The Best Years of Your Life… Now!

There are several costs which equal the total price of greatness. Being misunderstood is one of them.

The unique manner you use imagination, intellect and emotions often falls out of the “normal” steps of logic most people use. They simply don’t “see” how you arrived at your conclusions. Therefore, your thinking is faulty. The problem is always with you, not the inability to expand their own thinking.

Because they can’t “think out of the box” they assume anything that doesn’t fit into the box must be wrong. Being misunderstood is the result.

On the other hand, the first thing a creative thinker comes to realize is that by its’ very definition, a “box” is always limited in size and ultimate functionality. Which means any thinking taking place within that box is always forcing the thinker to obey its’ finite options. This keeps the thinker trapped inside the box.

You will find yourself alone

it only stands to reason that you will find yourself “alone” while working through your creative process. Trying to explain yourself before you are able to manifest your dreams can be fraught with confusion (on the part of others) which results in your being misunderstood. I learned this the hard way when I was in the commercial audio production business.

As one of the top 50 radio producers in the United States (I’m on the List of Recommended Creative Resources of the National Association of Broadcasters) I was often called upon to create new, original music and jingles. Early on I came to realize that you can’t expose a Client to your creative process. Putting a few rough instrumental tracks together in order to illustrate “where you are going with a musical idea” was always a nightmare.

They never “heard” or could “see” where I was going with the music. All they could hear and see was the literal manifestation of the incomplete musical idea I played for them! No matter how I set up the presentation, the first reaction would always be something like: “That’s not how it’s going to sound is it?”

My solution was simple: I let them hear it when it was 95% completed instead of 15% completed! No degree of “imagine this here or that there” will ever replace “what do you think of this!”

A bird in the hand is worth two in the imagination

Being misunderstood has a way of magically changing itself into one of your having “vision”. That is when you begin to manifest your dreams. Suddenly you find yourself labeled a “visionary” by the same people who initially misunderstood or outright rejected your (new) way of thinking.

Remember: People are not going to question the inability to use their imagination. They are going to question your ability. So to keep the overall cost of achieving your personal greatness under control, keep your creative process to yourself. Share it only with those who understand it and support you.

The far more expensive cost to you is to doubt yourself and thereby abandon your creative process. Trust yourself and get something done. You can always “edit” and tweak it later. Having “a bird in your hand” always sings the praises of your visionary undertaking… Quite loudly!

It’s hard to doubt what you can see, feel, hear and touch…

-Bob Baran

This is the first posting under “The price of Greatness”.

This will begin a series of posts appearing during the coming weeks and months. It will be an ongoing blog that has to do with the real cost of personal greatness.

It also directly links to what Gwen and I are trying to achieve with The Intentional Prosperity™ System Life Coaching Program. Helping you to achieve the greatness you are striving for.

I was inspired today from an article about Steve Jobs (Apple). It was about the history of the iphone. Of course the first part of the the story dealt with the extremes of emotion his staff went through during the “creative process” that ultimately led to the final successful product. Which brings up an important point:

The price of greatness means any endeavor that does not test every aspect of your imagination, intellect and emotions, is not transforming you… from where you are to where you want to be.

If anyone tells you different, it’s because they haven’t accomplished much in their own lives…or they would know better.

It’s very easy to emulate what has already been done. On the other hand, creating something that is new, original and unique is a statement of who you are and what you believe. This is very different than repeating or duplicating what has already been done. What you accomplish becomes a reflection of who you are. Not you simply repeating what someone else has already done (for their reasons and their dreams).

The world is full of imitators.

Imitators take the already traveled road because its the one that’s already paved. These are individuals who don’t want to pay the price of greatness. Ironically, even though the road may be paved they tend to stumble, fall and ultimately fail. The reason: It’s a very crowded highway. Full of other imitators! Each one copying everybody else.

All taking place while the originator of the highway is busy being focused on creating the next stretch of road.

There is a part of you that is original, unique and waiting to be expressed. It is your genuine self… Your true self and the source of your unique creative process. A way of imagining, thinking and doing things that is unique only to you. Living life from your true self always makes amazing things possible.

You are a “one of a kind”. Nobody else has had your experiences or uses the imagination, intellect and emotions the way you do. This means creating your life’s journey, from your genuine self, will always result in an original, unique, self-constructed road…A road that is a byproduct of the journey you take for your reasons…in order to accomplish your dreams.

“The price of greatness is a life well lived”

-Bob Baran

Relationships are often viewed as mysterious and fragile things.

Because of this perception it is also thought that they require a certain amount of attention and extra effort to maintain…In some cases this is true. On the other hand, the ongoing interaction between two people, even with its’ ups and downs, creates a unique form of trust and security…The quality of which improves over time.

We need to build relationships.

We are “social animals” and our ability to create and maintain relationships has been refined over thousands of years. With all that combined experience we still face a surprising number of similar “issues” that seem to arise over the course of just about every relationship we form.

Trust

The most basic understanding within a relationship is the degree of trust two people agree upon. The basic degrees of trust have been established through time by our societal system of organization. If you didn’t have this basic system of trust in place you couldn’t walk down the street without being on guard for your very existence!

In those areas of the world where basic societal trust has broken down you are always in fear for your life!…The news is full of stories everyday about horrible consequences of the lack of the most basic of human relationships: Individuals acknowledging each others right to exist!

Co-existence aside, a relationship between two people is always built upon a feeling of being safe with each other…

-Bob Baran

The domino effect refers to a situation that occurs in your day to day life…

It’s one of those (usually) unexpected things that causes an automatic “panic” reaction. You know, where you quickly see the thing becoming much larger and foreboding than just the incident itself.

The domino effect kicks in and you start imagining one thing leading to another. Your mind takes you (very quickly) from the situation at hand through a number of “logical steps”. One situation leading into another situation. Until the molehill has turned into a mountain. All along of course your apprehension and panic escalates as your adrenalin kicks in…

Now you find yourself in a highly “reactive” state.

You miss certain details which could give you a better sense of what is really going on because your panic has blinded you to the all important facts. What really comprises the true impact of the situation are those facts. By this point the domino effect has caused you to say things and taken action which has probably made the situation worse than what it needs to be.

All this taking place in a matter of minutes and seconds.

A lot of wasted time and energy. Because it takes your mind and body ten times longer to recover!

If you had considered all the facts (before reacting) maybe the situation could have been dealt with unemotionally in a very rapid manner. It would have been resolved, competed and chalked up to experience. The problem with the domino effect is that your mind goes wild with “what could be”… As far as your mind is concerned “what could be” suddenly becomes your reality… and your body reacting to what the mind perceives as real causes all sorts of hormones and substances to be injected into the bloodstream. After all, the body is in survival mode!

So, finally when all is said and done. Minutes or even hours have passed and many levels of panic, anger and outright fear has taken a toll on your mind (and body). To what end? Did anything really come of that situation?

95% of the time nothing of any real consequence.

The domino effect is a good thing when we you are faced with real imminent danger. You want rapid consideration of potential outcomes. It’s essential that you make the best possible decision in the shortest amount of time. Unless life and death is hanging over your head, however, you need to catch yourself when you recognize that a domino effect is about to happen. Does the new situation at hand really warrant the “what ifs” and the panic? Usually it doesn’t.

Back away and review the facts before you take any action!

You will find that you probably have more than enough time to do this. It’s remarkable how quickly your mind can give you the best possible course of action. Especially when its not being attacked by mind altering substances (adrenalin and fear).

-Bob Baran

Are you being held prisoner by what (you think) other people will think?

I am still amazed at how many people actually consider the reaction of their friends, acquaintances and family before taking action on their dreams!

If you need approval from those around you before you do something (good for yourself) then you are stuck somewhere in an unhealthy, immature phase of your emotional development.

If you’re still in high school or your early twenties maybe I could understand it.

Everyone knows. in that immature period of life, we give far too much weight to being “accepted”. But you are supposed to grow out of it. You are supposed to make decisions which are in your best interest. You are not supposed to be denying your hopes and dreams because it might not play well with your “friends”.

Let me ask you a question: Is that person who you’ve placed above your own happiness going to sacrifice his or her self by stepping in front of you when it’s your turn to die?

“Oh, you were so considerate of my reactions during your life that sacrificing myself for you now is the least I can do!”

IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!

So why are you so willing to sacrifice your life for someone else?

You sacrifice the precious moments of the time you have in this life whenever you let your fear of someone’s reaction (to your “stepping out”) determine whether or not you take any action. You are not being considerate! You are being a martyr!… And the sad thing is that nobody will ever recognize your sacrifice.

If “what will people think” comprises more than 5% of your consideration regarding any course of action that results in you finding or following your passion, it’s time for you to grow up.

You are really using it as an excuse not to try.

Believe me, your real friends are going to be thrilled for you. Because they love you and want you to be happy. Those people in your world who don’t care about you will try to “rain of your parade” no matter what you do… So who cares what they think?

Once you begin to find and follow your passion your circle of friends are going to change anyway…It’s normal and natural for this to happen. Otherwise you would right now be fully immersed finding and following your passion with the circle of friends you already have.

If this is indeed the case, cherish those relationships! They are people who are probably finding and following their own passion and share the same joy and wonder you are experiencing.

-Bob Baran