Book Review: "The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die" by John Izzo

/
Book Review: "The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die" by John Izzo

Want to know what Free to Pursue thinks about John Izzo's book "The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die"?

I gave the book a 4 out of 5 Rockstar rating.

Here are the five secrets:

  1. Be true to your self
  2. Leave no regrets
  3. Become love
  4. Live in the moment
  5. Give more than you take

I dare you to read this book and not be moved, or at least inspired.

To know more about the book, read my full review here.

Read More

Because I Want To - Learning for Learning’s Sake

/
Because I Want To - Learning for Learning’s Sake

“Why bother?” is a question that saddens me every time I hear it. It’s usually in response to another person sharing their efforts in learning a process, task or about a subject that interests them.

The question is rooted in a belief that has permeated our society like a cancer. That belief is that the only reason we should do something is in order to reach a desired outcome, something "worthwhile". And, that for some reason the process we use to get there is irrelevant, the only relevant measure being whether or not it can be achieved efficiently.

By thinking this way, WE MISS THE WHOLE POINT OF LEARNING!

Read More

Are You Sure About That? - How to Cure Ignorance

/
Are You Sure About That? - How to Cure Ignorance

I'm ignorant, and I'm OK with that. But it doesn't mean that I don't try to be a little less so every day.

Our knowledge, skills, abilities and experience are tested all day long, with every decision we make and in every conversation we have with others. Well, they are tested, unless we tend to do the same things every day/week/month, thereby exposing ourselves to the same type of information and the same types of conversations over and over again with the same people (like the movie Groundhog Day, which I’ve written about here).

Read More

What Does "Doing the Work" Mean?

/
What Does "Doing the Work" Mean?

It’s 4:45am and I’m sitting in the same coffee shop where I started writing three years ago. It’s also about the same time of the day when I used to come here (thank heaven for 24hr shops) because I couldn’t sleep. What got me up then is the same thing that got me up this morning: a drive, an itch, a deep desire to explore and share ideas with others that might cause us all to wake up to the reality that the way the majority of us currently live is not the way it has to be, should be.

The idea? The itch? Here’s the thesis: In most areas of life, we don’t do the work anymore.

Read More

My 2016-2017 Reading List - First Quarter

/
My 2016-2017 Reading List - First Quarter

This post contains the full list of books that held my interest long enough to finish over the last three months of this, my fourth year of voracious reading. If you want to take a look at previous years, you can click "Books" on the navigation bar or access them here: 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. You may also want to check out my list of Top 12 Life-Enhancing Books, as well as the top lessons learned from reading over 100 books and five more insights from reading another hundred books.

Read More

An Open Book

/
An Open Book

Over the last few years, I’ve been focusing on listening a lot more than speaking. That might sound funny coming from a writer, but what I mean is that I’m practicing the art of absorbing information and reflecting on it more than answering the impulse of wading in on every topic, thought or opinion expressed. I’m not always good at it, but at least I’m more aware of my impulsive need to jump in and I’m trying to improve.

Read More

Death to the Sound Bite: Context Is Everything (The News - Part 1)

/
Death to the Sound Bite: Context Is Everything (The News - Part 1)

Unfortunately, active listening is in short supply in our world of headlines and seven-second sound bytes. That's why I’m a strong advocate for reducing our consumption of social media, nighly news and sitcoms in favour of information sources that can offer more complete stories, the most effective of which are non-fiction books and thought-provoking articles and documentaries. And yes, some blogs.

Only when ideas are fully expressed and explored can they be understood. And, to our detriment, we just don’t seem to have the appetite to wade through the full explanation of important concepts that affect our daily lives and our potential for a promising future. Unfortunately, this lack of appetite carries with it some unintended consequences.

Read More

Knowing vs Doing: Part 2 - Money Lies

/
Knowing vs Doing: Part 2 - Money Lies

As I introduced in the previous post, a lot of our behaviour is triggered by emotions and we use denial and avoidance—playing ostrich, playing dumb and acting helpless—to keep ourselves from changing what we know deep down is preventing us from being more successful and fulfilled than we currently are.

Though debunking our personal fabrications is powerful in and of itself, debunking commonly-held beliefs that are built on these fabrications can further empower us to consider what’s really needed to lead a successful and fulfilling life.

Read More