It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance
The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?
(Author: Buster Benson)
The belief I try to foster in myself that everyone doesn't share is that you can do anything that you want to. In reading about great men, you find that limitations are more or less the creation of the self and not society.
To try something new is really more about overcoming fear. Obstacles are there, sure, but they exist to repel those who don't want it bad enough. The higher the obstacles the more special the goal.
Individuals have a way of getting wrapped up in this cookie cutter life. Get married, buy a car, buy a house, have kids, buy a bigger house, and retire. We find a job where we get paid well enough to live within predefined means. Consumerism provides us with a safety of new things to show off our "interesting" life. It's much more rare for the individual to pursue an interesting life on its own merits.
This idea came from reading blogs/books of successful people and realizing that my belief system and the opportunities that existed were largely lies that I had created for myself. In my life, it made me apply for a job I had no business applying for and getting it. I've taken sabbaticals at age 27 and done things just to see if I could.
I could always do more, but now I have more of a "why not" outlook than a "I can't" outlook and that has made all the difference for me.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment