at times, just like anybody else).

Garbage is everywhere. No wonder society is falling apart.

The more of this garbage people absorb and consume, the more moronic society is becoming. It’s really quite utterly ridiculous. If things keep going humanity is going to end up as one uncommunicative wreck. (It’s happening).

Humanity is losing its grip on reality. (That’s no damn joke).

What’s the appeal with all this garbage?

What’s the solution to this situation?

Where to even begin?

START WITH YOURSELF. BETTER YOURSELF. Instead of going home tonight and sitting your comfortable touché on the couch and turning on the brainwash box (TV) pick up a book, newspaper, hell read a blog post. Something that you can get actual value from.

Better yourself. Make yourself smarter. Don’t be like every other individual that goes home after work and sits in front of the box, counting the hours till they go to bed, get up, come home from work and repeat.

It’s not really that hard to read a book instead of watching the latest episode of whatever corny show’s on.

If you hate reading, here’s a quick, simple tip.

Create a blood oath with yourself. Every night before you go to bed, read at least 1 page of a book of your choosing.

Eventually that 1 page will turn into 2,3,5, and soon enough you’ll enjoy reading.

Switch that damn mobile off every once in a while. In fact I know a guy that doesn’t take any calls after 6pm. Thats it, his cut off point. It’s distracting, disruptive and constantly an annoyance.

The worst bit is you’re in the middle of a conversation with someone and your phone goes off. You answer the call and start babbling away.

How does that make the person you’re conversing with feel?

Maybe it’s happened to you. How’d it make you feel?

I’m not saying these things are inherently bad. it’s fine to watch a little TV, spend a bit of time on social media and phones.

The problem is when it ends up taking over your life. When you’re more concerned with what happened last night on TV than the goals you’ve set yourself. If that sums you up, you need to seriously sort out your priorities.

You might not feel it now, but it’s great to be (at least a little) different than everyone else. Not to be grouped and lumbered with Tom, Dick and Harry.

Raise the bar, be a leader, don’t follow the rest of the herd. If everyone selects x, pick y. If they  take a left, take a right.

At first you may find it hard to break away from the conformity and constraints of others, but realise this. You are your own person. You have your own path in life.

Nobody in this world was meant to be exactly the same as someone else. Otherwise we’d all look the same, talk the same and be the same.

YOU’VE GOT TO GO AGAINST THE GRAIN TO BE THE ONE THAT STICKS OUT.

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD. TO DO IT YOU’VE GOT TO FIRST CHANGE YOURSELF. 

Ironic that one of the greatest speeches came from the mouth of a comedian by the name of Charlie Chaplin.

LIBERTY AND REVELATION 

I’m not a huge video game fanatic. That said, I do enjoy a select few titles. The “God Of War” series being one of them. As I sat down and played through God Of War 3 again, I had an odd thought.

In life, we must have a goal. A pursuit. Something that we strive and go the distance for. Pour our sweat and guts into achieving, so that when we take our final breath, we can leave this world with great pride and satisfaction, knowing  we discovered our purpose, acted on and realised it.

For Kratos (God Of War protagonist) the loss of his family and his quest for vengeance on all those responsible for their murder is his driving force. His purpose. He’s consumed with it and stops at nothing until he completes his objective.

Ultimately he reaches his goal, (bringing the whole of mighty Olympus crashing down in the process). Yet after all that, he’s left empty. He exacted his revenge, but nothing he could ever do would bring back his family.

Once again, he became a man without purpose. The objective had concluded. The purpose served.

What’s the whole point of this scenario?

It’s all fine and well discovering your purpose and knowing “where you want to go in life.” You maybe one of the enlightened few that actually knows where they’re headed and are actively taking all the necessary steps to get there.

But!!!

Sometimes, even after achieving your DREAM/ GOAL/ PURPOSE, you may feel a little empty. In society nowadays, people are led to believe that the next gadget/electronical gizmo will give them ever lasting happiness.

While the fun may last a day, week or month, eventually it subsides and you’re back to square one. Looking for the next “big thing” and going through the damn cycle again.

The same thing can happen with goals, aspirations and “purpose.” There are people who achieve everything they want to and yet, they’re still not truly satisfied. What they thought was their purpose and path in life, turned out to be  nothing more than a stepping-stone leading to another goal.

What they perceived as their purpose, was more of a hurdle. A little drop in the ocean. A road paving the way to their ultimate destination.

We need purpose to give life meaning. Without purpose we have no real value, and if we don’t find the value in ourselves neither will others.

Agent Smith said it best in the matrix.

“There’s no escaping reason, no denying purpose, for as we both know, without purpose we would not exist. It is purpose that created us, purpose that connects us, purpose that pulls us, that guides us, that drives us; it is purpose that defines us, purpose that binds us.”

Without purpose we can drift through life, never smelling the sweet scent of satisfaction, success and contentment. We’d never fully understand and reach our dreams and goals.

So how do you discover your true purpose in life?

Great question. Thought you’d never ask. I could bullshit you and give you the general, “When you’re happy doing what you’re doing, you’ve discovered your true calling.”

Sure it works for some people for a while. But lets face the music. We’ve all been happy doing something at one time or another, but realised that we couldn’t find ever lasting happiness and satisfaction doing it. We got some happiness and satisfaction out of it but it was only temporary.

I know people that were over the moon in a particular career, truly believing it was their purpose. They were made for the job and had found their calling in life. (Or so they thought).

Yet after some time the wild fire was reduced to a mere flame. They gradually lost interest.

The passion turned to bane. Ultimately, they changed career paths, walking down the road of self-discovery, trying to rediscover their true purpose again.

The truth is, there’s no one size fits all approach to finding purpose.

I think identifying your true purpose is as much an internal pursuit as it is external. You have to ask your self some honest questions that demand, honest, serious answers. Have the guts and respect for yourself, to answer them with total honesty, even if the results are less than satisfactory.

• How passionate/committed am I with my identified career path/endeavor/purpose?

• Could I really see myself doing it for a lifetime?

• On a scale of 1-10 (1 being lowest) how happy am I really with my perceived purpose?

• Am I willing to put everything on the line to achieve my dream?

• Am I able to enjoy the beauty in life, whilst pursuing my goals and purpose?

If you can answer all those questions honestly with the majority of answers being positive, you’re probably headed in the right direction to discovering your purpose.

This is something that you won’t figure out in one night. You may have to sit down with a pen and notepad and have a real hard think about it. This isn’t a decision that you can just blindly make. Take time, pride and enjoy the show.

Remember, it ain’t over till it’s over. As long as you’re still breathing, there’s still time for you to discover your calling.

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO IN LIFE? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW. 

DISCOVERY AND PURPOSE 

 

There’s always one rotten apple on the tree. In fact more often than not, there’s more than one. Haters. Where ever achievers go you can be damned sure they follow like moths to a flame. Allow me to fill you in on a little secret. I don’t hate haters I pity them.

Surprised?

Wondering why?

Before you fall off your chair, keep reading. I’ll explain.

You see, haters are really just confused admirers. They don’t really hate you as a person. Let’s face it, half the time they don’t know you well enough to dislike you on a personal level.

They hate on you because of what you’ve achieved or are in the process of achieving. They hate your guts. They’re afraid of the fact that you’re doing something they lacked the guts and drive to do.

When someone can’t do something themselves, they feel inadequate and inferior. They become miserable and as a result try to sabotage other people’s success. The rational being, “I’m miserable and haven’t achieved my goal, why should others achieve it.” They try and hinder your efforts.

When you look at it a little deeper and from their perspective they don’t really hate you, they actually hate themselves and their failures. Instead of getting back up and trying again, they give up and attempt to prevent others from achieving.

My definition of a hater:

H- Hopeless

A- Ashamed

T- Terrified

E- Everywhere

R- Ridiculous

 

 

So the next time a hater gets you down, remember, they don’t hate you, they’re just jealous of what you’ve achieved or are achieving, because they couldn’t do it themselves. Never let them stop you. STAY STRONG AND STAY SHARP.

PRIDE AND CONVICTION  

“ We’re all achievers in life. Some of us achieve nothing, others achieve something.” (G.K)

Muhammad Ali, Bill Gates, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Lee. The list could go on. What do all these individuals have in common?

All of them are achievers. They achieved and accomplished something in their lives that defied the constraints of the masses. You may not like them, or the methods they used to get to where they wanted to go, but you can’t deny the fact that they all achieved their dreams.

In my book this is what an achiever stands for:

A …………………… Act                                  

C ……………………  Challenge                            

H …………………..  Honest                                                                     

I ……………………. Inspire

E …………………… Environment

V …………………… Vanquish

E …………………… Earn

R …………………… Reap

 

Act

Achievers act on their ambitions and goals. Pursue them with relentless drive and dedication. (If you aren’t doing that, what are you waiting for?). Achievers don’t just talk about their goals, they follow through and chase them.

Make a move towards your goal, don’t just sit and wait for “the right moment” because it never comes. If you have an aspiration, act on it now, not later. Period!

Challenge

Achievers don’t fear the challenge. They challenge the fear. There’s no one on the face of this planet that doesn’t fear something. Whether it’s physical or mental. However, what separates  achievers from the rest of the herd is the fact that they confront their fears. (You could say, pretty much, that makes them fearless). The rest hide away, hoping like hell the problem will magically solve itself.

The bottom line is, if you want to be an achiever you’ve got to be willing to face your fear. Stare it straight in the eye and say, “To hell with you, I own you.” Not the other way around.

Honest

Achievers are honest enough to admit to their fears and weaknesses, but that doesn’t stop them from reaching their goal and climbing the succsess ladder. You’ve got to be honest enough to admit you’ve got fears. Admitting is the first step to overcoming. And it’s always those first steps which are kick in the teeth.

If you can do that, you’re already on the path to toppling your obstacle. If you can see your faults and weaknesses, you can actively take action and work on not simply improving but outright obliterating them.

Inspire 

Achievers, as a result of their own success and achievement can directly and/or indirectly inspire others. We all look up to individuals that achieved their dreams. They showed the world what they were truly made of. The drive they displayed inspires others into realising their own aspirations, no matter how insane they may sound to some people.

Environment

Achievers create and immerse themselves in the right environment, intuitive to their goals. There’s an old saying that goes something like this. “Choose your friends carefully, they say more about you than you realise.”

Your friends and the people you surround yourself with tell a whole story about you without the need for any words. They also have an impact on you directly.

Ever wanted to get something productive done and a “friend” said, “Why are you doing that? Why not sit on your butt and watch the game on TV tonight? Leave that stuff for later.” Or “lets go and booze our brains out.” What they’re really saying is, “forget doing something productive, let’s just screw around.”

Achievers forgo all that garbage, lose the useless friends that are a constant annoyance and distraction. (That doesn’t mean all friends).

The point is, if you want to be an achiever, surround yourself with like-minded people, if you want to be like filth then… (I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what to do).

Vanquish

Achievers don’t merely achieve their goals.  They completely crush them. They vanquish any obstacle in their path that stands between them and their accomplishment. Achievers have tunnel vision when it comes to their goals. Nothing will stop them from achieving success.

You have to develop that type of mindset where only your goal matters. You’ve got to commit to it 100% to really crush it. Anything less is just a half- assed attempt. Sure, you might still achieve it, but there’s no satisfaction.

Earn

Achievers earn their worth. They go out and get what they want. It’s not handed down to them on a silver platter. If you want to achieve something, go out and get it, don’t expect it to be given to you. Nothing ever just falls into your lap.

You’ve got to go out and earn it. Once you earn something you’ll value it more, because you’ve gone through all the effort to get it. Parents usually tell their children, “You’ll only appreciate something when you earn it.” And that’s so damn true.

Reap

Achievers reap the rewards of their drive, effort and relentless pursuit of their goal. The single greatest reward is of course, the realisation and achievement of their dream. There’s no feeling in the world like seeing the light at the end of a dark tunnel and to see all that effort was worth it and finally paid off.

For me that pretty much sums up an achiever.

Ready to become an achiever?

I sure as hell am, how about you? 

ACHIEVEMENT AND SATISFACTION

 

“You’re only as original as the world around you.” (G.K)

“Nothing is ever said, which has not been said before.” (Terence 195- 159 BC after being accused of borrowing from Greek dramatist Menander.)

Are you original? 

Take a moment. Re-read that to yourself. You may think you’re original, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the society we live in today it’s this, every thought or feeling you’ve probably had has been thought a million times over somewhere. From the Great lakes of Canada to the desserts of Mongolia, since the dawn of time itself.

Ever dreamt of an idea that you felt was great and wanted to act on, only to find some other windbag beat you to the punch line? (I have). Catch my drift?

Anyway, back to the main point of this outburst.

Take a look at the fitness industry, for example. There are numerous training programs out there. Each one takes from another and changes and tweaks the concepts to suit their own need calling it “our version.” They’re not genuinely inventing anything new, just molding and shaping something that’s already in existence and adding their own mark to it.

The legendary Bruce Lee studied and explored many martial art forms. He took what worked well for him personally, discarding the rest and adding his own mark to it.

 

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.” (Bruce Lee) 

“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.” (Bruce Lee)

You travel by plane when you want to visit another country. Ever stopped and asked yourself where did the genius(s) who invented this great flying machine get the idea? Let me give you a clue. What in nature flies and has feathers? (If you didn’t guess, it’s a bird. No, not the one wearing the skirt!!).

Still with me, haven’t lost you yet?

You probably have role models/individuals you look up to. Successful people who achieved something worthy of respect and attention. You try to emulate their success, don’t you? Look at that word “emulate.” Study it. What does it actually mean?

When you break it down, you’ll realise it’s just another way of saying copy. Somewhere along the line some genius thought, “the word copy sounds too rough and rugged, lets replace it with a nicer, flowery way of saying it. Lets call it emulate.”

When you say, “I’m emulating so and so”, it means you’re copying their success and trying to apply it to your own desires.

Be real and admit it!!

The only real “originality” is that you’re applying their strategy to something else and adding your own creative spin to it.

So you see, no person on this planet is 100% completely original. If they say they are, they’re lying to you. (That’s right, lying).

PONDER THIS….. ORIGINALITY?  

I believe only the 5 elements are original in their true form.

Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Aether.

What do you think?

Still think you’re original?

KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM