Episode 31 - Part 2 : Life, Surviving and Struggling to survive

Letters to my kids: A suicide survivor's lessons and advice for life

Episode 31 Part 2 : Life, Surviving and Struggling to survive

Music: “Just A Blip” by Andy G. Cohen From the Free Music Archive Released under a Creative Commons Attribution International License

https://medium.com/@anthony_moore/living-an-extraordinary-life-means-giving-up-a-normal-one-31fd54738214 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-empowerment-diary/201408/why-do-some-people-survive-and-others-struggle

- Evolving is painful. But this is what is required to live an extraordinary life. You must give up the "normal" life for something far more valuable. The more you evolve into the best version of yourself, the more you'll be required to give up. You'll reach a point where you'll no longer be able to tolerate negative relationships. Eating bad food. Spending your time on time-wasting activities.

"Live like no one else now, so later you can live like no one else." -Dave Ramsey

"Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life." -Jim Collins, Good to Great

- You have to give up something in order to accomplish something else. All great opportunities costs "good" ones. An extraordinary life costs a "normal" life. You can't have both. You will have to sacrifice something that you value less than whatever it is you ultimately want.

"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. " -Herman Melville Everyone has different, unique things they'll need to sacrifice in order to begin living an extraordinary life.

But there are 3 things everyone will need to give up.

- Security and Certainty One of the cornerstones of an extraordinary life is giving up the safety nets, security, and guarantees of a normal life. Maybe this is a steady paycheck at a job that will never allow you to reach your full potential. Maybe it's the static 9–5 schedule. Maybe it's a guaranteed retirement plan.

- Fear of Judgement "The worst part of success is to try to find someone who is happy for you." -Bette Midler Trying to explain your extraordinary life to others will begin to seem like a lost cause. Most people are afraid you'll achieve the dreams they never did, and so they attempt to protect themselves from that failure by bringing you down. The extraordinary life looks crazy to an outsider. They don't understand it, and they're afraid of it.

- You must ignore this. You will never succeed if you continue to take more stock in what your critics say than what you belief about yourself.

- Other People's Definition of Success But, giving up other people's definition of success is incredibly liberating and ultimately leads to the fullest expression of who you are and what matters to you.It's not a one-time thing. It's a daily habit of comparing less and creating more. "Success" doesn't just mean what the larger mob of society says it means: "lots of money, fame, and fortune." Many people with fame, fortune, and lots of money have terribly empty, imbalanced lives. Your success isn't defined by what other people say.

"Success is continuously improving who you are, how you live, how you serve, and how you relate." -Benjamin P. Hardy - No one can define your success but you. If you continue to let others tell you what success is, you'll never reach it. Even if you did, it wouldn't be a true success, because it's not what you really valued. Ultimately, it's up to you what you're willing to sacrifice to achieve an extraordinary life. There is no formula. But one thing is certain: you will need to sacrifice.

- The cost of an extraordinary life is great. Is it worth it to you?

"Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor." - Stephen Hawking