Dan Adams '07

“Let us be ashamed of our superficial life, it is full of lies. There are only two possibilities: the one is that we are not able to see the truth, the other that, when we have once seen it glimmering before us, the path that is leading to it, we are devoured by the eternal thirst to follow it to the end. He who is filled with this love for truth goes out into life like a hero without weapons, but under the spread out wings of an archangel.” -Antoine Bourdelle

I came to the simple conclusion this past year that everything that I have experienced in my life has come as a result of a simple thought or perception. However, if I truly believed this, why was I getting up every morning to participate in a corporate job that I had no interest in? How could I teach the principles I was beginning to believe without first embodying them? 2011 marked the first time in my 26 years that I made a conscious choice to seek the adventure, taking a complete leap of faith to embody the concepts that I had come to believe. I describe the events in my life that led to this understanding in The Discovery of My Own Hero: Connecting The Dots, a process of “connecting the dots” that Steve Jobs refers to in his Stanford commencement speech. Mission Kilimanjaro started as a simple vision much like anything else that has occurred in my life and through a willingness to confront fear and adversity along the way, it will become a reality in a few short days.

As we approach 2012, I hope you will take some time to reflect upon your life and follow your passions. How would you want your life story to read if you could write it? What would you do if you were unafraid to fail? Here are 10 tips that can help in bringing any vision to reality..

1. Develop a vision– The creation of vision is something we all practice on a daily basis, however, it is a process that we are often unconscious of as we rationalize or blame outside events for our current situation. It is time for you to wake up and recognize your potential! What do you want to be? What do you want to create in your life? The purpose of developing a vision is to seek your highest truth, to become the highest version of yourself based upon your current level of consciousness. There are no right or wrong answers, so feel free to expand your perspective through experience. It is not seeking to become that will free you, it is understanding who you truly are that will allow you to break away from perceived limitations . Be Your Own Hero!

2. Write down everything you can about the vision (be as descriptive as possible)– When you develop a vision it is important to be as descriptive as possible. Think  of every little detail and envision how you want it to be. I constantly carry a composition notebook around with me to be able to capture a vision the instant it comes to me. I used the same process of visualization playing football and at times, it was simply unbelievable to see events I envisioned the night before play out on game day (It was if there was no difference between dreaming and reality).

3. Be confident in your ability as a creator (don’t let the external environment effect your internal vision)– You must be fully confident in your power of creation. If not, you will simply allow small adversities in the external world to rob you of your power. People fail in this process because they second guess themselves (rationalization), develop a sense of fear, or they let other unconscious individuals strip away their power. If you could create anything you wanted, would you have the courage to attempt to bring your highest vision to reality? Do you fear glimpsing your highest potential? The only way to find truth in your life is through developing your perspective through personal experience. What do you have to lose? Next time you find yourself rationalizing, take a look up at the infinity of the night sky and reshape your perspective.

4. Focus on one thing at a time and be PRESENT with everything you are doing– The power of creation is a tremendous gift but it can also cause you to go crazy if you are unable to control it (A primary reason why many people fear it). You must always be in the present moment and focused on one thing at a time. It is easy for your mind to get caught up in the past or the future, causing you to “leak” precious energy. By being present with everything that you do, a new quality of excellence comes to your work and relationships. If all you have is NOW, why would you not enjoy the experience and make the most of it? Through this mindset, you will be amazed how small, uneventful tasks can create a sense of bliss within. This experience of bliss will allow you to begin to understand your special gift.

5. Meditate to regulate your internal environment- Meditation is the most important exercise to fully comprehend when trying to bring visions to reality; without it, your mind will consume you. The moment that you begin to feel an elevated emotion (fear, anger, arrogance, sadness, etc) you must instantly meditate (Read The Art of Meditation). If you do not learn to meditate in these emotional states, the elevated emotions will rob you of your power and cause you to spin like a top. (*In severe cases this can be described as “Mania” similar to what Charlie Sheen is currently experiencing. I think it is interesting that there is a level of genius in Sheen’s play on words, however, he has lost control of his internal environment which will force him to collapse upon himself. He will most likely have to be hospitalized in the coming weeks to stabilize his internal state. It is sad to see what he is going through but in this adversity lies an opportunity for him to see something greater).

Millions of people in our world are constantly caught up with emotions of the mind and through their inability to control them, they paralyze themselves. Emotions aren’t a bad thing, however, you must be able to take control of your internal environment to witness your true power. When an emotion comes to you, embrace it completely and learn to let it go. You will lose all of your creativity the minute that you identify with a negative state or fail to let go of mounting stress. This inability to control your internal state will also contribute to sickness and other physical discomforts if you remain unconscious.

6. Be consistent and learn to ”flow” when creating– The concept of “flow” can be described as the feeling of joy or bliss while working on a vision that you are truly passionate about (I am experiencing this right now). During “flow”, time seems to effortlessly melt away and a new level of creativity consumes your work. You most likely have experienced this phenomenon in your life, but were unaware of it when it occurred. Is there anything that you do that allows you to lose track of time? What is it? If you experience the phenomenon of “flow” it is important to be consistent with the task you are working on to develop your abilities in this realm. Do not rationalize to yourself that you are wasting time on things that others would deem unimportant. If you can experience flow, trust in your abilities and watch what you can create!

7. Do not identify yourself with your vision (you must not be attached to the outcomes)-The moment that you identify with a vision or become attached to the outcome you lose your power of creation. I know this seems contradictory but it is the honest truth. Many people play “roles” throughout their entire lives, meaning that they identify who they are through their career title, relationship, amount of money in their bank account, and other external focuses. The problem with doing this is that when the external is taken away, you no longer know who you are. I had this problem with Football and when I started my first job, I had to learn through suffering that I was much more powerful than any one role. Many people will go throughout their entire lives and will never understand this illusion. These individuals will seek to become without understanding who they truly are. They will never accept their tremendous power and in doing so, blame their suffering on an unfair world.

8. Do not fear when you realize your tremendous power of creation (you will try to rationalize it at first)– When you first begin to grasp your potential you won’t believe it. You will simply think you are crazy for thinking that you can create your realities. Believe in yourself and do not be afraid. If we are all able to tap into our potential, there is no limit to what we can create. Are you willing to join me in embodying the term, “living the dream?”.

9. Empower others to develop their own powers– With great power comes great responsibility. Help others realize their true potential and create tremendous change in your community. It is our responsibility as members of the younger generations to reshape our failing Nation. We must alleviate the dependency on government and break out of the illusions forced upon us by mass media. You must learn to trust your inner guidance and LEAD.

10. Show love towards everyone/everything that you experience and be grateful for the power that you possess in this life- To feel love you must be love. Be thankful for everything and everyone that you experience and take responsibility for all aspects of your life. You have the ability to be whatever you want to be if you trust in the power within. What are you waiting for?

I hope you will follow Mission Kilimanjaro beginning January 4th as we begin our climb to the roof of Africa. The mountain is merely a metaphor and I hope you will take the powerful principles behind the platform and apply them to your personal life. What would you do if we were unafraid to fail? Be Your Own Hero!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 29th, 2011 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Leadership & Life Philosophy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.