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A common philosophy in our culture that is disturbing our journey to success


The other day, I was reading about common obstacles we face in our pursue to becoming the best-version-of-ourselves.

Among the many great arguments I read, there was one that really struck me as something I wanted to remember and share with you.

The writer mentioned one philosophy in our culture right now that is curtailing our ability to reach our goals by keeping us in our comfort zone and limiting our potential for excellence.

That philosophy is the idea of minimalism.

The minimalist is always asking, "What is the least I can do....

... and still pass my class?

... and still keep my job?

... and still keep my marriage?

... and still stay physically fit?"

People who live by this philosophy are always seeking to put in the least amount of effort and still get the greatest reward in return.

Adopting this kind of mindset leads us to slowly slip into a state of mediocrity and indifference. We begin to turn a blind eye towards becoming the best-version-of-ourselves.

By asking "what is the least I can do?", we become self-centered and only focused on how to satisfy our needs. Because of this self-focus, we lose empathy towards others and our impact on them. This disturbs our relationships and makes us feel empty and longing for something.

But not only does mediocrity and indifference affect our relationships, it also affects our ability to innovate and seek growth. Because we are limiting our minds to barely trying to survive, we lose sight of our longing to thrive and expand.

Surviving makes us feel forced, small, caged, and out of control. These feelings feed our mediocrity and indifference.

But we want to do more than just survive. We want to thrive.

Thriving makes us feel liberated, limitless, and joyful. These feelings expand our horizons and makes us more aware of greater ideas and peoples in our lives. They also show us the great responsibility we have as citizens of this world to impart our talents to create a better future by becoming the best-version-of-ourselves.

If we want to feel hope and alive throughout our lives, let's seek to always feel a longing to thrive.

Great innovators, entrepreneurs, companies, writers, volunteers, saints, teachers, coaches, scientists, athletes, and many more like you and me who have experienced joy in their lives didn't ask themselves what was the least they could do to succeed, but they went on to give of themselves 110% without a second thought.

As Beethoven said,

"Not only practice your art. But force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine."

Let's seek to experience the joy of giving of ourselves to our work, our families, our passions, to whatever your art is in your life, so that we can instill a philosophy of innovation, expansion, and love to a future generation.

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear from you. Let's connect!

Trust the process. Live the commitment

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