Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s fine. It’s not their journey to make sense of. It’s yours.
Author | Photographer | CG Artist | Filmmaker
We give assclowns and bad news the most press and then wonder why there is so much bad news and so many assclowns in the world.
Don’t support what you don’t want to see more of. Encourage what you do.
Lead by example.
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Reminder:
If you ever want someone to talk to, someone to help you work through something, or simply someone to bounce ideas off of, I’m here.
I don’t believe in shouting superficial things to strangers, like, “You’re beautiful!” or “You’re amazing!” or “It’s going to be ok.”
But I do believe in providing a meaningful & sincere connection, encouragement, and a non-judgmental listening ear to anyone who could really use one.
And if that’s something you can do for others, I highly recommend it.
Certainly much more than pretending that shouting “You’re awesome!” to complete strangers in exchange for likes is actually meaningful and helpful.
Superficial help provides superficial short-term relief.
Everyone loves to hear how beautiful or awesome they are. And it can provide a short-term relief, but it doesn’t provide long-term results.
People who actually want real help and have a desire for a real connection have a knack for seeing through insincerity and bullshit.
If you fish for likes by making shallow attempts to appear helpful, I challenge you to do better.
If you want to help people, help people. Don’t pretend you are by trying to collect likes in the process.
Lead by example.
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I’ve said it before, the best coaches don’t tell you what you want to hear. They challenge you to do better and say what needs to be said. Whether you like exactly how they say it or not.
“If it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change you.”
I don’t write for likes, to appeal to the masses, or to connect with everyone. I write to make a difference with the few people that what I have to say truly connects with in a meaningful way.
Today it might be you. Tomorrow it might be someone else.
If you think I write stuff because I don’t care about people or I just want to piss people off, you are greatly mistaken. Quite the opposite, it’s because I care a great deal.
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Internet trolls are one of the reasons I don’t agree with superficial ego-boosting memes like:
“You’re perfect.”, “You’re awesome.”, “You’re beautiful just the way you are.”
Because the fact is, we’re all a work-in-progress and everyone has room for improvement.
Especially people who spend their time trying to make life difficult for others.
Memes like this may get a lot of likes on social media, but I don’t believe that blanket statements like “You’re beautiful” shared with complete strangers are sincere sentiments.
They’re simply superficial ego-boosters. They don’t help (and if they do “help”, they don’t help long).
It’s better and much more effective to tell people how you feel about them directly than it is to just spew compliments to the masses in hope for likes in return.
As for being beautiful, perfect, and awesome…
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From personal relationships to business to politics, the person who isn’t afraid to be themselves, make mistakes, and even challenge you, is generally acting with far more integrity than the person attempting to do, say, and convey all the right things in order to win your affection, support or business.
Beware those afraid to show their human side or the work or thought process that led to whatever they’re saying or selling.
It’s probably wiser to consider wisdom from a wise & imperfect person — that acts like a real human being — than it is to take wisdom from a “wise” & “perfect” person that acts like a robot.
The former suggests authenticity. The latter suggests someone trying to hide their true self in order to come across as something that they’re not.
It’s one thing to have the answers, it’s another to have earned them from experience.
Don’t fall victim to those seemingly perfect people or products that cater to your ego or sense of self-worth in order to profit from your patronage.
No one in this world is perfect. There are only people who pretend to be.
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Want to feel better?
Encourage someone. Show appreciation. Express gratitude. Be helpful.
Seek to contribute something of value to the people and places you encounter in life. Not once, but often.
Be the embodiment of the qualities you seek in others.
Happiness is more likely to manifest itself in one’s life as a result of making a positive difference in other people’s lives than it is by solely seeking to benefit one’s own.
“Student says, ‘I am very discouraged. What should I do?’ Master says, ‘Encourage others.'” — Zen Proverb
Want to feel better? Be someone’s reason to smile today.
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True wealth isn’t flashy and it doesn’t exist in things.
True wealth is accumulated through the positive impact one has on the world. And it’s traded in kindness and positive energy.
True wealth doesn’t exist in bank accounts. It only exists in the minds and hearts of the people one touches & inspires throughout their lifetime and beyond.
True wealth isn’t measured by the value of the things you have, it’s measured by how valuable you are without them.
If you want to know what it feels like to be truly wealthy, never underestimate the time spent doing things that have a positive impact on others.
True wealth doesn’t involve dollar signs because true wealth is beyond measuring.
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Think of a group of people you don’t like.
Now realize there are people in the world who don’t like a group of people that you fall within.
Whether it’s because of your profession, the color of your skin, your cultural background or something else entirely, you are disliked by people who don’t even know you simply because you fall within a stereotype.
Think it’s fair? Probably not. They don’t know you or what motivates you, how could it be fair?
If you’ve ever been stereotyped and didn’t like it, then refuse to stereotype others no matter how accurate you think the stereotype is.
It should go without saying, but no two people are exactly alike.
Every person on the planet draws upon a unique history of life experiences that shape who they are, how they see the world, and how they act.
Refuse to rely on a generalization or oversimplification from which to judge a group of people.
Resist disrespecting and speaking badly about others just because family, friends, the media, or society considers it acceptable to paint an entire race, culture, or group of people in a negative light.
Whatever your lifestyle preferences may be, respect people enough to give others a chance to show who they are by how they act.
Some of the best friendships in the world are between people who don’t necessarily agree on everything. It is our differences from one another that help us grow and push us to see the world from a perspective other than the one we’ve grown most comfortable with.
ster·e·o·type
noun
1. a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
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It is far more effective to be a person who encourages others than it is to spend one’s time finding faults, criticizing, or judging people.
Not only will you feel better about yourself as a result of being a force for good, you’ll be making a positive difference in people’s lives.
Refuse to put people down. Refuse to judge those who aren’t exactly like you. Refuse to do to others what you wouldn’t like done to you.
Remember that everyone lives their lives in a way that reflects what they’ve learned from life experience.
Not everyone thinks the same. Not everyone knows what you know. Not everyone has the same level of awareness.
Help people live their lives in a positive way by encouraging more of what you’d like to see in the world.
Lift people up. Raise people’s spirits. Make friends, not enemies.
Help educate people by being a good example.
Be kind. Be encouraging. Be honest. Be tolerant.
Inspire others to live with integrity.
Lead by example.
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If your source of news has a consistent opinionated narrative, it isn’t news, it’s propaganda.
True news delivers the details without spin.
It should be up to individual audience members to make up their own minds based on the information provided and not have opinions marketed to them in order to promote a particular agenda.
Stories can be easily altered by repeatedly focusing on a single point, perspective, or person or by not sharing or airing key details.
Learn to recognize when you’re being mislead, misdirected, and manipulated by the media.
Remember to fact check and don’t rely on only a single source of information (or meme).
Know that there is always more than a single side to a story and that repeatedly stating something doesn’t make it true.
Refuse to let the media pit you against people or causes you know nothing about except what they’ve told you.
Form your own opinions, don’t let your opinions be formed for you.
“How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” — Abraham Lincoln
prop·a·gan·da
noun
1. information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.
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Some days we help. Some days we get helped.
Be the person you wish would show up and help you when you could use a hand by being the person who helps someone else when they could use a hand.
We’re all in this together.
Lead by example.
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