I had the most amazing experience recently when I was in Hawaii working on some content for my new program Golden Dragon Transformational Leadership Training.
Journey To Unexpected Places
Totally unexpectedly, this trip turned into a journey inward, into my real motivations for doing the work I do, for being in a relationship, for virtually any aspect of my life – and I discovered something very disturbing. I had been living my life from a place of self-love, self-preservation and greed. My motivations for building my business had been to make money so I could live a comfortable life and not have to worry – and I was jealous of those who were more successful than me, and I wanted to have what they have. Not that a motivation like that is bad, but it was totally self serving and self focused. Whoaaa… bummer!
Magical Hawaii
Hawaii is a magical place, not just because it is physically beautiful, but because it has a way of bringing any crap that needs to be let go, or healed, to the surface, like it or not. Why does that happen? I have no idea, but every time I have come here, my life has undergone a radical shift, and this time was no different.
Sometimes It’s Hard To Keep My Heart Open
I had a long distance conversation with the love of my life, and discovered, unbeknownst to me (remember the self-centered thing? Does not do wonders for being aware of the needs of others) that there was trouble in paradise, and I am not talking about Hawaii! This caused me to take a step back and look inside – and I began a quick downward slide into fear. Thankfully, just like in the classic archetype stories, a wise older man appeared in my life, and like Yoda – slapped me upside the head metaphorically – and got me asking the questions of myself that I needed to ask.
What did I need to do? Open my heart. Learn to lead from love, act from love, act from service, create what I was creating in order to serve and help others. After much prayer, meditation, and a couple of good stiff drinks – the light bulb went on. (Speaking of light bulbs – a light that I had turned off actually did turn itself on in the middle of the night during all of this – but that is another story.) I asked to be led to do my work from the right place, to serve my relationship from the right place, and to be made an instrument of a higher power – as corny as that might sound. And then… it happened.
A Sign From Above?
I had a photo shoot on the beach, getting some new shots for the marketing of the Golden Dragon event and my new website – and when the photographer (who is the wise Yoda character by the way) asked me to stretch up to the sky and feel the joy of why I am here – what I really want my life to be, to mean… and I tapped directly into my prayer to remember to lead from my heart, love my partner from my heart, serve from my heart. We finished the shoot and went home. An hour or so later when the photos came through in my email, I opened them and almost fell off my chair.
In that photo, the one where I was stretching up and connecting to my vision for this work, for my relationship, for my life – in the clouds directly above my head is… a heart. Holy crap.
Don’t believe me? Check out the photo above carefully. That’s how it came out of the digital camera – no photo shop or trickery here. Just a big ol heart in the sky.
You are not alone.
To Your Success and Freedom,
Vincent j