Some of you don’t believe in luck. I realize this, but that’s not even logical. Whether you think of it as the random hand of fate, or some accident of birth, it’s an observable fact that some of us experience more giftwrapped unicorns than seems fair, while others are continually digging into silver linings to find them filled with sacks of shit.
If you didn't read part one, do yourself a favor and read it now.
Some people seem to have more good things happen to them, while others can’t seem to catch a break no matter what they do. I don’t believe in that either and I’m prepared to show you how you can live in a happy universe filled with giftwrapped unicorns.
Before you read one more page, let me clarify something right here. When I say I live in a happy universe filled with giftwrapped unicorns, I’m not talking about a perfect life. Far from it. I’ve been poor much of my life. I’ve experienced the loss of loved ones, the failure of several businesses, car wrecks, illness and loss.
I’m not immune to shitty days. I’m not immune to shitty weeks, months, and even a few years. Hard things happen to all of us. But, in my experience, it’s what you believe about yourself and the world around that helps determine how you will handle that and that’s exactly what I want to explore.
Before you fire up your typing fingers to “science” me into oblivion, this is a thought experiment. While there is some science, some of which I will share with you, behind some of this, that’s not what it’s all about. In fact, science offers no solutions. Science is merely a way of investigating the surrounding world to make sense of it. It comes prepackaged with nothing but questions.
Our own actions, thoughts, emotional responses, ideas and behaviors work to determine the outcome. We should really stop blaming science for so much. So, have I got your curiosity? Are you prepared to totally make fun of me and prove me wrong? GREAT!
I’m not here to prove anything to you. I’m here to share my experiences and the experiences of some others to open up some new possibilities in your thinking. I’m here to help some of you that feel you’re constantly facing down angry rhinos and violent alligators, to find something new. I want to open your eyes to some realities that exist right around you and give you permission to question everything you currently believe, so that you find a way of living that actually serves, rather than imprisons you.
And all of this comes from a nearly lifelong confirmed pessimist! Just ask my wife. She says I’m an asshole, but I’m her asshole and she loves me. I’m not a Pollyanna, in fact, some days I’m so dark I don’t even like my own company, but I’ve learned to recognize one simple fact that helped me to overcome that and turn up the volume just a bit on the good things in my life.
Pessimism is naïve.
You read that correctly. If you’re a pessimist, you’re a sucker. You believe that the world is out to get you. That’s pretty narcissistic, first of all. How can an impersonal universe (Which most pessimists believe in) even begin to do that? And if it did, why are you so special?
Pessimism says, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, in spades. It says, if it’s too good to be true, it’s not. It says, there’s a sucker born every minute and a con man waiting for them around every corner, so trust no one. Pessimists like to believe they are smarter than optimists. After all, they’re only being realists, right?
Well, I’ve got news for you, every single optimist I’ve ever met felt the same way. They adopted their world view from their experience. The world, to them, is a beautiful place where mostly good things happen. So, what’s the deal? They can’t both be right, or can they?
But, I say, not only is there no lack of anything you could possibly want in this world, but the opportunities are expanding every day! No joke. After all, nothing you really want is something you invented. Want a big house with a pool? There are millions of them, they exist in every country on earth. Want a bigger car?
Want more money than you can count? Want better health? Want a family? Guess what, for every desire you have, there is someone who started out lower on the ladder than you that managed to find and obtain that thing, that way of life. Always.
So, no matter what you’re facing, unless you’re already dead, it’s not too late to start unwrapping some unicorns in your own life. Doesn’t that sound better than what you’ve got now? Obviously, you didn’t pick this up and start reading because you have everything out of life that you could ever want and you’re just curious how those who don’t deal with it. So, unless you’re somehow reading this from beyond the grave, it’s possible.
At this point, let me relieve you of one big myth you might be carrying around. I’m not talking about just sitting in a chair and believing in fairies to deliver your giftwrapped unicorns. Nope. I’m not going to tell you that everything about this will be easy, having a great life takes everything you’ve got. I’m not trying to teach you a magic spell that will make everything you’ve ever wanted magically appear. For one, it’s already in existence, but beyond that, it’s going to take some effort on your part. Sometimes, a lot of effort.
But, here is what I’m going to tell you, you have everything you need to experience a big happy universe filled with giftwrapped unicorns right now, where you sit.
I’m going to explain that it has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s all on you, brother. I’m going to show you how you are the only thing standing between yourself and the gates of your big happy universe filled with giftwrapped unicorns, right now! You have no one to blame but yourself for not experiencing more of what you want in every moment of every day. It’s not your parents fault, it’s not your teacher’s fault, it’s not even your husband’s fault, or your kid’s fault.
It’s yours, but this should be the most empowering news you’ve ever ready! Seriously!
About one third of you just got angry with me, how dare I blame you for this circumstance, or that disaster? Another third of you are getting depressed, because you heard me, you believed me, but you can’t see anything empowering about that. In fact, if you’re the problem, then you’ll never experience anything better, because, how could you? It’s all on you and since you’re always there, it’s always going to be the way it is.
Most of those in the first two thirds of this audience will never do anything about anything they read here. In fact, some of them are already searching for the refund policy from their book vendor. They won’t even finish reading. That’s okay. The remaining third of you get it. You heard me, you recognize your own choices as what’s holding you back from having what you want in life, and you also understand that this is good news!
Stick with me, and I'll show you why it's good news, and how you can use it to your advantage, or give up and keep experiencing your world, where every silver lining has a pile of crap inside it. The choice is yours!