ADVANCE CONFIDENTLY!
“Success always leaves footprints.” ~Booker T. Washington
As I entered the woods and headed down the path of self-discovery and personal growth, the path less traveled, I fixed my eyes upon the ground. I knew that if I looked for clues, I would find the pieces to the puzzle cast aside on the path by those who’d passed before me.
I remember someone once telling me that success leaves tracks. At the time, I didn’t exactly understand what that meant. However, over time, I began to understand that as individuals progress on their path of self-discovery and personal growth, they cast aside the elements no longer serving them.
These remnants sometimes contain the clues to the same challenges we face. The individual that passed the test before us probably cast them aside at the completion of their QUEST. These discarded lessons often hold the answers we are searching for on our own individual quests.
It’s easy to believe that if something was cast aside, then it must have no value. There is nothing further than the truth. As a matter of fact, it is well known that what is one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure. And where are all these things cast aside, where might one search or hunt for all these pieces that might hold the answers to whatever QUEST you currently find yourself on?
Since ideas are difficult to see unless they are placed where we might find them, it can be easy to walk right past one without ever seeing it. For those of you reading this who enjoy hiking, or if you’ve ever walked anywhere in one direction and then turned around, you might very well understand how the trail looked completely different when we were walking in the opposite direction. On any given out and back, we will find ourselves seeing things we never saw on the way out to whatever our destination was, and on the way back, finding ourselves in wonder and awe of all that we missed on the way.
This is not unlike life itself. In our early years, when we’re on the path of striving, deep in the hustle and grind of survival and all that’s required just to make ends meet so we can take care of our families, we often miss some of the most important elements. If we had just slowed down a little bit, maybe, just maybe, we might have seen them strewn along the path.
What if we were so busy on the hamster wheel of life that we let a book or article recommendation slide right past us? What if that one book or article held not all the answers, but the one we needed to help get us back on track? And what if once back on track we discovered a new way of living? Don’t be a statistic. Slow down. As my friend and coach Michael O’Brien always reminds us, slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Remember to Pause, Breathe, and Reflect…
We must also understand our why because littered along the path of personal progress are a multitude of shiny objects all vying for our attention and if we don’t know our why, if we aren’t crystal clear on our destination, then we will surely be distracted by one of the many other objects competing for our time.
There’s a phrase that helps to keep us on our path and that phrase is FOCUS. When we are clear about our destination, when we are clear about our QUEST, we will embrace all obstacles, all challenges, all difficulties. Anything the unknown throws at us will simply be part of the process because we are focused on the prize, we are focused on our goal, we are focused on the completion of our QUEST.
What does it mean to focus? Here is one definition!
Follow
One
Course
Until
Successful
Attributed to Robert Kiyosaki.
Another one I am very fond of is: Follow One Commitment Until Successful!
In three words it’s; Decide. Commit. Succeed!
When we are focused on our path, when we know what we’re searching for, when we understand that the only thing between us and our desired outcome is the gap between where we are and where we want to be, then all we must do is diligently work backwards to slowly close that gap, one day at a time.
Pulling from the great Steven Covey, “Begin with the end in mind.”
When we are focused, we can pick one specific thing to work on at a time, and when we accomplish whatever that is, then we can move on to the next thing. I know there are many that would argue it’s not that hard to multitask. Science would tell us otherwise, and if you’re interested in digging into this for yourself, then I recommend you investigate the results of multi-tasking and I’m sure you will find, exactly as I did, we’re not nearly as efficient as we believe we are when we divide our efforts instead of focusing on what’s most important to us.
Is it possible there might be a manual on how to achieve what one wants in life? Is it possible there might be a multitude of manuals available to us depending upon whatever it is we want for our life, or at least whatever it is we believe we want for our life, because often we don’t even know what we really want until we give ourselves permission to begin the QUEST? Many times, the answer we are seeking will only reveal itself to us once we begin the journey. We must be taking steps in the direction of whatever it is we desire to discover whatever it is we genuinely want, because sometimes what we desire is different than what we think we want.
As we grow, as we expand, as our consciousness expands, we suddenly find ourselves wondering why we ever thought so small to start with. A simple analogy to explain this concept is that if you only had a teaspoon and you went to the ocean you could only ever bring back a teaspoon at a time. As we become more aware we understand if we choose to, we can go to the ocean with a bucket. And eventually we come to understand that we needn’t take anything from the ocean at all, we can simply be with it and in being with it, be shown everything.
Life is full of lessons; the question is, are we ignoring the lessons or are we learning from the lessons as we experience them? Every lesson we ignore will repeat itself until learned. Therefore, it might just be a good idea to become a better student. And how does one go about becoming a better student? And what of these manuals that were spoken of earlier? Where would one find such a manual?
There is a secret place, often used, that holds almost every answer. It is a place not unlike a secret garden that if you do not enter you could never understand how much beauty resides inside, you could never visualize all the colors, all the patterns, all the details, all the variety that exists.
And what is this place of which I speak?
It is called, the library. In almost every town across the country, and across the globe for that matter, you will find a library. And hidden within the walls of this miraculous facility you will find answers to every question you could ever possibly ask based on any topic you could ever want to investigate.
The library can help you avoid the distractions of the internet!
How many times have you begun a Google search on a specific topic only to find yourself two hours later wondering how on earth you’re looking at cat videos? Or whatever other distraction caught your attention while you were in the process of searching for what was most important to you. And now, completely distracted, you can’t even remember what you were searching for to start with…
On the path of both success and failure there are multitudes of information. What I referred to as what’s been discarded hasn’t really been discarded at all but instead, captured on a page, ready for application. One of the greatest challenges of learning new information is application. It does us almost no good to read something and then not apply what we have learned.
Wisdom is not the accumulation of knowledge. Wisdom is the application of knowledge.
When we apply what we learn, we engage in the process of growth. When we grow, we get better, we learn new ways of doing things that may have once been ignored or accomplished through habit. When we engage in intentional learning and intentional application of what we have learned, this begins the process of change. This begins the process of growth. This is what personal growth and development is all about. It’s not about how many books you’ve read, it’s about how many lessons you’ve applied to your own life that make sense for you, based on what you want, that determines how much you have grown and how much you will grow.
Just like those who came before you, as you grow, you will discard what’s no longer serving you. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. It just simply means it didn’t have value any longer for you and as you discard what you no longer need, you’ll be leaving a clue for the next person that comes behind you as to how they might move in the direction they want their life to go. It’s possible the piece you discard will be exactly what someone else needed or what they were looking for to make sure that they could grow in the direction they choose.
What if you decided right now, today, to turn your desire to learn more, to know more, to become more, into your own personal QUEST? What if you made a commitment to learn as much as you possibly can about whatever it is that excites you the most and what if everything you need is available for free and hidden in a place where you never thought to look?
Here’s a question? How much does a library card cost? Yep, you guessed it, they are free! I believe the reason there is no real value attached to a library card is because it’s free. The truth however is that a library card is invaluable. A library card represents the golden key that unlocks the door of opportunity. What would you do if you had the golden key to everything? Would you let that card sit idle in your purse or wallet, or would you begin to use it to accumulate the knowledge you need to achieve whatever it is you desire for your one wild and precious life?
Yes, the library is full of poetry as well. If you want to read about your one wild and precious life from a book instead of a Google search, then you could go to your Public Library and read all about The Summer Day. Or you could get some books that might help you create the one wild and precious life of your dreams, some books that might help you design and create your QUEST…
Whatever it is you choose to do, be, or become, there is a good chance that everything you need is waiting for you in your Public Library. The only thing missing from the equation, is you, and the application of what you learn. Learning without application is folly. Make a commitment today to go to your Public Library and begin your QUEST…
Here’s a philosophy:
Read, Learn, Apply, Rinse, Repeat!
Advance Confidently is the title of my next book, you will have to wait to celebrate its release as I celebrate my 60th birthday. I have concluded the world doesn’t need another self-help book from me right now, so I am listening to my muse and will write a sci fi personal growth story of self-discovery instead. Hmmm? Almost sounds like a QUEST, right? I believe you will be INSPIRED with the story that chose me to write it! I never saw it coming but now that it’s here, I can’t wait to share it with all of YOU! I know it will be worth the wait because that’s my commitment to you, my readers. Thanks in advance for your trust and patience!
In the meantime, I released a special audio short story on Twitter to commemorate my Independence Day and my 31st year of sobriety. You can watch/listen to the story here ( https://youtu.be/9zP4kk5OTlo ). You can find me on Twitter @bobby_kountz
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
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In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
