The Paradigm Shift

Go to school. Get good grades. Get into a good college so you can get a good job to pay for that good college. Decide when you’re 18 what you want to do for the rest of your life. Get yourself into massive debt so you can spend the rest of your life paying for it.

If you really think about it, none of it really makes sense. ‘Normal life’ seems to be more about creating problems so you can then solve them.

You have to go to school as a kid because that is what you’re supposed to do. It is the law, right? So sure, we all need education as we grow up. But does that mean we all need to be educated in the same way?

I don't think so.

Everything about school and how we are brought up and educated goes against everything that the real world is really about.

We spend 8 hours a day sitting at a desk with the same people that are all the same age as us. We are told when to do what. When to eat. When we can go to the bathroom. We have to ask permission to do anything. 

But beyond all that, the one most damaging thing that is ingrained in our heads from a very young age is…

That there is only one right answer.

The second we are done with school and move into the real world, whether that is after high school or college.. Or even beyond - we learn that there are many right answers to nearly every question.

So why?

Why are we raised in an education system that only creates problems that we then have to solve? Why are we raised in a situation that is the exact opposite of what the real world really is like? Why are we forced to follow rules without questioning them?

Control. That's why.

The education system is just that. It’s a system. It is a system that is built to create employees. A system to create workers that are effective, efficient, and don’t question things too much.

Go to class. Get good grades. Get into a good college. Get a good job. Buy a nice house and car you can’t afford. Spend the rest of your life working and paying off debt. But, don’t worry you get two weeks of vacation each year… maybe…

After all that, you get to retire at 65… maybe.

So let’s say you do retire at 65.

The average life expectancy in the United States is 77.43 years. That means if all goes as planned, you get 12.43 years to do what you want, when you want.

After you spent a majority of your life either sitting at a desk or maybe doing hard labor. Either way, you’ve either completely atrophied your body or you’ve worked yourself physically into the ground.

Now you’re 65 (or older)  and walking up and down the stairs is a struggle. It takes you two or three tries to get up off the couch. 

Some life, huh?

Go to school. Get good grades. Get into a good college. Get a good job. Buy a house and car you can’t afford to impress people that don’t really matter. Retire when you're 65… maybe. Sit on the couch until you die.

Something is wrong.

This is not what life is supposed to be about.

Just the fact that we are here is amazing. We are alive. On this planet. On the giant rock that is flying through space.

Do you know what the odds of you specifically being alive? I didn’t. So I googled it.

1 in 10^2,685,000

That is 10 with almost 2.7 million zeros after it. 

That is the odds of you being you, here, now.

That's amazing. Isn't it?

Shouldn't we cherish every moment of that?

Shouldn't we spend our time doing things that bring us joy. Shouldn't we spend time doing things that give us purpose? Shouldn’t we spend time finding ourselves? Shouldn’t we spend time connecting with nature?

To me, that is what life is really about. Spending time doing what is really important. Spending time and prioritizing our physical, mental, and spiritual health.

That is exactly why I started on the path that I am now. 

I broke free from the norm of working myself to death. I found a way to work for myself, on my own terms and create a life of purpose. 

While I still “work”, I spend time working on the things that I choose. When I choose. How I choose. With whom I choose. 

This life has allowed me the ability to go for a walk in the woods on any given day. To take my dog for a walk when we’ve both been inside too long. To come to this coffee shop and get some writing done because I needed a change of scenery from my desk at home.

If you’ve ever questioned if the ‘normal’ life is for you. Or if you’ve ever found yourself questioning your purpose or where your life is going. I urge you to continue to question those things.

Question the why.

Question the what.

Question the how.

Why are you where you are in your life now? 

What would you like your life to look like instead?

How can you create that life for yourself?

Everything you want in life is on the other side of your comfort zone and a little hard work (or a lot). To be clear, I am not saying that any of this was easy for me. Nor will it be easy for you. But, as I come out on the other side and continue on this journey I can say whole heartedly that I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

Every life experience I have had. The good, the bad, and the ugly have all led me to this point. It has all shaped the man I am today and put me in the position to be able to change my reality. 

The same can be true for you. If you let it be true.