Facing Yourself

Welcome to the Letters of Wonder, where I explore insights on wealth, fulfillment, growth, and mastery.

There is a quiet tragedy in living a life that isn’t your own.

When you don’t know yourself, you do what others want.

This is not freedom. This is conformity. Conformity leads to misalignment.

At first, it feels safe. You feel heard. You feel like you’re pitching in, like you’re a part of the group.

But slowly it will become a void.

And you won’t realize it until later.

But the beauty of this realization is that it’s never too late to change.

Why is that?

Because the void isn’t outside of you. It is within you. It is the distance between the life you are living and the life that is true to you.

With every trade for acceptance, you lose a part of yourself.

You might not realize it at first. But you will lose you.

To live in such a way is to live in conflict with yourself.

Story of the Week

Moral:
It’s comfortable to search where it’s easier.

Where the light is bright, where everyone else is looking, where it feels safe and familiar.

But the keys to fulfillment are not found where it is easy.

They are not found in the noise of others’ expectations or in the distractions of the world around us.

They are not where everyone gathers or where it seems everything is happening.

The keys are where we actually lost them: inside ourselves.

It may feel darker, harder, even lonelier to search there.

But that is where the truth is.

That is where the keys to a fulfilled life have always been.

They are waiting for us to stop searching in the wrong places and finally turn inward.

A Quote I Liked:

There will come a time when you are alone. It might be in a few days, months or even years.

But it will come.

In those moments, what will you feel?

It’s easy to distract ourselves when others are around.

But if you’ve spent your entire life chasing the approval of someone else, being alone will feel unbearable.

It will feel like a part of you is missing.

That’s because you’ve attached your identity to someone else, or maybe a group of people.

What happens when they are gone?

Who are you then?

This is why it’s so important to realize who you are beforehand.

A Line for Inspiration

When you are complete in yourself, you will attract others who are also complete.

I’m not saying you need to be alone at all times.

But when you get comfortable with who you are and what you want, you don’t rely on others to feel complete.

The real challenge isn’t being alone. It’s becoming comfortable with who you are.

This is about having a full and complete life (regardless of who is around or not).

Questions to Ask Yourself

1. What would you choose to do if no one was watching?

2. What parts of yourself have you hidden to fit in with others?

3. Are you building a life you love or one you think others will admire?

4. If everything you’re chasing disappeared tomorrow, would you still feel whole?

Following Others

This one is tricky.

We all have people around us who are extraordinary.

• Maybe they’re very intelligent.

• Maybe they know how to make a lot of money.

• Maybe they’re genuine and well-liked by everyone.

It’s easy to copy them. And it can even be helpful. We learn a lot this way, and life feels smoother.

But then they’re gone. Then what?

Life becomes a struggle. You miss their presence.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t learn from others.

But when you’re always guided by someone else, you will feel lost when they’re no longer there.

This is why it’s important to observe life and understand it for yourself.

Authenticity and Business

Have you noticed that when you are fully authentic, you attract the best connections?

That’s because when you live in alignment, the people you attract will also be aligned.

But more importantly, you align with yourself.

And this feels amazing.

Like you are living life to the absolute fullest.

In business, I’ve seen how authenticity changes everything.

I’ve realized that the most successful mentors I have are drawn to authenticity.

And this helps them help me more.

I’ve also noticed this with clients.

Quick Business Lesson

Recently, we had a miscommunication with a client about billing.

We over-billed for a month because we delivered more services than agreed upon.

At first, it felt better to avoid the situation. I had no idea how I was going to own up to it.

It was completely my fault.

But I decided to let him know.

I called him directly on his personal number and explained exactly what happened.

No excuses.

Just telling him the truth of what happened - we were still building out our accounting function.

I thought he’d be disgusted.

What kind of agency doesn’t have a proper accounting function?

But what he said next shocked me.

He understood my mistake and still decided to pay for a part of the services.

He then messaged me the following:

Lessons from This (For Business + Life)

1. Be Honest
   People value transparency more than perfection. Admitting mistakes also builds trust. More people will want to do deals with you.

2. Approach Problems Directly
   It’s tough, but calling and resolving things is the way to go. This shows that you’re capable of handling tough things.

3. Become Authentic
   When you’re real, the right people stick with you. I’ve noticed that mentors and clients notice and respect authenticity. They might even go above and beyond for you.

You may be wondering how this ties into facing yourself.

I believe I was only able to handle this conversation because I’ve become more comfortable being myself (it’s a constant work in progress).

By facing myself, I was able to approach the client with that same level of honesty and composure.

This made it easier to show authentically in the situation.

Loneliness vs. Being Alone

When you live a life of alignment, loneliness becomes being alone.

Notice the difference:

• One is a negative state

• The other is peaceful

It’s hard to realize this until much later.

But the earlier you realize this, the more peaceful life becomes.

Learning to be alone is a superpower.

It’s the ability to sit with your thoughts and feel at peace.

Then slowly, everything you’ve ever wanted will come your way.

That’s the the quiet power of coming home to who you truly are.

Feel free to reply directly to this email. I’d love to hear your reflections.

Thanks for reading!