Life is tough. For me, it’s a constant battle between the never ending negative thoughts and the positive thoughts that I want to multiply even more.

As I evaluate my entire life, I discovered some pretty profound insights. Before we begin, I want to warn you that you’ll never start this blog post again with the same perspective.

These are the honest insights I would like to share with you:

1. We all feel like crap sometimes

There are days where I feel like my life is a mess. Your giant friend Tony Robbins has these days. The self-proclaimed guinea pig Tim Ferris has these days; we all have these days. What I’ve figured out is that we are all as messed up as each other.

Rather than trying to understand your problems, embrace them. See your problems as little warning signs for areas of your life that aren’t quite 100% yet. Don’t ignore how you feel, accept it, take a deep breath and be happy you are alive to feel anything at all.

2. Serendipitous moments

Serendipity is a beautiful thing. Last week I lost exactly $5 in the car wash coin changer. Today, I found a $5 note right next to the coin changer, and there were two other people all in the same area. Chance? I don’t think so. Deciding not to blow up at the car wash attendant was the reason this moment happened to me. It was a reminder to always trust in being kind.

Another moment was when I was asked to serendipitously invite a woman to a charity ball. I had no one. I was feeling like a hopeless single man that had all the success in the world except the one thing that mattered: love.

I asked someone to the charity ball I thought would say no. She said yes. Then we went on a date and later it became something more. Could I have predicted this serendipitous moment? No.

It happened because I kept having faith in humanity and I didn’t stop putting out good vibes every single say. Ponder that.

3. Trust the end game

Loving someone is hard. There will be times when you wonder what an earth you’ve got yourself into. Nobody ever aligns to your exact blueprint as much as you try to enforce this requirement. I’ve learned that we attract the one who’s often very different to us to fill in the voids of our life that we can’t fill in ourselves. It doesn’t make sense, and it’s not supposed to.

There are other times to trust as well. When you get sick and can’t get out of bed that’s a sign. It’s part of the end game, and it’s a stark reminder to stop living life at 40%. Trust in all the moments that seem less than desirable. Don’t try and make sense of everything because you’ll never find truth.

You are the truth. Forget hopelessness and trust in finding your bliss. It’s there, somewhere. Keep searching for it.

4. We’re born to shine

You may not feel like you are a shining light for anyone, but you are. Somewhere in secret, someone is using your life as an example. You weren’t born to be mediocre; you were born to shine. You were created to do something that is purposeful and phenomenal.

You have it inside of you and so do I. Unlocking your inner sunlight so that you can shine, is the tricky part. I’ll give you a hint; focus on others, and you’ll begin to find what you’re looking for. It’s who you are becoming that matters.

When you let yourself shine things happen in your life without you even trying. People are attracted to you because of the person that you are, not how you look, or how much money you have.

I’ve forgotten this so many times until recently. My luck has started to change, yet I’m still the same person with the same flaws. The only difference now is I don’t give a F#&%. Opinion means nothing. Purpose means everything.

5. If you can change the world through your passion, then your time is now

If you believe you can change the world through your passion, then it’s time to show up. The time is now to show us what you have and to face into rejection. Your aim should be to change the world with your passion. Forget about making a dent, and concentrate on shaking the planet with your gift.

6. You’re already lucky

Right now, there is someone in another country facing the effects of war or starving from not being able to find food. Meanwhile, you’re here with your fancy computer, using your high-speed internet to read this blog post.

Are you really that hardly done by? You create your own luck and luck will make you happy. While this thought is powerful, it’s meaningless if you don’t believe you can be lucky.

“You could be the luckiest son of a gun on the planet, but you’ll never feel that way unless you are consciously aware of it. You must believe you are already lucky to become even luckier”

7. Time is all we have

Let’s look at your calendar for yesterday. I’m willing to bet there was a lot of useless activities that sucked up your time and took you away from feeling fulfilled. This is not a horrible mess its part of our human DNA.

You procrastinate for a whole host of reasons and so do I. Given that time is all we have, and it’s the currency of our life, we need to take stock of where it’s going. It’s not about doing more with the time you have, it’s about taking away the things that stop you from living in your bliss.

Spend the time you have on investments that have compounding returns. The best one is personal development. What does that mean? Any activity that helps you grow as a person such as:

– Books on success and human achievement

– Events that teach you about life

– Inspirational movies that change your perspective

– Coaching and mentoring

8. Reactivity kills the Zen Monk

We’re all pissed off a lot of the time. Reacting to the small stuff get’s you lost in your head. People are going to upset you and events you don’t like are going to occur. Rather than react, try observing instead. Embrace the art of patience and try seeing everything from the opposite point of view.

Ask the question that nobody is asking. Flip the problem upside down and blow people away. Take all those default negative thoughts and do nothing with them for a while. By not reacting, you stop stabbing the Zen Monk that hides within all of us. The best part is, you find happiness.

9. Let tragedy bring you back to reality

The sad thing is we are all going to get hit by a tragedy at some point in life. The amazing thing that you may not have realized is that there are huge benefits. When your emotions hit rock bottom, the only place they have to go is back up again.

As well as that, tragedy is like hitting the reset button on your computer. It makes you revalue everything in your life again. You generally come to the realization that love, purpose, time and being you is all that matters.

You become aware that you’re only here for a split second and that you’ve got to embrace every event as if it’s part of the journey. Events can be happy or sad, and that’s a given. What you do with the events in your life is up to you. I am commanding you to use them as the best thing that’s ever happened to you. I’m commanding you to see the pain but not suffer from it!

What’s advice on life has helped you? Let me know on my website timdenning.net or my Facebook.