A thread https://musicmechanics1blog.wordpress.com/2020/11/26/1026/

The Fear Of Success

““The alchemist gave the monk a piece of gold and said:” –

““This is for you”, he said holding out the piece to the monk, “it’s for your generosity to the pilgrims”” –

““But this payment goes way beyond my generosity” said the monk” –

““Don’t say that again, life might be listening and give you less the next time” said the alchemist”” –

“-Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist” –

It’s such a strange phenomenon, isn’t it?

To think that a person can profoundly fear things going well

So much so that they would consciously (or subconsciously in most cases) sabotage themselves to confirm the suspicion that it was “too good to be true”

Disaster Rehearsals

Have you ever found yourself replaying an argument uncontrollably in your mind?

Have you ever wanted to say something so harsh and cruel to someone that you started rehearsing how the argument was going to go?

What you would say?

What you will say to their response?

Have you ever found yourself rehearsing the argument so much that you unwittingly cause it?

Like buying a red BMW and all of sudden starting to see them everywhere?

The Lotus

Ever looked at someone in a power of position and asked yourself “how does a moron like that get to be in a position where they are in charge of me?”

In the ghetto more times than not, you’ll either find people listening to the most ignorant but musically catchy song you can ever imagine or mellowing out in the most rhythmic soul or RnB music

They call it Epigenetics

Where an organism’s life trajectory is determined not by its genetics but by the environment it grows up in

So you’re either listening to music about booties, fucking, balling, drinking, or just going wild at the club or you’re listening to music about love, missing each other, the works

How likely is it that you’re gonna think entrepreneurship, the cultural impact of the media, how likely is it that you’re gonna scoff at reality TV and critically learn something from those who fail?

What the fuck are the chances that you’re gonna pick up and book, learn something and use it to advance your life?

Then people tell you that those who do not grow, change and do amazing things with their lives chose not to do great things with their lives

This is like planting a seed, pissing on it every day, and then saying that it is choosing not to become a tree

Or eating junk food every day, and saying that your body is choosing not to be slim, fit and sexy

We all know or have known someone who is no smarter than us, has less experience, less knowledgeable, and less qualified, yet holds a position of power far beyond ours

This is not because of racism, nepotism, corruption, sexism or any of these other things (though some of the times it is) this at times is simply because they grow up in an environment where it is not okay to just be an employee

They grew up, or still live in an environment where it’s okay to have only one source of income

THEY LIVE IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU CAN’T EVEN HANG WITH YOUR PEERS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO OF SOME KIND

The Outliers

Sometimes the most destructive thing about the special among us is that they perpetuate the myth that it’s as easy as choosing to do something different

And even though the choice is truly simply

It is by no means easy

Many people start way further from where the starting line is, many people on this earth still live on less than $1 a day

And part of what makes this reality continuous is because if you go into any ghetto, essentially any community, most of what informs our decisions about what to do next, what to do for the day, what to do with our lives is what our peers, our community, our society praises and…

…condemns

This matter gets worse when you fall in the “as long as I’m doing better than X” kinda thinking

““And a person that only does better or worse is the easiest type of person to control,” –

“ they are like a mouse in a maze that only finds the cheese, but the person who knows about good and bad will realize that he is in the maze”
-Dave Chappelle, Allen University Speech” –

It truly is easier to walk the well-worn path and become the manager of an international company

It’s certainly less riskier than starting your own company, it’s safer to go get a degree and work for the next 40 years then it is to self-educate and create your career in the next 40 years

Final Thoughts

The maze is truly safe because you know there’s cheese at the end, you know this because other mice like you have found the cheese but is finding the cheese the beginning and end of your life’s desires?

Do you truly believe that it is possible to have a truly passionate and love-filled relationship for the rest of your life while playing it safe?

And if you believe that it is possible, do you believe that you deserve it?

Are you in an environment that’s filled with people and symbols that signal to you that it is not only possible but that you deserve it?

Sometimes we look at a truly spectacular life on television, movies, Instagram, Facebook and say “damn, that’s really nice, which I could have that”

And simply consider it something that would be “nice to have” but is not really necessary, not because we don’t deeply yearn for it

But because we honestly feel like we don’t deserve it, our environment tells us that, our peers, friends, family and colleagues tell us that, every time they want to attribute another’s success to crime, cheating the system or just a bubble that will pop soon

We become the frenemy because we hate to admit that we’re afraid of wanting what others have because we deeply feel undeserving

It’s called the inferiority complex: where no matter how qualified, competent or how much you’ve earned something you can’t help but feel like you don’t deserve it

And that is a set point you must reset if you are to grow

Just a few thoughts

This thread can be read here: https://musicmechanics1blog.wordpress.com/2020/11/26/1026/