What I Have Learnt – If Anything!

“That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs

Episode 400. It feels like I’ve been doing this podcast for a lot longer but since launch it’s been a year and a half. However, time has a tendency to slow down when things are new and unfamiliar. And for this reason time over the last years has slowed for me, partly due to this podcast and several other changes in my life.

I have learnt a heck of a lot in that time. The information has really led me along a deeper personal transformation journey. It’s been amazing!

Knowing how long I’ve been running this podcast for and the number of interviews I’ve conducted (over 100) people are interested in knowing what I’ve discovered. So in this episode that is what I will attempt to explore and answer.

First and foremost, I have discovered three important factors that when followed will allow us to excel on our journey towards greater freedom, fulfilment and happiness. The most important piece to the puzzle is that this journey must be our own.

It has been this podcast that has allowed me to identify these three states of being (freedom, fulfilment and happiness) as being common life goals that unite us all. In realising this I have then, by a kind of reverse engineering process, mapped out the path there.

I have now also created a template that others can use to do the same. This template is what I have called The Ultimate Life Map – a book project that I’ve been working on for the last year and hope to launch prior to the end of this year.

The three main elements critical for this journey are awareness, an understanding and clarity of our “why’ or purpose, and an ability to do the purposeful work. While this template is new, none of my concepts are new. They have existed for centuries.

Having spent a life time researching the principles of success, Napoleon Hill outlines the process in his timeless piece of work Think and Grow Rich. Definiteness of purpose, undeniable desire, faith and conviction, and then work that allows one to move towards it’s attainment by removing and overcoming any obstacles and creating better effectiveness.

I have discussed these three principles in episode 300. You can review that episode here. Today, I will delve a little deeper.

The human race has become amazing at overcomplicated things, including life. As a passionate cook I cannot tell you how many times my wife or friends have told me I’ve added to many ingredients to the pot spoiling the highlight of the dish. We do this in life all the time.

Like the recipes that I conjure up and get a little bit excited about making, if we continue to add more things to our life in efforts to make things a little bit better we produce complexity and this can often destroy depth.

Think about sushi. A dish that is essentially just fish and rice. Yet when it comes to depth in simplicity I think sushi wins. In the hands of artists, the depth, subtlety and complexity in taste and even experience that can be created is out of this world.

Complexity is like clutter – it causes ineffectiveness in execution and lessens our ability to produce deep work that is truly amazing. I’ve said it before that life is complex but living it doesn’t need to be complicated. And one thing I have learnt in the last year and a half that has contributed perhaps more greatly than anything else in my life is creating a life of simplicity.

This hasn’t come easily. It has taken work. I’ve been challenged and fallen many times along the way but now I have managed to set up my life in a very purposeful way. Another term commonly used for this is “minimalism.” It is doing and having what is purposeful to living my life according to my “why.”

To do this we must be aware. This is the second point I’d like to highlight. We are nothing without our consciousness. If this element of consciousness was unavailable to the human experience would we exist? People in a coma clearly still exist, so the answer would likely be “of course we’d still exist.” But would we?

The person in a coma only appears to exist in the eyes of the perceiver or others who are conscious. If they too were not conscious there would be nothing to perceive or interpret based on what is there, or not there. Our consciousness is the creation of everything.

Now, I am no scientist. But I have learnt a little bit along the way. Consciousness is our ability to interpret and place meaning to our reality. And I have discovered that the quality of our consciousness impacts our Self-created reality. This is why awareness plays such an integral role in living a great life.

The more we become aware the more control we have of this conscious part of our human experience. It has been this lesson that has given my life more power than anything else. I have come to understand that I am everything and nothing all at the same time.

I am a collection of molecules. A biological mass. And this life that I live is mostly outside of my control however the experience I believe is not because experience is purely a creation from within.

This has led me to believe that I can relax and find ways to enjoy the journey while also being a contributing member that makes sense in my own way. This gives me meaning and purpose.

What started out with a desire to live freely, doing what I love has grown into something much greater. I have been overwhelmed with the happiness I have found in the process.

Self-doubt, fear and a feeling still like I need to conform still make their appearances. Living off the path of what I’ve been conditioned as normal has its challenges. But what keeps me doing it is how great it makes me feel.

For those of your looking for your path, wishing to live your life following a journey that is aligned with your deeper why I hope this podcasts helps. My goal is to inspire and encourage others to live their journey. My hope is that in doing so we can avoid regret and reduce the self-created suffering that so many of us live with.

Further Reading and Resources 

TED Talks: Ideas worth spreading

Psychology Today: Psychology Today is devoted exclusively to everybody’s favourite subject – Ourselves

Life Hack: Tips for Life

Elite Daily: The Voice of Generation Y

Four Hour Work Week: How to escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich.

The Minimalists: How to pursue a minimalist lifestyle and be happier.

Mind Hacks: Tips and Tricks for Using Your Brain

Rich Roll: Plantpowered Wellness Advocate

The Art of Charm: Build confidence, feel comfortable and networking differently.

American Psychological Association: The largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United State

The Art of Manliness: Encouraging men to be better husbands, fathers, brothers, citizens.

Tiny Buddha: Simple wisdom for complex lives.

Brain Pickings: An inventory of cross-disciplinary interestingness, spanning art, science, design, history, philosophy, and more.

Mind Body Green: Lifestyle media brand dedicated to inspiring you to live your best life.

Zen Habits: Find simplicity and mindfulness in life.

Creative NonFiction: “true stories well told.” 

Addicted 2 Success: Motivation & Inspiration Website full of quotes and inspiring articles for entrepreneurs.

Barking Up the Wrong Tree: science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life.

The Positivity Blog: Practical articles on happiness, self-esteem, productivity and social skills.

Coaching