Life and Business Begins with Self
The Investigation of Things:
The Ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom first ordered well their own states.
Wishing to order their own states, they first regulated their own families.
Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons.
Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts.
Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts.
Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge.
Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
Passage from The Great Learning
Confucius
“the investigation and experiencing of things….”
Eight years into the next thousand years and what is the difference?? Born in the 50’s, raised through the 60’s, surviving the 70’s, suffering the 80’s, intrigued in the greed of the 90’s. and flummoxed during the “10”s”, how do we look at the world now? The reality of the reality shows, opiate and benzo addictions, self help books preaching the sins of sadness and the grail of happiness are we the Prozac people? Money and shopping meeting the addictions of some, the Internet others, sex some, and therapists are making more and more reasons for excusing each of us from the personal responsibility of experiencing the days as boring, disenchanting or just plain empty, of experiencing something other than ego based intellectual learning, instead of experiential based knowledge.
The difference being, the former allows as many explanations, reasons, justifications in opinion making with no personal knowledge, feelings, emotions or empathy – no ability to have a shared perspective of the events in our lives, fueling our ego’s perspective that it is the one true God. Or that it and only it knows the one true God. Mine is more better, more powerful, more true, more and yours isn’t. Not to mention “my” opinion being all those things as well. Yes, this supports particular rules in society, let’s don’t kill (except where we are justified) let’s don’t rape (except when I really need to prove a point or control someone or release a stress)…
While the latter is where we learn to be successful. We experience those things that work or that don’t work.
Albert Einstein said as it just as well: “Without experience, there is no knowledge.”
Society, whether capitalism, politics or religion is failing so many. After all, the devil made me do it, it wasn’t my fault. The angels told me to sacrifice my child, I didn’t want to. If your not rich enough it is because you are failing God, and he is getting you for it. Or because you voted Democrat, or because of government regulation in the marketplace.
Argue all you want but please give it some decent thought based on your personal experiential knowledge, not on what your minister, pastor, senator, CEO or rabbi has read and been taught by others, or what you read in some religious or political or economical based thought system, Christian, Marxism, Keynesian or otherwise. Get out there and try what you think. then you can talk about it with knowledge and strength. Otherwise, you really can’t know can you?
Read about your child dying on the floor of some drug overdose, or be there when your child breathes his last breath. Read about how to make a million dollars overnight or buy the program and win or lose. (Unless your winning the lottery we can pretty much guess this one. But, the idea is still true. You can’t know what that means unless you’ve won.) You can live it or you can read it. The human experience is that. And that which you learn from experience you know. Your mother told you don’t touch the fire on the stove it is hot… So what did you learn? Stick your finger in the flame. Did you come to know?
And so situational ethics and decision making insinuates itself into our ego’s thought processes. We are hardwired to be little authoritarians. And that aspect of us (our ego) does build great authorities…. but which is the true authority, where is he? And what does he know? Those who can’t do teach…
The human experience and that which comes before and after our human experience is separated by a dimension which cannot be known by the other, at least not from earth to there… It just might not be that it isn’t our little answers to our “universe” of questions, it might be that for us there isn’t a question to fit. And ethics is something you learn through trial by fire. It must come from the gut, from the inner soul, the unconscious. Otherwise ethics can be made to fit the day that your having and all of us argue with the Greed guy every now and then. He’s just too darn good looking after all.
Westerners, Easterners, and indigenous peoples unspoiled by civilization” (not all of these for there are intellectual ego controlled folks here to, hey Abraham?) who have experienced a power other than their ego’s, what some would call “spiritual” a direct experience of what some call supernatural power know the difference between power and strength. And somewhere about here, religion and self and business choices become one.
Heretical, Gnossos.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR SOUL OR YOUR BROTHER’S SOUL FOR EVEN IF YOU ANGER GOD OFF HE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU. JUST DON’T TICK HIM OFF TOO MUCH OR THIS LOVING GOD, LIKE YOUR PARENTS WILL NOT ONLY MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL, BUT HE WILL BE SURE THAT YOUR SPEND ETERNITY THERE.
And spend it BROKE.
Or he maybe will let you in heaven…… with 72 virgins and a bag of gold.
Don’t be confused by what professors and our political leaders and our religous leaders refer to as “authentic historical tradition” which is a bit of an oxymoron, like Military Intelligence. Institutions and bureaucracy must by definition be self perpetuating. And what is this self perpetuating tool? “authentic historical tradition”…. History is what gets written and accepted by those in a position of power or acceptance to proselytize that version. After a while it is “tradition” and then it becomes “authentic”….
So, like the ad says, just do it. Just go out and give it your best shot. And when you come across those times (and you will) that you don’t know an answer then hire someone who does. Who has learned by being burnt or by being right. If you need a mentor, a coach, hire one if necessary but hire one who has been there, done it. How do you tell? You will stop being burnt so bad by the flame in the learning and doing and you will have that satisfied glow of the experience of being right when you finally, after a long hard day, lay your head on the pillow and think of that last check you received.
A Personal or Business Coach is not there to profess his opinions belief systems or values on your ideas. A Coach will use experience to draw from you, that which you may have forgotten or devalued within yourself, develop it, help you make a plan and keep you on track with the tools and contacts to take you to the finish line. To YOUR SUCCESS.
Michael Fielder
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