The pressures of the world are omnipresent, they never let up. The temptations to act as other do, to believe what seems to be true for them, to escape the consequences of being who you really are get easier. Not for us, though.
The fortunate among us have had mentors and guides who step us through life’s most difficult phases and choices. In walking that path, we determine who we are, what values we hold, where the sacred grove begins, what sacrifice smells the sweetest on the altar. That’s only part of the journey, though.
Throughout our life’s path, we are pulled here and back again, tempted with a new way of doing things, offered shortcuts to reach the treasured outcome, but always with the subtle message that a new path is just like the old path. “Where’s the harm? the seductive inner voice whispers. How do we fortify ourselves to resist it?
Remember who you aren’t.
When you decide who you are, you are also making a choice as to who you aren’t. Are you someone who values truth? Then you are also someone who resolves to tell no falsehood. Is attentive affection a gold ring for you? Then you choose not to ignore your loved ones in a fit of laziness or self-gratification. Are you an intelligent steward of all that’s been given to you? Then you are also generous from recognizing how much is yours that once wasn’t.
Remember who you aren’t.
If the mantra used to be “I am …,” brush the nuance of “I am not …” across its canvas and see what depths you discover in yourself.
We never mature until we know who we are … and who we aren’t.
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
— Neil Gaiman
Several years ago I read Profit First by Mike Michalowicz and it quickly became one of my go-to recommendations for those who hadn’t read it or weren’t implementing its wisdom in their businesses. It’s a time honored principle of the wealthy to “Pay yourself first,” but so many business owners pay everyone else first and live on what’s left over. That’s a recipe for future poverty, Mike knew it and put together a system that anyone cause to extract the profit from their businesses.
My very good friend, David Richter, also read the book and drawing on his years of accounting practice where the majority of his clients were real estate investors, decided to take the principles in the book and hone them down to audience that he knew needed to hear that message. He teamed up with Michalowicz to write Profit First for Real Estate Investors, and I think they nailed it.
I was a guest on David’s podcast this week and had a wide ranging discussion on how to implement Profit First, what happens when you do, what happens when you don’t and some others lessons along the way! Give it a listen here!
“As smoking is to the lungs, so is resentment to the soul; even one puff is bad for you.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert
One of the most powerful videos I’ve seen in awhile. The Rabbi makes a great point that our holding onto resentment is like wanting to have cancer over and over. This will speak to your soul.