If you stand for a reason, be prepared to stand alone like a tree, and if you fall to the ground, fall like a seed that grows back to fight again.

If you stand for a reason, be prepared to stand alone like a tree, and if you fall to the ground, fall like a seed that grows back to fight again.

Have you ever fought for a cause that was “worth dying for“? 

And have you ever (metaphorically speaking)  died for it?

If you are a person of magnitude and deep values, you will inevitably find yourself in such a position in life on more than one occasion. When these circumstances arise, we are given a choice as to how deeply we are committed to the cause. At some point, some causes warrant such dedication and conviction as for any one of us to put everything on the line in order that we might champion it. 

But life being what it is, there are many times when even the very most valiant of our efforts are thwarted by variables of greater magnitude than anything that we can possibly materialize on our behalf. In such a time, we find all of the valiant effort that we have marshaled, has gone to waste and we are dealt a metaphorical death blow. 

If such an event transpires, should that be the end of everything valiant that we will ever champion going forward?

I don’t believe this to be the case. To the contrary, when you lose, do not lose the lesson. If we fall like a mighty tree, we are well-served to scatter seeds everywhere, such that we might regenerate into ever greater multitudes of strength and force towards the causes that we deem appropriate.

We are never going to find ourselves in a position of accomplishing everything that we have set our mind to accomplish. That is almost impossible (unless of course your prerequisite list of accomplishments is fairly minimal). So if we are determined to ensure that we are a force to be reckoned with, it is incumbent upon us to find the internal strength to stand valiantly against anything in our way.

And should we find ourselves in a time of loss, our best and only hope is to go within, seek that internal strength and indomitable will and rise back up to fight another day. This may not give us solace at the time that we are falling, but it is the nutrition that will nurture us back from the seedling into the powerful tree we once were. 

Nothing less will suffice. 

Happy Monday!

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Written by Brian Weiner
When I was 5 years old, I discovered that the lemon tree in the backyard + dixie cups + water and sugar and I was in business. I have been hooked on that ever since. In 1979, I borrowed $14,000 to create a brand new product... photographic greeting cards with no text on the inside, called Paradise Photography. That was the start of The Illusion Factory. Since then, The Illusion Factory has been entrusted by all of the major studios and broadcasters with the advertising and marketing of over $7 billion in filmed, live, broadcast, gaming, AR, VR and regulated gaming forms of entertainment, generating more than $100 Billion in revenue and 265 awards for creativity and technology for our clients. When I took a break from film school at UCLA to move to Hawaii, my mother did not lecture me. Instead, she took 150 of her favorite aphorisms and in her beautiful calligraphy, wrote them artistically throughout a blank journal. That is the origin of the Lessons from the Mountain series. Since then, on my journeys to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise, I have spent countless hours contemplating words of wisdom from the sages of all races, genders and political persuasions, constantly accumulating the thoughts to guide me on my life path. I hope you enjoy my books. Please let me know your thoughts, as I highly value your feedback!