Writing a book is hard. Writing one sentence is easy.
Earning a black belt in martial arts is hard. Attending one class is easy.
Freeing yourself from the grips of anxiety is hard. Meditating for a few minutes is easy.
Everything in life that’s hard, is just a series of things that are easy.
You just have to break things down further and take the first, small step.
And then take it again. And again. Until you’ve done what’s hard.
Rather than think about who you didn’t have in your life, think about who you could be in someone else’s life.
There is a particularly strong opportunity for this in the spaces where you were hurt the most by the people who you wish were there the most.
Why? Because you know just how much it hurts.
And there are plenty of people out there who are hurting just as much—if not more—from a similar type of absence.
And, just think, you could be the one who fills that void.
If I have seen further it’s because I have spent a lot of time climbing the shoulders of giants.
Giants being the people who have grown into bigger, better versions of themselves. The people who can offer a perspective towards life that’s deeper and more developed than my own.
Humility check: none of our perspectives are perfect—each has its flaws.
But, there are people with less flawed perspectives. People who have spent a considerate amount of time carefully analyzing their thoughts, dissecting the thoughts of others, quieting the chatter, training their minds, and seeking the appropriate help.
And it’s those perspectives—those shoulders—that we must seek to climb.
And let’s be clear: climbing is no picnic—it’s always hard. But, gaining access to their shoulders isn’t.
Heck, many giants want to have their shoulders climbed. They write books featuring their best perspectives, share insight on podcasts and videos for those who don’t (want to) read, heck!—many of them even answer well positioned, thoughtful questions for no other reason than to help.
If you want to see further—if you want to gain a bigger, better perspective towards life—start by climbing onto the shoulders of someone who sees further.
It’s there—from that elevated perspective—that you can start developing your own elevated opinions towards the surrounding landscape.
Until then, you’ll just have to settle with what you see from down here.
“I believe in you.” Is the water to the planted seed.
Disbelief, in all its forms, is the desert heat that stunts the seed’s growth.
People tend to perform in proportion to how much (or how little) people believe in them.
Their seeds are there, maybe all they need is some watering—from you.
We need to see the suffering in the world so that we can respond with compassion.
As in, we can’t turn a blind eye; we can’t hide in our cocoons of comfort; we can’t ignore our calls for humanity.
I reiterate: we need to see the suffering.
Otherwise, there will be no emotional reason for us to have any kind of response.
Emotion is triggered through experience. The closer the experience, the deeper the emotional feel. And the deeper the emotional feel, the more compassionate the response (I would hope).
We need to be the compassion for others that we so desperately wish was there for us (and our loved ones) when we were suffering.
And if you and your loved ones haven’t suffered all that much, then you are exactly the type of person who can stand to help others the most.
Open your eyes up to the world around you.
And respond with compassion.
Idea gathering is addicting. It’s motivating. It’s exciting.
…It does nothing for you.
Gathering ideas is about as useful as gathering seeds—and I’m not talking about the kind you can eat.
Most of us have an incredible store of seeds that are doing nothing more than taking up space. And yet, what so many of us continue to do is carry on collecting more seeds for our store.
For what? Why? Because you want bigger ones? So you can collect them all? This isn’t Pokémon.
The thing about seeds is that they’re wildly inexpensive and abundant—like ideas. But, even just one seed planted and cared for well, can lead to something valuable. Certainly more valuable than the seed itself.
And it’s in the process of nurturing seeds and bringing plants to life where you learn the most and get the biggest return on your invested time anyway—not from seed collecting.
So, before you go searching for other seeds to collect, how about you plant and begin cultivating some of the seeds you already have?
What if, instead of being a well known collector of inexpensive seeds, you became a well known grower of increasingly valuable plants?