Harvey, Jason - Achieve Anything In Just One Year - Be Inspired Daily to Live Your Dreams and Accomplish Your Goals

Your assignment today is to serve others and observe your kinship with creation.

DAY

63

“Every man has three characters – that which he exhibits, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has.”

— Jean Baptiste Alphonse Karr

Alphonse Karr was a French critic and novelist who lived in the 1800s. He was known for his fresh perspective and his biting sense of humor, and he brings up a very important point in this quote. Many of us have multiple personalities. We have a character that we exhibit to the world; a true character buried somewhere deep inside; and a third character that we think is the truth, but probably has no basis in reality.

Today your task is to honestly look at your three characters through journaling. How do you portray yourself to the world? Are you outwardly pleasant to others, but inside you are seething with jealousy or outrage? Do your outsides match your insides?

Next, write about the characteristics you assume are part of your general makeup. What do you think you’re like? Are you serious, trustworthy, emotional, or silly? Name about ten adjectives that you believe describe your character.

Compare your list of characteristics with your earlier journal entry. Do they match up, or is Alphonse Karr correct in his assessment? Do you feel sometimes as though you have multiple personalities: the person you show the world, the person you are inside, and the person you wish you were? What can you do to unify your character?

Today’s task is a difficult one, and it requires a large dose of honesty. The closer you can get to the truth, the further you will travel on your road to success.

DAY

64

“The authentic self is the soul made visible.”

— Sarah Ban Breathnach

You’ve been doing a lot of digging the last few days to unearth your true self. How do you feel? It can be a painful process, but the results will be extraordinary. It is an incredible experience to discover the diamond in your soul and bring it out into the light to sparkle and shine in its unique brilliance.

Today is an assessment day. How have you been doing on your authenticity homework? Are you honest with yourself as you write in your journal? Is there more that you have not yet uncovered about your true self? Drop your fear and do it today. There is no time to waste.

Your authentic self is yearning to be made visible. Can you imagine what it would be like if you were transparent to the world? What kind of power would you feel if you allowed your true brilliance to emerge, rather than keeping it hidden under layers of fear and doubt?

If you make your authentic self visible, you will be living without regret or doubt or fear. When the truth is evident, there is nowhere to hide, no secrets to keep. You are open to receive and give fully to humanity. Doesn’t that sound exciting? What are you waiting for?

Are you afraid that your true self might be rejected? You’re right. There may be people who try to put you down for living an authentic life. But they hold absolutely no power over you. If you make your soul visible, you have the power of truth on your side.

DAY

65

“Honesty is better than any policy.”

— Immanuel Kant

You are now moving into the next part of the circle that was discussed on Day 60: honesty. You have already spent a lot of time with honesty as you worked to discover your authentic self, and you have an opportunity now to continue to make it an integral part of your everyday life.

Honesty is better than any policy. When you are in doubt over what to do in a given situation, the best tactic is to be honest. There is always a spot in your soul where you can draw on the truth. That place of honesty should be the core of all of your decisions.

Are you honest? Or do you spend more of your time developing policies that you think will help you get what you want? Honesty is not easy. Sometimes the honest road looks a little more harrowing than other directions. It can be a difficult path, but the route is always more direct, and the rewards are always greater. They may not be rewards that include money and prestige, but they will most likely include peace of mind, serenity, and happiness.

Your assignment today is to observe your actions. Were you honest? Did you take credit for something you didn’t do at work? Did you let your husband paint the kitchen a color you really don’t like, because you didn’t want to start an argument? Did you keep the extra dollar bill a cashier gave you by mistake? Did you say you were “fine” when really you felt depressed? Make a mental tally of how many times you are honest today.

DAY

66

“Nobody can boast of Honesty till they are try’d.”

— Susanna Centlivre

It’s pretty easy to say, “Sure, I’ll be honest. Sounds like a noble idea. Why not?” But you will never truly know if you are capable of honesty until you are tested. Honesty is not easy. It carries with it great rewards, but it is hard to put into action in certain situations.

What if your boss asked you to slightly alter some of the accounting books in order to give the business a tax break? Would you do it? If you practice honesty every day, the answer is simply no. However, when a situation like this comes up, you may start to consider the consequences of your actions. Then the decision is not so easy. If you refuse, will you be fired? How will you support your family?

Nagging questions about consequences may lead you on a detour from the truth. You start to rationalize your actions. What difference will one little change make in the big scheme of things? It will help the company, and you will keep your job. Maybe it would be safer not to make any waves. Next time you’ll stand up to your boss, but right now you need to worry about supporting your family. Soon the line between true and false is smudged.

It is very important to be vigilant in your quest to live an honest life. Integrity is so important if you want to achieve lasting success and be proud of your accomplishments. When you are faced with a chance to smudge the line between truth and falsehood today, your job is to choose the honest path. Do not consider the consequences. If you are honest, the details will take care of themselves.

DAY

67

“Hamlet: To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.”

— William Shakespeare

When you picked up this book, you had a desire to achieve success. You are learning every day about ways in which you can triumph in life and be that one person in ten thousand who stands out from the rest. Here’s your chance.

An honest person is the exception rather than the rule, as William Shakespeare points out through the words of Hamlet. If you want to be exceptional—if you want to stand out in a crowd—it is time to practice honesty in all of your affairs. Are you up for that challenge?

Before you give this honesty thing a real shot, you might want to explore some of your deep-down feelings on the subject. Do you truly believe that honesty is the road to success? Or are you skeptical? Is there a voice in your head saying, “Wait a minute, there are hundreds of successful people in the world who do not exhibit an ounce of honesty.”

You can certainly find dishonest people in positions of power across the globe, but they are not the ones to emulate. What kind of life do you want to live? If you want to stick out in a crowd as an example of living a great life, choose honesty as your path to success. You will be happier, and you won’t have to waste time looking over your shoulder and wondering when you will be caught in a web of lies.