Continue with an open mind. Allow yourself to separate and really "look"......
Four years ago I made a decision, a decision to be 100% responsible for my success and/or failure. So I quit my job and set out on an Entrepreneurial journey. My vision was to create a life of freedom. A life where I could "work" wherever I wanted and whenever I wanted. I saw life as a delicacy and one to be rich with experiences and lived on our own terms. This is the only reason, on June 3rd, I was able to buy a one-way ticket into Bangkok. I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and experience life at a new level so I set out on a solo adventure across the sea.
Now, I have known this for some time, but it was never more apparent than when I returned from a month long travel adventure throughout Thailand. How conditioned our culture and society is. How we seem to run on this conveyor belt while running on auto-pilot. How our society is still run and controlled by the large corporations and the typical time clocks of 9-5, Monday - Friday.
I’m telling you, coming back to the United States was a shock. I remember feeling completely conflicted, out of place and bored. It was as if everyone was living in their own little bubble, completely consumed by thoughts, worry and stress. I could just feel this circular vibe of, “Don’t fucking talk to me, I have shit to worry about” from anyone I’d walk by.
And if you’ve ever traveled internationally before I don’t have to tell you how that, "isolation vibe", is a complete 180 from what you experience while traveling and associating with other travelers. While traveling you feel a sense of welcome, an invitation to conversation, to a connection, to discovery. It’s as if you’re surrounded by people that are living with a sense of wonder, zest and the urge for life experiences and personal connections. There’s this feeling of joy for the day and the adventures to come.
Each day I would wake up with this overall excitement for the day. The feeling of excitement for the unknown. I knew I’d be experiencing something new, meeting new people, seeing new sights, experience new challenges….I really had no idea what I’d experience, I just knew it was going to be something new..… The feeling of an unknown adventure, each day.
While traveling I never even knew what day it was or time of day, nor did anyone else. It was simply another day to LIVE and experience life. There was no mindset of “oh, it’s Monday, I can’t do this or that or I must act like ____” or “Today’s Saturday, I’m jacked, excited, I can do _____ and _____!”
However, returning to America you feel this sense of isolation (I understand this is not unique to America, but I'm using it as an example). People just trying to make it through the day. People consumed by the past or future. People simply “doing what they ‘feel’ they have to do, in order to have or do the things they want to do."
But when you're immersed within this culture and society you become blind to it. You become it. You’re completely unconscious to the fact of the conditioning that has happened. If you remove yourself from it for a period of time I can assure you that you will awaken to the facts. You will become conscious of this brainwashing that’s going on. How little we are truly living out our lives with intention and on our own terms.
Many will simply feel and say, “That’s just the way it is." The moment we hear ourselves make such a claim is the moment we've surrendered and given up complete control of our life. We've surrendered to the conditioning, the brainwashing and the ‘norms’. And let me be the first to admit how easily one can fall trap to this. It wasn’t long after returning that I became aware of myself falling prey to this trap once again. Writing this post is the best thing I could have done because it’s awakening me once again. Our society and culture is NOT the only way. The way things are done does NOT have to be the way. We can have 100% control of our days, of our hours and ultimately our life.
Why do Mondays have to feel like Mondays? Why do Fridays and Saturdays feel different? Why does 5pm feel different from 11am?
Societal and cultural conditioning, that's why. Period.
If you could stand 50,000+ feet above America and place infa-red on all citizens and then simply monitor the masses and the movements and/or energy levels, this conveyor belt I speak of would be completely transparent and obvious. When I returned it’s as if I had a brand new pair of lenses, which made the conveyor belt conditioning obvious and so apparent.
Is this true for everyone? No, but it’s the majority. Why else would 85% of Americans think about quitting their job, DAILY!?
Does any of this sound familiar?
Monday - Friday:
Wake up, hit the snooze.
Wake up for real this time.
Take shower, grab the coffee and make the commute to work (may have some chaos because you have kids to get ready as well)
Think about life on the way to work, everything that you need to do, get done or should do.
3-4pm start to come along and your spirits and energy start to climb as you know the day is coming to an end.
5ish- make the commute home or if you have energy left, to the gym.
Eat, watch some TV, surf the web, play with the kids, do some work around the house.
9pmish - start thinking about what you have to do, what you should be doing, what you have to get done for the coming day.
Rinse and Repeat. Rinse and Repeat.
Friday 5pm - Shit, you feel good! You love life again. You’re excited, you think about all of things you GET to do, what you want to do and will be doing!
Sunday 8pm'ish - you start thinking of the week ahead. The similarity of it. The mundane of it. The things you have to do, what you should do and what you have to do. You feel a pit in your stomach.
Rinse and Repeat. Rinse and Repeat.
This societal conveyor belt is run by the corporations, which have done a tremendous job at making the people feel as if “this is the way”. They’ve created a nice hierarchy ladder that one can climb, nice benefits, all leading to a nice sense of “security”. Chasing this ladder where the reward is often just having the ability to buy that dream car, that nice house, a bigger TV, nicer clothes, that patio furniture..….
They dangle that nice little carrot with the promises, the picture of the “better life”, but then you reach that next ladder step, only to realize that it doesn’t feel much different at all. In fact, it’s simply a position of more responsibility, longer hours, more stress, less time for family and the things that you truly love to do. More deadlines, more quota, more time away from home, more paper work, more headaches, more stress, more worry….more, more, more of the shit you didn’t want, all from the promise of the “better life” by climbing that ladder.
It’s a trap.
I distinctly remember having fallen into this trap, fresh out of college, for 3 years. During that time I felt it deep within, deep within my gut, this urge to break free. I simply could not believe this was “the real world” where I felt as if I was a puppet with all of my strings being pulled. Strings being pulled for what times I should be working, when I need to show up, when I could leave, what’s appropriate to wear, what’s appropriate to say, when I could “have off”, how much my time is worth, on and on and on…..
This is “life?!"
But then I’d sit in those meetings with the CEO, the Director of Operations and they would paint that nice little picture and dangle that nice little carrot. Telling me of the unlimited potential and I can go as high up within this company as I want. They have huge growth plans and they see me as a major contributor, they make sure to let me know how fortunate I am for receiving a 5% raise (it’s unbelievable that we’ve fallen trap to such a thought, 5%??!!! That’s the standard?).
I hear all of this and then it’s like…..oohhhhh, now I’d start to envision this “awesome” future. The high level leadership (and lets be real, authoritarian) position, the grander benefits, the extra week or two of vacation, the business trips, the large office, the suits……Ok, I guess this is just what I have to do in order to reach that kind of life.
Oh, did I mention I’d start to see that awesome car, that awesome house, those grand vacations?! But at the expense of what? Being miserable for 85% of my time and my life. Doing it all just for those few moments, those few toys, those few objects, those few vacations.
That is the trap, my friends!
To think there is no other way, is the trap. To think that YOU don’t have the ability to life a life 100% on your own terms. To hear yourself think and believe, "That’s just the way it is." To think that’s what must be done in order to “have” what you want. To think you need to trade 85%+ of your life to get the 25% of what you really want. To think that you have to fill your time doing what you don’t love doing in order to “make” a living.
That. Is. The. Trap.
I became aware of this trap. The misery of the weeks and control over my life reached a point where it completely outweighed the “security” the job brought. That’s when I made the leap and broke free, quit my job, walked out into the unknown and never looked back. *I created a tool to help others do just the same. Free HERE.*
I’ll leave you all with this. If we find ourself pissed off while reading this article, we must reflect and ask ourselves, "Why?" Are we pissed at the author of this article? Or, are we pissed because we realized we have/had fallen prey to this societal trap?
If we have those feelings of anger, I will tell you that’s a great thing because you are awakening.
Our ego may be taking a hit because we've invested so much time, effort, money and so much of our life, up to this point, and now we're realizing..all for what?
Then there may be some of us that hear ourselves saying, “That’s not me, I like what I do.” Again, the ego will do any kind of justifications to validate its’ decisions, actions and behaviors that have led to this point. The key is to separate ourselves from the ego and listen to it work. Listen to it’s justifications, to it’s reasoning, to it’s validating…all to protect itself….all to protect ‘You’ from the pain. Oh the paradox. Do you see it? Those of us that are awakening, will see it.
It’s never too late to awaken and break free. It’s never too late to start living a life 100% on our own terms. Living each DAY, each HOUR, as we see fit!
How can one create a life of freedom? First, one would need to have the burning desire to break free and live life on your own terms. Second, one would need to believe that you can actually attain a life of abundance: health, happiness, joy, contribution, wealth, time freedom and love. Third, one would need to stop thinking that the only way to earn $$$ is to trade their time for it. Example: creating residual income = time freedom.
Take the time to think to yourself: "What are your strengths? What are your passions?"
Find where those strengths and passions intersect and you’ve found your “sweet spot." Never loose sight of the fact that you can learn acquire the skills needed to make your dream become a reality. You may hear a voice in your head saying, "Yeah, but (insert any limiting belief such as: I don't know how. I don't have the time. I don't have the money. I could never be like that. I am not good at that. I don't know anyone ______."
Come from a place of empowerment by reframing that statement to: "How can I (insert any empowering belief such as: How can I learn that. How can I acquire that skill. Who do I need to talk to. What do I need to learn. How do I ________.) Such a small difference, but it comes from a place of abundance and empowerment.
Once you've recognized where your sweet spot is, find a way to deliver real value to the market place. To help with that simply answer this question: "How can I help others?" "What problem do I solve?"
Break free from the constraints of cultural norms, the self-sabotaging beliefs, the paralyzing fear, believe in a life of abundance and live a life of personal freedom and contribution. Do that and you will never live another day in the 'Trap.'
It’s within us all.
Greatness! We were made to thrive, not just survive.
But in order to realize it you need to awaken to the trap. The 'trap' is the belief that you can only have one or the other, a belief in scarcity.
Example: If you want financial freedom you can't have time freedom, you have to give away your life, you have no time for others or loved ones. You have to sacrifice it all. You neglect you health and you've given your life to your "work."
Or a belief that you can have freedom, but you have to abandon all responsibilities and live a life of "whatever."
Or the thought that you “need” that “security”, that you “need” that corporation, that you “need” to trade your today’s for the promise of tomorrow’s, that you “need” to trade your hours for a specific amount of $.
A belief in abundance and the belief that you can in fact, have it all, is where life becomes magical and you feel a sense of liberation within. We all deserve that.
Have faith in yourself. Why cant you?
Why not?
Why?!
Believe!
We are spinning around on a planet in the middle of absolutely nowhere for just a few short years. Keeping that fact in mind, now, why can’t you??
In case you're wondering, I felt compelled to write this article for a couple of reasons:
- To wake people up. To awaken to the brainwashing and entrapment of society and popular culture.
- To serve my essential intent and mission:
"To train, empower and help 1,000 men follow their passion and purpose, become their own boss and earn a minimum of $100,000 per year as an Entrepreneur."
*The Kingsman 1,000*
How? We begin with a comprehensive training program called Kingsman Academy. Where we develop and prepare men mentally, physically, spiritually and financially to make the leap and then transition into an Entrepreneurial specific training program to reach the 6-figure+ mark and experience real freedom within their lives.
The following is a general personal mission statement:
"To inspire and empower millions to break free from self-sobatoging beliefs, act on their dreams and to feel truly alive within. Through life adventures, deep insights, provoking thoughts and unique strategies I will remind others of the magic in the world and help them discover the possibilities that live within themselves. It's time to redefine the norms."
For more videos, inspiration, strategies and all things: Mind, Body, Fitness, Lifestyle you can follow me on:
- Subscribe to my YouTube Channel HERE
- Join my email list by asking for my free report HERE
- SnapChat @ brianlarson27
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- FREE Mind Mastery training for men HERE
- FREE Kingsman Scorecard HERE - 1-page scorecard to crush your goals in 90-days and dominate your life.
Brian Larson
Founder & Creator Kingsman Academy
Founder & Creator KingsmanStrong