Journaling To Myself About Life
For the past few weeks, I've been meditating for 2-3 hours/day sitting down. For the rest of the day, I practice an active meditation. Instead of thinking about life or business, I clear my mind and focus on awareness and equinimity. I don't know why I'm the way I am, but once I find the most effective technique for achieving what's most important to me; it is harder for me not to do it, no matter how hard.
Pursuing meditation so earnestly is exciting. The experiences the body is having are different than any they've had before. I'm beginning to understand and trust the "knowing" feeling inside of me. I equate this to knowing something is on the tip of your tongue, but not quite being able to remember it. How is it that we "know" that the memory is there, but can't actually know it consciously?
At the same time, doubts are coming up. It is hard, if not impossible, to logically support what has now become a central part of my life - to others, not to mention myself. Sometimes this makes me afraid of what others will think. Other times, it makes me afraid that I'm wasting my time and fooling myself, which I've done in the past.
Perhaps the people reading this blog understand this feeling through entrepreneurship and having a vision that others don't understand. However, we (the West) seem to live in a culture that is accepting of business, but not of spirituality. Going on a spiritual journey seems more difficult because it is harder to measure success, it is harder to talk about, living role models aren't publicized as well, and it is very polarized. Just as there are crazy, make-a-million overnight schemes in business - I've come across some cults and have become better at knowing what to look for. Oddly, some of the craziest entreprneurs and mystics were later worshipped.
Paradoxically, as I focus less on business, things seem to get better in that arena. I guess it's sort of like the negotiation paradox, that the side that is willing to walk away from a deal has more power. I feel more detached from the outcomes of business.
The first time I can seriously really remember thinking about spirituality was when my dad died when I was 8 years old. There was a moment where I vividly remember coming to the decision that life isn't going to necessarily go as I or others have planned, and I need to take life into my own hands. I didn't rule out God, but I guess I sort of became agnostic, the logic being: "Whether there is a God or not, I seem to have a lot of control over my decisions and actions. I'm going to use that control."
Although being raised as Jewish, I've been agnostic until college. In college, I really started to explore spirituality via reading, going to conferences, yoga, and meditation. A lot of stuff has been informative. Some stuff has been a waste of time. I've looked for religions/mystics I respect/trust and have looked for what they seem to agree on and have attempted to integrate those parts into my life. I pretty much did the same thing before with studying successful entrepreneurs.
I don't know if I believe in God or not. The term has been used so many different ways by so many different people. What I do know is that the techniques I've learned have increased my happiness/peace more than anything else I've ever done. I believe that there are "higher powers" that I don't fully understand, but which can be known experientially. That is all for now.
If not now, then when. If not you, then who.
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06:38 PM
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April 22, 2005
One Life, One Opportunity
Wow. The last week has been really crazy!! Some highlights:
- I co-presented a keynote at the Institute of Entrepreneurship with John Hughes, a role model for me and an extremely successful, retired entrepreneur turned philanthropist, to an audience of 750.
- I co-facilitated a workshop at Danville Community College with my good friend Ryan Allis. We actually stayed up until 2am the night before working on the presentation. I thought we actually worked really well together and I can see us co-presenting in the future. Ryan entered the presentation with in a sweat suit the Eminem 8-Mile soundtrack blasting. He danced to the music for 15 seconds and drove home the theme of only having one shot and one opportunity in life. I must say it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. This made me realize how fun speeches can be.
- I went to the Innercity 100 Conference in Boston. This is one of the most productive conferences I've ever been to. A number of people purchased books, I was invited to speak to 1,500-person audience, and I met Keyshawn Johnson, Kwame Kilpatrick(the mayor Detroit), Michael Porter, Time Warner Books, Merrill Lynch, Inc. Magazine, the Kauffman Foundation, Bo Peabody, John Bryant, Keith Ferazzi, and a representative of one of the top collegiate speakers' bureaus. I was supposed to speak on a panel, but I've been so busy the last few weeks that I overlooked the fact that I was supposed to confirm!! I would highly recommend this conference to other young people who live in cities.
The speaking lifestyle is interesting. It gives you a lot of alone time on planes and hotel rooms, which can be advantageous. However, not having my own space, makes it difficult to stay centered and keep in a routine. Also, I see myself naturally caring less about what others think of me, which is very freeing. Tomorrow, I'm going to New Jersey for Passover. I look forward to seeing my dogs (not using slang here).
Also, spirituality is becoming more and more a part of my life. It occupies more mind share than entrepreneurship or anything else. However, I'm not sure how to start talking about it with others, or even if I should. However, I did find it interesting that many of the speakers, without going into details, alluded to the fact that it was a central part of their life. It is interesting that in our society it is so difficult for dialogue to happen with regards to one's core beliefs. I wonder what I historian or sociologist from 100 years in the future would think about it?
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11:22 PM
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April 17, 2005
Announcing the Exteme Entrepreneur Tour
In partnership with Advantage Networks, I'm proud to announce the first ever collegiate entrepreneurship road tour. The Extreme Entrepreneur Tour(EET) brings together America’s top young entrepreneurs to spread the entrepreneurial mindset to their peers at a grassroots level. EET will travel to 150 college campuses in a RV and reach over 100,000 students starting in the Fall of 2005 with 1-day program. Young entrepreneurs who’ve made, earned, and sold their company for millions and/or made a huge impact before 25 have already been recruited as speakers.
Currently, we're in the process of securing support from foundations, corporate sponsors, and schools. If you're interested in being a speaker or bringing the tour to your school please feel free to contact me directly at michael@successmanifesto.com. Also, we'd love to hear your ideas via email or comments on this blog.
For more info, visit http://www.extremetour.org. I'll be posting here until we set up a blog for the tour.
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07:05 PM
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April 01, 2005
Russell Simmons Quote
In the great news column, Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Records and Phat Farm, has provided the following testimonial for The Student Success Manifesto!!:
"Everything you need to know about success is in this book."
