A highly educated man from a business school wanted to seek meaning in his life and was looking for answers. He is highly successful in his corporate career and is regarded by many as one of the best CEOs.
After years of search, he happened to learn about a Zen retreat and sought refuge to find his answers. To his surprise, he found ten other people also seeking to be students.
After being accepted, he was asked to sweep the floor. He obliged and did a fine job at it. He saw that he was humble in doing so. On the second day two he was asked to sweep the floor again. He did so with a smile on his face.
Seeing his enthusiasm, he was also given additional responsibility for cleaning the utensils. He was mentally reluctant but still went ahead and did the same with a smile on his face.
One year elapsed and the day of graduation was today. The zen master called each of the ten students and promoted them to the next stage of learning. The CEO was asked to continue with year one again. Then the frustration arose in his mind and out of no choice he continued to serve reluctantly for another one year.
And yet again he was not promoted by the Zen master. He was furious this time and started abusing his teacher for the biased attitude extended to him.
The master then rose from his seat calmly and out of compassion spoke to him thus- ‘the lesson for year one was a good attitude and servitude. You did the work but the attitude was out of reluctance. Till the time the lesson is learned there is no progress. Your mind is filled with your past identity. You have to empty your mind before anything new can come to you. Empty your cup and you will be ready for your answers.’
Success is a lifestyle choice
Progress in our career or with anything is not possible when we feel successful and comfortable with where and who we are. Acknowledging success reached is okay if humbled and open to new opportunities and challenges.
Fear, insecurity, guilt, regret, jealousy, anger are emotions that become part of us when we avoid change. Our cup is full.
We can empty our cup by acknowledging the fact that we are a person of constant evolution. Having meaningful goals and dreams keeps our spirits high, in a constant state of joy, and acceptance of the change.
Affirmations, visualization, being grateful are the easiest ways to clear the mind and consciously create what we want. When we meet highly successful people in the world, they seem to be joyful in what they do. They never stop and they never settle. They are in the process of constant change and evolution and success is just the by-product.
Building a career can take consistent effort. Building and keeping relationships can also take consistent effort. Our health also requires constant care. In the course of our life, numerous circumstances and situations present themselves to us which may or may not be as planned. Each experience of our life is stored as a memory in our mind, but are we living our lives from what is or what was?
Why do some of our challenges keeps repeating again and again? Do money, career, relationship or the constant fear of having to succeed keep evading us in the same way? Could our past be holding us back?
If we are living in the past, we may be able to get by but under quality of life? If our mind is empty of preconceptions, is a better future be waiting for us? What would happen with our career, relationships, health, and life in general if we let go for just one moment the preconceptions from our past? Could life offer us with new visions and opportunities where none appeared before if we only chose to let go and empty our cup?
Knowledge may be learning something new every day, but the lifestyle of success is unlearning something we thought we knew every day, to keep our cup empty and ready for more life to poor in.