FreedomGoals.org

There is no special state to attain. Presence is not an achievement. It’s what remains when you stop running, stop fixing, and simply allow everything to be as it is.

When you fully embrace who you are and do what you love, your energy changes. Authenticity has a frequency, and it’s magnetic. What brings you back to your most authentic self?

plot twist: peace starts when you stop rushing.

Retirement plan

Kobe Bryant: "Failure doesn't exist, it's a figment of your imagination" An interviewer asks: "Are you someone who loves to win or hates to lose?" Kobe responds: "I'm neither. I play to figure things out. I play to learn something. Because if you play with a fear of failure or you play with the will to win that supersedes fear, I think it's a weakness either way. If you play with fear of failing, you'll capitulate to that fear. If you play with the sense of 'I want to win, I want to win,' then you have the fear of what happens if you don't. But if you find common ground in the center, you're unfazed by either. That enables you to stay in the moment and not feel anything other than what's in front of you." The interviewer asks: "How did you become someone who doesn't seem afraid of failing?" Kobe responds: "What does failure mean? It doesn't exist. It's a figment of your imagination." He explains with an analogy: "Let's use happy endings. Everybody wants a happy ending, right? Snow White finds her prince and lives happily ever after. Well, I call BS on that because two months later, they had an argument and he's sleeping on the couch. The point is: the story continues. So if you fail on Monday, the only way it's a failure is if you decide to not progress from that. If I fail today, I'm going to learn something from that failure and try again on Tuesday. That's why failure doesn't exist." The interviewer asks: "If you finished your career without a championship, would you have looked at that as a failure?" Kobe: "No. I would look at it as being extremely disappointed, because I had a dream and goals I wanted to accomplish. If I didn't accomplish those goals, I'd have to ask myself why. Poor leadership? Failure to communicate with my teammates? Lack of preparation? Those would be reasons why I didn't win. So I'd have to analyze that. And as I evolved post-basketball into business, those same weaknesses would reveal themselves there too. If I don't learn from that, I'm going to struggle again." He concludes: "I can take those situations and learn from them and have them make me a better person later in life. But if I don't take that stuff and apply it someplace else, that's failing. The worst possible thing you can ever do is to stop. It's to not learn."

With two young boys at home, I try to imagine this every few months

This was the most profound experience of my life. I am stunned beyond comprehension. This molecule is without peer. The 27mg dose opened up what felt like pure consciousness and intelligence. A majestic reveal of existence itself. In all its incomprehensible glory and majesty. It is impossible to explain with words. Whatever you imagine, multiply it by 1,000 and then add infinite width and depth and dimensions. But entrance was not granted without prerequisite. Existence demanded that I submit. That I say yes; without attachment and without condition. Yes to existence; yes to the dissolution of self; yes to release control; yes, to all. My ego registered the ask and panicked. It wanted control. It was desperate for control. It pleaded to escape from the torrent of light and essence that threatened to rip my sanity into chards. The urge to eject was overwhelming. Terror thundered throughout my mind and body. It took everything within me to release. I overcame and was treated with bliss that defies imagination. A euphoria colored with perfect harmony of all things. An orchestra of essence washed over me and swept me up in dance. It was home. The highest aspiration of intelligent life. For some reason, stored and tucked away as the ultimate prize. A single concept emerged in omnipresence: we cannot grok the preciousness of our existence. Yet it is everything we’ve ever wanted and more. The state we long for without knowing it exists. This caused me great pain and heartache. A swell of loyalty and devotion emerged inside me, pledging allegiance to existence. To become a warrior and caretaker of life on earth. To protect at any cost the candle of consciousness that has miraculously emerged in this part of the galaxy. What awaits will wipe all your tears, soothe all your sorrows, and infinitely exceed your wants.

The feeling that we have endless time to complete our work has an insidious and debilitating effect on our minds. Our attention and thoughts become diffused. Our lack of intensity makes it hard for the brain to jolt into a higher gear. The connections do not occur. For this purpose you must always try to work with deadlines, whether real or manufactured.

Billionaire Marc Andreessen says he has "zero" introspection, and that the idea itself is a modern invention.