🌀🐇 #75 dogs I've loved, awayness can't aim, infinite painting

Plus Persuasion and Influence  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ ⚡️ Enlightening Bolts Gems of The Weird and Wonderful From Around The Web ⏳ Community Closing Soon: The doors to our transformational dojo (including Metamorphosis recordings) close tomorrow and your opportunity claim a free trial will expire. [Join us here.]()​ 📚 This Saved My Life: The 48 Best Books on Persuasion and Influence. [Read it here.](​ 💆 Massaging Yourself and Loved Ones: We live in a touch starve society. Here are instructions (with illustrations) on how to use massage to enhance your well-being. [Read it here.]()​ 🎯 Awayness Can't Aim: On Towardsness & Awayness as motivation styles and their key differences. [Read it here.]()​ 🔎 Zoom Quilt: A collaborative infinitely zooming painting. [See it here.](=)​ Did someone forward you this email? Get this newsletter every week when you [sign up here.](​ 🎇 Image of The Week ​ I find this astonishing. What you see above looks like a black-and-white photograph. That's not what it is. It's a drawing by Dylan Eakin. He produces incredible photorealistic pieces of art. Give yourself a minute to examine the details. His talent is awe-inspiring. [See more here.](​ 🐶 The Dogs I Have Loved... I was petting my dog a few days ago. Couldn't help reflecting on the relative shortness of their lives. It sent me back a few years to a dear friend's Bachelor party in the mountains outside of my hometown in Pennsylvania. On the last night of our cabin shenanigans, I received a call from my mother. "Star's not doing well. I think we need to put her down. We'll wait for you to get home tomorrow." She was an old dog so it wasn't blindsiding but still put a damper on things. It was the end of an era. She was the last remaining dog that was present for my childhood. It was a blessing I was even near home at this time. I live a thousands of miles away now. I returned to my parent's the next day and my father made the call. We drove to the vet together and stayed in the room with her. I stood with my arms around my parents as her life left the room. It was a strange feeling. She was just here. Couldn't she come back for just one more pet, one more tail wag? This all flashed across my mind and heart as I was petting my pup in present day. It brought to mind that this would one day be a bridge I'd have to walk with him. Or perhaps more precisely, let him walk across as I stood on the other side. This knowledge is tempting to look away from. To pretend it isn't so. But in looking the hard fact square in the face, I felt like it gave me the opportunity to arrive at deep appreciation for that simple moment. I could pet him a hundred times a day. It just becomes a normal thing. But by acknowledging future grief, I felt like I was doing the love I have today justice. So that when that heartbreaking day comes I'll know I really did savor these simple moments. It's one of the many gifts Star has given me in her death. And the love I have for all the dogs I've lost isn't gone. It's resurrected in the form of the dogs I have in my life today. A living and breathing love I have for Dog itself. An affection a pantheon of beautiful K-9 souls have contributed to. These sentiments extend beyond dogs. Beyond pets. This piece of writing is about loss and how the cleaving away of something heartwrenchingly significant can render us sensitive enough to appreciate the things we have before they become things we once had. Big love to my great teachers: Snowflake, Lady, Bandit, Molly, and Star. 😢 On Pain Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy; And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields. And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief. Much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity: For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen, And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears. 🤓 Learn This Word Solkatt: A Swedish word that means the glimmer that reflects the sunshine off a wristwatch. I love words like this that focus our attention on small details that would normally go unnoticed. ⏳ From The Archives A hand-picked classic HighExistence article. ​[5 Simple Steps To Find And Follow Your Inner Wisdom](=)​ “Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” ~Allen Ginsberg One of the most painful realizations I ever had was that I’d become the sum-total of the expectations of everyone around me. I was good at school, cynical, and “always out to be number one,” like mom and dad wanted. I had tattoos, piercings, and a grimace on my face like my friends wanted. I spent my money on killing brain cells and becoming sexy like TV wanted. But did I want those things? Did I want to live this life that I’d spent years building? If you’ve ever asked yourself that question, you know how painful it is to answer “No.” It goes down like a jagged little pill. And, I hear, the later you wait to do it, the more it hurts to swallow. Avoiding that pain, more than anything, is what keeps people unhappy. What they don’t realize is that the pain of losing self-deceit is more than worth the incredible amount of joy that awaits on the other side. Once we stop taking guidance from all of those outside sources who tell us what we should do, we are free to explore what we want to do, what we’re meant to do, and what we’re truly capable of. If you’re ready to turn up the volume on your inner voice and start following the deep, authentic wisdom of your inner child, here are five simple steps to get you started. ​[Continue Reading](=)​ 🙌 Who Not How The next issue of our premium newsletter [Stairway To Wisdom](=) is coming out on Friday and we'll be diving into Who Not How: The formula to achieve bigger goals through accelerating teamwork. =​ Here's just a taste of what's inside this book: “Once you’re committed to the result you want, you’ll find that Who. When you do find that Who, you’ll see how ridiculously simple it was for them to produce your desired result, then you’ll begin to see just how small you’ve been playing. You’ll begin to set bigger and bigger targets, and you’ll commit to those targets faster by getting the Who that is equipped to produce the result.” Want access when it's released on Friday plus 60+ additional book breakdowns? Sign-up for the Stairway To Wisdom. 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