November 6, 
2009 – Previously, I described the power each of us has to choose to live our lives fully and passionately. Exercising this power of choice requires a shift in perspective and retraining in the way we view the world and our place in it. Practicing shifting perspectives will result in attaining the skill of mastering our own lives.
What is a Master?
A Master is someone who resonates with success; a person whose mindset automatically attracts the right people, places, events, and opportunities. This mindset allows us to seize all of those opportunities with gusto, and without fear or hesitation.
When we think of mastering a new skill, we realize doing so may take a lot of time and effort; ironically, mastering who we are requires no real effort beyond recognizing and accepting ourselves, and allowing ourselves to be. When we tap into our true core, our real gifts are revealed. Once revealed, those gifts propel us towards the level of self-mastery.
Self-mastery has three components:
- Understanding that each of us has a unique gift (signature strength), and that gift is revealed when we are truly authentic.
- Discovering (remembering) what exactly is our truly authentic self.
- Living our lives authentically, thereby sharing who we are with the world, in a way that only we can.
It’s not what we do that matters, nor as much how we do it. Self-mastery is about knowing who we really are, and how we express that in what we do. Rather than looking outside ourselves for the means to improving our lives, we should instead look inwardly to find our answers. Doing so allows us to live abundant, fulfilled, and enjoyable lives. We will then feel in control without having to control anything or anyone. In our practices, this translates to striving to be the best lawyer we can be, rather than competing to be better lawyers than others. Interestingly enough, achieving our own personal best will, by extension, make us better at what we do than most others.
On the master level we realize that each of us is the cause, instead of the effect, of our lives. As Emerson wrote in “The American Scholar:”
“Thinking is the function. Living is the functionary … [Living] is the total act. Thinking is the partial act.”
A more modern reframing might be: “Don’t think, do.”
Imagine how much more successful our practices would be and how much more satisfaction we’d derive from living and working our lives at the level of self-mastery. It is within our reach. The key is to relax, be ourselves and live our lives fully.
In future issues, we’ll look at many things that get in the way of discovering and sharing our true selves. One by one, we’ll identify those obstacles, limitations, and challenges and reveal them for what they are – distractions that can be rendered powerless through awareness and self-mastery.
Consider the possibilities.
Adam J. Krim www.driveconsulting.net
