A piece of sound advice from a great man

It's been a little while now since the great Steve Jobs passed away, leaving the world with so many great and innovative signs of his legacy, I won’t be writing about any of that. The number of people who have written and expressed their feelings about his legacy and the great loss that the world has had can be summed up simply by the masses who still express their mourning throughout the many vast forms of media. Instead I just want to leave you with a quote from the big man that not only touched me, but hundreds, if not thousands of people as he made his address to a number of Stanford university graduates sometime during 2005. To keep it short and sweet it went something like this:
“I’ve looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, if today where the last day of my life would I want to do what I am about to do today. And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
Strong words and sound advice. Try asking yourself the same thing.

Live up to your dream self

Most of us have a solid image or dream of exactly how we’d like to be. In other words our ideal self. It gives us something to work towards and aspire to; however also for most of us it is just a fantasy. As much as you might desire to become or look like James Bond or Coco Chanel, it isn’t going to happen. But as upsetting as that may be to the avid dreamer, it’s also a great thing. Following the image and principles of someone you aspire to be like is nice, sure, but it’s even better when you can put your own personal spin on it. Sure you might want to look like Bond, he’s got a sharp look and suave demeanour, but you probably don’t want to have to carry a gun around as a dog of the government. So mix it up to meet your own standards. Be the suave stylish gentleman, or in Coco’s case, stylish and unique independent women. Start living up to your dream, but on your own terms. The point is not to aspire to be like others, but to follow your own path, learning from others what you can to reach your desired goals. It’s easy to forget what we are capable of achieving because often we have no need to step outside our comfort zone. Make a decision to break that safety bubble and live up to becoming your ideal self. Following your dreams, whether career wise or lifestyle orientated is the only true way to obtain the happiness you seek and feel like a free individual.

Let your actions speak for you

I wanted to write this post because of a number of things. Firstly, I’ve hit this fantastic point in my own life where things have become clear for me and therefore I’m trying to share what I’ve come to realise with others. Since i was young I’ve always wanted to be successful beyond measure. I always had an idea in my head of who I wanted to be, how I wanted to act and how i wanted to live, and slowly but surely my desire has been coming true, but only through persistence, which brings me to my first point. One of the first things I came to realise( and it's not rocket science, you probably realised it too) is that i couldn't truly become the person i wanted to be without fulfilling the traits I dreamed my ideal self would have, i would have to start acting like the person i want to be ( duh, right?) . The thing is, you can't always live up to your desired traits without sticking your neck out into a new and often daunting experience. So i dedicated myself to developing myself.

Sure that may sound a little selfish to some, but the truth is if you can't master yourself, how can you expect to master your environment, and that means everything from learning to respect other people to having others respect you as a leader. So i decided i would make it my goal to acquiring as many skills as possible and subject myself to as many experiences as possible, and the truth is i have never felt so accomplished, balanced and happy, and that is passing over into everything i do, and it can for you too, once you come to terms with sticking your neck out and developing yourself.

Since I began my journey I’ve done many things I’d have never even considered before, and now I can gladly say that they are beginning to shape who I am. I started Brazilian jiu-jitsu and muay thai and furthered that by moving into mixed martial arts. I began learning more about sports performance, health and the human body, I started to learn mandarin, how to wire circuitry and build far more than I ever could before. The list goes on and on, but the points remain’s the same, to develop experience in as much as possible and ultimately start living the life I truly desired. It's a journey that will never end if you truly have the desire to better yourself, and that’s why you need to do it. After all, what is life except for a number of experiences’s that start from the day we're born to the day we die. We can either sit back and hope for the best, or we can go out, take control of our destiny and start letting our actions speak for us. Make your choice the right one.

P.s.  leave a comment of a new skill you’d like to learn, you might inspire a passion in someone else and in return find one yourself.

leave something behind

If i where to die today life would go on without a stutter. life is but a fleeting moment. choose to make an impression with yours

 

wise words to live by