Lately, I have been flooded with inspiration; all different types, at all different times.  Currently, I do not have enough time in the day to be able to create all the content I would like but have a giant backlog to dig into when I am blessed with that opportunity. This post, however, came from a deep moment of clarity and inspiration I had this week on a very important subject:

Insecurity

I will preface this by saying that not everything I write or theorize is always mainstream.  I also, at times, give a glimpse into some of the more “raw” elements of myself purely in hopes to help and educate others who may be able to relate and identify with me.

In our ever-evolving world, there is one topic that is continually getting worse:

Insecurity.

We were all kids at some point in our lives.  Naked, vulnerable, authentic, and untouched; as a child freshly born from our mother’s womb.  Then a few years later, at a very young age, we are processing and conditioning our impressionable little brains, molding us into the people we are today.  During those times come parenting, teachers, and other influencers in our life that play a very important role in who we become.

Now, let me ask this question: Have you ever felt insecure? Honestly? Don’t let your ego give an instant guarded response here. Take a moment to honestly step back, reach into your real self, and ask yourself that hard question:

Have I ever felt insecure?

Look, it would be a flat out lie if I told you that I wasn’t insecure at times.  It would also be a flat out lie if you weren’t either. I am human, you are human, we all are human. We are purely a product of our conditions at a young age, then a product of post-adolescence choices. Personally, I struggled considerably with a family that was very unstable during a highly impressionable stage in my life.  My parents became divorced, after much confusion, I was in the middle, and why wouldn’t I develop a deep, dark insecurity when I was abandoned by my family at the age of 12? Whether my parents knew it or not, it made me feel unwanted, unloved, unlovable, and worst of all, alone. This initial traumatic experience led to many years of misunderstanding myself and being misunderstood by others. All the while I was trying to fill myself up with money, women, alcohol and anything to numb the real pain that I wasn’t strong enough to confront.

Here is where I am going with all of this and why:

Something cognitive psychology won’t teach you, and comes from the School of Life is that ALL of our biggest “weaknesses” end up becoming our GREATEST STRENGTHS.

Insecurity has traditionally been regarded by society as a bad thing. I fully agree that insecurity, if not dealt with properly, can lead to incredibly toxic behavior. However, I would argue that we are more susceptible to insecurity purely due to society, human evolution, improper parenting, drugs, crime, alcohol, and more fear and negativity than ever before.

As I said earlier, our weaknesses always become our strengths, and after over 10 years of personally studying insecurity, I have finally came to this conclusion…..

So, are you ready for the big revelation?

Here it is:

Insecurity goes hand in hand with serving others. Why? Simple.  Someone who has felt insecure for any number of reasons in their life develops a genuine compassion for others. When you are compassionate for others, you seek to help them so they don’t have to go through what you did.  You serve.

Insecurity has been misunderstood for far too many years.  Yes, it can be TOXIC if you let it control you.  However, if you control it, it is one of the greatest gifts that any human being can possibly possess simply because your deep sincerity and compassion drives you to excel at helping, serving, educating, and preventing others from going through the same heart aches and struggles you have.  The insecure person puts others first. A true leader puts others before himself. A true servant will feed to poor before they feed themselves.

Insecurity is a great gift from God. Use it.

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Lonely. Solitary. Lonesome. Loneliness. Desolate. Isolated. All words that speak of being very, very alone.  What does all of that mean anyways?  To be alone? How is it possible that we are ever alone when we have Twitter, Facebook, emails, friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, people we bump into running errands, animals, etc. Why is there a constant desire for connection? Why am I asking myself these questions? If I am asking these questions, are other people been asking themselves these same questions as well?

Today I found myself thinking that my “internet connection” never lets me down. My emails are always there and generally it’s not more than a few minutes on any given day that goes by that I don’t get an email or two.  I can always count on something online to give me that instant gratification when I feel alone, which is a lot of the time. Twitter, Facebook, and other websites are always updated with fresh information, and something new to keep my mind busy. But is this what life is really about? Numbing the mind with meaningless garbage?  Filling it up with more knowledge and information?  Always taking in more? Or should it be to take in less? To take the moment to breathe in and exhale out?  To just be?

How can someone – like myself – or anyone for that matter feel all alone when they have 10’s, 100’s, and even 1000’s of people in their life on a very regular basis? For me, human interaction and connection is a daily or hourly event. From the second I get up till the second I go to bed.  Hundreds of emails every day, 5-10 text threads going on at any given time, Facebook interactions, my dog, business meetings, phone calls and voicemail as far as the eye can see, spending time with close friends, being with the people we love such as a significant other, family, and God. What else could there possible be? Then this word came flooding into my mind with an instant visual of warm sands, tropical blue waters, and a single leaning palm tree….

An Island

What is an island anyways…really? A piece of land, strong enough to not be swept away by the ocean currents.  Completely surrounded on all sided by water at all times. Remember the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks where his plane crashes in the middle of the ocean and he ends on a deserted island, alone, for YEARS?  All he had to accompany him was a pocket watch with a picture of the love of his life, and a volleyball named Wilson who becomes his best friend. He was all alone, but is put his life in perspective.

Like us, we are completely surrounded on all sides at all times whether we like it or not just like an island. But…

Pragmatically speaking, how is it feasible to feel alone when in reality one is not alone at all?  This is the question I have been asking myself for weeks, months, even years.

Enter: Accompanied Alone

From my research of humans, behaviorism, and psychology we have always been an interconnected and an interdependent species.  Even our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, the chimpanzee are very connected with one another from communication, eating, grooming, playing, etc. with one another.  Penguins mate for life.  Birds sing (communicate) to each other.  Studies even show the less human interaction and connectedness we have the shorter or life span is.

So all this leads me to these questions:

Am I alone? Absolutely. Do I like being alone? At times. Was I able to be alone one year ago? No. What does it feel like to be alone? Like an Island. What am I calling this newfound appreciation of being alone?

“Accompanied Alone”

We have created our own island in life, or maybe it was made for us. Just remember this: where is it we think of when we dream of paradise? An Island.

Are you accompanied alone on your island?

I would love to hear what my readers’ “islands” looks like.  Big, small, lush, deserted, tropical, isolated, developed. Whatever it may be, I believe it is very hard for anyone to admit his or her feelings of loneliness. I would also venture to state that due to the ever-increasing pace of our society, there is a deeper longing for connection. No answer is right or wrong, just different. The exercise of describing your island may be the few moments of reflection you were looking for.  In times of being alone, comes finding ourselves. OUR TRUE SELF.

“If you are alone, you are being entirely to yourself.”  ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

Here is the description of my island:

My island is unique and one of a kind. It has been through many storms yet because of these storms it has become abundant with life. My island has many fruits to bear and the freshest water to quench the thirst. It is a remote hard to get to island that can be seen from afar.  The select few who are able to get through the currents, sharp rocks, and sharks onto the island are amazed at it’s beauty, strength, and pureness. I call my island Paradise.

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Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure may have made Socrates famous in America in the early 90’s, but since 399 B.C one man has been known as the father of political philosophy, ethics or moral philosophy, and as a figurehead of all the central themes in Western philosophy.

Socrates:

Even though there are few actual writings of his own, many of his followers Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle, and Aristophanes carried on his legacy for all of history to remember.

During the days when Socrates was alive, he would walk around the Athens markets and walk right up to people and ask them pointed questions.  “What is Justice?” , “What is the Meaning of Life?”, often asking the most affluent . Strange on might think. But not for a man who is considered the founder of Philosophy.

Personally I like this quote of his “my wisdom is limited to an awareness of my own ignorance.”

So today I leave you with Socrates last words:

“Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don’t forget to pay the debt.”

Meaning that death is the cure—and freedom, of the soul from the body.

Learning about other cultures, religions, ancient philosophers, and the world greatest minds and leaders doesn’t stop after graduating high school. It really has just begun for most, and is a continual journey and proceess.

From an objective viewpoint, there are many similarities to each of the 5 main schools of thought known and applied today.

Here are the “Top 5 Schools Of Thought” in today’s society with s short explanation about each:

1. Philosophy:
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were great Greek Philosophers during an era of deep thought and reflection. Philosophy in Greek translated is literally “love of wisdom”.

2. Psychology:
The academic and applied discipline involving the systematic, and often scientific, study of human/animal mental functions and behavior. Freud, Jung, and Wundt are some of the pioneers of psychology.

3. Religion:
The Bible is the most widely publicized book ever in history. Its parables of the creation of man, Jesus and his disciples, and his crucifixion are meant to give direction and faith to the followers of Christianity.

4. Astrology:
Astrologers believe that the movements and positions of celestial bodies either directly influence life on Earth or correspond to events experienced on a human scale. The Mayans and Egyptians are known to be highly advanced during a primitive time in astrology and the study of the stars.

5. Eastern Thought – Tao Te Ching:
Topics range from political advice for rulers to practical wisdom for people. The variety of interpretation is virtually limitless, not only for different people but for the same person over time. Laozi’s famous book is comprised of 81 short poems.

All of these schools of thought at their very core say the same fundamental message.  Depending on where you are in life, and how you are able to personally identify and relate to each is a very individual and intimate relationship and different for every everyone.

For me, at this point my life it is not so much what religion, philosophy, or school of thought one subscribes to. It is your own personal decision to choose which school of thought or maybe all to apply in life and no one can judge you for choosing one over the other.

The fact of the matter is, what is most important is that one applies as much of their own and others wisdom into their life as routinely as possible.

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Anyone who has read any of my writings or listened to me speak would know that a lot of what my message in business are very philosophically based which I believe is the foundation to anyone’s success. A strong psychology of ones self, and a healthy philosophy on life is the foundation that you need to become highly successful in any endeavor: business, relationships, family and just life in general!

There are many great example of this, but today I decided to do something that I normally wouldn’t do and use an excerpt from the Bible to best describe how important it is to have a solid foundation:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” ~ Matthew 7:24-27

Now, take that passage for what its worth. For some of you who are not religious or Christian just take the important fundamental message – which is…you MUST have a solid foundation in life.  Having a solid foundation internally is what sets apart the winners from the losers, the successful from the failures, and building your foundation doesn’t come easy.

If you want to live a life of success and abundance then build or RE-build your foundation so strong so that you are prepared for anything and everything to happen in life. Because if you don’t, life will continually blow over your house and you will continually have to rebuild over and over again until you do the one most important thing in life….

Spend time building your sound foundation.

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For some time I have wanted to host a radio show and today I am proud to say I have finally made that a reality and will officially be hosting my own radio show!! Now, it’s no nationally syndicated drive time show or anything, but in any event….you have to start somewhere and what better way to do it than in a very 2009 way – streaming over the Internet where anyone with an Internet connection can listen live and/or call in anywhere in the world.

So instead of me blogging on Fridays, I have decided to host a weekly radio show every Friday at 1:00 p.m. CT for 1 hour called “The Matt Crowe Show”.  During each segment I will talk about things that matter to people who care in the areas of business, entrepreneurship, philosophy, and life.  Over the course of the next month I will define my niche even more specifically and pin down specific show topics, and who knows….if my listeners really enjoy the show you never who where you might hear me or see me next!

The very first episode will be August 7th, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. CT so click on the button on my website where it say BlogTalkRadio or click here to tune in. On my first live episode of The Matt Crowe Show I will introduce a little about myself, the show, and a general overview of what we will be talking about on the show moving forward.

Wish me luck, tune in, and enjoy!!

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Listen to Matt Crowe on Blog Talk Radio

We have all heard of the some of the original pioneers in modern day psychology such as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud as well as legendary philosophers LaoTzu, Aristotle, and Socrates. However, major shifts are starting to happen in both fields that are very exciting.

In the book “Plato Not Prozac” written by Lou Marinoff, PhD, Lou talks much about a tipping point that is happening in the world of psychology and philosophy. A relatively new field called “Philosophical Counseling” is gaining momentum.

Marinoff, who is the founding president on American Philosophical Practitioners Association, says that his clients don’t need to be seen for 5 years going on and on talking about their past or their parents.  Most only need to be seen once, or a few times, and the longest he has had to see a client is one year. Very different than the more traditional cognitive or developmental psychology. People who are looking for answers in their life are learning the teachings of philosophers not psychology.

We don’t need to look at our past and dissect why things happened. It happened. Good for it. What you CAN change, which is more philosophically based is THE FUTURE.