What happens if you choose to take the road less travelled, and follow your bliss, as they say. In my two previous videos I recounted my own experience over two decades in taking on a very unusual career path as futurist, writer and academic, with a focus upon the futures of humanity, consciousness and technology. You might like to watch those videos before or after this one (see description), where I describe how a blissful period of academic study and initial successes was followed by a decade of endless professional rejections… but ultimately by a belated success. In this video I am going to summarise ten key insights that I gleaned from my journey, some of them new, a top ten countdown of tips for those on the road to their Bliss – or bleakness – if you’re not careful. I share these insights because there’s no guarantee that Henry David Thoreau’s famous advice that if you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams, and endeavor to live the life you have imagined, that you will be meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
I’m going to divide these insights into three levels: Important, Critical, and The Game Changers. So, without further ado, here are my top ten insights for those embarking upon the road less travelled.
Important : Insights 10-7
Number 10: Release the Outcome and Enjoy the Ride.
Taking consistent, Wise Actions towards your goals is important, as I will explain soon, but there’s no guarantee the outcome will be what you want. And in actualising a much-loved dream, we may be talking about years of your life. So, you better damn well learn how to enjoy the journey. I began my doctorate in Futures Studies in 2002. That’s 22 years ago, far too long to be all uptight, waiting around for the outcome. That could kill man. A woman, even. So, find time to be present to life and other people. Spend time in nature. Relax, smile , laugh, and allow yourself to experience joy, every day. Yes, be determined and persistent, but stop struggling! Go with the flow. As Eckart Tolle notes, struggle is a sign you’re coming from the ego. And make time for your friends and family, because some things are more important than work. Work is not who you are. It’s just what you do. So, stop trying to become somebody, because you already are.
Number 9 . Follow Your Bliss, but don’t be surprised if there are times when it’s not blissful.
There’s often a price to pay for taking the road less travelled – you will likely find yourself more than once in the dreaded limbo zone, lost and alone. The limbo zone is that stretch of the journey where you are disoriented and cannot see the path ahead. As I mentioned in the second video in this series, there will be challenges, crises and perhaps failures, even after successes. Therefore, decide who you are, learn to stand in your power, and don’t let others dissuade or bully you. And yet… listen to criticism, and take action on criticism which is valid. (aside) As opposed to that from people who just wanna f.ck you up.
And keep in mind that if you are pursuing an unusual or even unique career or business path, there may be relatively few people to walk with you on your journey, and this will be a test when things are not going well, when you’re experiencing failure and rejection. Remember also, that throughout history there isn’t a single success story in any field of endeavour that does not include setbacks and some suffering – the Kardashians aside . In troubled times, spend time in meditation and presence, because if you let go and relax deeply, you may just intuit a kind of cosmic principle… that perceived problems contain within their own consciousness structures the seeds of their own resolution.
Number 8: Don’t Quit Your Day Job. At least, not too soon.
One of the reasons I was able to write and publish many academic papers and books, and present at academic conferences in the decade after gaining my PhD, the time when I couldn’t land a university job to save my life, was because I kept working as a high school teacher, even though at times I was really bored with the job. And when I quit my job at an international school in New Zealand in the 90s because the queen mother from Alien was the Head of the Department, I took a job as a humble pizza delivery guy. It didn’t pay much, but it got me out of the house and kept me moving. A few years later, when I worked as a teacher in Hong Kong and was getting all those rejections from universities, I could still hang out on Friday nights at Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong’s famous bar area, and party with other wanky professionals – you know, the guys in business suits, or at least collared shirts, instead of hanging around outside the 7-11 with students, like some aging hippy. But hey, some people enjoy living in a box, drinking Bud Light on the street and showering once a year. So, who am I to judge?
Number 7: Be Proactive & Stay Alert for Opportunities
And seize them when they come! The path to your goal is never going to be precisely the one you think it’s going to be. Don’t be so tunnel visioned that you fail look around and see alternative routes that might take you closer to your preferred future – or an alternative one that is just as attractive. Even if you’re not in your dream job, there may be opportunities in your organisation or amongst your circle of connections that can enhance your skillset, and get you closer to where you want to go. In my current position at the Beijing Institute of technology in Zhuhai, China, I was hired as a humble ESL assistant professor. But later, I became co-ordinator of the school Honours programme and of a Foresight platform because I put my hand up and said “I’ll do that” – before anybody else did. Then I was promoted to Associate Professor of Foresight and Strategy. So, don’t be afraid to volunteer to do things for nothing or even at some cost, if the benefit outweighs the cost – and remember, not every benefit is counted in dollars and cents. Keep learning skills that make you so good they can’t ignore you, as Cal Newport says in his book of the same name – Newport’s advice: become very good at something, and then the Bliss will follow, along with success
Now let’s move onto the second level of my insights for living your bliss:
Critical : Numbers 6-4
Number 6: Be a Creator, Not a Destroyer.
Be the kid who builds sandcastles at the beach, not the one who jumps on a sandcastle and destroys it, while mocking the poor kid who built it. Keep your focus on your vision, not on what is wrong with others’, nor on peripheral issues or the trivial gossip of bystanders. And please, don’t waste your precious creative energy engaging in pointless online dramas. Sorry to tell you this, but nobody cares about what you think about Donald Trump or Joe Biden. And just quietly, I don’t give a shit, either. But why would I, given that I’m an Aussie living in China . Most of our opinions are useless in the greater scheme of things, so why inflict them on others, unless they’re asking for them? With all the time some people spend on social media in a single year, mouthing off about stuff they know little about, they could be writing a book or learning a foreign language, getting themselves closer to their vision – not that many of those folks have a vison.
Number 5: Make and Maintain Connections.
This is an oldie, but a goodie. No man or women is an island, and you can’t do it all by yourself. So, put the damn phone down, get out of your mother’s basement, and get yourself into the world of people and organisations. Firstly, in this age, you’d be an idiot not to learn how to use creative media like generative AI, because it’s never been easier to take what is in your head, and paint that vision upon virtual canvases. As I’m doing here. Just make sure it’s something worth sharing. Remember, a dog turd isn’t a diamond, and still stinks no matter how hard you polish it.
Now, having said that, please learn personal communication skills. I’m about as gregarious as a garden slug, so if you’re like me, you’re just gonna have to push yourself into the zone of discomfort. And talk to people. When I was 22, a fresh graduate with an honours degree, I took a job selling vacuum cleaners door to door for 7 months, not because I ‘m neurotic about clean carpet, but because I knew I was a social retard. And what better way to improve your ability to communicate than knocking on strangers ’ doors, throwing muck on their carpet and trying to talk your way out of being punched in the face.
One more thing. Don’t isolate yourself personally, or professionally. When I was studying for my doctorate at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, back in the day, I was living offshore in mainland China and Hong Kong, and only visited campus irregularly. My enrolment was mostly a joy, and I flourished as a writer and researcher. But… I did little to connect with colleagues in the fields I was researching. As a result, few people knew who I was, not even most of the folks at my university. Lo and behold, after graduation when I went to apply for university jobs, university HR and department heads everywhere had never heard of me. In fact, about 6 years after gaining my doctorate, when 4 positions for foresight researchers came up at the University of the Sunshine Coast, the very institution I’d graduated from, and I sent in my CV… I didn’t even get an interview. That was very, very hard to take, especially after years of repeated rejections.
Number 4: Trust Your Intuitions, and Take Regular, Wise Actions Towards your Goals.
Wise Actions, as I define them in my book Power and Presence, emerge from genuine intuitions. I have long advocated for a higher-order human intuitive capacity – what I call integrated intelligence. But it’s a fuzzy intelligence, and prone to all kinds of distortions. So, after you have an intuitive insight – an aha! moment – test your intuitions. Before you invest a lot of time or energy into an action path forward, it’s often a good idea to do a bit of research about that choice, if possible. Most importantly, as you begin to take concrete action, notice if the results align with your intuitions. If they do, and you want to hone your integrated intelligence, recall the precise way you arrived at those intuitions, such as how those intuitions registered in your mind or body. If the outcome of your intuition does not align with your hunch, ask yourself why. It may be that excitement, fear or even greed have distorted your perception, or somebody else whispering in your ear.
And now, we approach the climax.
The Game Changers: Numbers 3-1 .
Number 3: Believe in yourself, no matter what, but listen to the feedback that life has for you.
And learn. We all have self-doubt, and during the limbo periods, that self-doubt will surface, along with your self-limiting beliefs and conditioned trauma. Guaranteed. Therefore, believing in yourself is not about stubbornly denying self-doubt or your personal issues. Instead, make a firm commitment to honouring all parts of yourself, including your shadow – (aside) the dark bits inside that you don’t want to look at. Most importantly, choose a vision which aligns with your Deep Self, and your core values. Then, as your pain, doubt and fear rise before you on life’s stony path , like ominous specters on a murky horizon, commit to developing a conscious relationship with those demons. If you commit to a journey of self-awareness, the tough times will actually lead to personal growth, to personal transformation, even if you’re not getting what you want in the world of work and relationships. The unexamined life is not worth living, Socrates noted. If you don’t do the inner work, even your success will effectively represent the second-place booby prize (aside: you get first-place booby prize if you don’t do the inner work, and fail too). Now, the truth is that when things get rough, your mind will tend to drag you back into it’s fake story of suffering, time and time again – you know, the story about how the world is against me and sucks, how I’ve been done wrong – or how I’m a fraud who is not lovable or worthy of success. But I’m here now to tell you, never believe in that BS story. From my personal understanding, we should bring the ego’s negative beliefs and story of suffering into conscious awareness, and examine how we’ve become attached to it. Then release the fake story, and create a new, authentic story.
Number 2. Be innovative , push the boundaries, but don’t get so far ahead of the parade that nobody can see where you are.
I’ve borrowed this one from futurist John Naisbitt, the megatrends guy. I was in my twenties when I started to experiment with meditation, and explore the human psyche. I also participated in meditation and healing groups, and recorded my dreams, meditations and intuitive insights almost every day for decades. That’s how I developed my integrated intelligence. And guess what, you don’t paid for that, and you don’t get a certificate to hang on your wall, either . You do it for yourself, because it liberates your soul! I once thought others would appreciate my self-affirmed ascendence into spiritual mastery, and as a much younger man, even put that stuff on my CV (aside: thus the decade of rejection). When going for one job interview, one of the interviewers asked me “what is this Path to Freedom course you list here?” I looked at him, all wide-eyed and naïve, and said “It’s a place where I can go and be vulnerable and share deep healing experiences with other sensitive souls.” I didn’t get the job… but afterwards I was able to grieve about it with emotionally available others in my healing group. (Sigh, shakes head). In short, if you’re at a job interview, presenting or teaching, you have to adjust your talking points according to the audience. You can push the boundaries… a little. I suggest you wait till you’ve won trust or gotten the job before pontificating upon the new paradigm.
And now, we arrive at the summit (drum roll).
Number 1: Follow Your Bliss: But Don’t’ Ignore the Market.
Remember this, and I’m speaking to all of you naive law of attraction advocates out there: your conscious intention is not omnipotent. You are not God. You aren’t even Jesus. You can’t walk on water or turn water into wine. (aside) Of course, if you are the real Jesus , please do subscribe, because it will look good on my contacts list. OK. In short, your mind cannot usurp the laws of physics, nor the social and economic systems you are operating in. Therefore, when deciding which path to pursue on the road to your Bliss, pay attention to social norms and the market, and align your career or business interests with that. Yes, that means you might need to compromise a little. In my own case, my passion ever since I was young man has been exploring the frontiers of consciousness and cosmos. Integrated intelligence. But that is a very niche focus, and outside the local ashram or yoga centre, customers are hard to find. That’s why when the AI Explosion took off around early 2021, I began to explore the interface of integrated intelligence and artificial intelligence, and how spirituality and mindfulness might interface with the present and future digital society. I brought my left-of-field vision to the market, and began to speak its language. When I did that, my opportunities really began to expand. You might like to check out my book Power and Presence, if you want to explore that topic.
So, there are my top ten insights for living your Bliss. I trust they will help you on the road to living your dream. And please do feel free to add your insights in the comments section, because wisdom is best as shared knowledge.
Marcus
