Right after you back out, some time may pass and then what happens? You start to feel sadness. You start to feel a little bit of regret. Why is that? Because you know you should’ve taken that chance but you allowed your fear, anxiety and doubt get the better of you.

William James was an American philosopher who truly believed in taking a chance. He has a philosophy that I believe many people would benefit from even after all these years. The philosophy that he embodied was this:

• “Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.

  

What William James is saying can be considered quite practical and down to Earth. His philosophy is realistic in saying that not every chance you take will bring you happiness, but every chance you take opens yourself up to the possibility of obtaining happiness. You won’t always succeed but you definitely will fail if you don’t take action. I think this philosophy is one that every human can benefit from.

To eliminate that feeling of regret or sadness, you must be willing to have the courage to take on your fear. If you always allow fear to have the final say, you will truly never accomplish anything worth while in your life. You will remain defeated until the day you choose to take action.

If you take action but come up short, you have not failed. You have not failed because you have conquered your mind and your fear by being brave enough to take a chance. So if there’s anything you can take away from this blog, it is this philosophy.

If you really want to do something but those butterflies come creeping into your stomach and your palms start to sweat, be brave, be confident and take the chance. You will be a much happier person because of it, regardless of the outcome.

If you enjoyed this blog and this philosophy, please subscribe and share with a friend! It would mean the world to me.

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I am a first generation Australian and my background is Chaldean/Assyrian from Iraq. In the early 90's, my family escaped from war torn Iraq with nothing but a suitcase with some clothes and the clothes on their back. They fled as illegal immigrants with only one thing in mind...freedom.

In 1993, my family, after 1 and a half years of scraping through from country to country made it Australia. My parents explain the feeling of their arrival as a gift from the heavens as they had been living with immense levels of stress for years. From the beginning of the Iraq-Iran war in 1980-1988, Gulf War in 1990-91, many civil wars in between and the stress of being deported if they were caught abroad.

All of these events had built up to the point where my family forgot what it was like to live a normal life. Through all the struggle, anxiety and stress they finally tasted the sweet taste of freedom in 1993 when they arrived in Sydney, Australia. I have grown up with many true stories that allowed me to truly appreciate the life that I have in Australia and gave me real perspective as to just how grateful i should be for living the life I live.

I am currently in the process of writing a book which is a true story based on my family's journey to Australia and I hope this will give you some insight as to why I want to build this community.

My name is Martin. I was born in 1995 in Sydney, Australia and I hope to share this book with you all in the near future.

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Growing up with parents, siblings, uncles and aunties who all experienced the same thing, it gave me an insight as to how truly lucky I am to simply be living and breathing in a country such as Australia. I was lucky to be given this insight, others are not so lucky.

However, there is a philosophy I believe one can follow to obtain more perspective in their life and ultimately, lead to more appreciation. That philosophy is this:

• Do things which people who are less fortunate than you have to do.
  

I believe if you can simply follow this, your ability to put yourself in the shoes of the less fortunate will grow and ultimately lead to a greater appreciation for your own life. If more people did this I believe the world would be a better place.

Many things that you could do include possibly volunteering in projects that are in less fortunate countries. This would not only allow you to help those who need it but also get a different perspective on life. You could even go to a homeless shelter and volunteer to feed the homeless. These are just a few suggestions but there are many that one could do.

Please reflect on your life. Think about all that you do have instead of what you don’t have. Seek perspective and learn to appreciate your life!

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Sometimes, yes, it is because the idea may not be a good one. However, I believe that sometimes, it is the fear of change or fear of the unknown that leads to many ideas being shut down.

Think of all the great ideas that could have been implemented in this world if only someone had simply taken the time to truly listen. If you are in a position of power/authority and someone comes up to you with an idea, I want you to adopt a certain philosophy. This philosophy comes from Simon Sinek, an excellent author and inspirational speaker.

Simon’s philosophy is this:

• “The next time someone starts listing all the reasons an idea won’t work or can’t happen, ask them to give 3 reasons it can.”

  

By adopting this mentality and trying your best to figure out how an idea can work, it will lead to more positive outcomes. By showing that you attempted to implement an idea, it will build more trust between teams, more respect and stronger relationships.

If you simply dis-regard an idea without putting any real thought into it, this will lead to many people not feeling respected, valued and can potentially damage relationships.

I see the value in Simon Sinek’s philosophy. With prior experience, I know the feeling that many people receive when they are enthusiastic about an idea, only to have no thought or effort be put into from the people in power.

Starting from today, make the people around you feel valued and adopt this philosophy. It will only lead to better work environments, stronger teams and more positivity!

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If you are like me, then your environment does not encourage you or give you the tools that you need to in order to pursue what it is that you love. The people around you are encouraging you to pursue a very standard life with tried, proven and safe me…

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Unfortunately, for a long period of time, nothing was happening for me. For years I felt a gap inside me that I just didn’t know how to fill. I worked in jobs that others kept telling me were good which I eventually realized, although they are decent jobs, they did not speak to me as a person.

For 7 years I kept telling myself that this is how it is supposed to be and that this is how adult life is. I accepted my reality. One day, I was daydreaming in my office and looked outside the window. When I looked outside the window, I saw many expressions on the people’s faces walking by. The people looked miserable, sad and unfulfilled. My environment was filled with people who were uninspired and very accepting of their reality. Accepting that this is just how life is. I was suffocating and frustrated mentally. Everywhere I looked, everywhere I went, it was a constant reminder of an unfulfilled life. This is when I took a stand.

I made a promise to myself that this would not become my reality. I would not succumb to what society was trying to tell me was normal. My environment at that time was telling me it’s too late to start again. Even my mind was feeding me doubts that it was too late to start again. I had 7 years of Finance experience, I had almost finished my degree in Financial Planning and it was hard for me to give that up with all the commitments I had in my life.

Me giving that up would mean that I would have to start in an entry level job, with a entry level salary and with financial commitments that simply couldn’t support my life. I was tied into many commitments, a mortgage, a wedding to pay for and a beautiful fiancée to support financially. How was I going to manage all of this while trying to create the life I wanted?

At this point, I had figured out what it was that made me happy. Working 7 years in jobs that you don’t enjoy eventually leads to you learning a lot about yourself. You can figure out what you like and what you don’t like. Luckily for me, I was able to figure out that I am a very creative person. I like to write, I like to create and I like to add value to people’s lives. That is why I started my brand The Philosophers Army. Although just a passion project, it was the one thing that brought me satisfaction and enjoyment. It was an outlet that allowed me to express myself.

Through the creation of this brand and managing it on my own, I started to discover that I enjoyed Digital Marketing. Everything I was doing for the brand is what is considered as Digital Marketing. Content Creation, Blog Writing, Organic Growth, Paid Growth and so on.

This is when I said to myself “While I continue to work on this brand, I will start looking for a job in Digital Marketing”. I done some research and realized that what I was doing for my brand, the skills obtained would cross over very well into a Digital Marketing role.

From that day, I started to apply for numerous Digital Marketing jobs. I did this for 6 months and I received hundreds of rejections on my applications, but I did not care. I did not care because nothing was going to deter me in my mission to obtain a role In this type of industry. Failure was worth it because I knew the more I tried, the more I refined my approach, the higher my chances would become. Each time I thought of possibly just giving up, I thought about what my life would look like in the future if I stayed in my current position. When I did that, it gave me the drive to try again because I knew this current life was not the one I wanted for myself.

6 months went by. 6 months of changing my approach in my applications, 6 months of getting rejected, 6 months of waiting and slowly becoming more aggressive in my approach until one day, I received a call.

This call was from a company who had received my application for a Digital Marketing Coordinator role. They were impressed with my CV and asked me to come in for an interview. I was overcome with joy but realizing there was still much to be done. I went in for the interview, then a 2nd round interview, then a 3rd round interview! I thought to myself “Why all of these interviews for the one job?” It seemed a little excessive and I was informed that there were numerous candidates. Once the 3rd round interview was done, I did not hear back for a week from them. I thought to myself that I probably didn’t make the final cut. I was actually very mentally distraught because I had come soo close only to fail and start again…a process I was becoming very familiar with.

A week went by and then I received a call. The call was from the company. They told me that they were very impressed with my application and that they truly believed my finance experience mixed with my marketing experience were a perfect combo for this job. My body started to fill itself up with joy and anxiety because at the very end of the call, I GOT OFFERED THE JOB!

I got offered the job with a salary that I could manage my life with! All those years of unfulfillment, mental challenges and perseverance were finally coming to an end! I got the job and when I started my first day there, It felt soo right. I knew that this is what I was meant to be doing. I was soo sure that this is what I wanted to do that not only did I start working full time as a Digital Marketing Coordinator but with a friend of mine, I even started a Digital Marketing business on the side! Everything was finally starting to fall into place. I had the purest form of clarity about the path I was on which is something I never truly had before. Satisfaction from a work environment and in life had finally started to come to fruition for me.

Now what is the point of this story? Why am I telling you all of this? Let me tell you why. I know many people that think it is too hard to do something or that it is simply not achievable. I was one of those people because I too thought it was difficult and I also had people telling me I was crazy for doing what I wanted to do.

I’m here to tell you that if there is something you truly want, I promise you that you can achieve it. When no one was giving me an opportunity, I created my own opportunity. I was told I couldn’t get into the Digital Marketing space because I had no experience. So what did I do? While I worked full time in Financial Planning, I started a passion project to build my experience in the Digital Marketing space. This creation of mine (The Philosophers Army) in which I gained nothing from financially, led to me getting the job I wanted. I had to make something happen out of nothing because I was sick and tired of society telling me it was too late to change. Sick and tired of my current situation and even fed up with making excuses for my situation.

I put the blinders on, focused on none of the words I was being told and started to make things happen for myself. I now still focus on my brand (The Philosophers Army), my business (DotMD) and my full-time job as a Digital Marketing Coordinator. This may seem like a lot of things to juggle but it truly does not seem that way. It does not seem that way because everything I am doing is allowing me to express myself and brings me happiness.

My friends please NEVER think it is too late or too hard to do something. If you truly want something but there is no opportunity presenting itself, make the opportunity happen. Break down the walls that are imprisoning you mentally and start making things happen for yourself. If it was not beyond me, it is not beyond you.

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I wasn't always this motivated. I used to consistently pretend that what I was doing in life was getting me to where I wanted. It wasn't actually. It was getting me to where other people wanted me to be. I allowed people's projections of what they wanted for me to influence my life and that slowly became my reality.

A reality that I would soon realise was taking me further and further away from who I truly was as a person. I even used to tell people "Who I am at work is different to who I am at home"...for a while I thought that was normal.

It wasn't until the 'Who I was' at work kept leading me into positions that never sat well with me inside. It led me to doing things that the 'Home me' would never even think about it. I thought that it was necessary in order for me to get ahead in the corporate world.

This consistent cycle of switching in and out of who I was eventually after a couple of years became mentally exhausting. I've dealt with mentally exhausting things before. Things that ultimately I knew had a positive outcome, studying for example being one of them. But this was different. There was no benefit to this. This only led me down a path that continued to drive me further and further away from who I wanted to be.

I got sick and tired of pretending to be someone I wasn't. Sick and tired of the fear I had from other people judging me. Once I adopted the mindset of not caring about the judgement of others, it was liberating. It was most definitely easier said than done and is something that I keep front of mind constantly to make sure I don't do ever again.

Ever since I adopted that mentality, I started to do things fearlessly and began to explore what I love. That mentality led to me creating this brand which I have a genuine passion for. That mentality led to me consistently eating healthy and training 6 days a week. That mentality led to me no longer caring about what others thoughts of me wherever I went. I started to have a lot more self confidence and my life has never been better.

Now, I'm still not where I want to be. However the difference now is that I now have the mentality and the tools that I need to do in order to truly be free. Each day I continue to sharpen my tools which in a matter of time, will get me to where I want to be.

As Socrates once said "To move the world we must move ourselves". My world only started to change and improve once I actually started to change and improve. Once I actually started to pursue what I wanted and not what others wanted for me.

You see my friends, our world is what we perceive it to be. Our individual perspectives on our daily lives will ultimately determine whether your daily experiences are positive and beneficial or negative and depressing.

Start to pursue what you want for yourself and from yourself. Take baby steps toward the path you desire as nothing will come quick or easy. Do this and watch your world slowly start to form into what you want it to be. Good luck my friends. You all have what it takes to change your world.

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Do you crawl up into a ball and surrender? Or do you remain calm, face the adversity and push through?

Depending on which one you choose, it can have a long term psychological effect on your daily life.

If you constantly choose to crawl up into a ball, this will constantly train your mind to surrender or give in whenever something becomes difficult. You will not be able to cope with difficult situations because you have trained your mind to not deal with them properly.

On the other hand, if you choose to remain calm, face the adversity and push through, you will train your mind that any difficulty can be overcome. Your mind will get used to difficult situations and will understand what it takes in order to overcome the difficulty.

You can only imagine all the positive benefits the latter of the 2 options will have on one's life.

There is a great Chinese proverb that I came across recently which I believe is great for many of you to keep in mind. The proverb goes like this:

• The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.

This is a great philosophy to keep in mind when you are going through life. This philosophy teaches us that you can not become the best version of yourself without experiencing and overcoming difficulty.

You need challenges and difficulty in your life. If you do not have any of these, you are not truly living and are never going to realise your true potential. You must understand that in this life, you will not be without your difficulties. Once you can accept this, you will automatically start to improve your mindset.

So I want all of you readers to adopt a philosophy like this into your life and your daily thought process.

Embrace difficulty and I will leave you with one last philosophy to keep in mind. As the title of the blog says, “Pressure makes diamonds”.

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When I see people not dealing with difficulties appropriately, it is a natural instinct for me to ask myself "What makes this person react in such a way". Through my thoughts with certain observations in life, I have come to this analysis.

I believe throughout high school and primary school, we are constantly being praised or rewarded. Even when you don't pass a subject, you may still progress to the next grade. Even when we don't do something well, we are told "It is going to be okay", or we even sometimes receive the age old 'Participation Medal' for coming in last place.

I remember getting one of these for coming 6th out of 8th in a 100 metre sprint. It had a blue ribbon and had a big CONGRATULATIONS written on it...how happy I was to receive it.

I failed in my high school subjects many times but regardless of the failures, I was still progressing to the next year consistently. It made me feel like it was easy. I was only ever good at Ancient History and English mainly but the remainder of my subjects I would fail a majority of.

These are all examples of one HUGE error occurring in some of our schooling systems to this day. Some school's are failing to prepare us for life by bracing us for failures and are rewarding everybody for minimal effort. It leads to people feeling entitled to something regardless of their effort.

That is why I believe that when school is over and kids go into the real world, they struggle a lot. When they do something and are not rewarded for it, it really hits them hard. They are not used to having to work hard for something as in school, they had always been receiving something whether they gave a good or bad effort.

The people with that mindset, when carried over into a work environment, quickly realise that it is not effective in real life. They are not used to the harsh consequences of their failures and realise that they are not being rewarded for a bad effort! On top of that, they do not know how to use that experience to their advantage as they were never taught how to learn from it and how the failure can benefit them.

As they do not know how to use these bad experiences to their advantage, it can lead to them feeling worthless, depressed or… even worse.

This is why I believe from a very young age, putting someone through adversity is crucial and essential. By putting someone through adversity from a young age, it teaches us that you will fail yes, but you will learn from your failures and you can try again. The more you try, the more you may fail but the more you will learn until eventually, one day, after all your failures, you will finally gain the knowledge and skills needed to be able to succeed in your life. Your mind will continue to strengthen through failing and trying again constantly.

The path to succeeding will not always be clear but by understanding how to use failure to your advantage, it will only lead to positive outcomes.

We must be ready to face failure, face defeat and be willing to keep pushing for what we want regardless. If you want something, you must be willing to suffer for it, be willing to fail and learn from failures. Nothing worth having ever comes easy. I truly believe this because everything I have ever wanted, never came easy. The things I want still aren't coming easily.

So if you are going to take anything from this, understand the importance of having adversity and obstacles in your life. They are essential for your growth and truly strengthen your mind.

Embrace the difficulties consistently and watch yourself grow into someone you never thought possible.

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How many times have you had someone tell you what you are doing is stupid or that you will fail if you continue to try and do what you want? I bet many of you would have definitely heard these words at one point or another.

Socrates was indeed a wise man and these words are not to be gone unnoticed. What I believe Socrates is trying to tell us here is that you will have many people in your life tell you what's good for you, tell you that you shouldn't be doing what you're doing or that you are crazy for trying to do something!

You should NEVER allow those words to deter you from pursuing what you want, regardless of how you may be perceived to others. I say this because if you listen to those voices and stop, you will find an empty feeling within yourself. Your days will be lifeless and mundane. I know this because I have lived this.

To see someone not pursue what they want because of the doubt and negativity of others is a tragedy in the purest sense of the word. To not allow someone to explore what they are passionate about in the one and only life they have is a crime.

If that pursuit is not negative and not impacting others in a negative way, why should you tell someone that what they are doing is ridiculous or impossible? Socrates is telling us that by blocking out all those negative words and silencing your mind, you will have clarity and peace. By blocking out the negativity you will be able to focus on your passion and focus on reaching your goals.

So my friends if you take anything away from this post, please pursue what it is that brings you happiness and purpose. Pursue it, block out all the negativity and do not allow anyone to stop you from achieving what you want.

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Life today constantly has its pressures and obstacles that we all face and must overcome. For if we do not overcome the challenge, we will be defeated and will remain defeated unless we choose to try again.

When I see someone easily thrown off by a single defeat, I have a significant amount of empathy for that person. This empathy comes from being understanding. An understanding of what it feels like to be that person which is easily defeated. It is not that they are incapable of overcoming, it is that they have not yet obtained the tools needed to overcome. Tools that come from a particular mindset which we are all capable of achieving.

In my experience, when I was in the mindset of easily being deterred or discouraged because of a failure or defeat, I was doing nothing for myself to better equip me with dealing with these situations. I was always playing video games, eating junk and constantly in my comfort zone. I never did anything challenging and looking back, I realise that was a recipe for failure.

It wasn't until a significant amount of life events kept repeating themselves that I realised something needed to change. Not knowing where to start, I chose to start doing Kickboxing. I thought that it would make me healthier and make me feel more confident about myself. It was here that I learnt the feeling of adversity, real failure but also real success. For 5 days a week I would constantly be putting myself in situations that made me very uncomfortable and vulnerable. But it was also where I began to find what I was made of.

The beautiful thing about going through this roller coaster 5 days a week was that sub-consciously, it was building my mind to deal with adversity. The teachings and repetition in the gym led to me applying what I had learnt outside of the gym.

When it came to studying, I never wanted to study. Kickboxing gave me the tools to do what is difficult and I am grateful for that. I am grateful because I always found studying extremely boring, difficult and could never bring myself to do it. However, I was able to deal with that boredom and difficulty thanks to the tools I had gained mentally from Kickboxing.

While at work now, I am tested mentally every day because I am doing something I do not enjoy however, my mental strength continues to improve and because of it, instead of giving up, I always try to find the key to success. The key to overcome. I am not discouraged and I do not give up because mentally I will no longer be proud of the man I am. I would rather suffer through it all because I know the sad feeling of letting myself down and letting my loved ones down.

So what's the point of all this? The point is that through constantly doing what was difficult and putting myself out of my comfort zone, I developed the mental tools needed to tackle life head on. This constant cycle gave me the mentality to remain calm in the face of life's challenges and taught me to never surrender.

I always try to give practical examples as I believe this is the best way to add value to someone's life. I hope you look forward to putting yourself in uncomfortable situations and overcoming your challenges. You are all capable my friends!

I look forward to hearing your stories of the courage you summoned to overcome your obstacles in life and how you are all calm mentally when a new challenge arises.

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These are all nice things but how far are you willing to go just to obtain them? Are you willing to sacrifice your peace of mind, your passion, your family and your health just in the pursuit of these items? I'd like to think that when presented with that question, most of us would say no.

I would hope that because material items are only temporary and can easily be taken away from us. They can also lead us to become people we may not necessarily want to be just in the pursuit of them.

Now why do some people sacrifice who they are in the pursuit of material items? I believe it is due to the image that they want to show the world. They want to show the world that their life is great, that everything is perfect when in reality, they may be sad and shallow inside.

Another issue with living a life in pursuit of material items is that it takes us further away from who we are. It makes us fragile. Why I say this is because by having this pursuit, we make these items the source of our happiness and when they are taken away from us, what happens? Our happiness is taken away also.

So what happens when someone experiences a pattern of constantly losing their material items? They fall deeper and deeper into depression because all their sources of happiness have been taken away from them. On top of that, their image is shattered because they can no longer paint a perfect picture of themselves to the world.

The reason I know this is because of 1 particular experience I had in my life while working as a Debt Consultant. I was 23 years old, helping people get out of debts by going through their finances and putting together solutions for them. I was still young and learning my trade but I thought I was good at what I did.

One day, I was assigned a client. He was a man with a wife and 2 kids. I will keep his name a mystery out of respect for his family. The man came to me broken and desperate for a solution. I spoke to him for hours over the phone going through his finances, how he got to this situation and ultimately just getting to know him. He was in a very bad situation financially. He had significant levels of toxic debt which included credit cards, personal loans, cash loans etc.

Once our conversation was done, I went away and started to put together a solution for him. At first it seemed that bankruptcy was his only option which I really wanted to avoid if I could. A few days went by and I tried calling the man but he wouldn't answer. I tried calling for 3 days straight but he wouldn't answer the phone. A few days later he called me back in tears.

He apologised for not answering the phone and broke down. He told me that he had been abusing cocaine, alcohol and that this whole situation had been extremely difficult to deal with. He told me that he lost respect for himself because he had let his family down. He couldn't bare the disappointment from his wife and hated the fact that he had been unwise with his money by blowing it on material items. I empathised with the man. I told him that I was on the verge of putting together a Part IX Debt Agreement for him that would definitely help get him back onto his feet. It would allow him to get out of toxic debt and increase his cash flow for his families well being. He thanked me and said that he really appreciated my help.

A few days later I had finally completed the Part IX Debt Agreement and was contacting him to let him know. I was really happy because I felt I was genuinely adding value to this mans life. I called him excited to tell him the good news! I knew this was a man who may have made some mistakes but was a good man. Who doesn't make mistakes? We all do.

I called his phone however, it wasn't the man. A lady answered. The lady was sobbing...she could barely speak. "Hello, may I please speak to the man?" I said. The lady, sobbing and barely able to speak said "Please leave us alone. My husband set himself on fire last night and we want to be left alone". The lady hung up the phone and my world stopped. My heart dropped to the floor.

The man had set himself on fire. He had killed himself. Everything became too much for him. So much so that he saw no positive end in sight and ended it all. For the next few days I kept thinking to myself "I had the solution for him, i had everything ready for him. He told me that he wanted to change his life and get back on track". At the end of the day, mentally he could not cope anymore with the disappointment and failures.

Now what did this teach me? This taught me that chasing material items just to show the world that your life is great is no way to live. This man took out excessive levels of toxic debt just to purchase items which he could not afford. All this just to give his family a good life. His intentions were good but at what cost? I am positive his family would definitely value his life more than the car they bought. A wife lost a husband. Children lost their father. All at the expense of chasing material items.

My friends, this experience taught me to never put material items on a pedestal and to genuinely appreciate the simple things in life. It taught me never to live a life with the sole objective of pleasing others. It taught me that painting a false picture of yourself to the world can be significantly draining both mentally and financially.

It gave me a perspective in my life that prior to this I had never possessed. If you take anything away from this post, please evaluate your life and what you are prioritising. Ask yourself if what you are doing is for the right reason. Make sure you are doing something because you love it and not for others. Make sure that you do not destroy your peace of mind in the pursuit of shallow, temporary and material items.

Good luck on your paths.

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Do you see that? That right there! That right there is you starting your day off with a mental retreat. The more you snooze your alarm, the more the day is getting away from you, the more time you waste and the more you start your day off on the back foot. Right there are multiple negative outcomes already starting to build up in your mind...and it's only THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY!!

I never actually realised that such simple actions like these would have such a negative impact on my life. It wasn't until many years later that I kept repeating the same mistakes in my day to day life that I decided something needed to change. I felt very unaccomplished as a person, my self confidence was low and I wasn't the person I wanted to be.

What started to change it all? A simple change in my morning routine. Instead of waking up at 7:30am, I started to wake up at 5am. Once I would wake up at 5am, I would get straight out of bed, change and head straight to the gym. Each day I would go to a difficult, high intensity weight and cardio training class that started at 5:45am. With me still being half asleep, the class would start and no mercy was ever shown. Minimal breaks in between sets, constantly putting my body through pain and struggling to get through each set.

At 6:45am, the class would come to an end. I would begin to go through my post workout stretch and bring my heart rate back down. I would head on my way home but I could always tell that I felt different. I felt great about myself and I felt accomplished. I felt like I had overcome something difficult and that made me feel good. That simple feeling of overcoming adversity really got me into a different mindset. Overtime I realised that it made me feel like I could accomplish anything I set my mind to.

Prior to me adopting this routine change, I always was trying to find shortcuts to finish tasks. Everything seemed more daunting at work and my energy towards having to accomplish any task in the day just felt like such an effort.

I'm definitely glad that I changed my routine because ever since I did and remained consistent with it, I have started to accomplish so much more. I have felt eager to take on more challenges and more tasks. I simply feel really capable and I love the feeling.

All this positive change that came as a result of simply not snoozing my alarm, waking up early and starting my day by overcoming something difficult both physically and mentally.

My friends if you are unsure of how to get out of a rut that you are in or feel like your life needs to improve, start off your day by overcoming something difficult. The path may not be clear to you but unless you take action and get off to a good start, you will never know what you are capable of truly.

I encourage you all to try this if you are not already doing so. Anyone who does implement this, I'm confident they will tell you that it is a great action to implement.

These are just my thought and experiences. If I feel they will bring value to your life then I will definitely share.

So from tomorrow, start off your morning on the front foot and get after it!

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Together as a society, we have experienced much difficulty. One difficulty in particular is Covid-19 (obviously). As Covid-19 continues to impact each the world, there are many things we have learnt because of it.

We have learnt that our perfect bubbles that we think we live in can easily be destroyed. Waking up, going to work, paying a mortgage, going to the gym and many other things, all this can come to a screeching halt in a matter of moments.

We have also learnt that there are many people, when their bubbles are destroyed, do not know anything but to panic and lose their minds. However, there are others who remain calm and figure out how to adapt in order to survive.

2020 has truly shown some of us that we are not yet capable of adapting to change and are not able to comprehend the world being in turmoil.

However, 2020 has also shown that there are many of us who can turn a negative situation into a positive situation. From not being able to go the gym, to then exercising at home. From losing an office job, to then starting an online business. From always being on the run mentally, to calming down and using the time to focus on one’s wellbeing. These are just some of things that people have started to do and as you can see, many positives have come from 2020.

For me personally, the brand of mine The Philosophers Army was literally non-existent. It wasn’t until I was forced to work from home that I began to discover myself and what I was passionate about. I discovered my love for philosophy and wanting to genuinely add value to other people’s lives. I found that I truly care about others and want the best for people. I also started to double down on my health, started to exercise frequently and with intent. I managed to also completed a Diploma in Digital Marketing as well as being on the verge of finishing my degree in Financial Planning.

As I reflect on 2020, it has taught me a lot about myself. It has taught me that I am adaptable and that I cope well under pressure. It also taught me that digital marketing, helping others and philosophy are real passions of mine.

All of these learnings I will be taking with me into 2021 and improving upon them. Prior to 2020, I never really had a second to think about my strengths, weaknesses and direction because my life was always soo busy! Constantly on the go and not thinking clearly when I thought I was. I think that happens when you are constantly being taken away from what make you who you are.

One thing I want to see from people is that, moving forward, where we have certain strengths, we should help people who do not have certain strengths. Where we have weaknesses, we should work on these weaknesses and help each other with them. I want to see people in 2021 come together and help each other with their problems. I mean, after all, we are one big community and we are all in this together.

Focus on what you can control, retain what is useful and disregard what has no use.

Goodbye 2020…you were a great teacher. I welcome you with open arms 2021…let’s see what you shall bring!

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Aristotle has a philosophy that speaks true to, I would imagine, nearly everybody! His famous philosophy is as follows:

• “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit it sweet”

  

Now how does Michael Jordan embody this? Michael Jordan is known for being one of the greatest, if not the greatest NBA player of all time. However, Michael Jordan himself once said:

• “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Michael Jordan’s education came through the form of failure. Multiple shots missed, losing multiple games, missing the game winning shot and even being cut from his high school basketball team. However it was through all these failures that he learnt what he needed to do in order to succeed. The fruit was ultimately sweet after the bitterness of his education.

This philosophy of Aristotle’s and Michael Jordan’s dedication should teach you something about failure. It should teach you to utilise your failures for something positive. Instead of being deterred so easily by having something not go your way, use it, learn from it and try again!

Aristotle’s philosophy tells us that even hundreds and thousands of years ago, the path to success has never changed. You will experience failure but with the correct mindset, you can use that failure as a learning experience to succeed. This is how Michael Jordan embodies Aristotle’s philosophy.

This philosophy definitely applies to me also. I always try to find the positives in the most negative situations. I am nowhere near a success yet, but I am confident I have used my failures to put me onto a better path. A path that is bearing more and more fruit each day.

I hope that upon reading this, you will adopt a better mentality when it comes to dealing with your failures.

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I can tell you personally, it has happened many times. It has happened many times and from the people I cared about the most! My friends and my family. As I experienced this many times, I asked myself “Why does this keep happening?”

I took some time to really focus on the reasoning behind it and upon doing some deep analysis, I discovered something.

What I discovered is that when someone is afraid of doing something, they will more often than not project that fear onto you. For example, if you want to become self-employed, someone may be fearful of the risks that come with being self employed so they will tell you that it is a bad idea. Through this action, it can be a huge reason behind why you fear the things that you do and why you simply don’t do the things you want to do.

Your own fears and other people’s fears is what will stand between you and your happiness. If you are constantly living in fear, you will never realise the potential your life possesses, and you will never truly be happy. You will always have a hole somewhere inside you where you know something is missing.

Why am I saying this? I am saying this because I felt this. Through feeling this numerous times, it started to really impact me mentally which is why I took the path of really trying to understand what was happening. Through people shutting my hopes down, projecting their fears onto me and me ultimately being left feeling unsatisfied, I was able to discover this. I was able to discover this philosophy of mine which is in the title of this blog:

• “Bravery is needed when chasing what you want”

  

Once I decided to shut out all the naysayers, I still had a mountain to climb. On the path to climbing that mountain, there have been many times where the doubt and fear has crept into my mind due to past experiences. It is in these times where it is essential for me to remember my own philosophy. Bravery can only be obtained through the fears in your life. For if you have no fear, there is no bravery. This is another philosophy of mine which I have only come to realise through experience:

• “If you have no fear, you can not have bravery”

When I am presented with a challenge and I am fearful of that challenge, I always remember what it felt like to back down and not even try. It is a feeling that I will never forget because it never brought me any happiness. It is only when I took on my fear by being brave enough to do so, I obtained happiness. Regardless of the outcome, if I know that I did not back down or cower, I was able to be satisfied with myself and my confidence grew. My confidence grew because I knew I was capable of overcoming my fear which I was not once able to do.

So the important lesson to take away from these philosophies of mine and this blog (if you choose to of course) is that you need to be brave in order to obtain happiness. You need to understand that people will more often than not project their fears onto you which you should not allow to enter into your mind. This is your life and you know what feels good and what does not.

I am still on the path to climbing the mountain, I have not reached it yet. But each time I doubt myself or a little bit of fear crawls back into my mind, I remember these philosophies.

I hope these words of mine I have shared truly add value to your life. You all have a philosophy or philosophies in which you live by which I would love for you all to share!

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If you are currently in that position, ask yourself “what am I aiming to purchase this for?”. If your answer is anything other than for yourself or for your loved ones, you are enslaved.

Seneca has a philosophy which is very relevant to today’s society. His philosophy is:

• “Slavery takes hold of few, but many take hold of slavery”.

  

This philosophy is being embodied by many people In today’s society…unfortunately.

I have witnessed many people pursue shallow goals and live shallow lives. Goals which include purchasing a car or purchasing a new bag for example. Now before you mis-interpret what I am saying, I am NOT saying that if you are trying to buy a new car or bag that you are wrong for doing so. I am saying that if you are trying to do these things SOLELY for the purpose of showing off to others and to improve your status, you are enslaved.

You are enslaved because you are playing a never ending cycle of competing with others for social status. You are playing a game which focuses on possessing more than others or possessing items of higher value than others. This my friends is a true form slavery. You have chosen to live this life, it has not chosen you!

This form of living wouldn’t even be a problem if I didn’t see the clear and obvious signs of people being miserable. Enslaving yourself to the game of social status is an enslavement which you can escape from. You can escape from it by simply implementing the following action…are you ready?:

• Do things that speak true to you instead of doing things that are shallow.

This is my philosophy. Anything that you do that speaks true to you is not shallow. By doing so, you are doing what makes you truly happy and what makes you truly happy is not shallow.

When Seneca first spoke this philosophy of his, what is happening today, must have been happening even when he was alive. It is a cycle that many human beings have become trapped within unconsciously and is not a good way to live.

The more that you remain enslaved in this form of living, the more you will lose who you truly are and the more negativity you will experience in your life. Anytime you do something that takes you away from who you truly are, you will experience more negative outcomes.

I hope that from this blog, you take away the philosophy of Seneca, take away my philosophy and begin to implement this method of thinking in your life. Be more conscious of why you do the things that you do and hopefully, you will free yourself from your own enslavement.

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This is a personal philosophy of mine. Not Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Plato or Lao Tzu came up with this. This personal philosophy of mine is something that I have learnt through my own experiences in life.

Why is this philosophy important? It is important because there have been too many times in my life where I have seen people act very selfishly or make bad decisions. I have seen people make decisions that were not wise and as a result, their loved ones were the ones who suffered.

I’ll give you one example. When I was in high school, a couple of guys that I used to hang out with went to a party one night. Luckily for me, I was not able to go to that party. The boys being young and unwise, decided that they would steal someone’s phone at this party. The person with the phone resisted and started to run away. As the person was running, one of the boys thought it was a good idea to pick up a glass bottle and smash the person over the head with it. When he did this, the person immediately fell and was unresponsive.

A few hours later, it was confirmed that the person had died. A young human who fell victim to the immaturity, stupidity and mistake of a few boys who wanted a new phone. The saddest part about it is that a mother and father lost a child. Someone lost a friend. Someone lost a partner.

Now, was it worth it? I can guarantee you that if you ask any one of the boys who were involved that day, they would tell you that it wasn’t. I bet you that they will regret it for the rest of their lives.

Now, if the boys that day took a second just to think of the consequences of their actions, maybe things would be different. The boys who committed the act impacted their own families lives negatively as well as the victims. Their families would be destroyed that one of their kids decided to commit such an act and as a result, faced criminal charges. This is just one example of many that I will one day give you.

The point of me sharing this philosophy with you is so that you see just how your actions can have severe consequences on not only your life, but also your loved ones and others.

It is easier said than done to think of your loved ones before making a decision. All I ask is that you make a conscious decision to practice. One thing to practice that I will help you get better at this is controlling your emotions. Do not let your emotions get the better of you. How many times have you made a decision when you were angry that you later went on to regret? You probably aren’t even bothered to count.

Please be wise my friends. Please think of this philosophy and please share this philosophy with anyone who you think will benefit from it. If this blog added value to your life, please hit the subscribe button below and stay up to date with my blogs.

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I believe most of us start to think. We start to use our brains to create something that will improve our circumstances in life.

The Ancient Greek Philosopher Plato had a philosophy that speaks true to this. His philosophy says:

• “Necessity, who is the mother of invention.”

  

Now how does Nikola Tesla embody this philosophy from Plato? Nikola Tesla is credited with one of the most significant modern day inventions, the alternating current (AC). How is this significant and necessary? Let me tell you.

Whenever you plug something into a wall socket and hit the switch to turn it on, that is an alternating current being sent back and forth between the electric appliance and the wall socket. Although I am not an electrician, I believe this is how it works but the specifics are best left for someone more credible in that department!

Most homes in today’s world require the alternating current. It is needed to power on all of your appliances such as a microwave, television, phone charger and so on. Nikola Tesla saw that the AC was a more efficient way of powering up lights. He deemed it necessary and without that, our modern day lives would be completely different.

Me personally, I completely agree with this philosophy from Plato. I can agree because at one point, I was unhappy with my circumstances in life. I was working a job that I did not enjoy and trying to please others who I had no care for. This constant cycle, day in and day out led to me becoming mentally drained and unhappy.

It wasn’t until certain commitments in my life occurred that I realised, long term, this life will not be sustainable for me. Commitments such as having a mortgage and getting engaged to the love of my life. I realised that if I was going to provide for my future family and for myself, that I had to do what made me happy. I had to do what spoke true to me.

This is what led to me creating this brand about philosophy and getting on the path to a happier life.

There are many more examples where Plato’s philosophy has been embodied through the actions of others. I am sure there have been many times in your own life where you had to do something different out of necessity and I believe many of you can relate with this philosophy.

This is what I want you to take away from this blog. If you feel something in your life is not right, do something about it. Even if there has never been a path created before, create one! What you deem as a necessity, ask yourself if it speaks true to your soul and if so, do whatever you can to achieve it. Do not settle and live an unfulfilled life as you will waste the only life you will EVER have.

Think of this philosophy the next time you think it is too hard to change your circumstances. If something is necessary in your life and you think it is impossible to achieve, I believe you are wrong. Something can always be done!

Good luck to you all and I look forward to sharing many more philosophies with you in my upcoming blogs.

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Some of you are working a job because others are impressed by it or simply because the money is good. In the short term, you will find happiness. However, this is shallow happiness. In the long term, you will find yourself changing as a person. If you continue down this path, you will lose patience, you will lose motivation and you will start to build yourself as a human with negative traits.

Many of us have already fallen into this trap. It is quite common to find someone working a job simply for the money because obviously, we all need to survive. Society has done a great job at making us realise we need money but not making us realise that we need happiness and real satisfaction from life.

This is why I am writing this my friends. I am writing this to tell you that from the moment you wake, devote yourself to whatever it is that you want to pursue. One way I found out what it is that I wanted to pursue was by doing the following:

• Trying many jobs and learning about what I liked/didn’t like.

• Not listening to others telling me what I should do.

• Removing myself from negative or draining environments.

These methods I repeated consistently until my mind became clearer day by day. Believe me when I tell you that I understand it is not easy to simply give up your job and start doing what you like. Some of us (including myself) have bills, families and commitments to maintain. What I am telling you is to start the process of figuring out what it is that speaks to you. Give it attention each day until it blossoms into something beautiful.

It is not worth living the ONLY life that you will ever have being unsatisfied. Lead by example and show your loved ones that with discipline and consistency, you can find what it is that you love and you can live a great life by doing it.

You don’t have to use the three methods that I did, but that was something that helped me. From working a soul sucking job to now focusing on passions such as writing and my brand, The Philosophers Army.

Charles Darwin once said:

• “A person who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”

  

Stop wasting the time in your life on things that mean nothing to you and focus on things that mean something to you.

Believe me, it will not be easy but as long as you implement discipline and consistency, you will not fail.

Good luck on your journey my friends. I truly hope you all find a path that brings real value to your life.

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