Happy Monday
As I sit here and write this week’s newsletter it’s Sunday evening and what a beautiful weekend it was.
I was running (true story) this morning and though I am not a huge fan of running there is something rather special about getting up early on a sunny Sunday and heading out the door clocking up some k’s. While out on my two hour run I had plenty of time to think and reflect. What am I going to write about this week. Well here it is…
The most vital ingredient for a fulfilling life
There are many attributes a successful person can have – money, respect, loving family, lots of friends BUT none of these guarantee a life of fulfillment
How many people do you know that have all of the above but are still on antidepressants?
The only thing I have found that can almost guarantee fulfillment is gratitude
Why gratitude?
Neuroscience studies have now shown us that gratitude runs on a very high frequency vibration one very similar to unconditional love.
Love can’t be defined but we all know it exists and we all are aware of the powers of love. Gratitude is also incredibly powerful the problem is that most of us seem to take many things for granted.
In today’s newsletter I want to share with you the…
Game of Cards Metaphor
Before I share I just want to say this isn’t my metaphor it was something my business coach shared with me. When I first heard it, it had a profound effect on me. That’s not to say I live a perfectly fulfilled life. I have my struggles but this certainly helped me re-frame a few things
Get on with it Paul 🙂
Poker – Whoever has the best hand at the end of the game wins the pot
I want to play a game of poker with you if I may
Now imagine I have a deck of cards but this isn’t any old deck of cards. There are 5000 cards. Each card represents a generation in history.
If we take an average of 10,000 years of human existence/civilisation. From Neanderthal to Homo Erectus to Homo Sapien.
An average generation of 20 years would produce 5000 cards. So out of those cards which generation are we living at right now?
If we go back 3000 years – what would the Pharaohs of Egypt have given for a machine that you could step on and be on the other side of the planet within hours?
2000 years ago – what would the Romans have given for a little yellow digger and a Tower crane?
500 years ago – Hot running water on demand
200 years ago – Antibiotics
50 years ago – If you would have told your grandparents that you could have a little device the size of your hands and they could talk to their parents, their grand kids, their anyone on the other side of the world in real time and at will, they would have thought you were crazy!
20 years ago – If you would have even contemplated that you could pick up this little device out of your pocket and ask it almost any question and get some level of answer
We are living in a time of human history that our ancestors would have dreamed about. To have the ability to go to places that they have only ever heard rumors about. To taste foods from places that they would never see in their lifetime
We live right now in a time of human history with so much opportunity
Many of us take this for granted.
Many of us don’t realise that some of our ancestors from 100 years ago had a slim chance of surviving child birth. Many died in agony to allow us to be here right now.
So out of the 5000 cards does anyone want to take their card they have and put it back in the deck and shuffle?
What most people don’t see is the card they pulled out the deck of 5000 is an ace. That’s pretty amazing
Okay, let’s cut the deck. We are going to go from 5000 cards and cut it down to 210. The 210 represents the approximate amount of countries in the world
You could be born into this time of human history BUT you could have been born into a country that doesn’t afford you the opportunities you currently have. You could have been born in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone or any other politically or religiously repressed cultures that are predominantly in poverty.
210 cards – Does anyone want to put their card back and shuffle?
Not only were you born in this time in history but you were also born into a country that gives you this level of opportunity. I would call that an ace
How about health. 5% of people are born with some level of physical or mental disability. What if you were born in a way that couldn’t allow you your current opportunity. What if you weren’t able to do the things you do in everyday life. What if you couldn’t get up or down. What if you had to be hooked up to a machine 24/7?
Again anyone want to put their card back in the deck and shuffle?
Nope. For most people that’s a pretty good ace
So you have been born in a time in history that our ancestors could have only dreamed of. You have been born into a country that offers you economic, social, political freedom. You have been born to a point where you have good health and can communicate
What about levels of consciousness or desire? What if you were stuck at a level of thinking that didn’t serve you. Every single person reading this is doing so because they are compelled to try and move forward with their lives and at some level become a better version of themselves. Not everybody has that desire.
Again does anyone what to put their card of consciousness back in the deck and shuffle?
To conclude
When we get up in the morning most people are thinking about what’s missing in their lives, complaining about stuff and thinking about all the shit on their to-do list rather than to get in-touch with the fact that out of 5000 cards they just pulled out 4 aces. What are the odds?!
We have so much to be grateful for, we have so much to be thankful for.
Paul ‘’Incredibly grateful that you give me the opportunity to share this with you’’ and Krystie ‘’Let’s take a moment to be grateful for the fact that spiders don’t fly’’ Miller 🙂
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