The Curiosity Catalyst

In all my years of reading and learning about the topics of spiritual excellence, impeccable intelligence, immaculate skill and exceptional eloquence, I never stopped to fully unpack the events that sparked my curiosity until now. Today I will be unpacking my “Curiosity Catalyst”. 

When you look into the history of great men and women you will see that they all had an event and or chain of events which served as the catalyst to their chosen path. But I wonder if it is just destiny. As we know, people can go through the same events and be triggered in totally different directions. One man is a drunk depressed father because his father was a drunk depressed father, another man is the best father in the world because he does not want to be like his drunk depressed father. The reason I wonder if it is destiny is because I don’t believe that innate feelings that you will be great are because of a chain of events alone. But I do think my keen memory plays a part in it. I have memories from as early as 3 or 4 years old, and I also remember how I visioned things when I was very young. I always knew that I could actually be whatever I wanted to be, there was an innate sense that whatever I decided on, I could do with no question. I never wanted to be great, I grew up feeling as if greatness was inevitable. Thanks to my memory, I never fully lost connection to this feeling, but I almost did. I felt enthusiastic about my future all the way up until the age of about 12 or 13 and here’s why my enthusiasm waxed cold. I believed I could go to the NFL, I also believed I could become a navy seal, let’s just say that everything I wanted to do was linked to some form of extreme physical activity. But at 8 years old I was diagnosed with a heart condition. One morning my mother had to rush me to the hospital because I could not get out of bed, it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I later found out that the doctors believed I wouldn’t make it. As a child I did not understand the severity of my condition, and every time I would go to my doctors appointments I would ask, when can I play football, the answer was always no. It never registered to me that my life would never be the same again until about 12 or 13 years old. Which meant in my mind that the things I wanted to do, I could no longer do. Even though physically I felt strong and I was still physically active, I wouldn’t be able to do those things to an extreme, as a profession. This led to my teenage years being filled with hopeless and destructive thoughts. I would fight a lot, I joined a gang, I skipped school, I even at one point questioned my belief in a higher power. Nothing changed until I discovered profound information. A girl in my 10th grade class was watching a video about the mind's eye. It interested me from the very beginning and after that moment I began to develop my mentality, character, and a reconstituted belief that I was meant for something greater. I later had to undergo open heart surgeries one at 19, another at 23 and a few minor procedures in between all those years. Times of extreme vulnerability leaves one with nothing but time to think, and in these moments is where I honed my “personal mastery through exceptional thinking”. There is a master within all of us. This master within can face all of life’s challenges and be unmoved. This master can project his mind to regions beyond physicality And externality. Why? Because this mastery is only honed through exceptional thinking. This is not to say that action is not required in life. It is to say that every person who mastered something, was an exceptional thinker. It takes exceptional thinking to devote yourself to a craft relentlessly, or to devote yourself to become great. All action after that is a result of this exceptional line of thinking. It was through trying moments and difficulty that I developed a wholehearted desire to master the rudiments of the art form. What is the Art Form? The first level of mastery is that of personal mastery. Take a moment and ponder this human experience. The first thing sought after was self preservation, which meant a need for food, shelter, clothing, and communication. Over time these became culinary arts, architecture, fashion, and sophisticated language. These beautiful works are proof that life and how we live it is an Art Form. When you recognize it as an art form you will recognize that it can be mastered. Through mental and physical control you learn how to live it in a way suitable to thy fancy. But when you do not recognize it as an art form you are subject to its waves, not realizing that you only suffer from a lack of mastery. Because of my experiences I value exceptional thinking, and I now endeavor to share the ideas with you all. I hope that I have not been vague in my thoughts on mastery. And since this platform is called “Personal Mastery Through Exceptional Thinking”, next we will discuss the topic of “The Master” in depth.