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Hello listeners and welcome to the White Pony Network Podcast episode 17, and the first for 2018. Yes it has been quite the hiatus and I apologise for that.
Plenty has been happening and there was a bunch of stuff that had to be sorted. It’s nice to be at a point now where I can put some focus back into the podcast.
I love the conversations that I have had and recorded so far and I hope to have many more. They will definitely continue this year. They will be less frequent and more diverse, but I will continue to explore ultimately what I want to do.
We have a couple of episodes with some awesome guests ready for release shortly.
The WPNP motto was ‘Explore what you really want to do’ then ‘It’s time to hustle’ as I explore the people in my networks who have found their purpose, are adding value and therefore generating wealth – so the leaders in their respective fields. I have definitely made some inroads into how I go about finding and also understanding what it is that I ultimately want to do. And no doubt the motto will continue to evolve.
I realise that I have been searching externally for not just ideas but also satisfaction for my whole life, as most of us in the western world do. It turns out that everything we already need in terms of how we feel is in fact internal. This has been a key learning on my path to discovering ultimately what I want to do. I’ll elaborate on this shortly.
So a snapshot of the last 2 years and what’s to come this year:
In 2016 at one time there I was doing 8 different projects. That is absolutely ridiculous. Not recommended.
In 2017 the plan was to get more focused. I still took on and continued too many projects. The last two years I was not only doing too much, but I was also doing some things that I didn’t enjoy anywhere near enough.
In 2018 I am cutting out projects and stripping it back to what do I ultimately want to do and focus on. I’m still doing some events which are still fun and I’m part of a team mining crypto at our various data centres around Melbourne. I’ve been working for a friend of mine’s start up for a little while now in both business development manager and account manager type roles and it’s been great. First time in my life I’ve ever taken a full time job. Although it won’t be forever, I’m enjoying the different skills that I’m learning, the networks that I’m growing and the steady income means that I can focus more and not have to worry about putting income first all the time.
This next part is my biggest key learning to date as I explore what I want to do. What I am about to say isn’t for everyone, it is just for those who are ready.
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Level 1 vs Level 2 Personal Development
I now understand that there are 2 different levels of personal development. Level 2 is all that I thought there ever was in that space.
When I say Level 2 I am referring to goal setting, affirmations; working on productivity, planning and being organised; reading all the usual self-help books; getting up early and spending the first hour of my day on my most important task; working with To-Do lists; going to seminars and networking events; constantly learning more about how to better my business and productivity skills.
All of this is very important, however it is not as important as Level 1. Once we grasp Level 1, then Level 2 comes easy. Level 1 is the fundamental building blocks of who we are.
When I say Level 1, I’m talking about understanding our deepest point of being. Level 1 personal development is about understanding why we have these feelings that for example we’re not worthy. Deep seeded beliefs that we’re not good enough. Constantly regretting things from one’s past or constantly being anxious about the events to come in or the unknown of one’s future. Self-sabotage to return to a place where one subconsciously believes that one belongs. To ‘slot in’ to society exactly where our parents did and their parents did, including having the same successes and making the same mistakes.
Once I understood that I am not my thoughts, that my conscious being is above my thoughts and that my mind or ego is just one part of me, this really helped change how I felt, and of course changed my thinking. It didn’t change my being, as consciousness can’t be changed, but it helped my mind understand where it stands in all of this. This is a difficult topic to put into words.
Basically thoughts are just that – we don’t need to identify with them. As most of our repetitive thoughts are negative, it’s evident that the less we identify with them and the less we make them mean, the better.
It’s like when people say enjoy the journey not the destination. To fully grasp that concept, one must be able to surrender to the now and accept that this is how it is right now. And that nothing happens in the past or future, the only time that anything can happen is in the Now, right now. The past is just memories and the future is just anticipation. Even planning for the future is of course done in the Now.
A quote that I’d like to explore. ‘Money doesn’t buy you happiness but I’d rather cry in my Ferrari.’
On the surface level, money under around 100k per year will buy you happiness in terms of food, shelter, clothing, health appoints, paying bills, going on holidays etc. Above about 100k won’t make one any happier.
Sure, if we’re going to be unhappy, may as well cry in a Ferrari rather than a Daewoo. But why be unhappy at all? If we’re not happy right now, then there’s no use living for a future projection of yourself ‘When I get that (insert whatever dangled carrot you’re thinking about here) then I’ll be happy’.
To get to not only owning a Ferrari (or whatever goal it is that you’ve set) and more importantly to hold onto it or stay at that external level ongoing, one must feel worthy of being there. So if one isn’t happy before they get the Ferrari then they’re definitely not going to be happy with it. If anything they’ll be worse, because if the goal is reached from being driven by fear, then the ego hardens. And all of a sudden nothing is good enough. And this rubbish ‘I am better than everyone’ attitude often pursues and then they lose it all.
I’ve never owned a Ferrari, but twice in my life my businesses have given me ‘more money that I knew what to do with’ so to speak. That’s not literal at all, that’s just through the eyes and mind of a kid in his early to mid twenties. The ego definitely hardens, and the worries don’t go away – only the under 100k type worries are gone. Sure that part is great, but you could imagine getting to a place like that and thinking ‘Wow everything is actually still the same, except now I think that I have an image to uphold.’
This is a journey, I certainly haven’t reached the point of being happy all the time and being able to pass thoughts and stay present freely all the time, or be able to work from a place of love with clear creativity all the time, but I’m definitely working on it every day.
I have learnt why I always took on every project that came up instead of pausing and being selective with my focuses and my time. I was operating and creating from a place of fear and not of love. Fear that I had to get to multimillionaire status or I wouldn’t be happy or worthy plus some other similar thoughts. Executing one’s plan to achieve a set goal through love is the true unity of inner and outer and the epitome of creativity.
Our outer world in merely a reflection of our inner world. If our inner world isn’t sorted while we’re trying to create in our outer world, then it’s like building a skyscraper on swampland.
My recommendations for anyone interested in exploring their inner self:
A great place to start is reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, and downloading and subscribing to the Headspace app. The app has a daily streak – which by the way I believe is important to any app’s success. That was what encouraged me to reach a 249 say streak on Duolingo a little while back. After meditating sporadically for nearly 2 years, I’m nearly 60 days in on a Headspace streak.
Now for developing skills in both our inner and outer worlds, there are 3 books that I think everyone should read:
As I just mentioned, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. An incredible Level 1 personal development book and the most important book that I’ve ever read.
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape. So simple and brilliant. Practical advice that works on getting one out of debt, saving and removing money stresses for life.
Key Person of Influence by Daniel Priestly. This ovelaps Level 2 personal development and business. This is a step-by-step playbook to becoming the leader in your niche for anything. Whether you want 1000 followers for your side hobby or you want to be known as a leader and expert in your field, this book will step you through it.
There are so many books in the Level 1 & Level 2 personal development spaces that are worth reading. One book that looks to almost combine the two (or at least explain Level 1 in a Level 2 way) is Solve For Happy by Mo Gawdat. He was the Chief Business Officer for Google X then learnt to day trade and purchased 2x vintage Rolls Royces but still couldn’t work out why he wasn’t satisfied or happy.
Other Level 2 Personal Development books I recommend are Miracle Morning by Had Elrod (everyone should have morning routine and this a great place to start), Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins & The 7 Habits of Highly Effective people by Stephen Covey.
What books do you recommend? I’d love to hear. Send me an email at wes@whiteponynetwork.com
In life and in regards to Level 2, people have the choice of either being the pinball or the machine.
They can either bounce around reacting to everything that comes up in front of them, or they can take control and be the machine that chooses to create things that the ball can react to.
Are you fundamentally the creator or the consumer? I’m not saying one is better than the other, everyone is in fact both. I’d just rather spend more time being the creator and less time being the consumer.
More importantly and in regards to Level 1, are you creating from a place of love or a place of fear?
When we strip it back, that’s all there is.
I’m really looking forward to releasing these next episodes and I will continue to provide you with content that interests me and that I think will benefit both me and you.
Thank you for being a part of this journey with me and thank you as always for listening.
This episode is brought to you by our good friends at Tondo Digital.
Grab yourself a FREE copy of our eBook! The Bitcoin Bible. 10 reasons why we believe Bitcoin could be with 1 Million in 10 years. Click Here to download it now.
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