Whatever a great man does ordinary people will follow;
Whatever standard he sets everyone else will follow.
- Bhagavad Gita 3.21
Recently a friend of mine presented me with a radically simple idea that changed my entire outlook on life and my own personal potential for living it. My view on human potential is straight forward for all people - we all have unlimited ability to be, and to create anything we choose. The power behind the choice comes from the choice itself, and the belief that whatever we choose for ourselves we deserve to experience. The only thing that limits our potential is the beliefs we carry about the particular thing we desire. If you want something bad enough, envision yourself having that thing or being that which you desire, what it would feel like to possess it, what it would taste like or smell like etc... Once you have envisioned having that thing or being that person, simply choose to be that which you envisioned from this point on - live out that idea every second of every minute of every hour of every day. If you decide to BE what it is you desire most, you'll eventually have what you wanted most to start with. Life is nothing but the experience of creation, bending over backwards to give us our deepest and most inspiring desires! To get back to my original idea that changed my outlook... I realized the disconnect in my life between what I wanted and what I was getting could be found in the effort I had been giving my entire life towards achieving whatever goal I was pursuing. My friend asked me point blank, "Mason, do you give 100% effort to achieving success in whatever aspect of life you are going after?" My immediate response was a resounding YES, but as I internalized what her question really meant, I realized I hadn't been, and going back as far as I could remember my effort was never really exhausted. The major breakdown for me came in the form of never really knowing what my personal best was and what that looked like when represented. My entire life I based my effort off of those who surrounded me and off of what was acceptable for the situation at hand. I had been living a life based on what was seen as good by others, not what I saw as my 100%
A teacher I had in High School used to say, "It's not that I'm any better than anyone else, I just do what's expected of me given the specific task, which naturally separates me from everyone else involved." That is the attitude I had been using my entire life, that attitude served only enough to keep my living, not thriving. That attitude will serve the masses in this increasingly mediocre world and job force, but what I want for my life is not to be sufficient but magnificent! If you want more from life and you can't understand why the breaks just aren't falling your way, maybe you aren't giving YOUR personal best. If you're like I was, you based your effort off of what others put forth.
If you wish to reach for the stars, learning how to fly with the eagles is essential. We all know successful people in our lives, a major similarity that all of these men and women share in common is they all give their personal best, no matter what, no matter when. Giving your absolute best in the areas of life you wish to excel in is what separates the leader from the follower, the world-changer from those beaten down by the world.
I challenge all of you to look inside yourself and ask if you're giving your very best or just enough to pass off as sufficient. If you're like I was, make the choice to live and BE differently from here on out!
I believe in you!
YOU have what it takes to change the world!
At the root of all things we are all of the same being anyway, meaning we all have the potential to be great. Those who are already great have decided to make the choice to be, they decided to be magnificent.
Until next time...
Peace and LOVE
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