Live a bullshit free life – unapologetically.

That means we don’t adhere or subscribe to the bullshit power plays, manipulation, fake “how are you’s.” There’s too little time in this life for it.

Fuck it.

Surround yourself with people that are genuine, truthful, and HAPPY. Not just with you, but with everyone. For they ALSO live a life free of the bullshit that plagues modern society. The further we stray from being our genuine self to please the needs and wants of others, the further we stray from what will make us happy.

Sorry, it won’t be that sweet new ride you picked up. It’s a nice car and I’m sure it feels great to have it, but it won’t make you happy. It will relieve the sense of fear you have when driving a shitbox – says the dude driving a shitbox. A nice car would only eliminate the fear of my car breaking down.

A collection of really nice watches? Fancy. So you’re really good at telling time? I get it, it’s fashion…but how many of these do you need to match the excessive clothing you have? Might be time to empty out your closet and give some clothes to people in need.

5 big screen TV’s? One for each room? What are you watching that’s so important you can’t stop following it? Don’t you enjoy silence? Where do you read your books? Where do you do your thinking?

Okay, Kris – I get it. Material things don’t make us happy.

Check yourself – I’m sure you’ve got some excess. We all do, but it’s bullshit. Distraction. Magnets pulling us in the wrong direction, away from our most inner wants and desires.

Now I’m not saying we all need to shave our heads, meditate for 4 hours a day, and wear orange robes in our path to enlightenment. Toys are fun to have, I agree. But when is too much, too much?

When our lives are cluttered with constant input, it’s hard to think clearly. When we want to have cooler cars than our friends, we veer from what can be important. When we focus on our appearance at all times, we start to focus on other people’s judgement, rather than our own. Our internal voice can become that of others and that’s a very scary deep hole to climb yourself out of. I’ve been there and I’m never going back. Never.

Take a shower, put on something comfortable that isn’t some crazy expression of your personality, and turn the TV off. Get a vehicle that serves its purpose and serves it well without wrecking your budget. Read more often. Pursue art – whatever art speaks to you. Take care of your body, make it a priority but not THE priority (professions excluded).

This is a big world with billions of people. Quit apologizing, live your life how YOU believe you need to live it. Listen to people whom you respect for how they live their life. If your values and morals contradict a mentor then you need to know when to bow out. There is a large realm of successful people out there. They all share their secrets on how they do it and encourage EVERYONE to be successful in their own rite… but how do we define success?

suc·cess/səkˈses/noun

1. the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

What’s your purpose? To make money? Seems vain. Dig deeper.

To raise a family? Okay, now we’re talking. Resources will be important there, unless you plan on raising them on a self-sufficient lifestyle (which I fully applaud and respect. It’s something I’d love to be able to do, but there’s much learning to do before that can happen). Now what are you going to do for YOU? Your contribution to the world is just offspring? C’mon, you got more than that in you.

To start a foundation? Sure, you’re going to need cash to get the ball rolling. Now what’s the purpose of the foundation?

To have your own business? Great, nothing better than being your own boss daily. What will your business do .. and WHY will it do it? What’s the purpose of your business?

pur·pose/ˈpərpəs/noun

1. the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.

For which something exists…

Why do we exist? What is our purpose? Why were YOU put on this Earth, given the opportunity to breathe, laugh, love, smile?

This is the most difficult question I continue to struggle with. I cannot divulge what mine is or what I think it may be, for if I were to do so, the intimacy between myself and my higher self would start to fade – it wouldn’t be as cherished. We must ask ourselves daily, find our answer, and hold onto it. Use it like a samurai sword to defend ourselves all day. It’s like the movie the Matrix – everyone’s stuck in their “reality,” and they won’t hesitate for a moment to pull you into it.

Each day is a battle externally AND internally. It’s easy to succumb to the bullshit. I attest to it. I did it for countless years until one day I couldn’t do it anymore. But…In a moment, it was over. And when it finally was, I felt a rush of sadness, a sense of conclusion to a life I lived for years, a sense of relief.

Not once did I feel remorse. Actually, that’s a lie – I felt remorse for not doing it sooner.

It’s only been 2.5 weeks since I removed myself from such a life, but one thing is for sure – I will not be going back. I refuse to surrender in this war. Nor should you.

It takes bravery and courage. To leave a life behind is to leave a lot. Friends, habits, a routine and schedule, ideals. It really is leaving a LIFE behind. If you continue to think about it, talk about it, the voice deep down in the pit of your stomach is screaming about it (in Eastern Culture that’s considered your CENTER..hmmm), it’s time to do it.

Make sure you have the tools to do it. It’s a dangerous ocean out there and if you’re not prepared, you can sink. Even experienced sailors get pulled deep down into the depths by Poseidon himself.

Any change is difficult. You’ll have to readjust the sails on your lifeboat. Set course for somewhere new, somewhere unexplored, for the better. There will be tough times, but it won’t be for worse. You’ll have left the bullshit behind. Ahead will be treacherous waters, but it’s your boat now and beyond those treacherous waters will be paradise. If your ship springs a leak – patch it. If the wind doesn’t gust, paddle. If your boat starts to sink, swim mother fucker.

Keep sailing, look forward. Overcome the obstacles ahead, for looking behind will do you no justice. You’ve been there and sailed those seas. You’ve learned many lessons from the past – hold them tightly and apply them to your future.

Leave it behind you, march forward and march to the beat of your own drum, and if people don’t like the sound of it, it’s their problem not yours.

“If you’re going through hell… Keep going.” – Winston Churchill