Education
There are some pluses and minuses to living in the best time in history in this civilized modern society of ours. If you’re a man of even modest means, life can become pretty comfortable—yes, pretty comfortable indeed. Of course this is good in many respects. A man can live his life in relative safety, there is ample employment, as well as easy access to both health and educational resources. And there are countless entertainment and pleasure based distractions readily available for rest and relaxation. Never before has so much rich food, diversion and vice been simply a few dollars or the click of a button away. But all of this wealth, material ease, distraction and comfort can lead to a certain emptiness. As with all extrinsic based stimulation, tolerance eventually comes into play. In other words, eventually nothing external to you is able to create the same level of pleasure as it used to do. This tolerance, or The Hedonic Treadmill as I call it, can twist a man into what he should not become if he is not careful. The pursuit of pleasure and materialism as an end tends to corrupt the Soul and can take a man completely down. Even if you’re disciplined and wise enough to avoid this trap, excessive ease and comfort can still steal the fire that used to reign within. Comfort can be an ambition killer. Once your life is on cruise control and you reach a certain level of satisfaction, that satisfaction can backfire and you can lose your way. And the same goes for the daily routines of work and family. The worse part is, that in working to provide for your family, you can lose the all important focus on your own well being—and your woman and children will see it. Raising a family and working for a living, along with all the responsibilities of doing so, can dull a man’s edge after a few years. You can become soft in physique, soft in ambition and soft in spirit; a shadow of your once formidable self. If you’re sick of this shadow and tired of being sick and tired, then perhaps it’s time to break away in some fashion. The good news is, if you’re dissatisfied with your current state it means there is still yet, some life within. A small ember or pilot light remains. This dissatisfaction is good then. It’s a signal to your Core, to your Soul, to your innate God given potential that something is amiss; relish it, because it means you haven’t given up. Yes, relish this unease and then turn it around and light it on fire. Take a step back and reassess your life. Put aside all distractions for a day and get serious with yourself. It won’t take very long, if you bear down and dig deep. Perhaps it’s time to break away from the comfort and ease, by choice and by deliberation. Perhaps it’s time to challenge yourself again with a brand new course of action; time for some Personal Evolution and some gut busting effort; time to make life your playing field again; time to Live to Thrill. Create your Vision So it is done then and the decision is made. You will start at the beginning. Find your Purpose and then use it to create a Life Vision. Dig deep into your Core and find what it is that will give your life the most possible Meaning—this is your Purpose or Life Mission, as I call it. And then craft a Life Vision from that Meaning—who you want to become and the goals you want to achieve. Design your Ideal Self; you at your very best utilizing all your innate potential. And then create a list of accomplishments that would propel you to that Ideal. Your Vision can contain something you’ve always wanted to pursue or maybe just take you in a whole new direction. The key is that it will light your hair on fire. It will stretch you and require personal evolution. You will need to become much better than you are, more than you are. So you will specifically delineate a new Life Vision then. And you will write it down and post it where you will see it each day, first thing in the morning. Sick of it or not,