Be the Author of Your Own Story

Growing up I would always be told I should do this, or do that, but I had it in my head from a very young age what I wanted to do. I often tell people I was lucky in that regard, for there are people who still don't know even in their adult life.

The thing is you only live once, and even if you believe in reincarnation then this version of you only lives once. In either case you have one chance to make something of yourself. To leave your mark, and build up humanity in your own way. While you don't have to be the next Bezos or Nadella, there is ample opportunity for you to do so.

With the wide and vast potential for your life at your disposal, then how are you going to use it?

By taking control you show Courage

We are lazy beings inherently, and while some would disagree with me; There is no reason for us to do more than eat/sleep/reproduce. It is the Ikigai of our lives, our passions, and what we can do for the world that makes us special.

The thing that gets you up in the morning, that is what individuates us from everyone else.

I got up this morning to write this post and a Now Page Update. I'm still not fully awake as I would like, but I have to do this. It is part of my overarching plan, and that life plan can only be successful by doing the small things along the way.

Only you get to decide what you end up doing with your life.

How to be an Author of your life

We are each the catalyst of every action in our story. Each chapter is lined to the brim of the events that make up our life and saga. You have to take control of the action, and not let yourself just float through life.

Now this is kind of contradictory to my own personal belief in Taoism, where in order to fall into Wu wei you have to give up control. I do think that is the case for success in life, but when you put it into words like that it doesn't compute. By taking control of your actions, but not of the life around you that is the key balance.

Just like Stoicism, Taoism follows a mentality that you can't change what happens/happened. You have to just accept that IT DID HAPPEN, and if there is something you can do about it then do it. If there isn't anything you can do, then stop worrying.

If you want to write the story to your life, then you can by the choices you make. You can't help that you car breaks down (mine did last weekend at the worst possible moment). You can't help that the really amazing thing, like winning the lottery or something, happened to you. You can just simply choose how you react, and what type of person you want to be in those situations.

By making those decisions you choose who you want to be.

What does it mean to be an Author?

It means you are taking action, and not standing idly by while your life happens. You are present in the moment at hand, and are enjoying the presence of people around you. You are making the most of your situation, despite any setbacks, and continuously working towards your goals.

You follow the flow of your story by writing it as it happens. If you get the feeling you should go do something, like reach out to someone, or perhaps apply to that out of reach job, then you should do it.

Some nights I go to karaoke are solely because I felt that I was meant to go that day, and what do you know; When I arrive, someone that I haven't seen in ages is there, and we reconnect.

Be the protagonist you see in your mind!

Only you can live your life. That is an important statement to understand, as no one else lives the same as you, and no one technically should. Even if you are right in the way you live, you can't make anyone do anything. It is all up to you to set an example, and hope that they follow. If they don't then you're still portraying that main character energy anyways.

Think on the course of your future life, and the events you hope will happen. Think about the things that need to be done in order for those events to happen. For me I wanted to create a smart city, the United Living Construct, and in order for that to happen a drastic change in my own abilities had to take place.

Look at the end of your life, envision it clearly, and then work your way back to where you are now. Map out the steps, and then chart a course towards it!