This is an introduction to a little series on gurus I have for you.
I started to want to write about gurus because of an incredible boss I was lucky enough to have, one who just shines with a bright white goodness. (He'll be article number one, right after this one.) But as I started to write about him, I realized that I know some other gurus too. So I'll have several articles to come about these shining, life-improving lights.
Being able to recognize gurus in your life, both major and minor, can help you steer a better path for yourself. It is good for you to listen to gurus. They bring ideas that help you make your life better. It's dangerous to listen to false gurus. So being able to recognize who the good leaders in your life are, and the flip side, also being able to realize who the people who drag you down and help you make your life worse, is a skill that's useful to all of us.
- Useful in creating success in business & our life goals
- Useful in creating happy & peaceful personal lives
Recognizing the people who bring you great things, just because their nature is to bring light to everyone, and distinguishing them from those people who bring darkness, is essential for success. I have not heard it said a lot, but I believe that it's one of the most important sink-or-swim factors in success.
People often say "oh, you have to be happy/self-assured/competent within yourself," but they neglect to talk about how, naturally, our self-esteems rely on the opinions we hear (or sense) daily.
Surround yourself with successful people who support mutual success and do not fear your success, and it's so much easier to fly, to let your own light shine. If you get stuck with negative people around you, chances are you're going to sink some of the time when you're trying to swim. It's natural.
Q: To develop this skill, first, you need to know a definition: What is a guru?
A: A guru is a light-bringer. Someone who brings light into your life.
A: A guru is a light-bringer. Someone who brings light into your life.
They're great people to have around. Good at attracting other people (business development!), good at inspiring people on the team, at encouraging, enabling, and igniting a spark in others to do better. They introduce good people to each other and to opportunities. They spread praise around as easily as breathing, both verbal praise and a magic sort of fairy-dust praise just by emanating approval and a "wow, I'm glad you're you" kind of magic all the time.
It might be nice to be one, too, right? So how can you do that?
In this series we will look at various brilliant "gurus" I see who shine particularly brightly, and how I think they do it. Hopefully you will find some food for thought to help you shine brighter and find more of these wonderful people yourself.
First, how can you identify a guru? Since the word guru means "light bringer," these are people who bring light to situations they touch.
1. They're helping other people do things that those people wouldn't probably do without the guru there.
2. You hear their names a lot, because naturally people talk about them. As you might guess, gurus often DO things.
3. They introduce other people and tell you how great those people are.
4. They live with integrity.
5. They never seem to be acting for themselves. Most of their actions or their ways of approaching something that needs doing is with the whole in mind. They're focussed on the good of the group, or the good of others, not always on what's going to profit themselves most. Perhaps this is what, dramatically, makes a guru different from most of society. The general way of being in the modern money-driven world is to take care of yourself first. (In fact, I remember as a young person being chastised for caring too much about others and not caring for myself first. That view, thought it was the prevailing view I was surrounded by growing up, did not make any sense to me, though it is true, before I learned to distinguish between selfish and unselfish people, my need to care for and serve others did lead to my doom (because I tried to please narcissists, abusive, damaged, and aloof people, who did not have the ability to care for me in return). But then I learned that, no, with some travel and looking around, one can find many people who do think of others. Who live their lives based on that premise... and, AND, are finding very much more peace, happiness, and prosperity by harnessing their generosity.
It might be nice to be one, too, right? So how can you do that?
In this series we will look at various brilliant "gurus" I see who shine particularly brightly, and how I think they do it. Hopefully you will find some food for thought to help you shine brighter and find more of these wonderful people yourself.
First, how can you identify a guru? Since the word guru means "light bringer," these are people who bring light to situations they touch.
1. They're helping other people do things that those people wouldn't probably do without the guru there.
2. You hear their names a lot, because naturally people talk about them. As you might guess, gurus often DO things.
3. They introduce other people and tell you how great those people are.
4. They live with integrity.
5. They never seem to be acting for themselves. Most of their actions or their ways of approaching something that needs doing is with the whole in mind. They're focussed on the good of the group, or the good of others, not always on what's going to profit themselves most. Perhaps this is what, dramatically, makes a guru different from most of society. The general way of being in the modern money-driven world is to take care of yourself first. (In fact, I remember as a young person being chastised for caring too much about others and not caring for myself first. That view, thought it was the prevailing view I was surrounded by growing up, did not make any sense to me, though it is true, before I learned to distinguish between selfish and unselfish people, my need to care for and serve others did lead to my doom (because I tried to please narcissists, abusive, damaged, and aloof people, who did not have the ability to care for me in return). But then I learned that, no, with some travel and looking around, one can find many people who do think of others. Who live their lives based on that premise... and, AND, are finding very much more peace, happiness, and prosperity by harnessing their generosity.
How real gurus are different from false gurus:
They DON'T tell you what to do (i.e., they never, ever say "you should." They might say "what do you think you should do?" or "how do you think it would turn out if you did x or y?" but they do not dictate actions, because they humbly realize they don't truly have all the facts on your situation. False gurus very often toss "you should this" and "you should that" around. Ignore anyone who says "you should" -- first, easiest sign of a false guru.
They DON'T tell you what to do (i.e., they never, ever say "you should." They might say "what do you think you should do?" or "how do you think it would turn out if you did x or y?" but they do not dictate actions, because they humbly realize they don't truly have all the facts on your situation. False gurus very often toss "you should this" and "you should that" around. Ignore anyone who says "you should" -- first, easiest sign of a false guru.
They DO NOT hand down wisdom in an arrogant way, as if you don't know what's good for yourself.
Instead, a real guru asks you to think about what your own intuition tells you to do. This is so essential in making the right decisions for your own life, and not making giant lift-wrecking mistakes.
They lead by example, not direction. Nelson Mandela and Ghandi, pictured above, had it tough. But the image we have of these men is not of men who are bowed over, complaining about their burdens. We picture them with straight, strong spines, intact integrity, remarkable discipline, and a willingness to undergo tough work and hardship to serve others.
Gurus don't give you spoon-fed magic or step-by-step enlightenment package to buy and install. But with praise and encouragement and the occasional serious kick in the pants, a guru helps you find your own fire and stoke it, andhelps you be unafraid to shine.
An interesting side effect of hanging around gurus is that you're more likely to start acting like a guru yourself. And then you hand it on to the next ones... and so on, and so on.
Who are the gurus in your life? If there are none (which does happen sometimes), we will discuss how to start changing that. Sometimes what you need it to start reducing the time you spend with people in your life who are dark. Steps to follow. But first, let's look at some incredible everyday real-life light beings.
No comments:
Post a Comment