I-AM
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-I admit, I’ve been chewing more than I can handle. These past couple of weeks I’ve been doing private back to back workshops leaving me drained with no energy to work on my beloved site. I was a victim of being blinded by short term success to the point of forgetting my long term goals, howtomingle.com.
The good news: with all this work I’ve done, I can afford to eat three meals a day without a source of real revenue for a couple of months…which is why I am here to announce that currently, I am closing all my workshops for awhile to purely concentrate on this site.
On that note, today is a new beginning for me as I’m rolling out new plans for my company and howtomingle, I’m excited and can’t wait to see this site grow in the coming months… it’ll be my sim city, my little farmville, my new girlfriend – it’s time to spend day and night on this baby.
SO. In celebration of new beginnings, today I want to talk about:
INSPIRATION.
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How do you see your future self? What steps will you make to get where you want to be? Do you know where you want to be? If so, do you have clear direction on how to get there? What life long goals and dreams do you have for your career, health, relationships, wealth and spirituality? Are you actively pursuing them? Or is life constantly knocking you down from taking the first few steps to a brighter future?
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ARMY OF THE WALKING-DEAD.
Are you part of this army? They’re always recruiting, right now numbers are in the billions…and no, I don’t mean this walking-dead:
The Walking-Dead – are people who live their lives in an unconscious state.
Let me explain, most people would rather follow orders than take charge. Why not? It’s easy to do! You don’t have to stress over decisions that could potentially cause you to fail in life, everything is already planned for you! With following and taking orders, you get what most strive for, piece of mind.
As someone once told me, “if you don’t decide someone will decide for you.”
Which one are you? A leader or a follower? Don’t get me wrong, you can work for a company but still be the captain of your own ship. What I mean is, most people are not fully aware of who they are, and the larger context of life and the degree of how much their lives can affect everyone they come in contact with.
The Walking Dead are masters of disguise, they look like any one of us, but really are just physical shells living through their lives as drones. Do you know anyone without clarity in their life? People who live on a day-by-day basis, never thinking about the future or what they really want? Everyday is a routine, running around doing various activities such as working, playing, partying, sleeping, but none of it has any relation to life in a bigger picture. This is what they have come to know as life.
These people are the Walking-Dead.
How do you know if you are the Walking-Dead? Below are 6 signs to watch out for:
1. Unable to see themselves as a Mover and Shaker.
A Mover and Shaker is someone who wields power and influence among peers. It is knowing that the boundaries of life are not just limited to what you see, such as family, friends, religion and workplace. The Walking-Dead are not conscious of their life as part of a bigger picture – as part of the whole universe, as part of the whole spectrum of human history, as part of something greater than what they see every day. They don’t understand that deep down they wield the influence and power to change history and affect countless lives around them, becoming a Mover and a Shaker.
How do you see yourself compared to everything around you?
2. Not living with real purpose.
What’s your life purpose? Do you have a clear vision of how you want your life to be in 5, 15, or 30 years? Or is it fuzzy and under determined? The Walking-Dead do not know what their life’s purpose is. They have a pre-determined destiny that’s been laid out for them by outside forces such as family, society and the media…when in reality, deep down they have an unsettling feeling in their gut telling them “something’s not right.”
Some have an idea of their dreams and goals, but they put it in the back burner in pursuit of other things that others expect them to do in life.
3. Life runs on auto-pilot.
Are you “running the rat race” or caught in the cycle of “going through the motions”? The Walking-Dead live their lives in auto mode, repeating the same daily activities with no conscious control over them. They drone through the weekdays, looking forward to Fridays and weekends, where they recharge themselves for yet another dead week ahead. This cycle continues week after week to no end. They are too comfortably snugged in a the cycle to do anything about it.
Occasionally, events happen which derails the motion, such as the transition to a different life phase, changing careers, loss of a job, etc. This is also referred to as a mide life crisis. When this happens, they get a wake up call. They start realizing that they haven’t been living their life. At this point, some may start taking direct action on their lives. Some choose to scurry back into their rat wheel, convincing themselves that their current life is the best one. Settling.
4. Spending Time with things that Shouldn’t Matter.
When The Walking Dead fill their time with random activities. This includes addictions such as playing games, partying, eating, watching TV, surfing the net with no means to an end, gossiping, complaining, etc. This person is not often capable of stopping at their own will until there is an external party which cuts it off, such as time, sleeping or eating. He/she is also not able to articulate a clear reason for engaging the activity, other than “because it’s fun,” “I like it”, or “there is nothing better to do.”
5. Passive or avoidance approach to life.
Living on a day to day basis – is one of the most common traps the Walking-Dead fall into. They roll along with the punches and manage them as they come along. Control is something they relinquish to people around them. Asking ‘why?’, questioning existing establishments or taking charge of events in their lives are just not in their nature.
Sometimes they find themselves trapped and hating with where they are in life, such as their relationships or careers. However, they remain passive about it because it’s hard for them to see a way out. When asked or confronted about their problems they repond with, “I want to, but [insert reason]“. They are under the mirage that what they are doing is temparary sacrifice for a better, long-term future, or they just accept defeat and believe this is the best it’ll ever get for them.
They hate conflict and try to avoid issues as much as possible. After awhile of avoiding problems, their unsolved issues will add up to a breaking point screaming for their attention. Their automatic reaction is to avoid and drown them out by engaging in numbing activities. Unfortunately, this does not resolve anything and the problem emerges again sometime in the future, in a different content. Just because you refuse to acknowledge the pink elephant in the room, doesn’t mean it’s not there.
6. Find no time to do things you want to do.
The Walking Dead are often busy all the time – they frequently complain about having a lack of time, not being able to do things they want. But they do not realize they are the ones who put themselves in that position in the first place. When questioned by other people, they cannot exactly put a finger to where all the time and energy went into. Dead-Walkers are always waiting for a proverbial ‘next time’ for their goals, dreams and desires in life, but they do not realize that the ‘next time’ never comes. By the time they do, a long time has already passed, and now they switch to thinking that it’s now ‘too late’ to work on their goals.
I once had a client who would tell me how he was always so busy.
“I have to drive 50 miles to teach piano lessons because it’s my hobby. When I get back home I’ll only have 2 hours to sleep before I have to work, I’m working 8 hours and when I get home…I’m driving 50 miles to teach piano lessons again.
“My life is so busy and so hectic!” [smiling and grinning with pride of having such a filled schedule]
To which I respond with: And you’re happy to always be tired from lack of sleep, not being able to enjoy recreational activities or spend time with loved ones?
The Walking dead are unaware on how to spend their time wisely. Recognizing the difference between working productively versus just working, like a bee, a drone.
Do any of the criteria above describe your current situation or anyone around you?
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My Own life as the Walking-Dead.
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It was 1997, I walked in on my cousin playing a video game with friends from Africa, Europe and China.
Eight people from three corners of the world simultaneously enjoying each other’s company at the same time – “Wow! I gotta try this out,” I thought to myself.
Unknowingly, I would start a ten year love/hate relationship with video games. I played every online game you could think of…Tetris, Starcraft, Bejewled, and the infamous World of Warcraft. You may have heard the stories on how destructive to one’s life these games can be. World of Warcraft alone has been known to cause deaths(no lie), separate husbands and wives, and even create incidents like this:
Take your time to soak in what you just saw…. it’s disturbingly addictive to ponder and re-watch, I know.
How I Snapped Out Of It
My reality check came when I(was 17 and) almost got fired from my job for arriving to work four hours late from pulling an all nighter playing World of Warcraft. It was then when I realized the extent of my obsession. I quit, cold turkey.
Though I’ve gotten much better at spending my time wisely, there are plenty of other things that I still battle with daily: Facebook, Twitter, watching my favorite shows such as Big Bang Theory and Mad Men… but as with anything else, it’s a work in progress.
Coming Back To The-Living
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Maybe you’ve just realized that you’ve been droning your life away. When you first come back to The-Living, you maybe shocked at how much of your life you’ve thrown away while you were dead. You may be angry at yourself. You may be upset. You may even be depressed. Just know that you are going through a process, and it’s perfectly normal.
The most important thing now is what you choose to do now that you’re alive with a fresh new perspective on life. Are you going to go back into the ground and sleep it off, pretending all this has never happened? Or are you going to face reality and start leading the life you’re meant to live?
You need to realize that you have the power to overcome your situation and you can start acting on it, right now. You can pave the path for whatever life you want. Every day in my life, I make choices and actions which move me closer to my goals. And you can definitely do the same too. No matter where you are in life right now, no matter who you are, no matter how old you are- -it is never too late to be who you are meant to be. Unless you choose to take action on what you want, nothing is ever going to come out of it.
It is easy to just go back to sleep – back to the life you knew. But is it what you really want to do? Is this how you are meant to live out your existence? Are you really living your best possible life this way?
Just remember, we all started from nothing. It just takes one person to make a difference… it’s amazing to me the concept on being such a strong character to the point of knowing I can change history.
-Parker
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Parker,
I can feel your renewed commitment and enthusiasm bursting through.
It is little wonder Zombie’s are so popular today. People subconsciously gravitate towards them because deep down they know they have become a sort of “walking dead” simply going through the motions. Our minds are easily mesmerized, easily hypnotized, and if it isnt you doing it, you can be certain the world will do it for you.
Heey Rob,
I’m thinking of just writing all my articles half way through, and expand on the ideas of your comments.
Which is why we have to wake up by mingling our minds with others alike *wink
Great Post Parker!
I love how you ended it “Are you going to go back into the ground and sleep it off, pretending all this has never happened?”
sometimes I feel like ‘the living dead’ with school work, sleep, school work, video games, school work, & partying
Hey Musa,
It’s hard when you’re in college… but I’ve seen some of your work through via Youtube. and I have faith you could really make good use of it…all it takes is some motivation and a bit of your talent.
Cheers
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