It happened together with my wife in Lisbon. At a market, I saw three statements that are written down at magnets that changed my way of thinking. These three statements are essential for me.
1. Spread your wings and fly
It was carnival time when my wife and I visited Lisbon. We met a big group of children and adults who celebrated carnival in their own way — they sung, they danced and just had fun. It was a very positive energy and everybody was in the present moment. The kids danced and celebrated and this remembered me on my own childhood. I had tears in my eyes and I was not sure why. The kids were dressed as heroes like Spiderman, Zorro or as Ninjas and they felt unstoppable. I think I had tears in my eyes because I wished them, that they can save this energy for their lifetime. That they will always feel and act unstoppable; that they don`t shy away because of the obstacles that life will bring them. That is my great hope and wish, that they always feel this energy and spread their wings and fly. That they always act boldly like they acted on that day. This is, of course, something that everybody should do again not only child`s. Spread your wings and do the things that you really want do. Create the product, the service, write the book, start your journey and do a little bit of it today. I`m thankful for these children, they remembered me on this important lesson to spread my own wings.
2. Live inspired
Live inspired and live a unique life. One of my favorite Journalists Tiziano Terzani made the statement “Life your own unique life, which belongs only to you”. You`re unique on this planet, there is nobody who has the same DNS like you. Behave with this in mind, walk with this in mind, speak with this in mind and people will turn around and look at you. You will be somebody who leads and inspires other people. Inspiration by definition of the great psychologic guru Wayne Dyer, means “being in spirit”. Being in spirit with you and the things that have meaning to you and acting on those things.
It is sometimes hard to act as a role model but it is what I chose and I want to do this on a daily basis. Ask yourself what is it that you want to do? How do you change the life of other people in your unique way? How can you serve other people so that they can be inspired by you?
3. Find your inner peace
Victor Frankl who survived the Nazi camp as a Jew wrote the impressive book Man`s search for meaning. He suggested doing two things on a regular basis: Forgive yourself and forgive others. Forgiving is a very active process, so you can start doing it at this present moment. Forgive all the people who acted rude to you and also forgive yourself for all the mistakes that you made. The past is a school but not a club, so learn from your mistakes for your future behavior.
Another way of finding your inner peace is through meditation or through gratitude. I often times focus just on my breathing during my coffee. I also use a gratitude journal where I write down three specific things that I feel gratitude for. It is a good way to start my day because I`m focused more on the positive things of life.
The Portugal trip with my wife is over but I feel gratitude for our journey and what we experienced during our time in Lisbon. It remembered me also to the questions that Brendon Burchard, another one of my favorite authors, asked at a workshop: what would you teach to other people if you could just teach three broad ideas. In Lisbon, I found my answer to this question: 1. Spread your wings and fly 2. Live inspired 3. Find your inner peace
Originally published at medium.com