Day 1: Structure vs Energy

This blog’s purpose is to document my journey to becoming a person of integrity. I will be sharing my realizations, cognitions, and lessons on this journey. I will be sharing the tools that I am using and my application of them.

 I have walked a path in my life for many years now, with regards to developing myself into an entrepreneur and I’ve had many successes and many failures. The point that I am realizing which has spurred me to begin this process of writing down and documenting my life and self-development from this point forward is that energy, while oftentimes a useful tool, is limited. Energy is used to mold and manipulate this world, and if not understood and placed in the proper context in one’s life, it can come to consume your life so that there is very little left of that spark of Life that we come into this world with. There is a lot of information out there in the self-development circles, and although I am not pretending to know everything or have all the answers, I have walked a unique path for a period of time, which has given me the opportunity to test many theories through applying them to my life and to see their effects and consequences. I have also had the ‘fortune,’ if you will, to learn from others who have walked for many years with great successes and terrific failures and I have watched them closely and taken notes and practiced what I learned. I have not always been a perfect student, I always have room for improvement, but I hope that you may be able to learn something from my journey that you can use to accelerate your process to becoming the best version of yourself possible. Of course, at the end of the day, you are ultimately responsible for what you create of yourself, but if I can be of service in supporting you and others to achieve your goals, as long as your goals are in line with what is Best, then I will consider this endeavor a success.

Now, before I return to explaining the realization that I’d like to share in this post, I want to implore you to consider a fundamental principle: Knowledge without application is useless. They say knowledge is power, but the truth is that only knowledge that is applied is power, because power is one and the same as physical movement. So, when we ‘realize’ something, it cannot stay in the mind as thoughts. You cannot ‘realize’ something without taking measureable action. Because if it does not have a measureable effect in reality, then it is not Real. It would only be fantasy or imagination. To know and not to do, is not to know.  So for us to truly realize something, we must make it real, not just think about it and feel good about having thought something profound or interesting.

So, back to the realization. Even though this is a point I have understood for some time now, the physical manifestation, the REALization of my understanding is this very blog that you are now reading. That will make more sense as you continue to read, but for now simply consider that I am planting seeds that will germinate and sprout as we walk together.

Consider the following assertion: Energy, as we understand it, is not real. It is not real because it is always changing. Anyone who has been in a relationship will understand what I mean (everyone is in relationship to many things, whether they are aware of it or not. You are in a relationship with yourself, for example, which is why you talk to yourself. Who is the one talking and who is the one listening? Funny when you stop to think about it.) In any relationship, one moment you are happy and then something can happen which throws you for a complete loop. You are in love and absolutely adore someone one second and then the next you hate him or her and want them out of your life.  This is the essence of energy: up and down, positive and negative. Think of a battery. You charge it up and then its able to power something, but then eventually that charge runs out. Life, or what most people experience of life, is a series of ups and downs, but the real question is whether it has to be this way. Is it LIFE itself that is up and down, or our experience or perception of it that is up and down? Is Life our experience or is Life a principle?

You may wonder what this has to do with entrepreneurship, because after all that is the theme of this blog. What I have found thus far on my journey as an entrepreneur is that many times I have attained a point of success only to have it fall apart. Just like the observation about relationships, success in business has its ups and downs. It is a common success principle that the one who fails the most will in the end succeed where others would have given up. I’m not suggesting that one can completely prevent the ups and downs, at least not within the current system (because it is based on energy and therefore subject to the cyclic, wavelike nature of energy.) The ‘problem’ I am addressing is the tendency for myself (and you may experience this as well) to, when the ‘down’ comes, to lose faith in myself or crash very hard and within that to create consequences that are not best. Consequences that end up making it more difficult to get back on track and headed towards the achievement of my goal. Then a lot of time is spent on trying to undo the consequences, instead of moving forward and expanding. There seems to be a point to which I expand and then a contraction occurs, almost like hitting a limit, and so it has been difficult up until now to move past that limit. I have expanded quite a bit from where I started on this journey, don’t get me wrong, however my goal is to have a real, measurable impact in this world, and to do that I must be able to move others in this world into taking action. That is what an entrepreneur does. He or she is able to formulate an idea and then, using the tools of influence and communication, create circumstances and events and coordinate people to manifest the idea into reality. So within that I am now seeing the opportunity to make some changes within myself that will support me to become even more effective at fulfilling my goals and dreams, my chief aim being to support as many people as possible (including myself, first and foremost) to become the best version of themselves and to therefore support future and current generations to develop the strength, resolve, and understanding necessary to create a system that is best for all. So within this, I have found that I must stop my RELIANCE on energy as a form of motivation and to develop a stable foundation within myself to move from.

So, as I was saying previously, Life itself is not based in energy, and yet our perception and experience of Life is as an up and down, so therefore there must be an adjustment. Now, before you think I am going to suggest that you just drop all your perceptions and meditate until you have no experience of up or down, please understand, that is not my point. What I have come to understand is that what is truly real is that which stands the test of time. It is not up or down. The best expression of this concept in a word is: Principle. Principle differs from energy in that it doesn’t change based on circumstance. For example, if someone says they love you and then suddenly you like them and want to give them gifts, and then they say they don’t like you and you go into anger or self-pity, then you are living within energy, you are subject to it, and you are changing who you are based on the up and down cycles. But if you treat everyone equally no matter what (that doesn’t mean ‘the same,’ it simply means that you treat them with equal dignity and you recognize the equal value of their life as compared with anyone else’s, including yours, and you consider this equality within all of your decisions), then you are living within principle. Living within principle is not living by a set of rules, because that would simply be following a pre-determined pattern and would not be living at all. Life, according to my own common sense, is expansion and being/having/doing the very best in each moment. So, according to that definition, anyone with eyes to see can look around at the world and see that virtually no one is living the best life they possibly can. No one is truly happy. Most people are in fact living in absolute poverty, misery, and suppression of who they really are. Why is that?

It is because we are all living in and participating in a system that is not designed to provide the best possible life for everyone (animals and plants included). So there is really no Life at all on this planet. We are constantly looking for life in outer space and other planets, and yet completely miss the fact that life is absent right here (maybe that is why we are so keen to look elsewhere, lol.)  Partly it has to do with how we have defined the word ‘Life,’ which mainly comes to us through our social programming through media and school, which defines life in a limited way (something to explore in another post perhaps.) But if we really look and are honest with ourselves, we can see that most people that are alive right now, are simply following in a path that is set before them. Their life is not really self-determined. They are not expanding; they are actually diminishing. 

So then who is really in control? Well, lets look at that. When you are born, you are given a name and a set of parents and then these people begin to educate you. They will consciously think of lessons to teach you and they will use various forms of reward and punishment to mold your behavior, and you will also learn a great deal simply by observing them and mimicking their behavior. This occurs quite naturally and is referred to as the Natural Learning Ability (more about that in a future post as well.) So, much of a person’s life is set in the first 7 years, which countless researchers have shown to be the time period where the child learns the most. After that our Natural Learning Ability shuts down, so to speak, and from that point on we mostly are just memorizing specific information relating to different fields or we are training ourselves to repeat certain tasks for money. But in those first seven years we will learn a lot about our environment and develop habits and patterns of thought to navigate in this world. Now, look at it self-honestly. How much of what you learn during that time period is deliberate, well thought out, and calculated to support you to be the very best that you can possibly be? And even if you as an individual have parents that do their very best, what about the billions of others on this planet? Is it the case that genius is exceedingly rare because it is not natural to the average person, or is it because it is rare that a person is supported to utilize the full range of their true capabilities as a human being?

Now, consider that your parents learned from their parents and from their environment. The cycle goes back as far as anyone can reasonably measure. This cyclic reinforcement is referred to as programming, and because it already exists when you are born, we can say that your life is pre-programmed. That doesn’t mean you can’t do something about it, but before you can you must be honest about reality. So the environment is pre-set from the moment you are born and it is set to be one where you must learn to survive and so survival becomes your primary focus. Instead of survival being a guarantee (which it is not for the average human being), it is something you must earn. Which means that from the moment you are born, the system we live in says to you that you are not worthy, by virtue of being alive, of continuing to live. You must earn it. Now, we do not have time to go into every dimension of this in this one post, which is why this is a journey. And understand, I am writing this for ME just as much as I am writing it for YOU. Because YOU and I are essentially the same. We are both embodiments of the principle of LIFE, whether we REALIZE it or not. And yet, based on our different placements in the system that runs our planet and our lives, we may both access and express our true nature as LIFE or we may not. And it is very sad for someone not to express who they really are. So, perhaps you will take my example as I have taken the example of others before me and use the time you have left on earth to express who you really are. Not the pre-programmed personality that you think others want you to be, but the person that deep down, using your own common sense, and sense of Life that you want to be or know yourself to be. The opportunity is there if you are able to read and consider what is presented here. And this blog is by no means the end-all-be-all of perspectives on this topic. There is a network, of which I am a member, of others who are also walking this journey. Some are further along than others, and each has their unique vantage point. We are all, in fact, on this journey, some are just aware that they are on the journey and are able to walk it deliberately and express what they are facing on this journey so that others may become aware of their own journey. As you and I establish a relationship through this blog I will introduce you to others like me and to the tools that I have learned to use for my own best benefit.

It is not a coincidence that journey and journal are similar in sound, because it is through the process of journaling with specificity and purpose that I am placing in writing what I am learning about myself and Life, and, in essence, ‘rewriting’ the script of my life to one that leads to success rather than retelling the same old story of living out a life as a cog in the wheel. A life of consequence and substance must be a life guided by principle. And because the system we live in has no principle, we must carve it out through the living of our life, pushing past all limits. Anyway, the system is falling apart. It is running amok and is creating suffering at every turn. It is not designed to support you to express who you really are. That is why so many die with their music still inside (as Mark Twain put it.)

So this journal will be a sharing of my journey as an entrepreneur, where my enterprise will be to create a company of integrity which provides a product that benefits all of mankind and in fact all of Life. There will be some things that I am not able to share because it is not practical, but I will always endeavor to bring through the essence that will be of value to as many as possible (including myself). I will be sharing my own personal process of bringing stability and awareness to my thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions and to my process of equalizing these so that my expression in this world is the best that is possible. My goal in this Life is to do my very best to bring about a world that is Best for Everyone, as best as is physically possible. This is what drives me forward in life. It is what proves that I am in fact ALIVE.

To close the point that was brought up in the beginning, the realization that energy is not real, I will add that what is real is structure. A wise man once asked me, as we sat in his office, “Look around at this room. Is it energy that holds it up? No! It is the walls and the structure that hold it together.” So within that statement I realize, through this blog, the importance of investigating and restructuring my own internal programming. The programming currently consisting of words with definitions that are ‘defining’ (i.e. limiting) my life to a specific pattern of action. All action begins with a word or words. In the Gospel According to John we are told that “In the beginning was the word.” So, creation starts with a word and it is the definition that shapes how that creation unfolds and manifests. Thus how we define words within ourselves (i.e. our internal programming) determines what we create through our actions. Another wise man once said, “If you want things in your life to change, then you are going to have to change things in your life.” If all ‘things’ begin with a word, then it is with the words that we must begin. So this journal will be a Journey to Life, through placing into writing, into structure, the correction of the words through which I create in this world. So as the structure is laid down, then my foundation for action is more stable, and no longer determined by the up and down of energy. Imagine a new world of entrepreneurs, coming together, creating a world that is best for all through enterprise, not being swayed by the up and down of business cycles to act only for profit or self interest, but to always act in the best interest of everyone! The reward will be better than numbers on a quarterly report. We will be beholden not to our shareholders but to our principles. Because then and only then will our legacy be real and lasting and bring us everlasting joy! Because we will know that we have left our mark and that it is the best possible mark. Along this journey I shall be gathering allies, forming relationships, and creating a movement that will ripple out and change this world forever. This journey should prove to be interesting, perhaps ‘dramatic’ (in the best sense of the word), and ultimately supportive for others, especially those who are walking the path, as I am, of manifesting into this world a practice of business that will bring equal value to all Life and serve as a legacy for future generations.

I have been on this journey for some time now, walking in private, gathering the resolve to stand up and stand out! If we are self-honest, we all want to stand out, and yet we are told to keep to ourselves and not make waves. We, as Entrepreneurs for Life say “No more!” This is a new beginning and therefore a new ending, a better ending to the story of my Life.

If you find this blog to be of value and support, share it with others. Follow this blog and check back often to walk with me on this journey. Feel free to reach out! Let’s move together as one until all are equal! Until next time, “All the Best!”