Saturday, December 19, 2009
Reality Reconstruction! Are you ready for it?
The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!
Considering pursuing your passion? Interested in launching your own business? Setting a challenging life goal? Intent on stimulating a national economy? Congratulations, and best of success to you! I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t prepare you for some of the consequences of the path you’re about to embark upon. If what you are considering is something that will take you to places others are afraid to journey, then there is going to be a price to pay for acting on ideas that go against the norm. In addition to the ridicule and rejection you may face from friends and family, there will also be some cosmic forces at work which may seem to be blocking you.
Many of us don’t recognize how the universe works. Here’s an illustration: if you are living in a house and wish to build a bigger better house, it may be necessary to demolish the existing house down to its foundation before you start building anew. In much the same way, once this creative universe we live in gets its orders from you that you want to change your reality, mysterious forces are set in motion that begin making the necessary changes in your life. If you’ve been living with people who think negatively and are going nowhere in their lives, you may find yourselves arguing more frequently. Or it may suddenly dawn on you that a person whom you thought you knew, has grown in an entirely different direction from where you now find yourself. You may have to make some hard decisions about who to keep with you on your journey, and who to leave by the roadside. If not, these individuals may hold you back from reaching your dreams. Go on without them, and if later you decide you still want their friendship, you can always come back and get them.
Similarly, if you’ve found yourself in a nowhere job, and you wish for the fulfillment and freedom of pursuing your passion, don’t be surprised if things start happening which lead to a (forced or voluntary) separation from your present place of employment.
These strange forces which first appear to be creating chaos in your life are part a phenomenon I call "reality reconstruction," and it usually happens right after a new reality is wished for and committed to in a significant way.
I witnessed this phenomenon firsthand in one of my business ventures several years ago. Within a few days of signing someone into my network marketing business, some "catastrophe" would invariably befall them. It might have been an illness, a fight with a spouse, a car accident, or some seemingly random event. At first I thought I was jinxed, or worse, that I was jinxing my new business partners. I soon came to realize, however, exactly what was going on: their realities were being reconstructed.
We live in a receptive and constructive universe that responds to our thoughts. When you say you want a better life, visualize and set goals accordingly, things naturally start to happen to bring you the life you desire. (Really! It’s true!) What happens, however, is that most people miss the clues, and interpret the ensuing chaos, tension, stress, turmoil, strained relationships, disagreements, disappointments, betrayals and lack of support from those we love as an indication that they’ve made a bad decision. Or worse, they fail to see the connection the new way of thinking is having on relationships and environment, and get distracted putting out these seemingly unexpected, and unrelated fires in their lives.
Interestingly, "reality reconstruction" doesn’t affect everyone to the same degree. Some people meet their dreams at a point in life after they’ve gone through the necessary preparation and personal growth. For those people, it can be a smooth transition into their dreams. However, of those it does affect, many fall by the wayside, overwhelmed by the unexpected changes in life, while others see it and embrace it for what it is, a reality reconstruction in progress.
The reality reconstruction that ensues by following a passion can mean ups and downs, uncertainty of regular income, having to make late payments, having your lights turned off, having your telephone disconnected, and maybe even homelessness. I recall the months where I was basically homeless and living on my friend’s couch and running my business from his living room. I knew that this was a temporary reality that I needed to experience to get to the success on the other side. Nothing motivates like desperation. And for some of us, experiencing dire straits is the only way we’ll ever develop the inner strength to really do what’s necessary to succeed as entrepreneurs. Are you prepared for any of the possible reconstructive realities that you may experience while you build your life anew?
I know of people who say they could never go through those kinds of experiences. If they happen to be married with children, they add that being single would make such changes easier. In response, I encourage people not to let their reason for doing a thing be their excuse for not doing it. In other words, many people crave the Passion Profit Life-style so they can spend more time with their children, but use the "responsibility" of providing for their children as the reason for not taking the risk to succeed.
I know of one woman with three children and a husband who quit her high-paying job to pursue her passion of being a writer. She ended up homeless and on public assistance (kids, husband and all) just before her big break--a six-figure publishing contract--came along. She didn’t let the downs get her down, and she realized that all things "come to pass." That is, they have come so that they can pass... (IF you gain the lessons they bring with them). She knew that sunshine follows the rain; that there’s always the seed of victory within every defeat; and that sometimes it’s necessary to hit bottom, before you can bounce back up.
So, as we move forward as individuals, as nations, and as a world community; and as we embrace the new buzzword of "change" as the platform of the new leadership, let us remember that change comes with a few challenges of reconstruction. If we are prepared for these ups and downs, we will have a better attitude, more realistic expectations, and consequently a better chance of achieving the goals we’ve set for ourselves!!
To build a better life, my friend
here’s something that I’ve found
things might just get a little worse
before they turn around.
The reason is you’ve spent your life
constructing woes and troubles
In breaking down those structures
you’ll find chaos often doubles
The fights increase, the tension mounts
close friends you may estrange
The world you’ve made is falling
so some things are bound to change
The thoughts you keep have shifted
and so too whom you attract
Let all the players clear the stage
make way for life’s new act
You’ll face this choice in life
each time you go against the grain:
Let go and risk it all,
or seek my comfort in the pain?
If better’s what you seek
then face life’s turmoil without fear
The reconstruction crisis
is a signal change is near!
Considering pursuing your passion? Interested in launching your own business? Setting a challenging life goal? Intent on stimulating a national economy? Congratulations, and best of success to you! I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t prepare you for some of the consequences of the path you’re about to embark upon. If what you are considering is something that will take you to places others are afraid to journey, then there is going to be a price to pay for acting on ideas that go against the norm. In addition to the ridicule and rejection you may face from friends and family, there will also be some cosmic forces at work which may seem to be blocking you.
Many of us don’t recognize how the universe works. Here’s an illustration: if you are living in a house and wish to build a bigger better house, it may be necessary to demolish the existing house down to its foundation before you start building anew. In much the same way, once this creative universe we live in gets its orders from you that you want to change your reality, mysterious forces are set in motion that begin making the necessary changes in your life. If you’ve been living with people who think negatively and are going nowhere in their lives, you may find yourselves arguing more frequently. Or it may suddenly dawn on you that a person whom you thought you knew, has grown in an entirely different direction from where you now find yourself. You may have to make some hard decisions about who to keep with you on your journey, and who to leave by the roadside. If not, these individuals may hold you back from reaching your dreams. Go on without them, and if later you decide you still want their friendship, you can always come back and get them.
Similarly, if you’ve found yourself in a nowhere job, and you wish for the fulfillment and freedom of pursuing your passion, don’t be surprised if things start happening which lead to a (forced or voluntary) separation from your present place of employment.
These strange forces which first appear to be creating chaos in your life are part a phenomenon I call "reality reconstruction," and it usually happens right after a new reality is wished for and committed to in a significant way.
I witnessed this phenomenon firsthand in one of my business ventures several years ago. Within a few days of signing someone into my network marketing business, some "catastrophe" would invariably befall them. It might have been an illness, a fight with a spouse, a car accident, or some seemingly random event. At first I thought I was jinxed, or worse, that I was jinxing my new business partners. I soon came to realize, however, exactly what was going on: their realities were being reconstructed.
We live in a receptive and constructive universe that responds to our thoughts. When you say you want a better life, visualize and set goals accordingly, things naturally start to happen to bring you the life you desire. (Really! It’s true!) What happens, however, is that most people miss the clues, and interpret the ensuing chaos, tension, stress, turmoil, strained relationships, disagreements, disappointments, betrayals and lack of support from those we love as an indication that they’ve made a bad decision. Or worse, they fail to see the connection the new way of thinking is having on relationships and environment, and get distracted putting out these seemingly unexpected, and unrelated fires in their lives.
Interestingly, "reality reconstruction" doesn’t affect everyone to the same degree. Some people meet their dreams at a point in life after they’ve gone through the necessary preparation and personal growth. For those people, it can be a smooth transition into their dreams. However, of those it does affect, many fall by the wayside, overwhelmed by the unexpected changes in life, while others see it and embrace it for what it is, a reality reconstruction in progress.
The reality reconstruction that ensues by following a passion can mean ups and downs, uncertainty of regular income, having to make late payments, having your lights turned off, having your telephone disconnected, and maybe even homelessness. I recall the months where I was basically homeless and living on my friend’s couch and running my business from his living room. I knew that this was a temporary reality that I needed to experience to get to the success on the other side. Nothing motivates like desperation. And for some of us, experiencing dire straits is the only way we’ll ever develop the inner strength to really do what’s necessary to succeed as entrepreneurs. Are you prepared for any of the possible reconstructive realities that you may experience while you build your life anew?
I know of people who say they could never go through those kinds of experiences. If they happen to be married with children, they add that being single would make such changes easier. In response, I encourage people not to let their reason for doing a thing be their excuse for not doing it. In other words, many people crave the Passion Profit Life-style so they can spend more time with their children, but use the "responsibility" of providing for their children as the reason for not taking the risk to succeed.
I know of one woman with three children and a husband who quit her high-paying job to pursue her passion of being a writer. She ended up homeless and on public assistance (kids, husband and all) just before her big break--a six-figure publishing contract--came along. She didn’t let the downs get her down, and she realized that all things "come to pass." That is, they have come so that they can pass... (IF you gain the lessons they bring with them). She knew that sunshine follows the rain; that there’s always the seed of victory within every defeat; and that sometimes it’s necessary to hit bottom, before you can bounce back up.
So, as we move forward as individuals, as nations, and as a world community; and as we embrace the new buzzword of "change" as the platform of the new leadership, let us remember that change comes with a few challenges of reconstruction. If we are prepared for these ups and downs, we will have a better attitude, more realistic expectations, and consequently a better chance of achieving the goals we’ve set for ourselves!!
To build a better life, my friend
here’s something that I’ve found
things might just get a little worse
before they turn around.
The reason is you’ve spent your life
constructing woes and troubles
In breaking down those structures
you’ll find chaos often doubles
The fights increase, the tension mounts
close friends you may estrange
The world you’ve made is falling
so some things are bound to change
The thoughts you keep have shifted
and so too whom you attract
Let all the players clear the stage
make way for life’s new act
You’ll face this choice in life
each time you go against the grain:
Let go and risk it all,
or seek my comfort in the pain?
If better’s what you seek
then face life’s turmoil without fear
The reconstruction crisis
is a signal change is near!
Labels: changing my life, Passion
(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)
What's My Passion, and other frequently asked questions
What's My Passion, and other frequently asked questions
By WALT F.J. GOODRIDGE
The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!
Your passion is not just any entrepreneurial business idea that makes you money. There’s a big difference between turning your passion into profit, and simply turning a profit. Any business can make you money. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with finding a lucrative business and using it to create the reality you dream of. In fact, if more people would simply do that, the level of happiness in the world would increase tenfold. However, a passion-centered business answers to a higher calling. Even profitable business vehicles will often fail to sustain your interest, and eventually fail simply because they are not meeting your spiritual needs. You may have some success, but may still end up looking for something else later. It's that something else that we seek in this chapter.
A passion is also NOT someone else’s idea of what you should be doing. Even though you can and will use other people’s observations about your talents and strengths in figuring out your passion, the final choice should be something that you decide is important to you. "My dad thinks I'd make a great doctor" is not a valid reason to pursue that profession. A passion cannot be an obligation or someone else’s vision for you. It must be yours and yours alone.
A JOB BY ANY OTHER NAME
One of the most common tendencies people have when they start thinking about doing something they love is to start looking to standard professions. They hold out the hope that changing professions will offer them a means of escape from the monotony and lack of fulfillment of their present form of incarceration, er, I mean employment. Unaccustomed to thinking about making money in ways other than those with names like lawyer, social worker and accountant, they make choices within those boxes.
It's time, however, to think outside the box. As you search for your passion, don't make the mistake of simply trading one form of employment for another. While it's true that some jobs may be more satisfying than others, and that you can get degrees of fulfillment from various forms of employment, what we're doing here is something completely different. We're not looking for an existing box within which to fit ourselves. We're starting with our dreams, and making our own box from scratch.
YOUR DESIRE IS YOUR RESUME; RESULTS ARE YOUR DEGREE
To live the Passion Profit lifestyle, no resume is needed. There are no pre-qualifications, just your natural gifts, talents and interests. The lack of formal education or degrees will not exclude you as long as you have a willingness to learn. Your desire is the only resume you'll need.
In addition, there's no degree required for what you do naturally. Your ability to create the results you promise through your passion is the only validation and certification that others want to see to feel safe buying from you or hiring you.
WHAT IF I HAVE TOO MANY PASSIONS?
Here is my best advice for those who are overwhelmed by the many things they like to do. In choosing a passion to pursue, it’s not important what you choose, but simply that you choose. You are not obligated to stick with this decision for the rest of your life. Following your passion is like taking a journey. Each decision is a station along the way.
Each choice is a single step in a thousand mile journey. That’s why it’s vitally important to simply head in the direction of your passion, because the journey is the most important thing. Six months from now you may be an entirely different person with different needs, desires and motivations that may require completely new passions to express. Don't be paralyzed by thinking that your decision is written in stone, or that you are excluding all the other things that interest you. You are simply taking the critical first step. . Go forth boldly knowing that you can change your mind and your direction at any time.
WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE A PASSION?
The answer: EVERYONE has a passion. The fact that you exist is your guarantee that you do. Your passion is who you are. Everything about you is an expression of your passion. Your love is the expression of your passion. Your enthusiasm is the expression of your passion. Your fear is an expression of your passion. Your desires are the expressions of your passion. Every thought you’ve ever had of new ways to express yourself is your passion speaking to you. Every feeling that has ever passed through you that beckons you to be, do and have more is an expression of your passion.
Your passion is the reason and rhyme for why you are here. It reveals the underlying theme of your life and the role you have chosen to play in this drama called life. Your passion is what guides your decisions in all of your choices. Your passion communicates its existence through that still small voice within you when you choose to listen.
The opposite of a life lived with passion, is a life of desperation, misery, frustration and unhappiness. It is a life that appears confusing, chaotic and out of control. It is a life perfectly described by Henry David Thoreau, who said "the mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." So, if you’re experiencing any of those feelings, it's a sure sign that you do in fact have a passion that is seeking attention and expression.
So, the question is not whether you have a passion, but how do you discover it. You can discover your passion if you know which questions to ask, and then answer them honestly. That is what the Discovery Exercises are designed to accomplish. Any one of the exercises may hold the key to helping you find your passion.
Many people report experiencing breakthroughs simply by asking themselves the question in the first exercise: "What do I want?” For many people, that question is one they have never really answered. Allowing their own desires to be brought to the forefront of their minds, opens up limitless possibilities that, quite literally, changes lives!
The foregoing is an excerpt from Turn Your Passion Into Profit. Find out more about the Discovery Exercises online at www.passionprofit.com
The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!
Your passion is not just any entrepreneurial business idea that makes you money. There’s a big difference between turning your passion into profit, and simply turning a profit. Any business can make you money. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with finding a lucrative business and using it to create the reality you dream of. In fact, if more people would simply do that, the level of happiness in the world would increase tenfold. However, a passion-centered business answers to a higher calling. Even profitable business vehicles will often fail to sustain your interest, and eventually fail simply because they are not meeting your spiritual needs. You may have some success, but may still end up looking for something else later. It's that something else that we seek in this chapter.
A passion is also NOT someone else’s idea of what you should be doing. Even though you can and will use other people’s observations about your talents and strengths in figuring out your passion, the final choice should be something that you decide is important to you. "My dad thinks I'd make a great doctor" is not a valid reason to pursue that profession. A passion cannot be an obligation or someone else’s vision for you. It must be yours and yours alone.
A JOB BY ANY OTHER NAME
One of the most common tendencies people have when they start thinking about doing something they love is to start looking to standard professions. They hold out the hope that changing professions will offer them a means of escape from the monotony and lack of fulfillment of their present form of incarceration, er, I mean employment. Unaccustomed to thinking about making money in ways other than those with names like lawyer, social worker and accountant, they make choices within those boxes.
It's time, however, to think outside the box. As you search for your passion, don't make the mistake of simply trading one form of employment for another. While it's true that some jobs may be more satisfying than others, and that you can get degrees of fulfillment from various forms of employment, what we're doing here is something completely different. We're not looking for an existing box within which to fit ourselves. We're starting with our dreams, and making our own box from scratch.
YOUR DESIRE IS YOUR RESUME; RESULTS ARE YOUR DEGREE
To live the Passion Profit lifestyle, no resume is needed. There are no pre-qualifications, just your natural gifts, talents and interests. The lack of formal education or degrees will not exclude you as long as you have a willingness to learn. Your desire is the only resume you'll need.
In addition, there's no degree required for what you do naturally. Your ability to create the results you promise through your passion is the only validation and certification that others want to see to feel safe buying from you or hiring you.
WHAT IF I HAVE TOO MANY PASSIONS?
Here is my best advice for those who are overwhelmed by the many things they like to do. In choosing a passion to pursue, it’s not important what you choose, but simply that you choose. You are not obligated to stick with this decision for the rest of your life. Following your passion is like taking a journey. Each decision is a station along the way.
Each choice is a single step in a thousand mile journey. That’s why it’s vitally important to simply head in the direction of your passion, because the journey is the most important thing. Six months from now you may be an entirely different person with different needs, desires and motivations that may require completely new passions to express. Don't be paralyzed by thinking that your decision is written in stone, or that you are excluding all the other things that interest you. You are simply taking the critical first step. . Go forth boldly knowing that you can change your mind and your direction at any time.
WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE A PASSION?
The answer: EVERYONE has a passion. The fact that you exist is your guarantee that you do. Your passion is who you are. Everything about you is an expression of your passion. Your love is the expression of your passion. Your enthusiasm is the expression of your passion. Your fear is an expression of your passion. Your desires are the expressions of your passion. Every thought you’ve ever had of new ways to express yourself is your passion speaking to you. Every feeling that has ever passed through you that beckons you to be, do and have more is an expression of your passion.
Your passion is the reason and rhyme for why you are here. It reveals the underlying theme of your life and the role you have chosen to play in this drama called life. Your passion is what guides your decisions in all of your choices. Your passion communicates its existence through that still small voice within you when you choose to listen.
The opposite of a life lived with passion, is a life of desperation, misery, frustration and unhappiness. It is a life that appears confusing, chaotic and out of control. It is a life perfectly described by Henry David Thoreau, who said "the mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." So, if you’re experiencing any of those feelings, it's a sure sign that you do in fact have a passion that is seeking attention and expression.
So, the question is not whether you have a passion, but how do you discover it. You can discover your passion if you know which questions to ask, and then answer them honestly. That is what the Discovery Exercises are designed to accomplish. Any one of the exercises may hold the key to helping you find your passion.
Many people report experiencing breakthroughs simply by asking themselves the question in the first exercise: "What do I want?” For many people, that question is one they have never really answered. Allowing their own desires to be brought to the forefront of their minds, opens up limitless possibilities that, quite literally, changes lives!
The foregoing is an excerpt from Turn Your Passion Into Profit. Find out more about the Discovery Exercises online at www.passionprofit.com
Labels: Passion, what's my passion
(Click on a 'Label' category above to read all the posts in that category)
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