CLARITY IS STRENGTH

Confusion gets us nowhere; it’s the clarity that gives us strength to move forward. One thing was clear to me that if I want to live life of my dreams, I have to follow people who are doing it and take their guidance. It doesn’t matter whether I’m meeting them in person or I’m reading about them, watching their videos or reading the wisdom they shared through books. I have to get into the mindsets of great people if I want to be like them. From one year, I had been reading various books that would give me a way to do something with the knowledge I have, but at that moment I had a clear idea of which books should I read, what were my circumstances and how great ones used to think in those situations. Being an introvert, I gave more emphasis on reading books, blogs, watching videos online, listening to podcasts and audio books.

I came across some great wisdom that was giving me the clarity of my vision; not of business, but of life. I fell in love with quotes. They are short, but convey deep meaning. Through quotes, I was getting more clarity, and by reading books, watching inspirational and motivational videos, my belief system was forming. Because of it, I felt that I was on different mindset, on different magnitude, thinking on whole new level. Robin Sharma said, “Either you can change the world or worry about fitting in, but you can’t do both,” which gave me confidence that I have to choose one path. Thinking about path, I came across a great poem by Robert Frost, ‘The Road Not Taken’, in which said, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

Yes, I’ll take the road less traveled, but will things work out right? And Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” I realized that I have to take the first step in faith. But, there will be ups and downs, how will I survive those times. What if I suffer? What if first step in faith proved to be right, but after that, it falls apart? I got answer of it in Paolo Coelho’s book, The Alchemist, in which he said, “No heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams.” I was relieved but still thinking about backup plan, though all these lines were inspirational and appealing to anyone to follow their dreams. It all seems captivating from outside, to read these lines, thinking that everything will be alright, I won’t be suffering, but in reality, will everything happen in a way I planned? Yes, I have to improvise, change strategies, but will this give me the happiness and sense of fulfillment?

Few days of self doubt and I watched a TED talk by leadership expert Simon Sinek, ‘How Great Leaders Inspire Action’, in which he explained how great leaders survive in the difficult times and they inspire others to take actions without using carrots and sticks method. He also wrote a book named ‘Start With Why.’ In the book, he explained that the great leaders start with the question ‘Why’, not ‘What’. Before doing anything, they think about why they want to do what they want to do. That ‘Why’ gives them the courage to persevere in difficult times. Friedrich Nietzsche said, ‘He who has why to live can bear anyhow.’ This wisdom was giving me confidence to do, to prepare my mind for the uncertain future. I was reading more and more about how great leaders think, how they do the things, what gives them the courage to take risks and succeed.

I made a decision that instead of thinking about backup plan, why not to think how plan-A will work out right? Instead of wasting energy in preparing some backup plan, why not to invest that energy in making plan-A a successful adventure? As Paulo Coelho said, “When you want something, the whole universe conspires you in helping you achieve it.” Clarity is strength. I was clear that I was going to do something impossible, unrealistic, unreasonable and impractical. Something the world doesn’t know about. I was going to do a business based on my research how smile is related to human nature and solve people’s personal as well as relationship problems through their smile.

Thanks to the great ones for sharing their wisdom through different mediums.

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This post is also a part of Ultimate Blog Challenge and A to Z Challenge. 

Today's letter is 'C'.

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(Image courtesy of Jeroen van Oostrom at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)