Life directions within actualized’s thinking

[Bodhitree]

A question occurred to me: if you look at a lot of highly developed people’s life work, you find a lot of them are not conventionally succesful. I have friends who are spiritual counsellors, paramedics, artists, carers for the elderly, whom I would characterise as advanced, but none of them make a salary above $60k. Yet they are doing what makes them fulfilled, jobs which touch on a life purpose and which leave them room for spiritual growth. 

So it makes me wonder about Actualized’s focus on living “an extraordinary life”. I wonder about the definition of success that is common to people here. This is something that also varies a lot with one’s Spiral Dynamics stage, a theory that people seem to attach a lot of importance to on here. I can imagine a stage Turquoise janitor, but I have trouble with a stage Turquoise CEO of a major company. 

If I look at Leo’s video content — I’ve read the video summaries thread but haven’t watched many of the video’s — I get a certain vibe that a lot of material is about achievement, being extraordinary, mastery. This doesn’t seem to be consistent with the more recent focus on spirituality and higher stages in Spiral Dynamics. 

I wonder what you all think about this. 

[Eph75]

There is a difference between self-actualized and successful but these two are sometimes, as you point out, conflated.

What does an extraordinary life really mean?

It's very subjective and based on your current development and values. 

Self-actualization being the realization of one's inner potentiality.

Someone wanting status and materialistic gains, self-actualization inevitably translates into transforming inner potentiality to mastery that you can use to fulfill your desire for money, status, career and other needs. This drive is coming from deficiency needs and is not to be confused with what self-actualization point towards. This is "traditionally successful". 

Someone who has worked through ones deficiency needs and is working on self-actualization is working on becoming or being needs. It's the release of that potentiality that translates into such things that could be what the previous example is looking for. The difference is that what the previous example desired could be the result here, that potentiality realizes into success, that may translate into money, status, career, and so on. But the desire and attachment isn't to these things, it is coming from a deeper and truer place of need. 

In that sense the self-actualized individual may live an extraordinary life experientially speaking, without the need for any of those things, being only OK monetary-wise, not distracted by what others think or what status they apply to you, not striving to make a career, and so on.

This can appear as "traditionally successful" but is something different altogether. 

This is the place where freedom, enthusiasm, passion fuels us, and result is often great and without limitations, where ideas and opportunities appear seemingly everywhere, as our radiating inner light shines through and drives us, that potentiality realized.

 

[Thought Art]

From what I understand, and I can be wrong... Leo's videos are wide and sprawling and cover a full 'spectrum' of personal development advice.

With the internet today there is no reason as far as I can tell that a creative individual can't make a lot of money and free themselves from wage slavery by creating a lot of value in a field they are passionate about. I know many people who are doing this. For example my ex girlfriend does Kundalini and reiki work with people and she makes at least 6 figures if not 7. 

Be mindful of the distinctions you make.

The higher spiritual values can be embodied by anyone. 

Hmm, for example if you look at the Susan C's ego developmental models you see that the ego goes through phases of maturity. The lower stages such as the achiever stages are really important I think.

I don't think spirituality and massive success are at odds with each other. In fact, we need highly integrous and awakened leaders who are in business in all sectors. 

Edited July 15, 2021 by Thought Art

[Leo Gura]

1 hour ago, Bodhitree said:

A question occurred to me: if you look at a lot of highly developed people’s life work, you find a lot of them are not conventionally succesful. I have friends who are spiritual counsellors, paramedics, artists, carers for the elderly, whom I would characterise as advanced, but none of them make a salary above $60k. Yet they are doing what makes them fulfilled, jobs which touch on a life purpose and which leave them room for spiritual growth. 

Yup, that's usually how it works.

Quote

So it makes me wonder about Actualized’s focus on living “an extraordinary life”. I wonder about the definition of success that is common to people here. This is something that also varies a lot with one’s Spiral Dynamics stage, a theory that people seem to attach a lot of importance to on here. I can imagine a stage Turquoise janitor, but I have trouble with a stage Turquoise CEO of a major company. 

Success is defined by you. Whatever it means to you is what it is.

It's not so hard to imagine a stage Turquoise CEO.

Quote

If I look at Leo’s video content — I’ve read the video summaries thread but haven’t watched many of the video’s — I get a certain vibe that a lot of material is about achievement, being extraordinary, mastery. This doesn’t seem to be consistent with the more recent focus on spirituality and higher stages in Spiral Dynamics. 

I wonder what you all think about this. 

There's no contradiction. Achievement, mastery, success are all valid and important factors in constructing a good life for yourself. Achievement is not about achieving what society wants of you, it's about achieving your own dreams and values, whatever those are. Achievement does not have to mean money or materialistic things. It could be that, or it could be spiritual or artistic achievement.

[UDT]

I think it is about MASTERY

 

Now, the definition of mastery will depend a little upon your SD stage / how you think. 

For me ,Mastery e.g. means the mastering of skills which bring me closer to God


But I agree with you, I dont think a fortune 500 CEO in 2021 can be above yellow, as the contradictions between his values and the impact of his business diverges a lot. But as you grow in consciousness - it will be harder and harder to find something "clean". 

Should watch the society is a large abusive family video at the channel 

[asifarahim]

Most countries does not have a system to reward all the fields where we are intrested in.so you cannot do whatever u like and make a living out of it.it is a prevelage of a few people living in top 1st world countries.so the best option is  to chose a strict 9-5 job that is not toxic and cancerous and then do various self improvement work or the work where u r passionate about in your remaing time.outside of your job if u do smart time managment then u can get 6 hours of free time which is everything i ask for

[Leo Gura]

9 minutes ago, asifarahim said:

Most countries does not have a system to reward all the fields where we are intrested in

No one is just going to reward your life purpose for you automagically, not even in best countries. You have to carve out your own niche in the marketplace. You have to be strategic about bootstrapping your passion. You may have to do some grindy work before you can reach a point where your passion is monetizable.

[Bodhitree]

@UDT Yes that’s been my experience. I have met some senior executives in Fortune 500 companies and those in the pools of General Managers from whom these senior executives are selected, and even in the best companies there is a hard-as-nails competitive focus on whose team has the higher headcount, more succesful products and best releases. These people are not “nice”, and even though IQs are generally high, I wouldn’t count them as particularly advanced. 

I think that as you develop higher, those areas where you can still earn decent income go down. There seems to be a problem with where any place where you are rewarded with good money requires you to compromise your principles, or present yourself untruthfully, or be ruthless rather than compassionate. Creative endeavours tend to stay clean — if you can master writing, or making music, or even painting, there is a potential life path. 

Personally I’m done with chasing management roles. My time in that milieu was on the fringes, and I’m not interested in repeating it. But I think it is an interesting area to talk about, so that people don’t tend to invest themselves in areas where it’s difficult to truly develop yourself. 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Bodhitree

[Twega]

16 hours ago, asifarahim said:

Most countries does not have a system to reward all the fields where we are intrested in.so you cannot do whatever u like and make a living out of it.it is a prevelage of a few people living in top 1st world countries.so the best option is  to chose a strict 9-5 job that is not toxic and cancerous and then do various self improvement work or the work where u r passionate about in your remaing time.outside of your job if u do smart time managment then u can get 6 hours of free time which is everything i ask for

@asifarahim  100% Agree.

 

16 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

No one is just going to reward your life purpose for you automagically, not even in best countries. You have to carve out your own niche in the marketplace. You have to be strategic about bootstrapping your passion. You may have to do some grindy work before you can reach a point where your passion is monetizable.

@Leo Gura As an example, I live in Saudi Arabia, and when I was in high school, I wanted to be a scientist (either biochem or neuroscience). Here, there are no fancy science majors like Neuroscience, only standard majors like medicine and biochem. The cultural forces pulled me from pursuing science, and instead, I was in business school. I graduated a couple of months ago, and I'd never thought I would say this, but I am glad I did not pursue those majors because I would not be able to survive in this predominantly business/survival environment. I've seen peers of mine who went to study in top universities in the U.S with degrees in Chemistry who have been unemployed for a year. People living in the U.S do not appreciate how difficult it is to "follow your passion" outside first-world countries.

Yes, of course, you still need to work, and your life purpose won't hand it to you; however, the infrastructure is there if you wish to do so. The same cannot be said for other countries.

Of course, you can always say "move out," but that also is difficult not only emotionally, financially, but also legally. And if you are unemployed, there's no chance.

[Nahm]

@Twega

How is the country you live in the most beneficial factor? The very key & insight to ease in terms of financial success?

Likewise, what if turquoise CEO’s of major companies are ‘hidden in plain sight’?

[Twega]

21 minutes ago, Nahm said:

@Twega

How is the country you live in the most beneficial factor? The very key & insight to ease in terms of financial success?

Likewise, what if turquoise CEO’s of major companies are ‘hidden in plain sight’?

I'm not sure I understand your question.

[Snader]

17 hours ago, asifarahim said:

so the best option is  to chose a strict 9-5 job that is not toxic and cancerous and then do various self improvement work or the work where u r passionate about in your remaing time.outside of your job if u do smart time managment then u can get 6 hours of free time which is everything i ask for

Go with that for now, if it suits you best, but I wouldn't plan my future too much within those frames.

The problem is, if you do your self-improvement work effectively without falling for ideologies or other serious traps, you start gaining consciousness and waking up to the fact that you can't keep wasting 40 hrs/week to something shallow and meaningless. You are going to want to chase your dreams and passions that your higher-self has presented to you, and 6 hrs/day after 8 hrs of peeling potatoes is not gonna cut it.

It's good to remember that e.g. bootstrapping a new business or taking action on your free time to chance career path can also be consider self-improvement, and I think it's really considerable, if you want to live a good life.

[Nahm]

@Twega

From a different perspective… have you considered spiral dynamics in regard to countries further up the spiral, as maps showing you what’s coming, what’s next, for the country you are in? Another way to say that… what’s going to happen is going to happen, and much money is going to be made. The variable is if you’re ‘seeing’ this & inspired to be a part of it. Someone, many someone’s, will. 

When you are talking about turquoise ceos, is all focus on a concept, or is there room to see them when they are ‘in your midst’? They might not be as indicative of your idea or concept of them. 

[Zeroguy]

2 hours ago, Nahm said:

@Twega

How is the country you live in the most beneficial factor? The very key & insight to ease in terms of financial success?

Likewise, what if turquoise CEO’s of major companies are ‘hidden in plain sight’?

Yeah ,here I am.Ultimate CEO.

Nah just random serb trying to survive in this shitty country.

Edited July 16, 2021 by Zeroguy

[Zeroguy]

@Bodhitree Salary over 60k per year ,right.I live in country where average salary is around 500 euros (that is a lie knowing how much people in south actually earn 200-300 euros top per worker imagine that).

Still complain .Hopefully next life you will be born in Mali or Burkina Faso.

[Nahm]

@Zeroguy

You gotta not like it. 

Why aren’t making your life purpose slinging life purpose over there? Seems like a synergistic no brainer. Or maybe it’s a two birds one stone. 

[Bodhitree]

@Zeroguy I know it sounds like a lot, but over here costs are high too. Income tax takes roughly 40% off the top. Renting an average apartment here costs 1000 euro’s a month, you’re looking at about 600 euro’s on top of that in insurance and food before you take into account other exceptional costs like teeth, shoes and clothing. 

But I’m not complaining. I’ve worked hard for what I’ve achieved, and my life has gone well enough that I’ve been able to take a few years off while I cope with various physical and health difficulties. I have no dependents, and I’m on good terms with my family. I’ll be able to focus on what I think will help my development over the next few years. 

The main thing I wanted to say with this thread is, you don’t know where life will take you, as long as you stay open to new opportunities. It’s not so easy for a high-consciousness person to be succesful even in the 1st world countries, and if you’re just starting out you should be aware that there are not that many career paths that will be truly fulfilling. 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Bodhitree

[Nahm]

In America you have to divorce just to get half your income. 

[Bodhitree]

I just wanted to pass on what I have seen in various high consciousness communities. Here are the most common professions that I have seen amongst the hundred or so people I know of who really take their spiritual lives seriously:

• Therapists: There are quite a few psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and various independent kinds of therapists who go into Tantra, alternative therapies, Reiki, yoga and other areas. If you manage to build up a bit of a reputation this is something you can do for a long time, and with giving camps and retreats it can be rewarding. 
   
• Artists: I know a number of painters, illustrators, and cartoonists who have done well in their lives, often it is about building a following or finding a niche or speciality. It allows you to do your own thing, at your own pace, while dedicating time to spiritual growth. 
   
• Graphic / web designers: this is more freelance kind of work, or work in a department sometimes. But it allows you to be creative, the work is fun, and there is a variety of projects. I know some people who take on work across the internet, so it doesn’t matter so much where you are and if you have a portfolio and can prove that you are good, you can get 4000 euro’s for a project. 
   
• Teachers: this is a type of work which ask a lot of you, but you have a chance to pass something on, and also you get lengthy holidays rather than the 25 days a year in most standard 9-5 jobs. It means you can do summer retreats, you can travel more, at the same time as having a steady income. 
   
• Writers: I know a few people who write books for a living. It’s not a big pay check, but they get by and they are able to choose their subjects, within reason. The advantage is you can do it anywhere, the disadvantage is it’s not so easy to get into and you will have deadlines. 
   
• Photographers: I know a couple of guys who do professional photography, you can make this into a business which pays the bills. It’s artistic, varied, and can be a passion, but it’s not easy to get paid for art photography, although people will always need to have their weddings done. 
   
• Musicians: I also know a couple of musicians and DJ’s who make various amounts of money from what they do. It’s a life passion, and with the right audience can lead to being able to live comfortably off it, but it often stays more a hobby. It combines well with a spiritual life. 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Bodhitree

[captainamerica]

22 minutes ago, Nahm said:

In America you have to divorce just to get half your income. 

@Nahm LOL. Good one.