Imagine you were granted one personal wish for your life. What would you wish for?
Remember, it’s a personal wish of which you are the sole recipient. So really, it’s your chance to give yourself a gift.
One good answer is, “I’d wish for a lot more wishes.” But let’s imagine this is a one-shot deal.
What do you most wish for yourself? Think carefully. Continue Reading
Shift happens when you let go of attachment to suffering. I have learned that problems are not fixed; they are simply outgrown. You leave them behind.
Thus, to experience healing and wholeness—and leave your problems behind—you have to be willing to give up your attachment to the self…
…that has made mistakes.
…that has experienced failure.
…that has suffered illnesses.
…that messed up. Continue Reading
Have you ever struggled with letting go of a past hurt or grievance? Have you ever had the desire to forgive, but you couldn’t bring your feelings to let go of the need to be right? The struggle to have the grace to forgive is one to which I think we all can relate.
My own early efforts at forgiveness didn’t work very well.
I could forgive, but I couldn’t forget.
Deep down I knew that forgiveness must be better than that. Over time, I gradually changed my mind about forgiveness in a way that you might not expect. Instead of focusing on forgiving others, I focused on forgiving me. Continue Reading
Today I am giving a 1-day workshop on success intelligence and the inner-life of a leader. The workshop is taking place in Manhattan, and is being hosted by One Spirit. One of the themes I will be exploring is “The Real Yes.”
I believe a leader is anyone who senses the big YES in their belly and immediately goes into labour; Continue Reading
Do you live your life only to get to the end of it? Most people answer this question with a “no,” but not everyone lives like they mean it. In the manic society that most of us experience, people exhibit a frantic, neurotic behavior I call “Destination Addiction.” This addiction is a major block to success. People who suffer from Destination Addiction believe that success is a destination. They are addicted to the idea that the future is where success is, happiness is, and heaven is. Each passing moment is merely a ticket to get to the future. They live in the “not now,” they are psychologically absent, and they disregard everything they have. Destination Addiction is a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is somewhere else. We suffer, literally, from the pursuit of happiness. We are always on the run, on the move, and on the go. Our goal is not to enjoy the day, it is to get through the day. We have always to get to somewhere else first before we can relax and before we can savor the moment. But we never get there. There is no point of arrival. We are permanently dissatisfied. The feeling of success is continually deferred. We live in hot pursuit of some extraordinary bliss we have no idea how to find. Continue Reading
I like the story told of Socrates, the Greek philosopher, who was known for his love of marketplaces. He would always visit a market if his schedule permitted. Often, he would alter his schedule to make sure he could. It was noted, however, that Socrates rarely bought anything at the markets. One of Socrates’ students once asked him, “Why do you visit so many markets and make so few purchases?” Socrates smiled and replied, “I simply delight in looking at all the pretty things I don’t need.”
At the heart of Success Intelligence is the wisdom to know what happiness is and is not. The wisdom of happiness must surely be that happiness is not an it. Either that or we have all been shopping in the wrong places. How can anyone be truly happy if they believe that happiness is an “it” that can be bought? We have to think more deeply than this. And how can anyone be truly successful if they do not know what they really value? Continue Reading