Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | TuneIn | Deezer | Youtube Music | RSS | More

Life is going to unfold exactly as it’s going to unfold, regardless of the force you attempt to exert over it. Isn’t it…?

What if reality wasn’t so “set in stone?” What if your imagined realities were actually real? What if there was a way to transition to a path other than the one you’re already on?

The Spark Infinity crew gathered again for David’s “Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur,” a presentation dedicated to surfing between parallel universes.

Sponsors:

• Productivity, Performance & Profits Blackbook: Get a free copy of the “Definitive Guide to Productivity for Artists and Entrepreneurs.”
• The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Welcome to the show
01:33 – Introduction to Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur
02:08 – Why this topic?
02:58 – “Paying your dues”
03:37 – Life is a stream
04:52 – How to become a reality surfer
06:59 – Your imagination is your reality
08:05 – Time is just a concept
08:49 – Why you shouldn’t attempt to manifest multiple realities simultaneously
09:16 – Change your perspective/shift your attention
11:09 – What does it feel like to make an identity shift?
11:59 – Next steps
12:23 – Group discussion

Transcript:

David: All right, welcome to Spark Infinity. It is October 3rd, 2024, and we have Jody on the call. How you doing, Jody?

Jody: Good.

David: We also have Susanna on the call. She’s brand new to Spark Infinity. Why don’t you introduce yourself, Susanna?

Suzanna: Thanks, Dave.

So hello, everyone. I’m Suzanna, and I’m just a fellow artist as well. Yeah, art and design, in terms of graphic arts, I do acrylic. I also do digital art and also have my own business as well. And I’m also employed. So that’s a little bit about me, and I love unique stuff and technology and yeah, there’s so many things that I like. You can go on and on and on. So that’s a little bit about me.

David: Great. What are you looking to accomplish on social media?

Suzanna: I look to accomplish actually creating, you know, like events for people and have them being connected with art and also with technology and create course content. And yeah, and to be better with regards to how I present myself.

So looking forward to creating these videos with you and the journey that we are going to go on.

David: It’s going to be a lot of fun. And I would say that is a worthy and noble pursuit, Susanna. So, thank you for sharing.

Suzanna: Yeah. Thank you.

Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur

David: Today’s presentation is the Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur. I actually had AI generate this image. I’m kind of impressed. “Artist surfing between highways awkwardly with the guitar around his shoulders.”

This presentation is loosely based on the book by Frederick Dodson, Parallel Universes of Self. It’s not a complete copy. It’s a very big book. I use different terms. I have different discoveries than he does.

It’s not for everyone, this book. But if you want to explore this concept in greater detail, then I recommend the read. If this resonates with you, and if this is interesting to you, that is where to go.

Why Does This Topic Matter?

Okay, so why are we going to talk about Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur? I’ve really noticed that a lot of artistpreneurs take dramatically different actions based on how they’re feeling in the moment, based on their confidence, based on their belief level.

So, if they’re not feeling great that day, they might be less inclined to post to social media, for an example, or they might be less inclined to reach out to a potential contact.

But if they’ve got confidence and belief in what they’re doing, and then they’re in the momentum of it, they tend to make more contacts, they tend to post more to social media, they send more email campaigns. They try more things, because they’re more excited, and their belief level is higher.

If we can get to the point of believing that everything is working out for us, we would never fear taking risks or dwelling on temporary setbacks, or things that appear to be setbacks. And remembering that all things are temporary.

Common Assumptions and How They Hold You Back

A few prevalent assumptions, especially in music industry, I’m sure Jody has noticed this too:

“Success is hard,” “it’s going to take a long time,” “it’s going to take 10 years,” “I’ve got to pay my dues,” or some variation thereof, has been repeated.

We’ve been told the stories of The Beatles and Metallica and Billy Talent and countless others for whom success required 10 years of consistent, diligent, vigilant effort through great travail. Some variation thereof I’m sure every artist can relate to.

Good news is, there are other paths, and today we’re going to be talking about what that path might be – the secret path.

The Streams of Life – Choose Your Stream

I want you to imagine something. Life is a stream, but there isn’t just one stream, there are many streams, and at any time you can choose what stream you want to float down. If you don’t like the stream you’re on, you can transition to another. Some are fast, some are slow, some are more adventurous. There are an infinite number of streams, and if you want, you can even stand on the shore and observe for a while. But it is a requirement that you stay on a stream.

In his book, Frederick actually describes this as the highways, I like his analogy a lot too.

Here’s another way of thinking about this. There’s a version of you that went right when you went left. There’s a version of you that enrolled in a university when you took a job. There’s a version of you that got married when you opted to stay single. And all these choices represent different streams of life. But every version of you exists.

So there’s already a version of you that has been married if you’re not married. There’s already a version of you that has experienced fame or fortune. And this is because all timelines coexist simultaneously, and you have access to all of them.

You can surf between the streams at will, opting to experience anything you want, because there is a parallel version of you that has already experienced it, whether wealth, fame, or freedom.

How to Surf Between Parallel Realities

Okay, but the question is “how?” How can we surf between these streams?

To experience another timeline, you would need to surf over to it. It certainly can sound complicated, but it isn’t. And it’s something that can happen in minutes, probably not seconds, but minutes.

If you still your mind and imagine yourself having the preferred experience and feel as though you already have it, and then come out of that experience, completely release it, then it’s done.

And the moment the identity shift has occurred – and we’ll talk more about identity shift throughout this – is the moment it’s become your new reality.

So often we talk about growing, expanding, becoming, trying to get somewhere. But if the identity shift happens, all those other things tend to happen naturally. So oftentimes we have that process backwards.

In other words, it’s not about doing, it’s about being. There’s no trying. There’s no striving. There’s no waiting. There’s no expecting. There’s no faking it until you make it.

If you’ve initiated and gone through an identity shift, there may be a time delay in experiencing your new preferred reality in the outward world. But this is simply giving you the opportunity to further define and refine your preferences. Because sometimes if you aren’t specific enough, you can bring about undesirable results.

You could say things like, “I want to be called by 100 people who are interested in my music next week,” and then get a hundred people who are a pain to deal with. And so, you attracted what you asked for, but because you weren’t totally and completely specific with what you wanted, you got any random group of 100 people contacting you.

Having initiated an identity shift, things, potentially unwanted things will happen, but it’s all in how you view the proceedings. In other words, things start happening. That’s a good time for you to affirm and confirm that you’ve actually initiated the identity shift.

Most times we think when something bad happens, we assume we did something wrong. When in fact, if we make an identity shift and things start changing, we should confirm and affirm that we’re moving towards the thing we want.

That’s because bottom line, the universe is taking you on the shortest possible path to get you to where you want to go. And that might include some unexpected surprises. And your only role in all of it is to affirm the shift you’ve made. That’s all you have to do.

Your imagination is a reality. Oftentimes we distinguish between waking life and dream life, but was your dream any less real than your waking life? Didn’t you experience your dream? Isn’t it a part of your experience? Can’t you recollect what your dream was? There is no IRL.

We like to talk about that in social media, “in real life.” Let’s meet in real life. IRL, right? There is no “in real life” because it’s all real. None of it’s fake.

The linear progression of life doesn’t stop just because you’re playing video games or doom scrolling or dreaming or engaged in virtual reality. It’s all real.

There’s no augmented reality. There’s no virtual reality. There’s no fake reality. Which can only mean if left unquestioned – and that’s key – your imagination is reality.

It’s as real as reality itself, just like a dream. When you imagine a new reality, it’s already real. If it doesn’t become your reality, the only reason is because you doubted it.

One thing I like to add though, when I’m imagining or thinking of a new reality, and I just submit this to the universe or God, I like to say, “or something better.” “What I’ve asked for, or something better.” The universe often seems to know.

The False Construct of Time

Time is just a concept.

Time is often described as a linear progression between an arbitrary starting point and another arbitrary ending point. No one truly knows when time started or when it will end, which can only mean time isn’t happening. It’s a concept [or construct].

Time therefore describes simultaneous coexistence. Hence, you have access to all of time, including parallel time. Past, present, future, and parallel timelines are not distinct.

There’s only a wait to experience your preferred reality if you’re in the realm of doing. In the realm of being, like we talked about earlier, there is no wait because you already are. You’ve made an identity shift.

And if you already are, it has to come in. Reality must adjust to who you are, rather than you trying to adjust reality.

Singleness of Purpose is Godlike

Here’s a common blocker – attempting to manifest multiple realities at the same time.

Since you can’t serve two masters at once, commit to one stream and allow it to manifest before attempting to surf to another timeline. Allow timelines to collapse. Time is just a concept, so what you’ve imagined has already happened.

Physical reality must catch up. Being, not doing. Focus on one reality, if you’re tempted to focus on multiple. And start small if you feel like that’s important.

The Limitlessness of Perspective

Another common blocker, experiencing reality as static. “Doesn’t seem to change, David.”

What’s going on there? The thing that we forget, and the thing that really Fred reinforces in his book, you can focus on an infinite number of things on any given day. Infinite. But most people think the same thoughts and place their focus on the same things all the time.

And that’s what a belief is. It’s a collection of thoughts coalescing.

So, the experience of life is repetitive and monotonous because their thoughts have become their beliefs and they’re repeating the same thoughts.

To tap into the limitless power of the mind, notice what you’re putting your attention on. Your outer reflects your inner. Your beliefs are reflected in what you’re experiencing on the outside.

Your experience changes when you shift your attention. Think about it. You can see an argument from the perspective of multiple people, right? You can imagine what it’s like to work at a certain job that you don’t currently work at. You may not be correct. That’s not really important, but you can still think about it.

You can try stepping into someone else’s shoes, anyone, living or dead. If you wanted to step into Winston Churchill or Napoleon Hill, go right ahead. See how that feels.

Look at your arm. Can you see things from the perspective of your arm?

Notice objects in the room. I’ve got a glass right next to me. Can you become that object, seeing things from the perspective of that object?

Imagine the mountains. What would it be like to be a mountain? What would you think? What would you feel? What would your perspective of life be? What’s your experience of being a mountain?

You don’t need an answer for any of these questions. It’s simply an exercise to remind you the thing that you’ve always had, which is limitless power of your mind. You have the ability to see things from different perspectives and shift your attention.

Shifting your attention will allow you to tap into brand new experiences.

Reality Surfing in a Nutshell

Very simply, it’s this… and this is pretty rapid fire.

There’s no trying, only being.

There’s no striving, only effortlessness.

There’s no waiting because it’s already here.

There’s no expecting because you already are.

What Does it Feel Like to Have an Identity Shift?

What can you expect when you’ve successively gone through an identity shift? I actually can’t tell you because I don’t know what shift you’re going to be making or you’ve already made, but here are three things I’ve observed.

First, you’ll feel rested in your new identity. It won’t be a struggle. You will just be. You won’t have to do to get there. You will just be.

Second, action will be pleasurable because it’s in complete alignment with your new identity. It won’t feel weird. It won’t feel off. It won’t be dragging your feet to do it. It’ll feel great.

Number three, opportunities will present themselves.

I’ll talk more about this in a future Spark Infinity, but I saw an opportunity to create a brand-new track for a certain YouTube channel and I think they’re going to love it and it’s going to make them laugh and things will progress from there.

But you can expect many other wonderful surprises because at the end of the day, I don’t know. And I think even Frederick, although he knows better than I do, doesn’t know.

Your Next Steps

As always, you can follow me at Instagram at David Andrew Wiebe.

I’m also announcing the release of my brand-new book on September 30th called The Renegade Musician. It’s available in Kindle, paperback and hardcover.

I’m excited to put my hands on a paperback and hardcover. I usually like to order both, so I have them in my possession.

Group Discussion

David: So where would you like to take this, Jody?

Jody: Yeah, I think it’s just a lot of reflection, observing and absorbing information in the share.

And then what ends up happening is there’s really, where are you, like when you started with what are you looking to accomplish on social media, just that question with Suzanna. I think often I’ll overstep that and that’s where almost like a panic ensues and doing becomes.

So the being is squished and the doing becomes and then what you have is panic or frustration or irritation. In the practice of being someone who is relaxed and enjoying life, it’s a very different identity shift.

So it’s a funny thing to talk about because I’m in that space right now of having an identity shift of like, how do you or how do I evolve and be satisfied in the moment?

David: And it was a loaded question to be fair, Suzanna, based on today’s presentation.

Where are we going? It doesn’t matter where you’re going if you make the identity shift, right?

Jody: Yeah. And I think it’s neat to look at it as an identity shift and then giving it time rather than it being rushed or I think when I started doing the whole music journey five years ago, there was like a, “I’ll start here” and then my intuition thought it would be quicker because I was more like dead set on my direction.

And it’s been more like the paddles on a pinball machine. Some of the hits have been good and some of them haven’t. So, I think in the reality of it, it’s been highly successful in a short period of time.

So if I look at it that way, there’s a whole different identity created from that beginning statement of what are you looking to accomplish on social media or with music or with getting in the car and going to the grocery store? It can be that simple.

I go to the grocery store lately, just walking around aimlessly and hoping something catches my eye.

Kind of sounds like an idea of why I’m there, but it’s like I go more for the interactions than I go for nourishment.

David: Sure. I like the grocery store. I’ve had a lot of fun grocery shopping. It’s something that I think a lot of people consider kind of a chore or something they don’t especially like. But if you pick your battles and don’t go when it’s so busy all the time, I think it can be a fun activity.

And from the parallel universe perspective… you describe feeling like a pinball going back and forth. That means you’re doing something right.

And there is no good or bad. Objectively, it’s just stuff that’s taking you to where you want to go. And that’s the shortest path. The path includes those things.

Jody: Yeah, there’s a strange confidence, even which has nothing to do with social media.

But like I was saying, trimming the hedge yesterday to like how I feel today with, I used to be able to do something like that and do it all day.

And today being the age I am and the physical nature of who I am having a hand injury or whatever it is… It’s like my body is like, “What did you do?” And so, there was a different reaction where my mind was prepared. It was like, “I got this. It’s all good.” But my body was like, “Dude, what is the deal?”

So, I think that, we put it in perspective, like you said, like my mind thought one thing, but my body had the reaction of a different thing. And I tried to prepare my body with my mind, knowing that what I was doing, I was going to be doing physical labor and I was going to be okay, but I was not.

And so I shifted gears and did different things today and who I was being during that was more in the experience of the day rather than having to accomplish a ton of things and be stressed out.

David: And there is an opportunity to experience a lot of different things if we tap into the limitless power of the mind. So it was physical labor. But if you saw it from the perspective of the grass or the road or the person across the street, suddenly it’s a different experience.

Jody: Oh, yeah, totally. Suzanna, what are you hearing in all this? What did you get out of today?

Suzanna: I like the pinball thing because like, honestly, like yesterday, I had like this intention to actually do all my promises and spend time at home and work on stuff. And what I ended up doing was just getting distracted with things that I thought were important.

And but there were other things that I had said. So it’s kind of like, you’re like, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping all over the place.

And it’s like, you just have to recalibrate and like, say, OK, what’s my intention? What do I want? I would come. And if that’s like the case, am I really serious and really committed about this? Or am I just going to build up time, you know, so.

David: I think “what is my intention” is like the perfect place to go. That’s a great place, space to be in, because then you’re creating, then you have a choice. But if life just seems to be throwing a whole bunch of stuff at you and you feel like it’s out of control, that’s where the lack of choice and perspective comes from.

Suzanna: And I also like I have to say, I was reading your book last night. The Productivity, Performance & Profits Blackbook.

And there was one that is perfect for this, you know, talking about action. Like what is the the thing behind productivity and action? And it’s like it’s inspiration. Like if you can’t, you don’t know what you’re doing, and there’s no inspiration behind that. There’s something like missing, you know, you’ve got to be inspired to take that action.

Jody: That’s that’s a funny one, Suzanna, because I think that’s been tossed around so much in the social media world right now is a lot of people will say there doesn’t need to be any inspiration and simply do.

And I’ve done that, too, when I was like in a state of “I’m not inspired,” like I’ll sit down and I’ll write something and getting inspired.

I caused “inspired by” setting an intention: “What did I say I was going to do? I said I would practice today. Well, I don’t want to.” And then you’re like, you get into it. You’re OK, I could do this.

Sometimes there’s no inspiration, really, other than to be doing what you said you would do. I don’t know what you hear in that.

Suzanna: I hear like dragging your foot across the room to get it done sort of thing. Like carrying your own dead body to keep trudging.

David: The thing that I think of, like, as connected to the presentation is, if the identity shift is complete, the action is pleasurable. If it’s just in the doing, there’s no pleasure. That means the action is ineffective. It’s not actually going to produce anything. And that’s often proved true, right?

Jody: Practice produced, though.

David: Well, I think practice produce something, but does action produce something away from inspiration?

Jody: Well, practice requires action. I’m just looking at the steps of what does it take to practice? You set a time of day. I got to practice at 4 PM tomorrow. If you don’t set a time of day, then you have a very solid chance of being like the ping pong ball or the pinball, whatever you want to be. You can go back and forth as much as you want. So I was just thinking of like, what is practice?

David: Yeah, that’s a much deeper question, and I like it. I don’t know if I have an answer for that.

Suzanna: Sometimes that’s like that that ping pong ball. I did play recently, by the way.

Somebody hit so much fastballs, you know, there’s the practice just has to be quick. Maybe how many times can you actually hit that ball? Like, you have to keep on hitting the ball. Somebody serves the ping pong ball. It’s a fast one and you keep on missing. Right. So sometimes you just have to slow down and just kind of like, OK, what’s the next step?

Jody: So practice has rhythm. But what was the original? What was the original question you’re asking, David? Just to presence it again. Like, what were we talking about?

David: Action being pleasurable. In other words, when we do things that when we don’t really feel are all that pleasurable, we’re just doing them because we’re supposed to do them, not because we’re feeling good about doing them. Do they produce results?

Jody: Oh, yeah. It’s like, what is the results that practice does? There was one. There was something else, though, I think. So there’s the results of practice. And then there’s there was something else in there that’s missing. What was the other part? What is practice? Something I can’t remember.

Do you remember, Suzanna? Am I missing it?

David: Well, one thing one thing I can see anyway in your question, at least that we could consider is if you’re practicing every day at 4 PM And I believe that, too, like I’m a big believer in showing up, but I like to take away the significance of it.

So, people say :persistence” or “hard work” or “do it every day.” I just like to put it in terms that make it much lighter and peaceful for me. “Showing up” is easier than persistence. Persistence sounds like hard labor.

Jody: Yeah, I would relate to that. Personally, I wouldn’t want to, you know, although I’ve been better with the words like doing hard work, I’m like, I’m OK with that.

Like yesterday was harder work, but I also saw it as a pleasurable experience to play with a new tool and like experience doing something that I’ve never really done in that state of like having a great tool and being able to actually use the tool to get a great result. It was great. You had the right instrument, you know?

So it was like a lot more effective and efficient to do it that way, whereas in previous I had done something with a less effective tool and it was way more exhausting going up and down a ladder rather than just having an extension. I didn’t feel like doing it, but the results were cool.

David: The other thing I heard in what you’re saying, like there’s sort of the drone of practice.

In other words, we show up, we do it and we do it whether we want to do it or not because we choose to be better. And that is definitely the artistic way. But the possibility exists to shift our perspective in practice.

In other words, if you’re sitting down to play guitar, what you’re thinking about is the technique, your hands, your fingers, your picking, and you’re thinking less and less as you become more competent at it. So, as you become more competent at it, you have the opportunity to shift your perspective and see things from your fretboard or your strings or the guitar body or the amplifier. And now suddenly practice is a different experience again.

So that was something else that I thought might contribute because I know and I think that’s the very thing that Frederick Dawson is pointing to, like, OK, so you’ve experienced this day 100 times or 600 times or 900 times, depending on the number of years. How would you like to try something different and what would that make available?

And he’s pointing to the fact that, wow, your mind is pretty much limitless in what it can focus on or bring its attention to or change its perspective of. And if you consciously do that, you’d have a new experience.

And I think he would even say you’ll have such a completely different experience when you do that. Life will become something different.

Jody: Yeah, I’m seeing light like I’m seeing it being lighter.

I think there’s even ways when we word things like today is or today will be. So that’s about the day. And then there’s I am and I will be.

So, I mean, you could say today is going to be awesome. And then who are you being in that awesome is because you don’t want to collapse yourself in the day. Or is that overcomplicated?

You know, is it assuming that because it seems like we gave the power to the day, but then who are you during the day? Like you give the power to the day being awesome. But who are you being in an awesome day? So what if the day was awesome and you were still shitty?

I think I noticed a lot going through training and development in certain areas like that, that I did a lot of the collapsing of the two together where we give and like, like you said, like the innate object, like a mountain, the mountain is bold.

And it’s like, well, what’s great about the mountain? Well, who am I on the mountain looking from the mountain or being the mountain? It’s like changing that perspective really gives us a chance to cause something very unique in the day. And not give the power away, but be the power within that choice of perspective.

David: Yeah. There’s something in the languaging as well.

So “today will be…” is almost like trying to tell the day what you want it to be. Like maybe, maybe it’ll be okay. I don’t know. It’s like not a commitment. The day is just going to be what it’s going to be. Yeah.

Suzanna: And what I’m hearing too, in this conversation is like inner strength, it’s creating.

David: Yeah. I think there’s a lot of inner strength in your imagination where there are no limits.

Jody: What does strength mean to you, Suzanna?

Suzanna: When my father died, when I was 14, we had like this procession to walk to the church with my family, but people were falling behind us, and they saw that I wasn’t crying.

So, a lot of my friends and classmates said to me, “You know, Susanna, you have a lot of inner strength.”

Another example is a friend who just moved recently. There are a lot of things going on in his life, new stuff happening. And I’m just like a person that to be reliably called upon to have that inner strength for that person, like being a rock or pillar, and showing that inner strength.

Jody: It makes sense that inner strength for you is reliability and compassion kind of thing. Cause like hearing it on this side, I got like, there was somebody that said you had inner strength, but you didn’t really have like a meaning to it, which is fine.

So you took on inner strength from that person and gave it like that. But when you’re speaking of it, you’re like, I like to be reliable and this, and that’s my reliable, confident, and compassionate kind of thing.

And that’s like my interpretation over here. So that’s why I was asking, like, it’s cool to see where it came from. Outside source said the words, and you got other things from it. So it’s neat.

David: You never know what someone’s going to get from a message, but they’re going to get what they need to get.

Suzanna: And then it just kind of like, maybe it’s a Eureka moment for someone.

David: That’s the hope. I would love to see artists tune in and see what they get out of this. And maybe some will have that identity shift moment and maybe things will start working for them in a way that they haven’t worked before.

I’ve had that experience of feeling like I was spinning my wheels. That’s how it felt on the inside. It doesn’t mean that’s what was happening on the outside, but that’s the magic, right? Noticing how it feels on the inside and knowing it doesn’t have to feel that way.

And is that what’s really happening? Or is it happening on the outside? Because I’m feeling that way on the inside, which I would say is the case.

Jody: Yeah. I mean, do you have a specific instance you can use as an example?

David: I recall the early parts of my music career, we contributed quite a bit of music to compilation albums and stuff like that. And we would see some traction in some really weird ways. Like we were among the first to upload our music online and make it available for download. And that overloaded our server like that. So we had to move to a new web host.

Suzanna: Is that Napster?

David: No, it wasn’t. We just made it available online [on our server] because we recorded our jams and we’re like, “We’re a jam band and this is what we do.” And like, “we want people to have this. It’s like one of a kind thing. We may never do that song again. At least we’re definitely not going to do it the same way. So here’s a moment we’re capturing and sharing out into the world.”

But bands broke up. I had to decide what I was going to do. I decided to be self-determined and to keep going and write my own material. And from that day forward, although bands may have reunited here and there, I always felt like I was steering the ship, and it was up to me and I had to find people and I had to build a website and I had to promote my music right up until I turned 30. That all felt like spinning my wheels and a struggle.

Then I discovered some things that changed how I was thinking about it. That’s why I launched Music Entrepreneur HQ in the first place is because I had this eureka aha moment that, “Oh, I can apply myself in a bit of a different way. I can adapt a business mindset or entrepreneurial mindset and bring it into music. And that could be a mindset shift or paradigm shift that would be worthwhile.” And it was.

But up until that point was it felt I had the experience of spinning my wheels a lot.

Jody: Yeah, I got that.

Suzanna: I feel like I’m spinning up my wheels, too, in my own life, too. You think that something’s going to work, you know, after training and development and programming, like, what the heck?

But how come it didn’t work? Why am I still like spinning my wheels? You know, and somebody asked me, “Suzanna, what did you get out of the two years that you were there?” And I’m like, uh, “Something happened, but it wasn’t the one that I was thinking about. I’m still spinning my wheels.”

David: It’s true. I think in that program, people get what they get. And I think it’s usually something in communication.

I do know that some people got their businesses, they got their lives, they got their relationships also. But I think many times it’s something connected to communication or self-expression that they got. And that was me.

Like, I wouldn’t go back and say “no” to the program. I would do it again. In saying that, were the things that I said I wanted, and the program promised me that I didn’t get.

It’s easy to kind of see things from that perspective.

Jody: It’s interesting, as you both shared, though, I think in any program, what I’m seeing is the possibility of people looking for shortcuts. That’s just from this side.

And now that I know there are no shortcuts, I think I would have approached being in a specific position, even now moving forward as a musician or a businessperson, knowing that there aren’t any shortcuts.

If I gave up all of that, or when I gave all of that up, who do I become in my journey? Interesting. Because I was very similar.

You might blame a program or blame this, blame that. But in a sense, as we said, in the identity shift, if we came into it in that perspective, and knew and set a little bit less expectation in cutting things shorter, like the pain or the heartache or the not wanting to go through the growth, because it’s going to be different for everybody. Because I think sometimes I just want to not have to struggle anymore.

And so when I don’t get what I thought I would get, I get irritated.

David: The only shortcut is the secret path. And the secret path is following your bliss.

But do you have the confidence in the identity to chase your bliss every day? Or does it feel like “I’ve got to wake up and go to a job?”

Jody: Yeah. And it’s all in, again, a shift in identity will attract what you’re looking for. Or will it? If you’re collapsing things together, you could still go get a job at Starbucks and be blissful.

David: Oh, 100%. Yeah, I’m not discounting that at all.

Jody: And I was just using an example. And then just because it’s like career wise, you never know what somebody else is going through.

David: That’s why I gave my caveat, “or something better.” In other words, I imagined the reality I wanted, but where I ended up was, I got hired with TEKsystems at Meta. And that turned out to be the best thing. But I there’s no way I could have known. It was off the radar. I didn’t see that was best.

Jody: Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of that, I think in the identity shift that I’m coming up on right now, as well as there’s a lot of things that are I’m seeing that you say it, you’re probably you might be noticing it too. I don’t know why it’s slipping away.

David: Off the radar or unexpected?

Jody: Yeah, it’s going back to like, the universe has its own plans for you. So don’t plan too far ahead kind of thing. And I’m starting to see that as a more of a reality and the way to live in.

And that’s why like, I was often more of a person that would live in the moment rather than a person that knew how to do a one year, you know, five year, or 10 year plan. And it’s important to have those, I think, but it’s important to also dance with them.

David: Yeah, I think the dance is the really important part.

I’ve seen some people navigate that path effortlessly. I think Derek Sivers, as far as I can tell, he said, here’s 10 years to my business life. Here’s 10 years to getting a TED Talk. And here’s 10 years of my life dedicated to writing books. And that’s exactly how it’s going.

But the thing that I wonder is, well, maybe he’s just on the path. And he knows. He’s so tapped in that he knows exactly what he’s doing, where he’s going.

But I like what you said about the dance, because that for me is more like life. Like, I didn’t plan what my 20s was going to be, making music is what emerged as a theme. I didn’t plan what my 30s were going to be about. Writing books is what emerged as a theme.

Suzanaa: But I’m also taking away from your, what you’re bringing up is that I’m someone sometimes who’s scared to take action.

Sometimes when I see someone like yourself, David, with you writing books and writing more books and more books, you’re just like, mastering your craft.

And I see like, what does it take to just start and actually get somewhere like a whole compilation of like mastery from it, right?

So yeah, I think that’s what you’re just referring to the dance, building up that mastery, is that worth it to have that full mastery, that whole journey?

Versus like, starting here, you didn’t start like me. And I’m just scared of like, moving on forward to create that and that I can see something that’s so valuable to learn.

David: And that “is it worth it” question has certainly come up a couple times. And I can honestly say that I kind of have my blinders on to that. I committed to it. It was the only promise that mattered to me, I committed to producing these books and releasing them on a timeline. And I’m following through on that.

But as you say, within that practice is an opportunity or an allowance for mastering the craft and gaining a better understanding with what resonates with humanity.

If my work is based on resonance, then I’ve only produced a handful of things that have ever resonated with humanity.

I don’t know if that’s the only thing though. For me, it feels like something needs to fall into place. And when that thing falls into place, everything will work.

But I don’t know, maybe I’m waiting and there’s no waiting in parallel universes.

Jody: So yeah, you’re being right. So being in action, or, you know, even peace is action. Whatever peace creates for you. And that energy is exactly what was meant to be.

Suzanna: I’m just giving you an example, like, Tai Lopez, and I’m pretty sure you know, Tai Lopez, right? You have his video with his cars and stuff like that. Look at him now. Look where he is. He’s now like promoting other stuff for people with social media and getting on the board.

But he’s like successful, because he tried something and he just kept on going and going and going and like, boom.

David: Something could certainly be said that about the methods he used to achieve the success, but I’ll leave that for another time. Because honestly, I think that could definitely be a can of worms.

But just looking at what he’s been able to do to this point. Yeah, it’s spectacular. It is outstanding. It is something we see on social media and go “how the heck?”

And right now, it’s Alex Hormozi, right? Like he’s the new school that’s setting things on fire on social.

Suzanna: So practice attracts people, right? And people and contacts and… Never know where that journey is going to go.

David: But one thing I think what you said there, Frederick talks about this in his book, that if most people simply stopped, closed their eyes and breathed, most things that they think are problems would go away.

And so like, that’s almost a practice of putting your attention on nothing specifically. Doesn’t mean nothing, but nothing specifically.

Suzanna: But reminds me of something was like, if you like something or you love someone, and it comes back, it was meant to be. It’s similar to what you’re creating.

David: It’s logical in the sense that if you’re giving something that someone craves, and then you withdraw it, they’re going to come chasing you because they still want more of it. That’s human nature. And not to put too much of a manipulative spin on it. That’s not my intention. But logically, it makes sense.

Well, anything else for anyone?

Jody: No, I’m good. Thanks, David.

David: Yeah. Thank you for participating. And do let me know if there’s anything I’d like to look at next week.

Jody: No, the topics have been great. So keep it up.

Suzanna: Thanks for the conversation.

David: Thank you.