Welcome to the first post for Hardwired for Living. I am not going to waste time talking about me, this site is about you and wiring your life into your source for potential. If you want to know more about me, hit the About link.
So let us start a journey together.
You see I believe there is a source of potential in every life. There is an energy, drive, and desire to produce something of lasting value that is Hardwired into our very creation. It is part of our very DNA, the wiring of mind and the essence of spirit. How else do we explain all the books, seminars, podcasts, and products that claim to have the answer if you will just follow these simple steps and you can be all you can be. Searching for what makes us unique and gives us worth in life is common to all of us. We want to know we matter and have purpose. There is a line from a favorite movie that speaks volumes about this desire. When the character is asked why people get married, she answers,
We search for possessions, jobs, relationships, sports, and so many things to meet this central need. Yet for so many of us, we are still just as empty as we were before we got whatever it was we were chasing. Nothing seems to fill this void. But we look around and we see people that “have it all together and are living the dream”, or so we think. Then something happens and we see them crash and burn. We wonder does anyone really have it together; is there anyone that is truly living a full and happy life? Is this all there is to life?
I can tell you there is more to life. You will not find many in the “limelight” that are living it. There are some, but you do not hear much about them. You hear about their latest project, but not much about the person. Most of these people are doing amazing things in amazing places and enjoying life. They are productive, happy, and a joy to be around them. Most are making incredible money and yet you never hear them talk about work. Because their life is in sync with this need to produce and they are Hardwired into the source of their potential there is no defined line between their work and their life. One flows seamlessly into the other and back again. Their life is full and they share of the fullness to anyone willing to listen and learn. They don’t waste time with what doesn’t fit in their lives or things that pull them away from their purpose in life. I know these people exist; I have met them and am glad to be one of them.
That is why I call this Hardwired for Living. This is not easy. There is no quick fix, but it will only take the time you are willing to spend to make it happen. Some of it is quite painful. Other parts will make you mad at yourself. I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to bang my head against a brick wall for being so dumb in my decisions and choices I have made. Now I am glad I made those decisions, I learned from them and they have given me the tools I have today for this moment and this place. There will be frustration, until you begin to understand.
When the understanding comes and the light bulb turns on, there is such happiness, freedom, and there is energy in life again. The kind of energy you felt as a kid learning a favorite game or hobby. Life changes. There is a new drive to make this happen. The personal cost becomes worth every bit of it. The things that were once barriers become the next the goal to accomplish. There are no problems, only solutions looking for a place to happen, as my Dad would say. Work goes from a job to a joy. Relationships become deeper in importance. The focus of your day changes. Because your life becomes truly connected, it is not about the next problem, it is about living a producing life that matters. This is why companies like Apple do not market products; they market a life style of meaning.
The source of this way of living is not to out there somewhere; it is about connecting all the parts of you into one incredible you. It is realizing when all the parts of your life work together as they are designed to do, that life finally works. It is about fueling generator of your life’s energy and staying Hardwired to that source. This is where need is met and life finds potential.
So where do we begin? We begin here and now. Not in the past and not in the future. It is in the now we start and we start with a question.
Whose life is it?
Simple question, and I bet you just said, “Mine, now what?” But not so fast. Like most simple looking questions, the answer is not so simple. So let me ask it a different was, Who owns your life? Before you say no one, let’s unpack this question just a little.
Why did you get up and do whatever it was you did or are going to do today? Did you do it to put food on the table? Did you do it to pay the bills? Why are in the job you are in, or looking for one. How do you feel about what you are doing? If you are reading this, you are not happy with the answers you just gave. The reason you are not happy with the answers you just came to grips with is the fact you may not totally own your life, or do you? The commitments you have made in the past have mortgaged your here and now. The truth is you still own your life, just not your time. But do you fully act on the fact that it is your life?
This is where we start, owning your life. So, you have some work to do. I want you to make two lists of five things. List 1 is the top five things that take up the most of your time. List 2 is the top five things you think are holding you back. Your first set of lists will have more than five each and that is OK. Make them, set them aside for a while, and then come back to them and mark some things off or even add a few. Whatever it takes cut it to five each. Here is where we will pick up.