Category Archives: Life

Life

the purpose of this post is purpose.

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What is purpose? Hmm.  I think to put it simply is, what’s your reason for getting up in the morning?  If you don’t have a reason, then you probably don’t have a purpose.  You don’t even necessarily have to write down what your purpose is, but if you find yourself excited to get up in the morning then chances are you’re onto something.  I was really confused about my purpose this past year. I wrote it down last year and forgot to look it over.  Then a few weeks ago I had a read through and liked what i saw.  I revised it somewhat, as you probably should do from time to time, especially if you aren’t quite sure or if you start growing.  Some things to help you out on this lesson.

What makes you smile? What are you really good at? What excites you?  What can you do for hours on end? What are your morals, beliefs and values?  What would you regret not doing in your life? What do people most ask you for help with?

Answer all those questions. Then go watch Groundhog Day and learn some lessons.  You can screw up over and over until you finally get sick of screwing up.  Eckart Tolle likes to say that being in deep suffering is a great way to become conscious.  Or, in other words, you’ll get sick of feeling sorry for yourself and start finding purpose when you hit rock bottom.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – by Marianne Williamson

Life

the spark of passion

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“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.” – John Maxwell

it was May of 2007.  i paid about $1000 to go to this seminar.  speakers from all around the globe gathered in Toronto to speak on one topic.  how to be a better person.  yes, it was worth the money.  yes, i will be doing it again (i really wish to see Tony Robbins at least once in my life).  if there was one commonality to all the presentations that weekend, it was this.  have passion.  in everything you do.  everything.  when you poo, make it your best poo ever.  when you go grocery shopping, do it fully and completely.  feel those avocados like you’ve never felt them before. alright, i’m getting myself too worked up over here.  you get my drift.

how simple a lesson, and yet i forgot. doh, silly me!  yesterday i was speaking with my brother on the phone and he was telling me an idea of his.  you could hear the passion in his voice about it and i couldn’t help but get excited for him.  when i hear people speak about things passionately, i just can’t help get excited for them.  i’m sure you know what i’m talking about.  right now, my passion is the city bee.  not so much the website itself, but just the whole process of making this thing.  i’ve learned so much in the past month on the whole process that i can carry this newfound knowledge onto the next projects i’ll be working on (i’m already in the prelim stages of a few).  find your passions, and cultivate them. then after you’ve done that, find passion in everything, and cultivate that.  passionate people change the world.  look back through histories greats, and you’ll see they were all very passionate people.

Life

give it up.

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Happy Thanksgiving to our friends across the border.  We are approaching that time of year where things can get a little bit consumer crazy.  things like being grateful, being thankful for what we have and for being thankful for where we are can sometimes be overlooked.  don’t let it.  now is the time of giving, moreso then any other time of year.  however, not that kind of giving.  you don’t have to spend boat loads of money on gifts for people that probably, if they are anything like me or you, would much rather have the gift of spending time with you over anything else.  or the gift of a phonecall. the gift of laughter.

can you give to complete strangers, the same way you would a loved one?  can you give without expectation of receiving anything in return? when we reach that point, abundance will flow through us.  cause we get what we give.  so go ahead and give it up, and be thankful for the life that you share with those around you.

Life

the curse of instant gratification.

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“If I have made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”
Sir Isaac Newton

we live in a magic pill society. media has a way of spamming us with empty promises and quick fixes.  just look at the weight loss industry as a perfect example.  diet pills, machines that vibrate while you watch tv, diets that claim you can eat anything you want, magazines claiming washboard abs in 3 weeks with only 10 minutes of exercise a day.  sadly, patience and persistence have faded, and laziness and avoidance of pain have taken over.  convenience and consumerism have brainwashed us.  it is not like this in other places (although these habits are influencing the rest of the world a little bit at a time).

the problem with instant gratification is it is fleeting.  temporary highs, followed by the next instant gratification fix.  magic bullets don’t exist.  you’ll be wasting lots of time, energy, and money trying to find them (that’s what advertisers want, your money).  after awhile, you may just end up giving up altogether after the 15th diet.

the key is patience.  something society has forgotten about a long time ago.  can you delay instant gratification?  its not easy, especially considering we are programmed to do otherwise.  our friends do it, our family does it, our coworkers do it, our fellow consumers do it, and its plastered all over the internet and tv.  man, we sure got our work cut out for us. however, in order to grow, patience is an absolute must.  most of the time we spend on the plateau.  its rarely grandiose and epic when breakthroughs happen, it usually comes through patience and things slowllly start to click and trickle in.  don’t get it?  patience, my friend.  it will come 😉

Friends and Family, Life

Poise from Pops

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A big happy birthday to my Dad, today.  he’s getting old.  Dad has had a rough year.  He’s been laid off from his job, the crapping economy has made it harder to find one with hiring freezes and the like, he doesn’t have a car because it broke down (on the last week at his job), his brother’s and sister’s and mother’s health have been poor, his investments have tanked, and just general boredom sitting at home without much to do except look for a job.  but my father, one thing about him that he has better then anybody i know is poise.  he’s always so composed.  i never understood it, and i never asked him how he does it (cause he probably couldn’t explain it to me) but i’ve always admired that about him.  he just laughs things off like its no big deal.  when he got hit by a drunk driver 20 years ago while riding his bike home from a long shift at work, he was seriously messed up.  he still gets really bad headaches because of it.  he never complained about it, never asked for any handouts, he just continued moving with poise and strength for his family. i can’t even imagine the backbreaking labour on the farms in the blistering hot sun with little to eat except a bowl of rice.  it boggles my mind.  and yet that was his reality for years.

poise, its an amazing thing.  maintain it, especially if you are a man.  its your duty to be strong for the people you care about.  its your duty to be poised for yourself.  but as i like to say, if you stumble, its ok.  just try your best.