I was inspired by Aaron's story from a while back about his pull to start creating a daily video when he got started, and how that was one thing that launched him into his first success as a creator. I finally got the pull I've been waiting for to do mine. I started last Monday—committed to getting to bed at 10 every night, so I can get up at 5, bike into a local nature preserve, set up my tripod and mic, shoot a video (2, actually because I'm shooting a different one every day to share on LinkedIn, under my real name), and be back home before my wife and kids are even up. This morning was Episode 9, and I just opened up with zero idea of what I was going to say before pressing record (every other day, I've planned the video in my mind while biking over). I've always wanted to host my own show, so created one and nominated myself as the host. My show is called, "Act As If," and it's about the power of acting as if you already are the person you want to be—because it's up to each of us to step into it, noone else can do it for us, and it's not dependant on anything outside of ourselves. If I'm being honest, I've been feeling pretty insecure about my videos—it feels like a very vulnerable act—especially since not many people are watching yet, but have kept going every day trusting that I am following a pull that is going to help me on the journey to where I want to go. Aaron's approach from his paid programs have helped me learn to be more comfortable on camera, and I just looked back at Episode 6 (from Sunday), and realized it's not actually as awkward as I once was on camera. Would love to know what you think, and please follow along if you're inspired to see how my journey unfolds.

Time’s up. Over the next month (I started this morning), I’m waking up at 5 every morning to record 2 videos: One for my personal brand that I will share on LinkedIn and more professionally focused, to get consulting clients. One for The Midlife Mystic that I will share on social media for my (small but growing) audience there, and my newsletter, to get coaching clients. Does it scare the crap out of me? Yes. Do I feel like it can transform my life? Yes. Is it guaranteed? No. Am I going to commit to it either way, because I know that on the other side of the next 30 days, regardless of the outcome, I will be a different version of myself—one who has faced his deepest fears around putting himself out there in the world? Hell yes. I’ll keep you updated on my progress. And also, why am I so scared? It’s all just energy right? And physical reality is just a projection of my own consciousness. All just an illusion. When it comes down to it, there’s really nothing to fear. So, I guess it’s time to prove that to myself—and demonstrate it for others as well.

Hi, I'm 23 years old and I feel lost in life. I know it's probably normal at this age, but sometimes I just can't cope with it. I don't know what to do with this feeling. I keep questioning whether I'm in the right relationship and whether I'm making the right decisions, ruminating my past, what I should do and so on. I wish I could feel safe, but my nervous system feels like it's falling apart. Every day feels like a battle just to feel a little better. I wish I could wake up feeling happy that a new day has begun, instead of waking up with the weight of worry on my shoulders. Please don't give me advice like sleep, meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, or walks in nature. I already do all of those things. Sometimes I don't know how to approach myself, because when I try to change my thinking, it feels like I'm fighting against myself. It's a bit like repeating affirmations that don't feel true to me and forcing myself to believe them. When I try to think more positively, the difficult emotions and trauma stay quiet for a few days, and then I break down and everything comes back all at once. On the other hand, when I allow myself to feel those emotions and simply observe them, I feel like I'm going to drown in them and that they'll never go away. I have a tendency to always want to fix myself, and I'm looking for ways to do that, even now, by writing this. But maybe I should accept that I'm lost, that I don't yet feel that sense of safety and peace. I'll probably go to therapy, but maybe someone has had a similar experience, or has some advice for me...

The older I get the more I realise that some of the most important conversations I have are with myself Not with my phone Not with social media Not with everyone else's opinions Just me A few quiet moments to breathe To feel To listen To ask myself how I'm really doing Life gets busy and before we know it we're running on autopilot Sometimes we just need to sit with ourselves long enough to hear what our heart has been trying to tell us What's your favourite way to switch off the noise and reconnect with yourself? ❤️

I’ve been working at making a living in my own unique way for almost 2 and a half years now after leaving a senior leadership role in the tech industry. I’ve tried and failed at more things than I can count in that time. But I’ve never given up hope. I kept trying new ideas and approaches with the conviction that eventually something would work and I’d be making a living doing things I love—writing, expressing myself creatively (including as a guitar player and singer), teaching, connecting with amazing people all around the world, healing and exploring and expanding my own consciousness, and consciousness as a whole, since we are all deeply connected. When I left the tech industry, I was familiar with the concept of intuition but it didn’t exist in my own experience of life. I was living in my head, in a story of what I was supposed to be doing, a victim of what other people expected of me, disconnected from my feelings, afraid that it might be too late for me to become who I was really meant to be, but with a sense that something else was possible. And so when I embarked on the journey of discovering my own authentic livelihood, I couldn’t help but act in all the ways I’d spent my life learning to act—seeking attention (on social media), pushing myself to work as hard as I could, trying to constantly figure out what I was meant to be doing, overthinking everything, not asking for help when I needed it, trusting other people’s opinions and perspectives over my own, desperately praying that something would finally take off so that I would finally be able to relax in the knowing that what I wanted was possible. But that relaxation was endlessly elusive and continued to be something that existed in the future. And then one day, Aaron came up in my feed. And he gave me a lifeline. He talked about how he received an impulse to just start creating a daily video—which proved to be the beginning of his success as a creator. And I knew there was something in that for me…