#Trust 30 Day 12

[To find out why I am writing all these #Trust30 posts, click here]

These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed? Put yourself in the shoes of the you who’s already lived your dream and write out the answers to the following:

Is the insecurity you’re defending worth the dream you’ll never realize? or the love you’ll never venture? or the joy you’ll never feel?

Will the blunder matter in 10 years? Or 10 weeks? Or 10 days? Or 10 minutes?

Can you be happy being anything less than who you really are?

Now Do. The Thing. You Fear.” –Lachlan Cotter

 

Another day, another similar prompt. This is getting a little redundant.

Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed?

On some levels, yes. I am working through it though. That is one reason I write.

The question that keeps me awake at night is, if I really want to be “truly self-expressed,” what is going to make it financially possible?

Here’s an example of what I mean. I read someone else’s #trust30 post today that described the rules of a game called “Spin the Globe,” where you take a well-oiled globe, give it a good spin and have a friend close his eyes and stop the globe with a finger. If the finger stops on a country or island, you have seven days to make arrangements and travel there. What a game! Unfortunately for the guy who wrote the post, the game was only theoretical. In his comments section, he admitted that it wasn’t real because he did not know how to pay for it.

Is the insecurity you’re defending worth the dream you’ll never realize? Probably not. While money is important, if it were the real obstacle, I could find a way to get it.

Will the blunder matter in 10 years? Only if the blunder is to not go for it.

Can you be happy being anything less than who you really are? Truly happy? No. Happy enough? I hope not.

#Trust30 Day 11 – Imitation is what?

[To find out why I am writing all these #Trust30 posts, click here]

Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you – one that doesn’t hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a “divine idea which each of us represents” – which is yours?” –Fabian Kruse (the Friendly Anarchist)

 

Emerson’s quote is a pretty absolute statement. By trying to be someone else, you lose yourself, and you might as well no longer be alive. The great ones know this. They are inimitable, with a style that sets them apart. As soon as Elvis opens his mouth to sing, you know who it is.

The concept reminds me of learning to play the guitar. At one time in my life, I aspired to be a musician. I spent hours trying to play songs in the same way that Eric Clapton and others did. I grew frustrated when I couldn’t reproduce the sounds I heard. My fingers moved too slowly, my tone was not clean enough and eventually I gave up trying.

Looking back, I would approach music very differently.

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#Trust30 Day 10 - Message from a soapbox

[Today we have arrived at 1/3 of the way through the challenge! It's been fun so far, but exhausting too. To find out why I am writing all these #Trust30 posts, click here]

Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote:

To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. 

Mr. Eric Handler’s prompt:

What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say?

[Let’s see…a million people….I would tell everyone to click on my ads….Wait, just kidding. . . Dear Google, I was only trying to be funny. . . It was a joke! Don’t banish me! Aaaaagggghhhh!]

The real message: Just because someone tells you it’s true, doesn’t mean it is. Be skeptical when you talk to people who are completely convinced, without any doubts, that they have the right answers—even if you agree with them. There is a lot more gray in this world than many are willing to admit.

Never lose your ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. You might find that your adversary has a good point, if you are willing to actually listen to what he or she is saying.

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#Trust30 - Day 9 - Too scary?

[To find out why I am writing all these #Trust30 posts, click here]

Today's Quote:

The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

And the Prompt:

Emerson says: “Always do what you are afraid to do.” What is ‘too scary’ to write about? Try doing it now. – Mary Jaksch

Hmm. It’s one thing to answer a question like this in private, with your best friend or confidant, but when you start expecting me to write about something like that in this space, I begin to question my wisdom in accepting this writing challenge.

Some of the things that are “too scary” to write about are things best kept in confidence. At least they are things that I am not ready to share in a public forum. However, I will try to give you something, because you have been kind enough to come here to read this.

*thinking*

It took a while, but after staring at this screen until the white page permanently stained my retinae, I found my topic: love.

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#Trust30 - Day 8 - A look back

[To find out why I am writing all these #Trust30 posts, click here]

The prompt:

What would you say to the person you were five years ago? What will you say to the person you’ll be in five years? - Corbett Barr

Before I start answering, could I talk to the person from 10 or 15 years ago too?

I try to not look back on things too much, because looking back like that can fill your mind with too many ifs, as in “if only I had….” You can see all of the mistakes you made and what you could have done differently. Five years ago, I was living in Boston, trying to figure out my new job requirements at Starbucks. It was the first time I had worked in customer service, and it opened my eyes about service jobs. Fortunately, I had a great group of people to work with and it was a great experience (everyone should have to work in food service at some point in their lives. It would give us all a lesson on how to treat others. For the most part, the customers were great, but there were those who—to be nice—weren’t. They had forgotten that baristas (or waiters, waitresses, bartenders, etc.) are there to serve them, not be their servants. It is a huge difference).

There are definitely a few things I would say to that me. I would tell that other self that when life throws you a curve, don’t panic. Don’t get in any rush to change what you are doing. You can figure it out. Go after your dreams with everything you have and ask others for help when you need it, because people are willing to help you, if they know you want it. If you don’t ask, they won’t know.

And to the person I am in five years:

I persevered, and succeeded.

[Question: Do you think it is valuable to look back at your life in this way? Does it help you figure out where you are going today?]