This is part one of a two part series.
The Greek poet Virgil said that “Fortune favors courage.” I first discovered this truth as a senior teenagerand it has served me well over the years.
As a high school student, I wanted to be involved in student government. Every year I ran for class office, but each time I took the more timid route and ran for one of the smaller offices, never being class president. I ran for VP, or treasurer, or secretary, and was never elected. My last chance came at the end of eleventh grade as a senior. This time I threw caution to the wind and ran for the biggest prize: Student Council President. And I won. It was a game changer for me.
Overnight I became one of the most popular kids in school. The office came with tons of responsibilities, all of which served to build me confidence. I asked some of the most beautiful girls on dates. Many of them said, “No,” but I was proud of myself for even asking—something I never would have done just a year ago. A key factor was realizing that being bold is what opens doors of opportunity for me. I decided to persevere and more good things came my way.
Years later, when I became a motivational speaker, I encouraged people to take courage. I asked, “If you were ten times braver, how would your life be different?”
As a speaker creativity and innovation, I went from encouraging people to be bold to taking risks. The willingness to take risks is a huge part of innovation, and being comfortable with risk is a key characteristic of creative people.
I talk to elementary school students and encourage kids to push themselves fear take them aside and stand up for themselves. To help them, I teach two techniques which give them the opportunity to reduce the tension of the situation in a peaceful way insult attacks
Interestingly, I have never equated “being brave”, “stopping” and “standing up” as aspects of courage. I didn’t realize how important courage was until a few years ago when I started studying the state of consciousness. My interest in states of consciousness came when I learned from personal experience that they can affect our health.
Your state of mind is how you feel about yourself and how you view the world
I have heard many times that if I raise my consciousness, I will be more successful. But I didn’t really understand the concept.
Until I got over it sadness from the heartache that I acknowledged. My state of consciousness was so low that I got sick, then got sick, and finally got sick: I was dropped off at the hospital. I’m usually a healthy person, but after I experienced three successive but separate and distinct illnesses, each one worse than the last, I fully realized that it was my low state of consciousness that was making me sick.
Finally I understood it, but anyway… I didn’t know how to raise my state of consciousness.
It would be another three years before I learned this. A friend recommended me a book by his name Power vs. Power by psychiatrist David Hawkins, MD, PhD. The book presented me with a scale of different levels of states of consciousness. They are from lowest to highest: shame, blameapathy, sadness, fear, desire, angerPride, Courage, Neutrality, Preparedness, Acceptance, Mind, Love, Joy, Peace and Light.
Each level up pride are negative states of consciousness. The first level is a positive state of consciousness courage.
Here’s how I went through several levels in one year
I was severely bullied as a child in elementary school from first to third grade. The older guys bullied me. I was bullied by kids at school because my parents bullied me – bullied if you will. My mother A narcissist idealist who was preoccupied with appearances; my father was his bodyguard. I was often beaten, shamed and criticized.
My feeling self-esteemand the state of consciousness was so low, I walked around with my head down and my shoulders hunched, which is a survival mode of people being invisible and symbolically protecting their hearts…
…continues in the second part.
