The feelings that arose from “that hug” with my son contained both love and fear, and the mix was so compelling that I only remember how I felt whenever the image of that moment comes to mind. Not what anyone wore, not the speeches, or any of the details we had obsessed about preparing the reception for months in advance.

It means that life is more than mere chance and coincidences. Everyone and everything is connected in this universe like the cells in our body. It means that we believe in living and, more importantly, that there is a meaning to life and that our life matters in the grand scheme of things.

Rumi’s words came at a time when I was no longer enjoying my writing about self-help and spirituality. I felt that the oversaturation of blogs, books and podcasts in that genre was beginning to have the opposite effect on many readers (like me) who felt fed up with the repetition of specific messages in the form of “do this” and “do that.”

The Four Steps of Living a Joyful Life

For the past seven years, I’ve journalled at 6 a.m. for 30 minutes in a black Moleskine soft-cover notebook. Sometimes I write five pages, and others (especially when travelling) I miss a day or two. But I can’t recall a month that has passed that I haven’t completed 90% of my journaling days.

In this state of being, we see ourselves as we are within. We don’t base our self-worth on exterior values. And as we deepen this love for ourselves, we begin to look at others more compassionately. We accept ourselves—and those around us. We come to understand that they, too, have weaknesses. Thus we learn to set the right boundaries in alignment with our core values; we know when to say ‘yes’ and when to say ‘no’ based on our internal needs.

However, this all changes when the information we take in becomes charged with emotions; our odds of getting into action rise dramatically. When we—as bloggers, writers, or even motivational speakers—share our personal experiences, we help others to viscerally relate to our material. In effect, we become memoirists: “I’m telling you what I did. See if it helps or works for you.”

While Margaret Thatcher was fighting all kinds of men and unions, I was busy becoming English. I read my newspapers without looking up, ate fish and chips, and frequently ordered Indian takeaway. During my teens, football became my religion; I played, watched and fought over it. I played snooker in the evenings and watched the BBC and ITV. Terry Wogan, Michael Parkinson and Cilla Black became household names.

Mo Issa on The Shift

Elizabeth-Irene Baitie, Nana Awere Damoah, Nesta Jojoe Erskine and Senam Fiagbenya came together to review Mo Issa’s The Shift. The Shift is available at EPP Bookstore, Accra, Vidya Bookstore, BookNook Online Store and Writers’ Project Office.

Since then I’ve become a true fan of TED talks and I try to watch at least one talk a week. These talks are not only inspiring but also informative and entertaining. Learning is addictive and so it’s no surprise to see how the popularity of TED has soared. There are over one billion views of various presentations on their website and two million people watch different videos on TED every day.

Unleash the Real, Raw, Uncensored You Series

We spend a lot of our time getting to know others, whether it’s someone we fancy, a hero we worship, or a character who’s the talk of the town. However, we don’t often examine ourselves. A journey of self-discovery is also one of self-enquiry, so the more information we gather on ourselves, the better.

How to Access Deep Work to Give Your Life Meaning

But then I started to think about my biases about men and cats. After all, Vito Corleone, the Mafia boss of bosses in “The Godfather,” had a cat. Winston Churchill had many cats. My all-time hero, Hemingway, had a soft spot for cats and had many in his several homes. I found out that some of my other favourite writers—Charles Bukowski, Mark Twain, Annie Dillard—also liked cats.

Fast-forward a few years. After reading a few classics (As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen; Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich; Ask and It’s Given, by Esther and Jerry Hicks) I began to better understand how the laws of the universe really work.

Getting up early is natural. What is unnatural is to live like a bat, staying up late at night and getting up around noon. The whole process of creating a wonderful morning might take up to a couple of hours, but then we’ve set ourselves up for a wonderful day, which can snowball into a good life.

In Steven Pressfield’s bestseller, The War of Art, he calls this the “resistance.” Pressfield argues that the primary enemy of creativity is “resistance,” an unconscious part of us that acts against our conscious desires and sabotages our work. He further explains that resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It arises from within and takes the shape of procrastination, lack of motivation, insecurities, self-doubt, and fear.

But it’s been challenging. I’ve slept badly because of the pain. I’ve felt worthless, needing help all the time. Worst of all, in losing the rigidity and consistency of my morning rituals and daily exercise, I’ve lost the bridge to my soul and the energy that it provides me.

A few years ago, my company’s sales dropped drastically. That prompted me to take action, which I’m still in the midst of today. I took a deeper look at our products, people, and marketing strategy. I found that many products, people and strategies were not serving us. I made tough calls and changed a lot from the inside. We haven’t yet reaped the full dividend, but I feel that we are now on the right track to success.