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What I Learned From a Mountaintop Experience

Since I was a little boy (not that I am that large grown up, but you know what I mean *smile*) I have been very much into self improvement.

One of the first books that changed my life in a paradigm fashion was 'How to win friends and influence people' by Dale Carnegie. What really astounded me then, but I have come to understand over the years, is that it makes such a big difference how you enter a room or answer the phone. Needless to say, there is always a big smile on my face in both situations... in fact, I smile all the time now and feel great about it... not only that, it also gets me results I would never have dreamed of a few years ago.



When I grew older I realized that I liked improving myself and sought out someone to help me out. After reading a whole bunch of books and trying different techniques I finally stumbled across 'Awaken the Giant within' by Anthony Robbins. I did the programme very seriously and in fact achieved all the goals I set for myself. E.g.: double my income, get a bigger house and a company car (all within my two year deadline). Since then I regularly listen to Anthony and watch every kind of material I can get my hands on.



Two years ago the company I worked for gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. They sent me to the 'Unleash your power within' seminar by Anthony Robbins in London. For four days I was immersed with hundreds of kindred souls in a very serious programme that has changed hundreds of thousands of lives around the globe.



On the very first evening I experienced my 'mountaintop'. Along with everyone there I walked across several feet of hot burning coal. I never thought it would be possible to do this without sustaining serious injuries, however, my feet weren't even blacked by the ashes. Right in that moment, when I stepped on to the coals and walked across to the other side was when I experienced a profound and lifechanging moment. I realised that nothing is impossible, you just have to put your mind to it and believe... and that's the message I want to send out to everyone out there... we are capable of so many things, we just have to believe and (as Nike puts it) 'Just do it'.

Feel free to drop any comments, they are most welcome.

(This post is part of Middle Zone Musing’s 'What I Learned From a Mountaintop Experience' group project.)

Kinderdijk

This message is confidential and may be privileged. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, taking any action with reference to this information by persons other then the intended recipient is prohibited. If you receive this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message from all computers. Please note that e-mails are susceptible to change. The sender will not accept liability for the improper or incomplete transmission of the information contained in this message.

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My new hobby... That'll keep me busy ;-)

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My latest gadget... Love the colour!

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Forced uncalled-for emancipation

Nowadays it seems that the female part of our population need an extra push to come close to or even equal the number of men in higher management.

There are two words in my introduction that I need to emphasize: seems and push. Let me explain.

It's safe to say that men and women in general have different (subconscious) goals in life. Evolution has made sure that we are genetically designed to take the decisions in life we need to in order for us to achieve our goals. Now when I say genetically I am not just referring to our physical differences. Even more important than that is our mental 'wiring'.

Believe it or not, we are not even aware of most decisions we take. The bulk of our decisions are subconscious ones, aimed at ultimately fulfilling our life's destiny. And yes, men and women do have different ultimate goals in life. Although this seems to be an old-fashioned way of looking at things it is still true (even if it is only our subconscious mind that seems to act accordingly).

Fact of the matter is that women (even nowadays) choose their personal life above their career. For them, being around their children and providing a good environment for them to grow up in is a more important priority than becoming CEO of a global company (and having to spend over 60 hours a week at the office).

In short: women choose their own future based on their mental 'wiring'. We shouldn't push them to aspire a role they weren't genetically designed for. And I am not saying they are not just as capable as men, I am just saying that in general women find more happiness in the role they were wired for i.e. taking care of their children. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, there always are, these exceptions will make it to whatever goal they aspire.

I am a firm believer in the capability of human beings to achieve whatever goal they reach for, as long as they really want to reach their goal consciously as well as subconsciously. That's were the wiring gets in the way most of the time.

Leave me a note whether you agree or not... just because this is what I believe doesn't mean I think this is the ultimate truth.

What I learned from... Community

It has been quite some time since I joined the 'What I learned from...' community. Unfortunately is has also been some time now since I last wrote a piece on one of the subjects...

Although I do not believe in fate... the topic at hand comes at an unbelievably well-timed moment.

Since I last posted there have been quite some changes in my life: my girlfriend (for seven years) has decided to leave me and has taken all of our mutual friends along with her (so far for that community).

Furthermore I decided to switch jobs and by doing so I have effectively replaced my working community for an alternative one.

Now I believe that there are actually two ways to respond to the topic 'what I learned from community'...: 1> What did I learn from being in a community ... and 2> What did I learn from the individuals in the community... It's a slight difference, I agree... but a difference none the less. I will focus on the first question for this post.

What I learned from being in a community

The most important thing I have learned is that I prefer being part of a group to being on my own. Unfortunately I learned this lesson when the community around me dissolved and I felt I needed to find myself a new one. That's true for most of these epiphanies... you don't know what you've got till it's gone... *smile* (they paved paradise and put up a parking lot) ... lol ... I realize there's probably a better version out there but I just really like this one ;-), hope you enjoy it as well...

My working community as well as my personal community have taught me that two know more than one... (at least most of the time)... actually, let me ask just a quick question to all you readers out there... Have you ever been in a situation where you were with someone who just blew you out of the water with a statement you knew in your heart to be so untrue... and you just gave in because the other person seemed to be so sure of him (or her) self that you started doubting yourself? Those situations should be the exception to the rule (or so I hope), because otherwise the opposite would be true and one would know more than two...

This is where it gets complicated... Why? You might ask... Because in order to really and definitely put this discussion to rest we need to define the word 'know', at least within this context.

What I am trying to say here with a lot of words is that it wasn't too long ago when people 'knew' the earth was flat... so there's the dilemma... is what we humans as a collective 'know' considered truth until proven different? Or can we just throw the entire concept of truth out the window? But that's something for an entirely different post...

I'm sticking to the two know more than one for now... I truly believe that the human race is capable of great things... as long as we learn to be interdependent... As infants we are completely dependent on other human beings (most of the time our parents and teachers). As we evolve into adults we let this dependence slide and become independent individuals. Too many people don't evolve any further than that and just remain 'independent' individuals. It is my belief that this has to do mainly with the need for human beings to stay in their comfortzone. Being dependent on other people makes people feel insecure, they want to be the ones to set and control the stage.

Whether you agree or disagree... leave a note telling me... I'm trying to be as interdependent as I can comfortably be ;-)


(This post is part of Middle Zone Musing’s What I Learned From Community group project.)