The hard edge of truth from Momma Simon

Let’s talk about mom for a moment…

Because mine was just in town for the last few days (from North Carolina), and as ALWAYS, it was a truly enlightening experience.

For those of you who are new to my world, my mom is a 40+ year Transcendental Meditation teacher, a Vedic Astrology master, a mighty-fine cook, and an amazingly beautiful human being. If you couldn’t tell, I’ve gotta lotta love for this woman.

And while I could go on and on about her greatness, let’s talk about how some of the wisdom she dropped on me can impact your biz….in a big way.

Let’s get into it…

In my last post, I shared with you that I haven’t felt like writing very much lately. But what I didn’t share with you is the deeper reason for why (and I’m sorry for this holding back from you).

So let me get pretty transparent for moment…

You see, I wasn’t writing because I wasn’t feeling very creative….and I wasn’t feeling very creative because I was feeling stressed out….and I was feeling stressed because my meditation practice had totally slipped away.

Ouch, that’s hard to admit…because for the most part, I’ve been on a strict twice-a-day meditation schedule for the last 6 years of my life.

But for a number of totally lame excuses that I’d care not to repeat, I completely fell off the wagon….and the RESULTS were not pretty.

I was struggling to get things done. I never felt like I had enough time. I got reactive to small, stupid stuff. I got distracted easily. I sucked (it’s true).

Then Momma Simon showed up….

And in her ever-so-gentle and delicate way, she reminded me of something extremely important that I have known all along, but have recently forgot….

And this my friend, is the hard edge of truth.

She said…

“Whatever you’re searching for in the outside world does not exist, because there is nothing to get in the outside world. There is nowhere to go. Happiness comes from inside of you.”

And you know what?

She’s right.

Now that might sound like typical new-age hype….and it is, but it’s also true.

For example, you and I both know that the external hustle never ends. You can ALWAYS make more money, get more stuff, send more emails, help more people, achieve more titles, and on, and on, and on, and still never feel truly satisfied.

Right?

So the real trick to lasting happiness is to put as much attention on mastering the INNER-GAME as you do on the outer-game.

And that simply means spending time every day nourishing, nurturing, and connecting to the YOU that’s not all caught up in the labels, the campaigns, the social networking, the roles, and all the other stuff that we have become consumed by.

And to make this as clear and simple as I can: that means meditating every day.

Argue with me…

Now I have plenty of friends in my life who flat out disagree with me about this.

They say things like: “Meditation doesn’t work for me” or “I don’t have time to meditate” or “Writing is my meditation.”

And let me just tell you why all that’s all a bunch of BS (now I’m fired up!).

Meditation is like ANYTHING else in the world.

When you first start, it’s hard. You struggle. It doesn’t feel easy. You’re want to jump ship.

And because you are so blatantly faced with the chaos of your mind, and there’s nowhere to hide, this is where most decide that it’s not for them…..quickly….because it’s not fun seeing how wild your thoughts really are.

But think of what a lame excuse that really is. Did you make money the first time you launched a campaign? Did you convert the first client you spoke to? Did you master anything right from the very beginning?

No you didn’t.

And even if you’re some kind of super-human genius that somehow managed to get things right from the very start, (and I imagine you still sucked some of the time), you still needed regular practice to get momentum.

So the “I tried it and it didn’t work” excuse is a big, huge, lame cop-out in my eyes.

What about the time thing?

Over the last few weeks, this was the excuse I was using….”I don’t have time.”

First, let’s start by thinking of someone like Richard Branson who runs over 300 company’s (one of my idols). Does he have any more time in the day than you do? What about Opera? Or Howard Stern? Because last time I checked, these power-players were running the same 24 hour clock that you and I are.

But here’s the thing, they have learned how to operate more efficiently. They have learned to step back and look at things from a birds-eye view. That are constantly thinking about the big picture, and how to delegate more (read any of their books and they will tell you that this is the secret to their success).

And guess what, each one of these big dogs meditate. Because they know what hundreds of thousands of other people know too….that the little bit of time where you step back and get centered helps you gain new levels of clarity, focus, and perspective so that you can get more done in less time.

Zing!

So that should eliminate the time excuse.

And for my personal favorite, “______ (fill in the blank with an activity of your choice) is my meditation”.

Now let’s get real for a moment. Do you agree with me that EVERYTHING you do with your eyes open takes you OUT….meaning, it’s externally focused…

YES or YES?

And if the sages and seer’s have been telling us for thousands of years to go inside to find the answers, how is it that these EXTERNALLY referenced activities can accomplish the same thing???

Let me just be blunt for a moment…

They can’t.

Because it’s just a flat out different experience to sit still, close your eyes, and focus your attention and energy on diving into your inner-world, than it is to run around the block or journal out your thoughts.

Now am I saying that these activities aren’t valuable? Of course not. I LOVE to run, journal, go on hikes, dance, etc.

But they provide a distinctly different result to your life.

And if we believe what all of the great teachers have been telling us that “happiness comes from within”, I think it’s important to recognize that meditation is really the only vehicle that does that for you.

How about that inner-critic in you?

Right about now, you’re probably in one of two places with this post.

Either you agree 100% percent that meditation is useful or you have disregarded my words as new-age fluff.

Ultimately, it makes no difference to me which side you’re on. But let me say this: the last few weeks have not been pretty for me. In fact, I think I’m willing to admit (now) that I was a little depressed. And the worse part is that I couldn’t even see that I was in that funk. I just accepted it.

And after just a few days with Momma Simon, gently reminding me to meditate twice a day, I now feel 10000% better….like I’m back to my old (new) self.

So the choice is yours. Discount that this powerful tool can work for you or open up the space to give it a try.

What are you going to do?

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SPECIAL NOTE

This experience of getting off-center and coming back to-center really lit my fire to finish a product I started almost 8 months ago and never finished called “Get Centered Fast.” It’s a step-by-step program for how to quiet your mind, unwind the stress in your body, and experience new levels of clarity and focus.

Just out of curiosity, would you be interested in this if I got it done for you?