Story #1 (2020)- A recipe I've chosen

Story #1 – A recipe I’ve chosen (January 22, 2020)

Slow down, simplify, and make decisions rooted in peace and enjoyment.  Look for a partner who is interested in a similar path.  Treat the body with love and respect and treat the mind just the same.  Forgive ill decisions of the past and remain focused on doing and being the very things you enjoy.  When fear approaches, learn from it, please don’t run from it.  Fear can be an amazing teacher in such an indirect way.  Align to those who inspire you and ensure that you work to inspire others on a daily basis.  Inspiration can come in the smallest of gestures, so please don’t feel the need to be grand with your inspiration, after all, inspiration will spread and grow, so even the smallest of acts will become monumental over the long term.  Love all of the people you encounter.  You don’t have to agree with everyone, you don’t have to enjoy everyone, yet we can LOVE everyone.  Be respectful of money, have fun with it, don’t be a slave to it or allow it a place on any type of mental pedestal.  Ask questions of people, learn how they move through this visit on earth.  See places that are different from your daily routine.  They don’t have to be faraway lands, they could be the park you’ve never visited, the neighborhood you’ve never explored.  Continue to (or start) enjoying each moment for what it was intended for – growth & love.  Be the storyteller you want to be.  Connect with more people and share the recipes that you have collected that make life inspiring and fun versus anxiety filled and frustrating.  We are all on the planet, together, and sharing could impact so many people.  Embrace the masses and fear not the judgement that may come.  It’s okay for those to judge and those judging may be hurting too, which is a powerful reason to choose to see them through God’s eyes.  Love.  Be close to God, to his energy, to his peace.  Talk to him, he’ll talk back in the most beautiful ways.  Know that our lives were chosen, so there is nothing to be concerned about.  Love, listen, learn, play, repeat.

This is my recipe for 2020 and beyond.  What’s yours?

If you enjoy these posts – you might enjoy a copy of my book, “Happiness is Over There” – which is a personal memoir detailing the stories, learnings, and exercises I used to shift my life from dark and chaotic to a life of light and productivity.  Through Paperclip Thinking LLC, I also support group and individual coaching sessions as well as book talks for groups of 15-20.  You can buy a signed copy at www.paperclipthinking.com or you can email me at travis@paperclipthinking.com to arrange book delivery or set up coaching and group talks/sessions.

Love Ourselves...

Love Ourselves

It’s the best thing to do when paths confuse.

To love ourselves can heal abuse.

The abuse we’ve experienced, chosen, selected, endured.

To love ourselves in truly the cure.

Our lives are made to feel complex and twisted.

They are neither of those things, why have we made them conflicted?

Have we made them through fear and concerns about others.

Friends, spouses, fathers…mothers.

Do we push away experiences and desires?

Then blame our pain and fear on others?

Soon we’ll learn to embrace our journey.

To smile each day and to learn from many.

Being quiet in mind and listening to learn.

These are the paths that truly warrant the yearn.

A yearn to grow, here and above.

The secret that was absent, maybe avoided…

Was our choice to “be” Love?

If you enjoy these posts – you might enjoy a copy of my book, “Happiness is Over There” – which is a personal memoir detailing the stories, learnings, and exercises I used to shift my life from dark and chaotic to a life of light and productivity.  Through Paperclip Thinking LLC, I also support group and individual coaching sessions as well as book talks for groups of 15-20.  You can buy a signed copy at www.paperclipthinking.com or you can email me at travis@paperclipthinking.com to arrange book delivery or set up coaching and group talks/sessions.

Is it worth living...

If you enjoy these posts – you might enjoy a copy of my book, “Happiness is Over There” – which is a personal memoir detailing the stories, learnings, and exercises I used to shift my life from dark and chaotic to a life of light and productivity.  You can buy a signed copy at www.paperclipthinking.com or you can email me at travis@paperclipthinking.com to arrange book delivery.

Is it worth living?  How would you answer that question?  What has you say yes or no?  Each of us when faced with that question will inevitably have some kind of perspective.  Those perspectives might be as shallow as a puddle or they could be as deep as the darkest depths of the ocean, and most will have answers that sit somewhere in the middle. I’ve spent more than 12 years answering that question and working to refine and support my answer with fresh experiences and data.  I wanted the data because my answer has changed over the years.  Yes- I’ve lived through periods (like so many have) where the idea of an “early exit” seemed plausible and I’m blessed to say that I’ve reflected back and share that 75% of my life has been filled with poetic reasons that support me in wanting to live and to explore and to learn on this planet. As one of my favorite philosophers, Osho, said, “never born-never died…just visited from 1972-?”.

The 2008-2018 time of my life was filled with intense learning due to a self-reflective project that was focused on my own personal accountability for choosing happiness and life over depression, anxiety, and early death.  I captured and journaled about experiences and my learning and I share my transition from dark to light with those who are interested in some change, themselves.

As a culmination of this project, I did something incredibly courageous… I wrote a letter to my family describing what led me to my depression and to the idea of “early death”.  I wrote this letter on September 19, 2018 and it was the first time I’d shared the explicit detail on paper.  I’ve read the letter to my wife and as a therapeutic way to gain closure on my “project” and as a way to open a new door of peace and happiness in my life. I made an agreement to live for a year working and living by the very principles that I discovered during my ten year project and I’ve been writing and exploring how I feel: mentally, physically, and spiritually. I wanted to see what life would feel like when someone practiced the principles that took me ten years to discover and refine. I’m following the five pillars of the Paperclip Thinking philosophy: I’m living life aligned to what I value of myself (being rested, being a story teller, being healthy, being a connector of people, and coaching those who request support), I hold myself accountable for all decisions I make, I reflect daily (through my journalism), I work to create value daily, and I’m intentional with how I live, each day. 

Here is what the last year taught me:

I’ve learned that it is nearly impossible to feel inspired if you only think about challenges in life.  Taking time to be vulnerable (with yourself and others) can be a good thing, yet only focusing that vulnerability on areas of improvement or negativity will crush your ability to smile.  In short- don’t be too hard on yourself.

I’ve learned that all things we experience will pass.  All of your decisions (and their consequences) will work out to be okay and nothing can impact your ability to choose peace and happiness, but you.  Your spirit will remain intently focused on harmony regardless of what you are experiencing, if you choose harmony and we get to choose, every day.

I’ve learned that I have placed money as the center gear of my life and I placed my happiness on the shoulders of that “money”.  I don’t recommend doing that.  Money is fun to have, it can make life’s journey easier, so I’m not advocating against having money, I’m simply suggesting that I had been working in reverse (do what I needed to do to get it), and I learned that if you focus on finding a way to earn the money through creating value for someone else (not doing anything necessary), doing something that inspires you…that is where special shit occurs (and that is what I do for a living now), so if you don’t feel aligned, call me and I’ll guide you through ways to get to the spot where I now sit.

I’ve learned that we are all part of a very special group - and there are so many fascinating stories, learnings, and experiences that you can gain when you spend time connecting with people, so please connect with as many people as you can.

I’ve learned that dialogue leads to connections, connections lead to opportunities and opportunities lead to partnerships - and this has become my mantra for living.

I’ve learned that this life if for YOU.  If you are in a dark place- that’s okay, because you aren’t alone.  Spark a torch – and you can spark that torch with dialogue and vulnerability.  Use that torch’s light to show you a different perspective on what you are going through and then remember the previous learnings I’ve shared in this article: don’t be too hard on yourself, all things will pass, focus on what inspires you, and connect with people.

Cheers to you and your journey…