The Rhythm of Life

Everything is a choice.

But only every.single.thing.

Moment to moment we CHOOSE our destiny.

What are you choosing?!

We can choose to step forward into growth—expressing what Matthew calls the-best-version-of-yourself, or we can choose to step back into our addictive behaviors which would be, of course, the not-so-great-version-of-yourself.

Moment to moment to moment.

We make a decision.

Will we express the highest version of ourselves? Or not?

That’s Part 1 of this Big Idea.

Part 2: Fast-forward ten years. Look at your life. What do you see?

Is it what you’d like to see?

Imagine THE most amazing possible vision for your future.

Take a moment to bring a picture to mind. What does your life look like?

…

Now, KNOW that you are creating that destiny every.single.moment.

We are constantly making little decisions. As Matthew tells us, with each decision, simply ask: What will help me to become the-best-version-of-myself?

Then do THAT!

And you will create a life beyond your wildest imagination.

So…

What would YOU attempt if you knew you could not fail?

In Daring Greatly (see Notes), Brené Brown shares this little story: “I took a deep breath and recited my vulnerability prayer as I waited my turn: Give me the courage to show up and let myself be seen. Then, seconds before I was introduced, I thought about a paperweight on my desk that reads, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” I pushed that question out of my head to make room for a new question. As I walked up to the stage, I literally whispered aloud, “What’s worth doing even if I fail?””

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

And… What’s worth doing even if you fail?!

Just because we dare to attempt it doesn’t mean we’re sure to succeed. So, what is worth doing EVEN IF you failed?!

Remember: It’s all about the baby steps and baby decisions you make in pursuit of that dream. With each step on your hero’s journey, let this be your guiding question: What will help me to become the-best-version-of-myself?

—> “I have.”

What an amazing story.

Matthew shares the backstory to Perlman’s discipline. Guess how much he practices?

9 hours. EVERY day. Unless he’s performing, then it’s just the 4.5 hour morning session before deep preparation for that night’s performance. (Want to be awed? Watch this.)

What are you willing to give your life to?

Let’s get on that.

What is the MOST you can do?

vs.

What is the *least* you can do?

Which question do YOU think leads to greatness and a deep sense of fulfillment?

Exactly.

And, most importantly, which question are you asking yourself these days?

Here’s to serving profoundly and consistently choosing to express the-best-version-of-ourselves!

Well that’s a pretty direct way to put it. Hah.

Note to self: “If you do only what you feel like doing, your life will be miserable and you will be a failure.”

Period.

Any questions? :)

Michael Beckwith and David Reynolds echo this wisdom.

Beckwith (see Notes on Spiritual Liberation) tells us: “The gift of self- discipline is that it has the power to take you beyond the reasoning of temporary emotion to freedom. Think of how empowered you’ve felt on occasions when you haven’t given in to the ‘I don’t feel like it’ syndrome and honored your commitment to yourself. What does not feeling like it have to do with it? The combination of love for something with the willingness to do what it takes to practice it—discipline—results in freedom.”

That’s one of my favorite lines in all these Notes: “What does *not feeling like it* have to do with it?”

You decided it was important. So, DO IT.

David Reynolds (see Notes on Constructive Living) tells us: “The mature human being goes about doing what needs to be done regardless of whether that person feels great or terrible. Knowing that you are the kind of person with that kind of self- control brings all the satisfaction and confidence you will ever need. Even on days when the satisfaction and confidence just aren’t there, you can get the job done anyway.”

Silence.

It’s incredibly important.

There’s simply no way (!) we’re going to attune to the rhythms of life if we don’t slow down and create some space for silence.

Joseph Campbell (see Notes on The Power of Myth) echoes this wisdom: “This is an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers this morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you might find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.”

So does Stephen King.

Yah, that Stephen king—the guy who’s sold 350 million books.

He says that when he first started his career and was teaching, at the end of the week he felt like he had JUMPER CABLES attached to his brain.

Imagine that.

Jumper cables on your brain.

That’s basically what we’re doing to ourselves when we CONSTANTLY have the TV on at home (in every room!). The radio on in the car. The iPod cranking during every workout.

Always blowing our brains up with stimulation.

We need to turn that noise off. Enter silence. That’s where the magic is.

As Matthew says, you don’t need to go for 4 or 5 or 6 hours a day. But you *can* take some baby steps! Turn off the radio on the way to work perhaps? Leave the TV off for (gasp!) one night per week. He recommends we carve out an hour a day for silence. (<— very good idea!)

Let’s remove the jumper cables from our brains—connecting to something bigger than ourselves and allowing the silence to do its work!

“What will it take today for me to become the better person I know I can be?”

After writing that question on a piece of paper and sticking on the wall by his bed, Matthew proceeded to put that question pretty much *everywhere*—on his bathroom mirror, in his closet, on his desk, in his car.

He put it EVERYWHERE.

Why?

Because he wanted to be reminded of that question every hour of every day.

Why?

Because, as he says, “That is how the legends, heroes, champions, leaders and saints achieved all they did.”

With a single-minded focus on making TODAY a masterpiece. Aligning their next tiny action (and thought) with their commitment to being the-best-possible-version-of-themselves.

I love it. Question for YOU: “What will it take today for you to become the better person you know you can be?”

Amen. (That’s worth a re-read.)

What is it that sets great people apart?

Passion, belief, commitment, courage and perseverance.