Pushing the envelope

So, you dream of improving yourself. Where would you begin? If you desire to walk through life, you walk. If you feel compelled to race, then you race. If you decide it’s time to rest, then you listen to your body and rest. It's your life, your choice. Why might you think other people should offer you their guidance or curtail your pursuits in ways that don’t permit you to learn to trust yourself? Would assuming that someone is necessarily superior or inferior to you not interfere with your path of inner learning? Maybe it’s time to redefine going to an extreme. If you see the bleeding edge of where you are, you’re ready to take life beyond its normal course.

To build on what you think you know, it requires you learn to think differently. This implies you desire to, as they say, 'push the envelope.' When was the last time you boldly embraced paradox or openly welcomed contradiction in a lively debate? Are you the kind of person who traditionally accepts things at face value? If you research a subject of interest, your opinion may evolve to oppose commonly accepted opinion. You could be building your knowledge and growing to better understand the world yet, hesitate to accept your intuition or discoveries if people don’t believe you. You may evolve to view the absurd as a reality that expresses a possible truth.

Consider Galileo's views on the Earth's motion. Astronomy sparked his curiosity. During his era, he published telescopic observations of Jupiter's moons, and used his interpretations to support the sun-centered, Copernican theory of the universe. This went against the then, dominant earth-centered view. Authorities of his time labeled him a dangerous threat to society. Galileo later went to Rome to defend himself against accusations of heresy. Cardinal Bellarmino handed Galileo an admonition specifying he not advocate or teach Copernican astronomy. Nonetheless, Galileo went on to publish his ideas, which got him into a bit of trouble. What are you willing to do to justify or promote your beliefs?

Although he tried to remain loyal to Church authorities, Galileo's belief in his own experimental science results, and what he interpreted as the truth they revealed, led him to reject blind faith in philosophical and religious authority. His desire to challenge assumed standards and theories helped separate science from control of philosophy and religion. This separation of ideas was a big change to how things had been done before. Galileo’s desire to question assumptions of his own time meant he was flexible and willing to change his own views based on his observation and perception. As he grew himself, he also prompted people to think more critically.

Guy Laliberté & 5 Strategies to juggle your way to the top

If you measure dreams and wealth in terms of craftiness and money, a unique person who stands out in Forbes magazine's 2006 list of billionaires was a trained fire-eater and juggler named Guy Laliberté. One of the original partners of the Cirque du Soleil theatre group, Laliberté acted on intuition and guidance to save the theatre group from bankruptcy early on, to expand it into a billion-dollar corporation. In 2001, Laliberté bought out his last partner, and became sole owner.

During Laliberté's travels at age 18, he was short of cash, but gained a wealth of experience. He met sidewalk showmen “off the beaten track” in alleys around key tourist venues. He scraped by ‘hand-to-mouth,’ and learned quirky arts like stilt-walking, which earned him change to get by. Its fascinating how Cirque du Soleil grew from jobless kids struggling to get bucks on corners, to Quebec's second biggest culture export (after Celine Dion). How did they do it? What could we learn?

1) They believed in themselves.  Laliberté’s adventurous youth backpacking with his accordion, spoons and harmonica invited circus training into his blood. Do you follow your heart and your intuition? He decided to devise ways to absorb unusual skills and build a dream. Back in Canada, he opted not to attend college. Rather, he recruited a troupe from youth who hung around hostels. Belief in himself convinced the Canadian government to sponsor a circus in a small cultural festival. After they succeeded with a profit, Laliberté dreamed bigger circus dreams, and sought like-minded people to pursue them.

2) They struggled.  Taking chances didn’t always pay off. Although the second season of their mobile theatre troupe tour in Canada ended a half million dollars in the red, it was received well enough to be deemed a national treasure. This reassured Laliberté and his peers. They felt that through struggle, they could learn to work out issues more effectively together. They sensed a collective potential to go much further.

3) They took daring yet, calculated risks.   Impatient for new success, Laliberté took a huge gamble by booking his circus for the opening of a Los Angeles art festival with no fee. He bet interest would be so great, they would develop a season there. “I bet everything on that one night,” he recalled. If we failed, there was no cash for gas to come home.” He wasn't afraid of that possibility. After all, he knew what it was like to have nothing, and he sensed he was capable of transforming his creative spirit into something spectacular.

4) They rode the wave.  When the L.A. show gamble was a hit, they didn’t permit a gutsy entrepreneur to buy them out. Instead, the troupe took advantage of media coverage, invitations for interviews and coverage in the national press. This created their modern circus reputation, and the L.A. season roped in ~$45,000, from nothing.

5) They keep innovating.  Building confidence, artistic integrity and a healthier bank account, the troupe branched out to begin to solicit corporate sponsorship, and they’ve never looked back. Greater financial capital and faith of the public who desired new kinds of fantasy, led Cirque du Soleil to develop mobile and permanent shows worldwide.

Eradicate anxiety

Each decision we make to define and experience hardship or conflict, enables us to feel better grounded in life, even if we continue to struggle. The end result sought in most endeavours is peace of mind. You desire to feel good about yourself, that you've made choices that cause you to be true to yourself, to do the best you can. As you ponder this idea, you'll determine ways to measure your sense of success, outside perceived reasons for anxiety, and live a happier, more fulfilling life.

Everything around you is constantly changing so its wise to learn to evolve with rather than resist change.  A good question to ask yourself is, "would I rather feel right or happy?" If you would rather feel happy, then it becomes easier to let sources of frustration or worry go. If you would rather be right, and you'd even fight for vindication, you justify success on a different plane.

Illness and adversity can appear to be burdens. Yet, you have a source of contentment that is accessible inside at any moment, and despite any conditions. Have you learned to tap into it? When you feel challenged, its especially important to reconnect with this inner feeling because it reframes your sense of success. As you tap into inner peace, or learn to create it, this practice can have a positive impact on your mood and attitude and better equip you to deal with difficulties.

To have a strong and active mind may mean you frequently deliberate how to work out issues and problems. Does your mind run on over-drive? In such cases, your initial sense of success may relate solely to a satisfactory resolution. However, it is also useful to pay attention to the meaning and impact of alternate states of mind. Feelings can become your guides as you gain faith in this process.

Sometimes, solutions to your problems will be hidden or apparently inaccessible. No matter how you strain, you may not appear to get closer to solving them. This lack of progress toward perceived success may feel disconcerting. Yet, unbeknownst to you, you get closer and closer to an acceptable resolutions all the time. It's a matter of adapting how you see and interpret things.

Grow to accept your initial view of situations is not as bad as you initially thought. Understand you may create illusions and exaggerate problems. You also decide when your course of action is enough to result in feelings of success. What will happen as you believe you can eradicate your anxiety at the source? Taking greater control of your mind itself reveals success. The question is, do you belittle that mighty feat?

Vindication

Becoming a best-selling author is a widespread dream, but few people devote themselves to this harrolding path, and even fewer succeed. Despite a resume seen as impressive that has been adapted many times, I've always felt most terrified of disappointing myself, and those people who believe in my ability to succeed.

For a family with a track record of accomplishment in their individual lives, the pursuits I've chosen have differed widely, and have rarely been predictable. I realize I’ve bewildered friends and relatives with everything from space policy work to dream analysis yet, you'd think they'd sort of have been prepared. Back in high school, I was voted “Most Unique Female Graduate.”  That paved the way.

Attending and graduating from well-known universities also augured great things. The matter being, career paths I chose afterward diverged from ones that people who know a stable life would have chosen for me. Although offered a university engineering entrance scholarship, I turned that down. Many people expected me to become a physician, an option that I initially latched onto for what it represented and how I thought I could help people. I now accept that would have been too stifling and unimaginative. I had been prompted in that direction, being surrounded by medical circles in friends, acquaintances and 3 generations of physicians in my family. After all, if I was to be a success, why should my choices be different?

Years later, I still go against the grain of those early ambitions. I arrived in a mindset that I originally only dreamed. When people ask, I describe myself as a writer. I grew into that path after rigorous self-examination and self-questioning. Of course, I diverged to explore many interests along the way yet, I didn't give up on writing. During my journey into self-discovery, I realized my desire to write was never really a choice, except insofar as I chose to listen (or ignore) my inner voice. With a courage that sheltered me through difficulties worthy of novels, I now believe some roles and goals are pre-set.

My writing revelation came as I admitted the culture of achievement in which I had been raised didn't deter me from my desire to write. I'm satisfied to know I've evolved to devote time to what I feel I should be doing, not what others feel I'm supposed to be doing, based only on what they know. Now, a life fraught with uncertainty isn’t for everyone. People have worried about me. People still worry about me. They sense my life is hard, in a conventional sense. And yes, it can be challenging, but this is negative only if I choose to feel unsatisfied from following my passions. I’ve evolved to learn that we're often taught life is as hard as people convince us it should be.  Thinking for ourselves isn't taught, but learned though experience and building self-confidence.

I decided to carve out a career for myself out of something that many others, of more rational judgment, are content to discuss as a diversion from daily business, as a pending retirement project or, explore as a temporary hobby. This lack of perceived legitimacy deterred me for a long time. As a person who learns to listen to an inner voice, you learn legitmacy begins and ends in you, once you learn to separate from external expectations.

As a freelancer, I write nearly every day, apply for positions and contracts in newspapers and magazines. Payments arrive for these projects. Yet, bills have often been more regular. I've taken on many kinds of work to help support my writing ambitions. I've lectured on university campuses in different countries, collecting speaking fees and grants when possible. In retrospect, it was all to support my writing and to develop my experiences worthy of stories.

Apart from the desire to survive, I also develop long-term book projects. I spend several hours a week editing ideas and drafting and later submitting proposals. The waiting game comes next. Rejection letters from uninterested publishers and through my agent yet, all reviews have enabled me to improve my work. I'm grateful to all feedback because this enables me to better myself.

I've been inspired by many writers, and especially individuals like John Cleary. He persevered despite receiving over 534 rejections before his first acceptance of a book manuscript. He’s now been a writer 60 years, with over 8 million books sold and book number 50 is in production. He has taught me to recognize that I'm never too old or tired to adjust to a situation and to take new risks.

I still hear echoes that criticize my choices and the idea that I don’t seem to be 'making it' or creating a vision of success in the way others would perceive I should. This has prompted me to ask myself why society teaches us that we shouldn't struggle to realize our dreams. Isn't the journey and lessons learned what makes the sense of accomplishment far more worthwhile?

Sure, I like to see people who care about me also feel proud of me. The time I've spent as a freelance writer, academic article author, university lecturer, and newspaper columnist, weren't perceived as successful by others because the money I earned didn't enable me to meet my responsibilities. At the time, I became disheartened. I moved on to other things yet, I still write.

The time came when I changed my mind about where I desired to write. My determination to be a writer had evolved through my visits to over 50 countries which had been for varied purposes. Looking back, many earlier goals illuminated a light bulb in my head. The simple truth was that previous places I'd lived hadn't enabled my writing to blossom, so I moved to refine my comfort zone.

For now, I enrich and build on my roles by sharing my voice and promoting human interest stories that draw from my education and background. I know I'll write more books. Boxes of short stories wait to be organized. What is most satisfying perhaps, is knowing people who care about me realize my motivation, commitment and determination are valuable. Though writing, I teach self-acceptance is key to attracting external success.  Happiness begins and ends in me.

Living a bogus life?

Do you dream the sham was over? If you truly wish to evolve into a more authentic person, train yourself not to be bothered by how society reacts to your choices. This doesn't imply you should always rebel against rules society has established. Rather, it's up to you to explore and discover your true self. What would this mean? If the traits and skills you discover inside fit well into known social structures, that's fine. Yet, if what you learn about yourself doesn't seem compatible with what others feel you should do, you have no need to follow their goals.Do you ever question your own?

Your goal is ultimately to unveil your true character and to apply it to the best of your ability. In the minds of others, if you're unlike them, you may appear as a reactionary or non-conformist. It may seem you would disagree with other people just to disagree, even if what they said to you made sense. Sometimes people are right, for they can't always be wrong. The goal to disagree at all costs wouldn't propel you forward or help you better understand yourself.That would reinforce a bogus life.

If you see yourself as a non-conformist, you may also be a rebel. You may choose to live based on what you perceive works for you, regardless of what other people think. If you're a bit unconventional, and you evolve to follow your soul, you'll realize your goals, providing that you believe in them. You'll discover this simply requires time and concerted effort.

To become authentic then, you must stop living a bogus life. It's useful to learn to be natural, and not superficial or two-faced. If you don't express how you genuinely feel, people will not be able to trust or depend on you, and you'll feel uncomfortable in relationships without connection or depth. Do you realize the difference between when you're being true to yourself and when you're just pretending?

It's desirable to discern what feels right and what feels wrong at a given time, and to act on that. It's also desirable to re-connect with your inner self, especially if you feel alienated from what makes you who you are. Difficulties begin and end in you. Some people assume an insincere life would only lead to emptiness and unfulfillment. Why explore that hole if you could experience what it means to be real?