You Are Already A Master
BREATHE!
"Know one thing, know ten thousand things."--Musashi Miyamoto
"If you've mastered anything, you know how to master anything else"--Jerry Pournelle
These two statements, issued centuries apart, point out a core truth: success is a thing SEPARATE from the specific arena in which you wish to express it.
Read that again. And again.
And you'll see something most people never understand. They blame their pain on lack of "talent" or "privilege" when they've never dug seriously into the qualities of body, heart, and mind that allow you to reach your goals. To EXCEL.
Here is the truth: the average person in terms of INHERITED characteristics, who acquires above-average LEARNED characteristics, could earn a black belt, find love, build wealth, or publish stories.
All you have to do is find ANY arena in which you achieved success. We all have them. Then, apply some model of high performance: Think And Grow Rich, MAGIC, The Hero's Journey, Musashi's Principles, etc. Look back and apply them retroactively. How did you do it, from this point of view? If you can find ONE area of success in each of the three arenas, and apply that same model, you will start seeing what I'm talking about.
The Hero's Journey, for instance, can be applies to ANYTHING. It is a core structure of storytelling for the simple reason that it was extracted from the patterns of life itself. We went through the first three. Let's apply them to, say, Earning a black belt, a "Hero's Journey" almost anyone can manage, that will teach you everything you need of life. Any REAL experience contains the seed of all wisdom, studied deeply.
CONFRONTED WITH A CHALLENGE. In my case, I wanted to stop being bullied. Part of that "be admired by the men I admired, and desired by the women I desired" imperative. I knew that if I didn't learn how to deal with aggression, I would NEVER live a full life.
REJECTING THE CHALLENGE. It was frightening. Could I stand up to the pressure? Could I be hurt? My self-image was of an intellectual, not an athlete. Was this even something I dared dream of?
ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE: I WANTED IT. More than I wanted the alternative. And there were many times I wanted to quit. But I realized that I would be reinforcing a pattern of letting fear stop me, even if I knew there was no logical reason to back away. I would never be the man I wanted to be. I would be accepting a smaller life, which would lead to me lying about why I chose it. And lies are the first way to lose your way in life, especially lies to yourself. So I knew I HAD to do it, one way or another. Yes, I was driven by fear. Hey, fear works: you just don't want to remain in "suffering." There is a better way, but the way out of the maze is THROUGH the maze.
The fourth step is the "ROAD OF TRIALS". This is, frankly, just how many miles you walk toward the mountain every day. Even ONE STEP is progress. Show me your daily rituals, ESPECIALLY the first hour of your day, and you have drawn a map to your destiny. Want a different destiny? Take different steps, along a different road. Every day you Chop Wood, Carry Water. It takes the average person about 4-5 years to earn a black belt. It took me almost TWENTY FIVE YEARS because I was dealing with so much doubt and fear, so much false self-image, so many negative memories. But I knew that the "road" was to simply get to class, study, lick my wounds, study, recover, go back to class. Over and over for the prescribed time, expending the required energy, and digging deeper and deeper into my heart to find the part of me that already WAS a black belt, and nurture it until it sprouted. A core belief was that the Universe would not give me a goal I could hold in my heart continuously, over time, without giving me a way of accomplishing it. Was it true? I believe so: there is a LOT of wiggle room in that statement. But it was kind to myself, and hella useful.
If I applied the HJ to my journey, I'd be able to identify the major allies and qualities of mind and heart required. Major failures that spun me into depression and despair. The ways I clawed my way back out of that pit. The moment at which I realized I'd made it, that it wasn't just that I HAD a black belt…but that I WAS one. (That was fun, and happened at a convention!)
And I would look at how I did indeed rise to a new level that was worth all the stress. Heat and pressure make diamonds, and the reward was beyond my dreams. I NOW KNOW HOW TO SUCCEED AT ANYTHING I'M WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR.
And if you will choose one or more of the patterns I teach, and look at how you organized your physical, emotional, and mental resources to reach it…and preferably do this with some success in the physical, emotional, and financial and artistic arenas…if you can do that?
You know how to win. And you'll see exactly why you lost, when you did. A warning: people's lies about why they cannot succeed will be glaringly obvious to you. But if you have compassion for your own errors and self-deception, you will NOT throw this in their faces. After all, you don't know what burdens they carry. If you want to help them, lead by EXAMPLE. Strengthen your body. Heal your heart. Master your finances. Express yourself in art.
Trust me…your light will shine so brightly that people will ask YOU what you are doing differently.
Smile, and tell them. The answer is simple: there is a price for everything you want in life. And the price is always paid in advance.
Life is Art. Let's make a masterpiece!
Steve
www.lifewrite.com
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Join us on LIFEWRITING LIVE tomorrow at 12 Noon Pacific, on Zoom at www.thefiredance.com
Steven Barnes is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Firedance Recurring
Time: Friday, March 21, 12 Noon Pacific
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