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Tag: Question Inspired

Burning Away Everything You Know

Published on September 8, 2022

If you burned away everything you knew about yourself… what would remain?

This was one of the most remarkable questions I was asked while at Burning Man.

Worth reiterating: if everything I knew about myself…

  • my past experiences
  • my relationships
  • my occupation
  • my education
  • my joy/pain

…was burned away—what would I have left inside?

Before you read my answer, I encourage you to pause here and think about how you would answer this question…

Go ahead, I’ll still be here when you’re done…

The answer I came up with (which didn’t come quickly or easily) was everything I had when I was born:

  • my curiosity
  • my liveliness
  • my innocence
  • my immediacy
  • my compassion

Which made me think: a lot of what we carry with us in identity/ experience/ education is worth burning.

Not everything, of course, because there is a lot in identity/ experience/ and education that we carry that’s worth protecting.

But, there’s a lot that extinguishes our curiosity; deadens our liveliness; contaminates our innocence; removes our immediacy; and kills our compassion.

And that, is where the real inner work begins.

Not in trying to add to what’s already inside… but in working to subtract—to burn away—everything that’s corrupting what’s already there.

How would you answer this question? I’d love to hear. Simply send a reply :)

Early Rising

Published on March 26, 2022

How important is it to wake up early in the morning?

…Not that important.

What time you wake up is arbitrary.

What matters is what you do during your waking hours and how you prioritize your time.

Some get to bed by 9pm—others can’t go to bed until 12am.

Expecting both to wake up at 5am is silly.

Some people work better and are more efficient at night. Others in the morning. And others still, midday.

What’s important isn’t a specific time (because a successful person said that’s what they do).

What’s important is self-awareness.

When Things Go Bad

Published on October 16, 2021

I don’t know who needs to hear this but, this is one of the most powerful questions I’ve ever come across:

What good can come from this?

There’s always something.

Want Something Out Of Your Mind?

Published on September 24, 2021

“Out of sight, out of mind” can be an excellent model for improving the overall quality of your life.

Put what you want IN your mind, IN sight.

Take what you DON’T want in your mind, OUT of sight.

As obvious as this might sound, I can’t tell you how many people keep what they don’t want in their mind in sight and keep what they do want in their mind out of sight.

Look closely at what you allow to stay in (and out of) sight for the entire duration of a typical day and adjust accordingly.

And not just physically—digitally, too.

Don’t underestimate this.

How Are You Spending The Building Blocks Of Your Life?

Published on September 13, 2021

Time, energy, attention—these are the fundamental building blocks of what a life is composed of.

With what you’ve been given, you can either choose to spend, save, or invest these blocks—just as it is with money.

When you spend time, energy, or attention—it’s gone. Like when you watch a show on TV. There’s no return of more time, energy, or attention—it’s just used.

When you save time, energy, or attention—you increase what little you had to a little more. Like when you hire a professional to do a professional service. The time it took you to get the money to pay the professional is far less than the time it would have taken you to do the job yourself—so you pay them. Resources saved.

When you invest time, energy, or attention—you stand to multiply what little you had into much more. Like when you learn new skills and/or gain new knowledge. Not only do you no longer need to hire someone for their skills or knowledge, but you no longer need to hire them for the rest of your life. The return is exponential.

A good exercise to spend some time on:

  • Write down each task of your day.
  • Label each task as being either a spending, saving, or investing of time/ energy/ attention.
  • Think about how you might save and add more investments to your day.

Easy For You. Hard For Others.

Published on September 11, 2021

When work aligns with your strengths, it flows and feels easy—even when it’s hard.

When work aligns with your weaknesses, it crawls and feels hard—even when it’s easy.

A good indication that you’re in alignment with your strengths is if you lose track of time while working.

If you find yourself constantly checking the time, either the work you’re doing is too mundane or you’re in alignment with your weaknesses.

Ask yourself: What’s easy for you that’s hard for others?

And then figure out ways you can do more of that.

Feeling A Creativity Dip?

Published on August 18, 2021

Get more bored.

I find that the more I force myself into boredom, the more creative I get.

Conversely, the more distracted and entertained I am, the less creative I get.

When do I get some of my best ideas? While I’m showering, driving, walking, napping, meditating, staring at a blank screen… it’s when my mind is bored and free to wander.

And it’s not even close...

When do I rarely ever get ideas? While I’m working, watching TV, playing a game, having gossip-y type conversation, or otherwise actively engaged in some thought-provoking tasks.

You might think you’re“not the creative type” or that you“lost” your creative touch.

I’m willing to bet you haven’t and that you are—we all have creative energy inside of us.

You’re just not allowing yourself to get bored long enough.