January 27, 2022 by Brian Weiner No CommentsChanging The World One Thought At A Time., Lessons From The Mountain

There is a past version of you that is so proud of how far you have come.

There is a past version of you that is so proud of how far you have come.

Remember when you first started dreaming of what your life would be like now?

Flirting with careers as a little kid and fantasizing about what it would be like to be an astronaut or a fireman, or whatever your particular fascination was at the imprinting age was a thing for all of us way back then. (I still feel that way!)

Slowly, those thoughts matured, some slipped away as quietly and unnoticed as the desire to go to the park and swing on the swing set. Others continued to fester inside. Stirring around your mind, causing you to take on special interests that might help you to understand who you are and what you are made of.

Those dreams propelled you in ways you do not remember any longer. There were the very long nights when you were so consumed that you pushed that last mile to ensure you got to where you needed to be by the sunrise that appeared so imminent at that moment.

There were all of those doubts. The negative feedback from the world. The moments where you did not get the break you had hoped for. The experiment you tried that did not work. That rejection that made you feel like it was never, ever going to happen. And that test you took that gave you a score you could not believe at first glance.

So many moments of negative feedback, negative outcomes, uncertainty, disappointment, set backs and fear.

And yet, here you are. Unbelievable, actually. Kind of a miracle when viewed through a specific filter. It was never a certainty, never a guarantee. You did not sign up somewhere and it automatically happened. No one promised you anything.

You navigated your path to this point. It was your focus, your determination, your persistence that drove you to this milestone.

Even if you are having frustrations, setbacks, disappointments, and experiences that do not fully live up to what your complete vision was…. You are still lightyears past where your dreams started to instigate action and behavior.

You are at a moment where your full energies have delivered you.

So take a moment and take a journey with me….

Remember what it was like to be 9 going on 10? That double digit birthday was coming, and you were headed into becoming a teen!! You were feeling so grown up, so ready for the things life was bringing you. You were probably in 4th or 5th grade and you were rising to the top of the elementary school pecking order. You had your favorite tv shows and movies and cartoons. You knew who was funny, and who was an amazing athlete. And your mind started to wonder (here and there) about who you would grow up to become.

Now…. Take all of those moments you have weathered and pair them with all of the complimentary triumphs that you have experienced on the journey along the way. Imagine sitting down with that (almost) 10 year old and explaining to them about what it is really going to be like. The moments that were amazing, the ones that almost broke you. The fears you overcame and the new ones that replaced them. The exhilaration of knowing you had made it through this turmoil and the next.

Today’s message may catch you in any one of countless possible moods. You may be frustrated or disappointed, angry or sad. Or you might be Snoopy dancing and trying out for Riverdance…. Whatever your frame of mind, you are lightyears past that 9 year old, hoping to soon be 10. You have made it this far. You have experienced things that may not even register in your long term memory but were excruciating when you were trying to find your path through them.

I am willing to bet that the 9 year old you traveled back to visit, would be so incredibly proud of you. Envious even. They would look at what you have done with marvel and amazement, hardly able to believe that they could ever do what you have done.

My suggestion to you today is to give that 9 year old (almost 10!!!) a real present…..

Let them know how much you really love them and share your full cache of achievements with them. Give them a chance to realize who they have become. Let them make you fully aware of how impressed and proud of you/them they really are.

You deserve it.

Happy Thursday!

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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!