3 Books that changed my Life (Part 1)
Success is closer than you think.
Sounds to good to be true? Sounds like a scam? Sounds impossible?
If those were your first thoughts then yes, it’s probably true. But for those that are more open and serious about changing their life, this post’s for you.
So what are the books? I suggest reading them in the order below:
Lewis Howe’s “The Greatness Mindset”
Jason Redman’s “Overcome”
Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way”
In this post, we’ll start with “The Greatness Mindset”, a book chalk full of guidance and strategies to live your authentic life. This book helps you find one powerful motivator, one that many people unfortunately, don’t have. PURPOSE. Lewis Howe’s goes in depth with a step-by-step, practical guide to discovering your life’s “Meaningful Mission.”
Let’s begin!
Lewis Howe's amazing book.
“It’s all about figuring out who you are and how you can make an authentic and unique contribution that makes the people around you better and the world a better place.”
So why do I need to read this book first and why is it amazing?
Think of where you are right now in life. For illustration purposes, I’m going to use my “Seafarer” analogy. Let’s say your working a 9-5 office job or or any job that you feel stuck in. Now imagine that the job as an island in a VAST ocean of other islands (jobs/opportunities). You know they’re out there because you’ve seen people sail off to those shores and read about them on the newspaper, Instagram post, YouTube video etc… You know you’re friends achieved success because they landed on those islands.
Where do I go?
The ocean of Life can be a daunting task but you CAN cross it towards your PURPOSE.
You just have to know where you’re going then take ACTION!
What you don’t know is HOW they achieved their success and what it TOOK to get to there. You may have an idea, you may heard them say what it took to traverse the seas but you don’t really know because you haven’t tried to get there, out of fear or complacency. Or perhaps you just don’t know where to go.
You see the vastness of the ocean in front of you and it terrifies you to step out into the waters. And yes, going out there into uncertainty can be a terrifying experience. You don’t know where you’re going or you have some inkling of a direction but you’re afraid of moving away from what was comfortable for you: you’re own cozy little island (your 9-5 job). I get it, I’ve been there.
So, this is where “The Greatness Mindset” comes in. Lewis Howes spent years collecting insights from many successful people (check out his YouTube channel) and he has come to the conclusion that many people simple lack one thing: a “Meaningful Mission”. Emphasis on meaningful. Then what is a “Meaningful Mission?”
Think of it as your PURPOSE or as Robert Green says in his book “Mastery”, a person’s “Life’s Task”. It is what you were born to do, what you were placed on this world for. It is your ‘higher-calling’ only YOU are meant to do.
Everyone has it in them. It’s that child-like dream you once had; that something which got you so energetic and riled up that you couldn’t sleep because you were constantly thinking about it. Was it about painting and drawing? Was it collecting bugs and other critters? Was it a fascination for cars and engines? Did you go out and camp in your backyard and watched the stars? Whatever it is, deep down you had something you loved doing. And when you got older, it vanished due to obligations and responsibilities.
“The Greatness Mindset” has you dig deep in your past and through your fears to find out what that is. Howe’s give you practical tips to go “deep diving” into your soul and uncover what you always wanted to do. However, this is where some confusion starts. If you said Passion, that is partly correct. Howe’s discusses something else: Purpose. Let’s dig deeper.
PASSION VS. PURPOSE
There is a clear distinction between PASSION and PURPOSE.
Passion is something you’re good or decent at, having the necessary skills to perform whatever it is and you often enjoy doing it. By definition, it’s a strong and intense emotion for something. For example, passion for playing the piano, playing video games, working on cars, collecting stamps, writing, singing, drawing etc…you feel good and excited about doing the activity. Okay, so how about Purpose?
Purpose is HIGHER than passion. PURPOSE is the next level where your passions go further than yourself. It is the reason for why you’re taking your passions to the next level, the meaning behind it. Are you playing the piano for yourself or for others? Are you drawing/writing for your own eyes or not? Are you working on an engine and not showing your skills or knowledge to others?
Basically, what we are meant to do in life, is to turn our inherent Passion(s) into a form of GOOD for others; Purpose is then our commitment to making a positive impact on the world. By doing something GOOD, by providing people a ‘service’ or simply giving VALUE to others, is our “Meaningful Mission.”
For example, if you love playing the piano, why not teach it? Why not show others how to play? And to be successful with it, make content about it! Sure there are TONS of videos, content and courses out there about playing the piano but there’s no one like YOU; so add your own spin to it. Add your unique flare/personality to your content.
My “Meaningful Mission” is a bit nuanced. I always had the affinity for the Arts. I loved paintings but never gotten good at it. I love people’s drawings and sketches (like anime) but was never a good drawer. I loved music, reading books, watching movies, creating/editing videos and seeing plays etc… there was something about the Arts that I liked but never capitalized on it.
Reading “The Greatness Mindset” got me thinking deeply about what in my childhood (or in any '“season” of my life) that I was excited to do. My passion for the arts was a good starting place. After writing down my likes, my goals, having a literal conversation with myself and even writing your own obituary (that’s right, Howes implements an exercise where I wrote my own ‘tribute’). After doing all that, I narrowed it down to something I’ve actually done throughout my life but never thought much of it. WRITING.
When I was a kid, I wrote some short stories. They were stories about superheroes, others were about aliens and another was about spies, influenced by Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond. Then later in life, I wrote scripts to make short-films for YouTube, inspired by WongFu Productions (an old famous YT group known for making amazing short-film content). I was good at it and wanted to do more but quickly motivation for that fell.
Fast-forward to 2021 and during the beginnings of the pandemic, I began writing the first few pages of what would be my very first novel, “The Last Guardians of Atlantis.” This was most likely due to boredom but something inside me told me to write it. So I did but only completed roughly 30 pages on Word and left it to gather digital dust. But I always had that draft in the back of mind.
Fast forward again to June of 2023, when my lift suddenly took a wild turn (I had to resign from a well-paying job), my life was seemingly over. But something in me told me it wasn’t and urged me to take Action. One day, I went out for a walk by the canal. It was a beautiful day and I decided to listen to a podcast, figuring something useful (and hopeful) could come out of it. That’s when I discovered Lewis Howes book and within those pages, I found my calling, my purpose, my “Meaningful Mission.” Some voice in me told me to pursue writing a novel and to keep on persisting until you’ve reached your Purpose.
Thus, here I am today, on the verge of publishing a great novel. It took a lot of ACTION, day-by-day, step-by-step. It wasn’t easy. I had to fight my EGO (more of that in part 2) and resist giving in to external pressures. I had to Persevere and Endure what my ego and what others were telling me such as “you’re going to fail” or “that doesn’t seem practical.” I had to learn how to properly write, how to market, how to ‘re-invent’ myself; a better version, a Stoic version. It was a lot of work and it still is a lot of work. But that’s just it. You keep on doing it.
My intention is to deliver a great story and with the success of that novel, I want to go out and inspire others to find their purpose in life, their “Meaningful Mission”. What could that be you ask? I plan to do self-help books, podcasts, YouTube content, social media posts and live talks. That is my purpose; my commitment for goodness. And it won’t stop there. When I do reach my purpose, I’ll continue to move the goal post even further, and see what else I can do to help others achieve their success.
So, back to the “Sea Farer” analogy: Your Purpose is out there, past the vast ocean and beyond the horizon. It’s there, you just have to take the first step. And keep going after it, day-by-day, ACTION-by-ACTION. You’re the Captain of your boat so you decide. So, how do I get there?
I imagine Lewis Howes as my First Mate on my newly assembled crew to sail the seas.
He’s there to inspire, motivate and get me and my crew, showing up everyday to keep on sailing to distant shores.
He’s there to keep me pushing to my Meaningful Mission.
As the saying goes: "How do you eat an elephant?”
“One bite at a time.”
So, I urge you, if you really want to change your life and achieve that dream goal of yours, get “The Greatness Mindset”. You won’t be disappointed. Check out one of my favorite videos From Lewis Howes’ YouTube channel!
(Click HERE for Part 2, where I go further into my “island” analogy, using Jason Redman’s book, “Overcome”)
