I’m Probably Crazy For Doing This, But…

So, I’m thinking about creating this free thing that will really help a lot of people. I know because I’ve been helping coaching clients with it, and it’s something I’ve seen a big demand for. I probably should charge a lot of money for it, but I don’t want to do that, I’d rather give it away so you can get a ton of value from it.

Anyway, just so I know whether or not it’s a good idea for me to create this, I would really appreciate your feedback in this short survey.

If you have a minute, it would mean a lot to me.

> Go here to take the super short survey

Thank you! Your opinion matters to me.

PS: By the way, the reason there haven’t been many posts lately is because I’m in the process of moving right now. We just finally got everything moved over into a new, much bigger place. And I’m happy to say that Illuminated Mind will now have it’s own official headquarters (office)! It’s been nice working from the couch (and bed sometimes), but I’m really excited that it will now have it’s own space. Expect a flood of more awesomeness to come out of the lab now.

What’s Getting in the Way of Your Awesomeness?

The truth about your potential is probably more than you’re currently expressing. There are an endless number of possibilities with what you can achieve and how you can live your dreams. You are more powerful than you’d probably like to admit (because let’s be honest, it’s a bit scary to own your true power).

Yet, something is probably getting in the way of you expressing your true potential. Maybe it’s a limiting belief or mindset you’re holding about yourself or the way the world works. Maybe it’s some kind of social conditioning that you know is bullshit but you can’t seem to break. Maybe it’s a situation where you feel you’re stuck without any desirable path to choose.

You’ve probably tried some things to change this. Of course you have. Or maybe you haven’t done much, because it seems like there isn’t much room to move, to breathe, and to actually feel some lightness.

Limits, blocks, walls, unwanted patterns, whatever you want to call them, they suck. And they’re getting in the way of the true awesomeness that’s within you. If only you could move past them, you could experience the real greatness inside of you.

Then you could really start making headway. You could really start seeing the results you want in life.

You could start feeling excited about things instead of feeling dread. You could feel energized instead of feeling worn out.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Right now I’d like to offer you some help with that. Because, maybe you need some support with this. I mean, of course you could be rugged and do it all on your own, as I have much of my life too. But I’ve found that I accomplish much more when I have help. It’s been hard for to accept and acknowledge that I need help, but it’s something that has really changed my life for the better. Now I’m getting better at it, and things are getting a lot easier for me. It feels nice to have support, someone on your team. It feels like you can do it more easily.

For the past several months I’ve been shaping a special one-on-one limit breaking session that’s specifically targeted to erasing fears, and dissolving limits into thin air. I haven’t offered this opportunity publicly (on the website) until now because I wanted to make sure this process really works. And it does, I’ve been getting amazing results with my clients and people have finally been moving past their stuck places to go out and do awesome things. As they should.

Now I want to offer this to you. If you feel like there’s something you’d like to move past or get unstuck with that is going to make a huge difference for you, this partnership can really help. I know it can, because it’s exactly what I do to get incredible results.

You know in your heart if this is really something that you really need. Be okay with that if that’s true. And if you don’t need it, that’s fine, but be honest with yourself if you do. It’s okay to need help, and it’s okay to ask for help.

Once you’ve decided that this might be what you really need, head over to the Limit Breaking Session page to learn more about the session and what it’s all about.

One last thing, I want to help you to know whether or not this is right for you. If you have any questions about whether this is going to help you with your specific situation, I’d love to talk to you so you can get some clarity and know if you’re making the right choice. I understand that coaching is a big investment, so I want to make sure that it’s going to be the best choice for you.

You can call me at 626-822-8714 to talk for a few minutes about whether or not a limit breaking session is right for you, or you can email me at jonathan@illuminatedmind.net and let me know any questions or concerns you have about signing up.

You might think I’m crazy for putting up my phone number on a blog post, but I want to make myself accessible, so you can feel confident knowing that coaching is the right decision.

And if it is, I look forward to breaking limits with you.

The Anti-Life Purpose (or your purpose is not what you think)

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are” —Joseph Campbell

A lot of people talk about life purpose. They say it’s something you’ve got to find, something you have to figure out. It’s this elusive, intimidating thing, that if you don’t discover, will cause your life to be forever devoid of meaning.

Pretty terrifying, right?

No wonder so many people think they just don’t have a purpose, or that maybe they do, but it’s just too frightening of an idea to approach.

I’m here to tell you that’s bullshit. You do have a purpose, but it’s not what you think.

It’s not something “out there” that you need to find. It’s not hard to figure out, like a mesmerizing labyrinth or ambiguity.

That’s because your purpose is to become who you are.

That’s it.

Nothing else. No big, fat, phony mission statement. No saving whales or ending world hunger. That’s not your purpose. Those are activities, and albeit they may be worthy ones, but they’re still simply goals. Your purpose is not a goal, an action, or a cause. Your purpose is much bigger than that.

Your purpose is to express your fullest potential, to unfold, and spiral out the amazingness that is YOU.

You can have goals, causes, missions, and even start social movements if that’s what you want. But those things are still not your purpose. Those are extensions of it, which is you.

So your purpose is to discover your path. The path that only you can own. Your purpose is to live deliberately. To create and share your gifts with the world.

When you realize that you are the author of your life, you start to realize that you don’t have to live by the rules as long as you make the choice to step outside them. You’ll find something interesting; that all those lines you’re not supposed to cross… they’re imaginary. No alarm sounds. No spikes rise up from the floor, or yellowish gas is released from some unknown source.

Empty threats.

So your job is to test your assumptions. See what happens when you do what you want. See what happens when you follow your own path. Even when you’re not sure what that path is, just take the step that you feel called to. You have to learn to trust yourself since all of this time you’ve been following someone else’s plan. When you set out to create your own plan, your own map, it will be blank at first. That’s pretty terrifying. So just start doodling. Create lines, then draw outside them. Crumple it up and burn it if you don’t like where it’s heading. Start over. Start daydreaming again. Pick your favorite colors and get to work.

Because your purpose is not what you think. Your purpose is to become who you are.

photo courtesy of djwhelan

The Importance of Being Unremarkable

There is a lot of pressure to do epic things; to achieve amazing, record-breaking success. And it often gets in the way of doing unremarkable, important things.

When I sat down to write today, I was trying to think of something interesting or remarkable to write about. I wanted to share something, but I felt inadequate because I didn’t have anything profound or mind-blowing to say. Nothing innovative or particularly uncommon flowed into my consciousness.

It made me feel pretty inadequate and unuseful. Everything you do is supposed to stand out, be amazing, and mind-blowing, right? That’s the way I feel most of the time.

It got me to thinking, this focus we have of doing great things and living awesome lives is all well and good, but sometimes that can take us away from the really extraordinary, unremarkable things in life. It can cause us to view the meaningful, quiet, unexceptional things we engage in as unimportant or without much worth.

When we’re focusing too much on doing epic shit, we can lose sight of the truly epic things that aren’t outwardly or obviously epic.

Some of those things might be…

  • Spending time encouraging someone to follow their heart, and believing in their potential.
  • Feeling your breath.
  • Taking care of your family and loved ones.
  • Being useful in your business, or serving people in a way that is unassuming and not in a way that seems particularly game-changing.
  • Feeling the ground beneath your feet, becoming aware of the love and abundance that exists in this moment.
  • Creating something that isn’t groundbreaking, but allows you to express yourself authentically and joyfully.
  • Doing what makes you come alive, whether or not it’s unique, unheard of, or at a masterful level.

Sometimes by focusing on having each moment be amazing, you overlook the possibility that each moment is already amazing, without you having to do anything about it.

This is the way I feel much of the time. When I’m trying to make things amazing, I feel stifled by my self-imposed pressure. When I allow things to be as awesome as they are, I feel connected and in touch with their inherent qualities. That’s truthful, genuine awesomeness. It’s not manufactured or forced. It’s beautiful as it is. Already. Right now.

Sometimes the quickest way to change the world is to accept how incredible it already is.

So, when I write, when I coach others, and when I live, I want to focus more on the still, subtle, essential awesomeness that is already there… without me having to try to do anything about it.

I think I’m much happier that way. It takes a lot of the pressure off of being game-changing, epic, and remarkable all the time. Most importantly, it allows those things to unfold in a way that is much more joyful.

Because when you give all of your heart, all of yourself to whatever it is you want to create, you can trust that if something is quietly amazing, only slightly elevating your feet off the ground, that is as it should be. If it shakes the earth from its very foundations, then it does. But trying to create planetary tilting results is often the surest way to keep it spinning firmly on its axis.

I think I’m going to have more faith in the divinely intrinsic remarkableness. I’ll leave it to others to decide whether it’s remarkable or not.

Why I Decided to Fight

(If you’re reading this in your email or reader, click here to watch the video)

In this video I talk about why I decided to fight in my amateur MMA (mixed martial arts) fight last month. I talk about the difference between training and application (in a real situation), and how important it is to step into the game. Excuse my jacked up hair, I just got back from teaching JKD at the park near my house.

If you’re interested in learning more about Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee’s original martial art), and how I train, check out Jeet Kune Do University. It’s an online JKD training program that you can follow from your own home, created by my martial arts teacher.