Be The Change You Most Wish To See In The World

Okay. I'll admit it. I love blogs. Not necessarily other people’s blogs mind you. I enjoy the growth that they have offered me so far and so, I thought one more wouldn’t hurt the world. As you can see from the title, this blog will be serving a very different purpose than the others I’ve created and sporadically maintained in the past. This one may be even more self-obsessed than anything I’ve done. It may also, hopefully, act as a guide for others who are seeking more from life than they might currently enjoy.

Now that my confessional is over, let me explain a bit more about the purpose of this blog and its guiding principles. My other blogs dealt with Music and politics. This one will be a little more purpose-driven than those ones. My purpose: To publish some very personal facts, to act as a public journal and record of achievement and to inspire me to stick to my goals.

If you know me, particularly if you know me from Facebook, you’ll know that I’ve had a rather rough year. More accurately, from last September until this September, I was having a very rough go at life. Actually, more accurately, I can most likely predate my struggles to the time of my divorce in 2005. Actually, more accurately, I could trace it back as far as you like. I am a result of the experiences I’ve lived but I see those only as positives all meant to help me develop into a better human being.

For instance, I perceive that many people might presume that things come fairly easily to me – social interaction, political thinking, being? However, for any number of reasons I won’t explain here, I’ve always struggled with a negative inner voice that has made silly excuses for not working harder, doing better, risking more. We all have that voice but some of us are better at ignoring it than others. It is the voice that Ekhart Tolle would describe as the EGO.

So here I sit. It’s 4:30 in the morning and I have a coffee. I’m 38 years old. I am more or less financially broke and I owe a lot of money. I have some bowel/rectal issues that have plagued me for about 5 years. I smoke about a pack a day and drink too much coffee. I weigh roughly 150 lbs even though I’m about 5’11. I am unemployed (though I have a job starting soon, I hope) but I’ve been in-and-out of work for the last year since my former employer laid me off. I have some great things but nothing of high value. I also have an incredible family but I am completely single.

But those are all the small details that don’t seem to mean too much to me at the moment other than to be a list of those things I need to tackle. I am living in the Now and not worrying tremendously about things. In fact, until a few weeks ago I had a very ugly case of dry skin on my knuckles that had formed scabs. Those have more or less cleared up. My bum is also feeling slight better. Stress truly is a killer and I have no doubt, my mishandling of this stress caused a near breakdown in late June.

So what are my goals?

One: To regain my health
Two: to quit smoking
Three: to quit coffee
Four: To gain 20 lbs
Five: To have a debt-reduction plan leading to the end of my debt
Six: To give back more than I have before
Seven: To pursue my passion for driving change
Eight: To restart my learning, gain new skills
Nine: To get more enjoyment out of life
Ten: To recession-proof myself
Eleven: To live my perfect day every day
Twelve: To achieve inner happiness and peace

This list may of course change. It will change as I start to attain my goals.

This blog will most likely reference various tools that I use on this journey. I enjoy books and of course, these books have already brought me much peace of mind. As I gain new books, I will speak about them. However, some of the books that have led me to this point, where I am vowing to lead a healthier, more productive and fulfilling lifestyle are listed here:

1. The Power of Now – Ekhart Tolle
2. Steering By Starlight – Martha Beck
3. Who Will Cry When You Die – Robin Sharma
4. The Easy Way to Quit Smoking – Dr. Allan Carr
5. Various Men’s Health magazines and books


I look forward to writing about the various lessons I learn, the struggles I undergo, my failures and hopefully more of my successes. I’ll try to be honest to what I am thinking, feeling and doing and not to gloss over the gory parts that ideally will be minimal. I’ll also try to ensure that I keep my Facebook and Twitter accounts updated as I go.

The format will vary I’m sure. Some days I may just write a quick journal-style note about the things I learned throughout the day. Some times I will include anecdotes about struggles I’ve had, people I’ve met along the way, good readings from my books and new books I pick up. Perhaps there will be inspirational quotes too!

Lastly, I hope that you will give me your feedback so that I can fine-tune this blog as I go and of course I hope to learn from reader’s comments (I hope there are readers!)

Wednesday October 8, 2009

4:55am

Starting new Blog today to establish my goals, set some targets for achievement and fulfillment, share experiences and lessons as I go.

First principles to work on: (from Who will Cry When you Die)

1. Discover your calling
2. Practice Tough Love
3. Keep a Journal
4. Start Your Day Well
5. Care For the Temple
6. See your Troubles as Blessings
7. Get Serious about Setting Goals (check)
8. Get Up Early
9. List Your problems (check)
10. Practice the Action Habit

Some of the above are longer-term goals. I’m up now but may have to take a nap shortly. I have set some goals here. I have elsewhere written down the things I have to do today like calling the Ontario Works office to enquire about assistance to move to Toronto in the coming weeks. I now see all my troubles as blessings. When I get up I will have a good breakfast. I will smoke less today in order that I am prepared to quit without borrowing any more money.

Hope this first one isn’t too dry and encourages you all to come back.

Here’s my saying of the day, taken from Robin Sharma’s book title which is based on a Sanskrit saying: “When you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries while you rejoice!” And I will add to that Mahatma Gandhi’s “Be the change that you most wish to see in the world.”