Philosophy
“The point of philosophy is to become a better person.”
The problem I’m trying to solve is wasted talent, because I don’t want to live the wrong life and then die filled with regret. I’m trying to solve this problem by practicing a philosophy that was handed down to us by our ancestors.
Their philosophy says that life is the quest to unleash human potential by allowing your decisions and actions to flow from your conscience because your conscience knows the path that will challenge you to embody your most courageous, most authentic, most excellent self.
To be successful in this quest, you must develop the skills that unleash human potential.
Courage - Align your decisions and actions with hope and wonder so you never surrender your quest to the temptations of status, comfort, or pleasure.
Authenticity - Align your decisions and actions with your unique set of gifts and skills so you can contribute something meaningful to your community.
Accountability - Hold yourself to a high standard because how you do anything is how you do everything, and once you start cutting corners, when will you stop?
Discipline - Remember what you really want, then prioritize your decisions and actions accordingly.
Sacrifice - Let go of something meaningful so you can reach for what is most meaningful.
Flow - Form a distraction free connection with your conscience because your conscience is the voice that calls you to be your most courageous, most authentic, most excellent self, and calls you out when you fall short.
Flow is the optimal state of human consciousness. You can recognize this state of consciousness by the strange passage of time. Time either seems to slow down and allow you to make decisions and take action faster than everyone around you, or the sensation of time passing becomes warped. You look at the clock to realize that an hour has passed during what felt like only a few minutes. Flow is accompanied by a sense of tranquility. When your decisions and actions flow directly from your conscience, you become the embodiment of your most courageous, most authentic, and most excellent self.
“Follow your bliss.”
The enemy of flow is distraction, and distraction comes in multiple forms: ego, fear, and id. Ego is the voice that tempts you to sacrifice everything for status and acceptance. Fear is the voice that tempts you to sacrifice everything for comfort and safety. Id is the voice that tempts you to sacrifice everything for pleasure. Distraction is the cause of wasted talent.
“Everybody acts out a myth, but very few people know what their myth is. And you should know what your myth is because it might be a tragedy and maybe you don’t want it to be.”
You may be asking yourself where this philosophy comes from. Our ancestors handed us these insights through a pattern of storytelling that Joseph Campbell called “The Hero’s Journey.”
You’ve watched dramatized versions of the Hero’s Journey many times. “The Wizard of Oz,” “Star Wars,” “The Matrix,” “Harry Potter,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Avatar,” “Passing Strange,” and pretty much every movie produced by Pixar.
You can also watch documentary versions of this story: “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” “Free Solo,” “The Dawn Wall,” “The Alpinist,” or pretty much any episode of “Chef’s Table.” These are the true stories of real human beings who successfully navigated the path at the edge of uncertainty.
“My life has been a path at the edge of uncertainty… You don’t grow on a secure path… All of us should conquer something in life, and it needs a lot of work, and it needs a lot of risk. In order to grow and to improve, you need to be there a bit - at the edge of uncertainty..”
The Hero’s Journey is the story of an ordinary protagonist who is confronted by a problem that forces them to set aside distractions and focus on their true priorities as dictated by their own conscience. Once their priorities are properly focused, the protagonist can then develop the necessary skills and make the necessary sacrifices to successfully navigate their unique path at the edge of uncertainty. That path challenges them to embody their most courageous, most authentic, most excellent self, because that is the only person who can solve the problem that set the journey in motion. When the protagonist truly embodies courage, authenticity, and excellence, they become a hero. A hero is someone whose spirit outlives their body because their excellent example inspires the decisions and actions of the generations that follow.
“Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of human life.”
Aim up, and give all that you have. Never surrender your quest to your ego, to your fear, or to your id because the saddest thing in life is wasted talent. Wasted talent leads to regret, then shame, then despair, then Hell. Hell is when the body outlives the spirit.
I’ve been trying to understand this philosophy my whole life. As a young boy, I felt hero stories were much more than mere entertainment, but I couldn’t put the feeling into words until now. I’m 50 years old.
I’m trying to live this way, and hoping to inspire others who have the desire to live this way because we are all on the same difficult journey. It is the journey to form a distraction free connection with your conscience so your decisions and actions can flow from the courage, authenticity, and excellence at the core of your being. This is how I’m trying to live my life, and I need your help because I can’t do it alone. We need each other because you can’t do it alone either.
Would you like to be the hero of your own journey? Would you like to surround yourself with a community who supports your quest? Would you like to develop the skills you need to unleash your potential? Would you like to enter the arena and leave all of your effort on the field? If you want to be the hero of your own journey, if you want to practice this philosophy, you’ve come to the right place.
This is your call to adventure. Will you answer the call?