Activate Your Power

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Contents

Foreword........................................................xiAbout This Book.................................................xiiiChapter 1 Listen to Your Wake-Up Call...........................3Chapter 2. Design a Meaningful Life.............................17Chapter 3. Understand Your Biggest Obstacle.....................37Chapter 4. Charge Your Quantum Magnet...........................53Chapter 5. Manage Your Emotions.................................67Chapter 6. Change Your Outlook..................................83Chapter 7. Be the Chooser.......................................99Chapter 8. Be Real..............................................117Chapter 9. Share Your Gifts.....................................127Chapter 10. The Time Is Now.....................................141Recommended Reading.............................................149

Chapter One

My Own Story

For most of my life, I was glad to be normal. Society taught me that to be the same as most people was good and safe; others would like me, and I would live a happy life. This belief influenced most of my choices and actions and, without my conscious awareness, also instilled fear and self-doubt in me for many years. I worked so hard to please others, to get the approval of others, and to be accepted that I lost touch with my true self. I became "accepted" rather than real.

I worked hard and played hard, got married and had many friends. After earning two university degrees in commerce, I worked even harder, growing increasingly successful and, at the age of thirty-one, became managing director of a company specializing in retail information technology.

Life was good. I was following a "normal" and predictable path.

People said that I was a high achiever who had it all: an enviable career, a good family, my health, and a great future ahead of me. In order to be normal, I looked brave and strong and didn't show anyone that I wasn't perfect. But, despite what everyone said—and despite what I might have projected on the outside—inside, I always had a whole collection of fears that I wasn't sharing with anyone. Fear of failure. Fear of not making it. Fear of not being smart enough. Fear of not being a somebody. Fear of success. Fear of death. Fear of people finding out that I was not perfect. Fear of ...

At that time, my life was mainly driven by external events, circumstances, and situations. What happened on the outside had a large influence on what happened on my inside. If people liked me, I felt great. If people didn't like me, I felt concerned, even rejected. I was very attached to things, and the mere thought of anything being taken away produced stress and more fear.

And then, something devastating happened that changed my life forever.

One of my friends, Peter, was an ultra marathon runner, extremely fit and healthy, with a great attitude about life. He had a wonderful wife and two young children, and it seemed that nothing could be more perfect than his life. Then, one Friday afternoon at work, I got a phone call, telling me that doctors had diagnosed Peter with advanced cancer of the colon. They'd found a huge lump that had to be removed immediately.

When I heard the news of my friend's illness, something important was triggered inside me and became the catalyst for a serious evaluation of my own life. The rest of that Friday, my mind and heart were in turmoil as I went through an intense period of self-confrontation.

The next day I took the time to sit down in a quiet place and ask myself a series of profound questions that would later transform my whole existence.

What is life all about? Who am I? What am I doing? Why am I doing it?

I looked hard at my current life, asking myself questions about all aspects, such as my friends, my spouse, my social situation. I had a good rapport with most people I knew but realized that many were acquaintances rather than friends. A sense of obligation rather than a deep connection shaped many of these relationships. I saw then that I needed to form new connections with people whose mind-set and purpose were more similar to my own.

I next considered my work. By society's norms, I was highly successful, and yet, somehow, something was missing. I was professionally as committed as ever but felt that I was destined to do something that was better suited to my natural talents—something that would tap into a greater power that I had. This power, however, had yet to be discovered.

I then asked myself the biggest question of all: What should I do with the remainder of my life? Should I continue as before, secure in my comfort zone, or should I seriously consider something else? The answer to this question did not come as quickly as the others.

I woke up on Sunday in a cold sweat. This was scary. What about money? What about my security? What about my position as managing director? A little voice on my shoulder whispered, If you leave what you've got now, you'll have to give up all those perks and incentives: the company car and all those wonderful things that you've worked so hard for. Don't do it!

Escaping from My Comfort Zone

I suddenly realized that all the wonderful things I'd earned had become my prison walls. My attachment to my title and position, to what my friends would say, and to accumulated material things was causing me to feel comfortable on the one hand and insecure on the other. I was afraid to confront the most crucial question: Why should I change? After all, my life was fine as it was.

I came up with other questions, the what-if's: What if I lost all my things? What if I couldn't find a better job and ended up humiliated? What if, what if ? Clearly, my inner voice was trying to justify why I should not change.

Once I understood what the fearful little voice was doing, I no longer gave in to its doubts. Instead, I told it what I was about to do.

Your comfort zone can become your prison.

I realized that I could bypass my fears if I could consciously put them aside. And so, I visualized myself managing just fine with money issues, with what people might say, and with any other potential obstacles that might arise.

I asked myself, If I could do whatever I want to do, without restriction, what would that be? What do I really want to do with my life? What would be the most meaningful?

All Sunday, I contemplated my life and searched my soul. I wrote pages upon pages of ideas and insights as they came through from somewhere deep inside me. What eventually started streaming in was that the most meaningful and inspiring way for me to live my life would be to work with people as a catalyst to help them awaken to the power that lies within.

An incredible surge of energy flowed into me and filled my entire being with a sense of deep knowing. I felt inspired, energized, and liberated—even though I hadn't done anything yet. It was as if something inside me shouted, This is it!

I realized that the feeling of liberation that I was experiencing came from breaking free from the prison that I had created. The inner voice (my prison warden) was no longer running the show. I was! That was my first...