Rich Dad Education Blog

Awareness usually surfaces next when we hit our young adulthood. Then, once again, the world revolves around us. We have infinite self-confidence, sometimes wrapped up in an immature belligerence. We know what we want to do, and how we want to do it. There are no thoughts of self-doubt; at this age, we are all action and very little thought. This time, we have a greater need to prove to others that we are right, so we move ahead without listening to the advice of others.

For our own good, most of us are destined to lose that confidence once again: when we misperceive the role of the world and our place within it; when the world doesn’t conform to our belligerent, thoughtless beliefs; when we get caught up in the man-made facets of life; when we get put in a seemingly limited place full of questions and doubts, rules, and games; when we listen to those questions and doubts, and follow those rules and games. We lose our focus, we lose our trust, and we start to believe those doubts and rules are real.

Then we enter mid-life and perform a reassessment. It’s not a crisis, but another awakening. A third and final awakening in which we either open our arms to our original child-like understanding of the universe and let go of the rest, or we close our doors and believe life has given us all it has to give. Often, this is an awakening to a realization that we don’t want to admit: we got lost, wasted precious time, and now must start all over again.

Or not. The truth is that everything is of perception, and we have the ability to choose that perception.

That’s how life works. There are ups and downs, gives and takes, positives and negatives. We are here to take the good with the bad and learn to strike a balance between the two. There is no reason to lament or regret anything. You did the best you could with what you had in the moment. Trust yourself, forgive yourself, ask more or less of yourself accordingly, but do it in that very moment.

If you desire a different outcome, then try a different path with different steps to produce that different outcome. If you are an analytical person, then try feeling your way through a situation, using your inner guidance system to better choices, rather than thinking your way through. Conversely, if you normally run on emotion, then try using a more logical approach to decision-making. Stop overfeeling or too quickly judging your situation, and give yourself time to think it out. Ask yourself to commit to better, kinder, more productive habits and follow through on that commitment.

If your perception is that you have failed, breathe through that perception and take another look. Take another try at it. Again, trust yourself. Gaining confidence requires knowing that you have the power to define who and what you are each and every moment in your lifetime. Understanding and believing this takes practice and conscious awareness. You must know when to ask for help, when to press on alone, and when to let yourself rest. It takes asking deep questions and answering them, sometimes more than once. It takes learning to adapt to who you are and what you are meant to be, not who you think you should be. Open up and really hear what your soul is trying to tell you.

Distractions are plentiful in our world, and we have become masters at being led by them—the most crafty distraction of all is our own ego. We follow our distractions, passing off our responsibilities to take care, heal, listen, consider, and take action for ourselves in exchange for the material world we have made so all-important.

But this world is not real. It’s merely a virtual classroom in which our mettle and beliefs are continually tested. It presses our buttons and pushes us to ever-lower craters of indifference and misunderstanding. It convinces us that we must suffer in order to get ahead and find happiness. It convinces us that what we are, and what we have inside of us, is neither valuable nor in demand, and that we must go outside of ourselves to find approval or a worthy skill or trade that will earn us what we want most in life. Our self satisfaction, for what we believe is a job well done, is not enough unless the world says it is.

The more we look outside, the further away our answers seem to drift.

But we can change it all. In a blink, a breath, or a moment of letting go, we can change it all when we glimpse that door of conscious awareness. If we grasp the truth and set aside our fear, our ego, then, and only then, will we begin to truly shine.

If we allow it, we begin to remember that our world revolves around us, and is full of magic and wonder, beauty and grace. It revolves around our confidence when we have confidence. It revolves around our happiness when we are happy. It revolves around our love when we are in love. Not the other way around. We do not revolve around the world. The world revolves around us. The cycle, or circle, of life comes back to what we knew in childhood; our existence, our true self, and our right to be here is complete.

We choose who we will be to ourselves and to others each and every moment, each and every day. It is a clear choice we have: remain mired in the tests, or earn our rewards.

Taking each other by the hand and discovering together is allowed. There is no reason to learn or struggle alone. We are all in the same classroom, receiving the same lessons through unique, individual experiences. Shame and fear have no place in defining yourself. These feelings only serve to hold you back in an ego state that wants to keep you from your reward.

Reach out—take your place in your life as your own leader, a leader with full trust and confidence in yourself and in the people around you. Believe that every experience, good or bad, is what you need to make you better, stronger, more aware, and more understanding. Every experience is given to you, by you, to prepare you for what is yet to come.

Opening yourself fully to all that is in your life means letting go of those things you don’t need, and embracing those things that you do need. Trusting that the world is working with you to provide exactly what you need, is the golden key to knowledge and understanding; the magic that turns the key and opens the door is called perception.

Taking life personally is a very difficult road to navigate. Everything hurts, is unfair, and people are always out to get you, take advantage of you, and catch you off guard. We find ourselves holding on tighter and tighter, when all we have to do is let go. We truly do not have to, nor are we supposed to, control every moment. There is a rhythm to life that flows naturally and beautifully. Relax and just let go. Take life less personally.

This is a much easier road to take because flowing alongside you is the truth of understanding, the truth that we are all here to learn from one another. Every encounter we experience is directly in tune with our ultimate path. It is matching us step-for-step each time we make a decision. If we choose poorly, we are corrected. If we choose wisely, we are rewarded. If we cannot make a choice, we are given frustration in our own inactivity. If we make too many unfocused choices, then we are often given multiple brick walls to lean upon and, with them, we are encouraged to stay still and contemplate.

Once we accept that the theme of life is that it is ours to live, we can ask the questions that need to be asked of ourselves: What am I trying to accomplish? Why do I so often find myself in the same predicaments or scenarios? How can I make better choices for myself? What changes can I make that will make my life more fulfilling, more enjoyable, more helpful to others? Who can I talk to in order to see my path with more clarity and understanding?

If I take out the superficial, manmade worries, expectations, and fears, what am I left with that truly matters to me? Who am I? And what am I here to do?

In trying to understand, to define yourself and your life, ask questions and give yourself time to find the answers. Asking questions leads to more questions, the answers to which can only lead to clarity.

All of our answers are within. All of our answers come when we let go of our fears, open ourselves up, and allow them to come with acceptance, not force; with understanding, not denial; and with awareness, not fear.