I am not suggesting a solution, nor am I attached to any of the dogmas that have become the core of everyone's focus. In fact, I don't even watch the news about the protests. The most I've seen is a short clip of a friend that was interviewed for a couple minutes today on his way to work. This is about what the words "Occupy Wall Street" mean to me on a purely personal level and it's more about an era that we're approaching as a collective whole rather than about dichotomies or political views.
What I stand for is inner awakening, for people taking at least a second to reflect on what truly makes them happy and what is actually important to them. I am for loving your career, for feeling that after removing all thoughts of status, money and power, you are doing what makes you feel amazing. Whether that means to be the next Van Gogh or the next Johnny Cochrane, that is based on the service that you're offering others, not the size of the house you'll be able to buy.
We have been engrained to shoot for status and money. The focus is now shifting towards a heart-centered approach to what we do for work. There are people waking up to the fact that our work isn't a means to an end. It's not only about being able to pay rent, make our mortgage payments or buy the nicest car. People are realising that materialism isn't getting us anywhere in terms of our inner happiness. What will really make you happier? Buying the newest iPhone (only to buy another one in a couple years) or to make a new life-long friend?
The heart-centered approach to work gives us the opportunity to do what we love, to live our lives with passion for what we do. At the end of it all, more people are realizing that when we're on our death bed, we're going to be thinking about how fulfilled we felt in our lives, not how big our master bedroom was or our 4 car garage. I have nothing against accumulating wealth, but I'm striving for a career that will not only allow me live the lifestyle I choose but will also allow me to live the life I choose, which is one of fulfillment, happiness, passion and inner satisfaction.
When our generation was born, our parents had high aspirations for us to become doctors, lawyers and engineers. If someone were to tell them that one day, protestors in North America would be occupying Wall Street and Bay Street, in hopes that people would learn to chase their dreams rather than the next pay cheque, they wouldn't believe it.
At this point, you might be thinking that this is just a phase. The world has woken up for a second, but it's going to turn over and go back to sleep. Think again. More and more, people are asking questions like, "what's my life purpose", "how can I make a difference in this world", "how can I help the impoverished third world?" It's no longer a touch-feely discussion that comes up on stage at a Miss Universe pageant. These are real questions that people are asking, because we've seen people, sometimes friends and/or family, die from illnesses way before they thought it was their time to go. Your life can change in a second. There may not be time to chase a few more paycheques before you start asking how happy you really want to be for the rest of your life.
We spend 1/3 of our day at work. I choose not to spend that 1/3 of "work" time living someone else's life. To me the Wall Street Movement has less to do with rising up against the system and more about taking control of our own lives. This starts from within, from deciding not to waste another day at a job that doesn't allow us to express our creativity, to do what we love to do and to feel empowered and passionate.
Why protest and complain about what you don‘t want, instead of actively doing something about it? What can we do? We can CHOOSE!
Einstein said “Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” Free yourself of what others think of you. Detach yourself from the opinions of other people and societal pressure. None of that matters. What matters is how you feel and how happy you are. That's freedom. Free to be your authentic self.
I'm not hurt by the oppression that the protestors are on about. I'm hurt to see people who are talented in the arts, great painters, writers, poets, that waste those talents working 9-5 at a job they hate. Many have something they complain about every day. Visit downtown during lunch hour and you’re guaranteed to overhear someone complaining about their job.
I ask that you take a second to think about what you're doing that's actually free will and what you're doing that has been imposed on you from the beliefs of others. In law school, I was told that if I bought the recommended text book, the supplemental text book, the work book, the CD-ROM, that my grades would increase. Not only that, but it was in my best interest to buy the newest edition because something might have changed since last year. In simple terms, my success was directly related to the amount of money I spent. After two years of following what the "norm" was, I decided to block out these recommendations for success and in my last year, didn't buy a single book. My grades were the best out of all 3 years. Top 10% of my class. Point of this anecdote? Don't be afraid to go against the grain. Don't think that you have to be like everyone else. Think more with your heart and less with your head. Live more, worry less. Celebrate your uniqueness.
If you feel that it’s right to protest on the streets, do it. If you feel that it's right to sit at your desk in your box in the sky, do it. But the key is determining what you feel is right and not what you think is right. This takes real courage. The world is shifting from thinking to feeling, from logic to emotion. From science to faith. Yes, you can think your way through everything, but never settle for mediocrity. Live the life you were meant to live, one that actually makes you feel alive and not like a drone. Wake, eat, work, eat, work, watch reality tv, pay bills, eat, sleep.
You meet with friends and complain about your job. You see family, but you’re exhausted so you’re short with them. You talk to your significant other, but you fight because you’re cranky and overworked... sound familiar? I choose to be grateful for my significant other, not uselessly fight, waste a day being angry and then make up because we forgot what was so important that we fought in the first place. I choose to love my family, not be annoyed or short with them. I choose to have inspirational conversations with my friends that better our lives, not gossip and complain. I choose to live each day like it's my last day on Earth and take advantage of that, not act like I'll live forever.
Believe it or not, all the "problems" in your life that you complain about stem from how you feel about yourself and how you feel about yourself has a lot to do with how you spend that "working" 1/3 of your day. A job isn't just a job anymore. A job isn’t meant to just get you to retirement, so that you finally live in your old age, if you ever get there. A job is a way to express yourself and to meaningfully contribute to your society. Meaningful contribution that will inspire others and touch their hearts.
I know someone who could be a chart-topping singer that is slaving away at a job she hates, singing under her breath during meetings. I know a motivational football coach that is slaving away at a job he hates, just waiting for the work day to be over so that he can coach over at the local high school. I know the next Da Vinci that is slaving away at a job she hates, doodling during conference calls. I know a cutting edge fashion designer that is slaving away at a job he hates, googling fashion blogs on his 15 minute coffee break.
However, I also know a great lawyer who is passionate about what he does and is authentically and truly making a difference through his work. Each profession has people that are listening to their hearts and truly living. Passion can be found in any profession, it's about choosing which is right for you. Not what will bring you the most money, status, respect or power. No. Choosing the "right" one has everything to do with what will bring you the most fulfillment, the most satisfaction, the most self expression, the most happiness and most importantly, will allow you to serve and inspire others. We are all here together, there is no division. We are all family, all brothers and sisters, all one. Let's inspire and motivate one another. Let's want for others want we want for ourselves instead of compete and become jealous and envious when other have what we desire.
At the level of our heart, there is no difference between someone wearing a tie and someone wearing a tee. The ties need to put down their pens and the tees need to put down their signs and we all need to reflect on what our true, authentic selves want us to do. We all have the type of freedom that will truly make a difference and that's the freedom to choose. Choose happiness, choose purpose, choose life. Detach yourself from the opinions of other people and then, as Thoreau said, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams."
You won't be disappointed. Once you choose to follow your passion, success will come. Other people can sense when you're doing what you truly love and will be attracted to you like moths to a flame. Do what you love and you will fly.
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