When you bend over backwards in order to have fame, you risk compromising the integrity of your message. Substance and self-authenticity take the backseat to sensationalism.
Author: T.K. Coleman
TK Coleman is the Education Director for Praxis. He has coached dozens of young people and top performers from all stages of life. He’s the author of hundreds of articles and is a frequent speaker on education, entrepreneurship, freedom, personal growth, and creativity. TK is a relentless learner, has been involved in numerous startups, and has professional experience ranging from the entertainment to financial services industries and academia. Above all else, TK is on a mission to help people embrace their own power and expand their own possibilities.
Distracted by The Opposition
If passions and causes were sports teams, everyone would have at least one embarrassing player on their team. And although you may see yourself as not belonging to any particular ideological team, you will almost certainly be lumped into the same category with some very unlikeable people merely because they share certain sentiments in common with you.
Learning is The Cure-All
Our capacity to glean insights from our struggles gives us power and promise. Each time we’re exposed to a new challenge, we gain the power of resilience. Each time we engage a new concept, we experience the promise of greater possibilities.
I Wish You Nothing But Freedom
My desire for the liberation of all individuals won’t be compromised by personal vendettas nor will it be weakened by the sometimes irritating actions of people on the left, people on the right, people in the libertarian world, or people who couldn’t care less about those kinds of labels.
Be a Coach, Not a Cult Leader
When you get your kicks from being seen as the great and glorious guru, you become the kind of leader who instructs people in a way that makes them more dependent on your guidance.
Don’t Be A Self-Absorbed Superstar
I once heard Laurence Fishburne give an interview where he was asked about the key to staying fresh as an actor. His advice was “never lose your ability to be inspired by other people’s work.”
Relationships Are Personal, but Rejection Doesn’t Need to Be
When people fail to satisfy you, try to understand their behavior in terms that aren’t about you. Consider the possibility that they are simply acting on their own self-interests in the best way they know how. And even if they made a real mistake or committed a real vice, it probably wasn’t because they were out to get you.
Conversational Cruise Control
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned is this: Only participate in conversations that are aimed at creating more freedom.
Stay Motivated!
We live on a planet with problems and we simply can’t afford to endorse the delusional, irrational, irresponsible, wishful, and naive thinking of those who believe that we must wait until the world gets better first before we take responsibility for making it that way ourselves.
Groupthink Makes You All Stink
When the bulk of what you read, watch, think, listen to, and talk about is shaped by mainstream thinking, you’re in danger. You’re in danger of losing the very thing that offers you the opportunity to make a difference in this world: your individuality.