When it all comes together…
Constant change, challenging the status quo, questioning everything, doubt, that’s what makes us alive, that’s what helps us achieve more, that’s what forces us to wake up in the morning and pursue our dreams beyond the boundaries we set yesterday.
I’ve been told that it wasn’t wise to follow too many paths. I was thinking about it, and I realized that what I’ve been lately up to is actually interconnected even though I’ve never planned it this way. It just happened.
It hurt a bit at first, but over time, it became a drug, something you can’t get out of your head no matter how hard you try. That itching, that urge to keep pushing, to create.
I’ve been exceptionally lucky in my life. This might sound a bit awkward for those of you who know my story, but nevertheless, sometimes you need to fall all the way down, sometimes you need to experience a fundamental shift in your life, to see, to lit the fire, to be reborn, to rise from the ashes.
Creativity
I started my journey with programming. Even though I’ve spent only 15 minutes per day with this activity, eventually, it became a habit. The most important motivator which forced me back to the screen and keyboard every single day was the fact that something was shaping underneath my hands. I was working on a game for the iPhone. Pretty silly game for children, but it was still something I created myself, and I was very proud that I can actually create stuff. Once that game was finished, I published it on the App Store. I imagined how people would buy it for their children and praise me for a great product. Of course, that never happened.
But it didn’t stop me from creating three more apps. I just fell in love with this newly found hobby, and I was programming for the sake of it. Being able actually to create something was very refreshing, and I liked this idea of making something out of nothing. Taking a bunch of code, creating my own graphics and putting it all together to make a working iPhone application was very exciting.
Education
Later, I discovered the whole new world of online teaching and I was immediately hooked. While working on my iPhone apps, I was continually learning new stuff, but this discovery helped me realize, that thanks to the Internet, I can learn pretty much anything and then I can teach others what I’ve learned.
So I started recording video classes, and I realized that teaching is by far the most efficient way to learn something new. Once you learn something and teach it back, your knowledge will become a skill. The interesting part is that your digital content can live happily on the Internet forever and if somebody watches it from time to time, you get paid, which is a nice source of passive income. Real money for nothing.
I was so excited that I sat down and wrote my first book about online teaching as a source of income. The book is called Digital Instructor and is available on Amazon.
Productivity
Once I added teaching and writing to my already pretty tight schedule, I realized, that I needed some productivity system. With my daily job, programming, teaching and writing book, I was getting to the point where my head was just too small to retain everything. Since I’ve been a long time Evernote user, I improved my workflow I’ve been using with Evernote for few years, described it and gave it a name System2. And of course, I wrote a book about it.
Fitness
But there is one more thing. The crucial part of the whole puzzle. More than ever I can now see that bright mind needs a healthy body to thrive. Fitness brought me joy and enough energy to do everything. By fitness, I actually mean my approach to fitness, which I call The New Fitness. It’s a clutter-free approach covering four most important aspects of a healthy living which are training, sleep, nutrition, and mindfulness. Of course, I will write a book about it.
And when you put it all together and think about it for a while, you might get to the point where I stand now. I realized that I didn’t follow too many paths, I was merely walking in the circle. From creativity to education, productivity, and fitness. Not necessarily in this order. And it’s a good thing.
The Full Circle
And then, a few weeks ago, it struck me! I’m happy! I have found my way. The combination of Creativity, Education, Productivity, and Fitness is all I ever needed. I call it The Full Circle, and it gives me the best life can offer which is genuine happiness.
It’s not about money or fame. What started as a remedy for my heart and mind grew into something much bigger and brought me ultimately something I have always been seeking, yet I didn’t know it.
In the process, I realized that happiness is an acquired skill. We are always seeking happiness like if it was something we get as a by-product of more stuff, more fame and more likes on Facebook.
Happiness is a state of mind though, and it has nothing to do with how big your house is, how expensive and a fancy car you have, how long legs your girlfriend possesses.
The trick is that you need to look inside, rather than outside. I have found it, but it took time. I also thought that I’d be happy once I get that degree on University, once I get the promotion to the CEO of the company, once I manage to marry that beautiful woman all the other guys wanted. Frankly, I have achieved all of these, but somehow, it didn’t really bring me more than a short-term joy, that was quickly transformed into the desire for more. More money, more stuff, more exotic and expensive vacations.
And then, I lost it all. First, I lost the CEO position, when the company was acquired, then I lost that beautiful woman when she died from cancer, and I even lost a considerable amount of money thanks to financial market turmoil.
So for all of you somewhere out there, give me a chance to show you Full Circle, because I am pretty sure that once you discover it, you will find your own happiness in the middle.
