The Arena of Life

Why does your heart aches? Why do you feel like your body is so heavy you can’t move? Why do you feel your soul being crushed and your life crumbling?

“Why, I’m in love.”

And the thought of her (or him) not corresponding that feeling is as heavy as concrete, isn’t it?

“Yes, yes it is, indeed!”

I’m willing to bet that you have felt like this, if not one, far too many times. I have. And you know what, this is a beautiful thing. It may not seem like it, but it is. But what do most of us do? What do we think like when we feel like this?

“I just want the pain to go away.”

“I never want to feel this way again.”

“I’m not going to open up again.”

“I’m sick of this.”

Ah, the silliness. Pain is a beautiful thing; it’s the proof that you are alive. Don’t you get tired when you are running? Why’s that? Because you are running! Do you throw your running shoes to the garbage because “running tires me. I hate it.”? OK, maybe you do, but that’s not the point.

The point is living.

“But it hurts so much!”

I know.

“My life is falling apart! How can I live without her/him?!”

You’ve hit the nail. This is the core of the question. You CAN live without them. Then, why do you feel like that? Simple: because you lack trust. You lack trust in yourself.

From the moment your heart starts longing for someone, and you start to build your hopes, your visions of the future, your dreams around that person, you’re trusting them in a perverted way. You are trusting with something that is far more important than your feelings. Your identity, your own sense of self. You are trusting them to be the fuel that makes you live your life.

Isn’t that foolish? How irresponsible of you to lay your ambitions and hopes on the shoulders of someone else…

Love. Keep on loving. Keep on growing and on learning and on living. Keep on. But…

TRUST YOURSELF.

You are in charge of your life. Accept the responsability and stop being weak. Stop handing your existence to someone who has his/her own to handle. Love, but trust your life to yourself.

Of course, the pain won’t go away. But it’ll become just that. A bittersweet pain. A memory, an imprint of another step in the path you have chosen to walk.

Are you trying to say I can’t trust anyone else?

NO! I’m saying that you should be aware that you are responsible for your life. Falling apart when someone doesn’t have the same feelings as you do is having a lack of trust on oneself and on your abilities.

By all means, trust people! Use your own judgement and trust them with your love, with your feelings, witht your words and acts. And, by the same token, trust their love, feelings, words and acts! Just don’t trust them with a responsability that is only yours. That’s not trust. That’s imaturaty.

Why do you workout?

Because it makes you feel happy, because you thrive in the endorphin rush? Perhaps it is because it makes you look good. Or, maybe, it has social benefits for you.

That’s all good.

But I’m not here to talk about the usual, down-to-earth, benefits of exercise. No, not today.

Quoting Fight Club:

Tyler Durden: Never been in a fight. You?

Narrator: No, but that’s a good thing.

Tyler Durden: No, it is not. How much can you know about yourself, if you’ve never been in a fight? I don’t wanna die without any scars. So come on; hit me before I lose my nerve.

No, I’m not saying for you to go get in a fight. I’m saying that working out is your own personal fight.

Every time your legs are feeling as heavy as concrete, every time your arms feel like they have been sedated, every time your lunges seem about to explode… You ARE fighting.

It is pretty easy to tell yourself you are strong, to fool others into believing you are strong. But when you are pushing your body to the limit, there is no lying. Your body doesn’t give a damn about your ego, about the perception you have of yourself. Your body simply is; the naked truth about your core strength.

This is what exercising is: a metaphor of life. The way you exist when you’re running, when you’re lifting weights, training… is nothing more than the crystal clear reflection of the way you intend to live your life. A clear-cut metaphor, bonding your daily existence with the effort you put in training.

Can you keep going, in spite of the pain?

Can you tell your mind to shut up, and keep on going?

Can you refuse to simply give up?

Can you be a winner?

You don’t need any fancy gadgets or luxurious spiritual retreats. You don’t need lustful words that trick you into fading away like an Autumn leaf. You just need body and heart. That’s it. Forge character and strenght. Carve your life and chisel away the weakness.

Shatter the limits. When your body gives up, make your mind continue the job. When your mind gives up, make the body follow through – the mind will follow.

What you put in, is what you’ll get out. Learn it with the effort of training, and let it spread to your life.

Refuse to exist. Step up and live.

There’s no denying that The Blueprint Decoded, the latest product from RSD (Real Social Dynamics) has made an impact, not only in the pick-up scene, but in self-development as a whole.

In online forums, it’s easy to see people recommending The Blueprint Decoded left and right, and raving about its excellence. Still, most people don’t really get it.

What the hell is this Blueprint thing and how does it work?

The Blueprint is, in a nutshell, a program designed to help you understand yourself and the environment you are put in. It is NOT a program about techniques, or about how-to-do’s. As Tyler Durden puts it, the Blueprint is not an “ego-based” program, meaning that you won’t find accessories for your ego (techniques, routines and stories). It’s about putting yourself on the line, i.e. living with honesty and integrity with oneself.

Be prepared. The Blueprint has A LOT of information – it is, after all, a 20 DVD set. For about 20 hours, you will be listening to a loose and upbeat Tyler that never gets boring and, more important, delivers his material with ease and efficiency, always providing examples and funny insights. But worry not; as vast and complex as it may seem, the view offered of social dynamics (and of your own inner workings) is surprisingly simple.

I don’t think a unique viewing of the program will suffice to understand all the concepts and principles implied, though. I have just viewed it once and, even after benefiting so much from it, I feel there’s so much more I can take out of it.

So what can you expect from the Blueprint?

It depends at the level you are at. Are you a guy that still beats himself over because you never kissed a girl? Are you someone that has hordes of women trying to knock down your door? Different people with different experience will take different things out of it. But, in the end, it doesn’t really matter. The Blueprint is good for YOU, independently of the place you are at. Everyone can and will learn and benefit from it.

Also, I want you to understand that the Blueprint is not something that’s only good for pick-up artists. That’s wrong, very wrong. Everyone, and I really mean everyone, should put their hands on this program and learn from it, as it will definitely help you understand key concepts for a successful relationship with yourself, others and the world.

So, what will you learn from it?

• What is social conditioning and how can you break free.
• Why drawing validation from outer aspects of your life (wealth, material goods, relationships) is more harmful than beneficial and how to feel inner fulfillment.
• How to eliminate inner chatter.
• How to be genuine and congruent with your core values.
• How to get the relationships you want without sacrificing your own sense of self (but actually enhance it).

My Personal Experience

As I said, I have only watched the Blueprint once, but intend on watching it more times. For me, the Blueprint was the catalyst of some great changes and experiences.

I started making my own fun my priority, i.e. enjoying myself first and foremost, instead of worrying about entertaining people. It’s called self-amusement, and it immediately puts you in a position of power, a position where you can give value to others. It draws other people to you like you were a people-magnet.

Also, I stopped being so afraid of taking control of my relationships. Instead of letting myself being carried away to other people’s realities I started, for a change, to pull people into my own vision of the world. Grow a backbone; you may say it as so. Dress the way I want to dress, act the way I want to act, tell the stupid jokes I want to tell. Truly be myself and succeed.

And, as far as I went, my most important breakthrough: the elimination of inner chatter. After the Blueprint, I was amazed at the capacity I had of taking conscience of destructive inner chatter, and how to stop it all together and just be.

I remember a party I went some time ago, I was halfway through the Blueprint. After sitting around for awhile, I feel like a puzzle inside of my head has just come together and I can see the whole picture. I stop thinking and analyzing the situation, the place, the people and just went my own way. Had fantastic fun with friends, met new people and shared some good moments of intimacy (mind your own business, folks!) with a girl I never thought I could be with it. I was, pretty much, awe-struck at what I was doing. And I’m nowhere near a successful guy; I’m just trying to learn how to move forwards in life. If I could do it, anyone can.

Afterthoughts

Please, don’t be dumb. You won’t become a super-hero after listening to the Blueprint and you won’t have women knocking down your door just because you watched some DVD’s. There’s still a path to be walked. Hell, I just suffered a major letdown yesterday; I know you can’t achieve a deep-identity change overnight. But, I guarantee you, after the Blueprint, walking the path you have to walk was never made so easy. With it, you have the necessary understanding of what it takes to be happy, fulfilled and succeed in life and relationships.

Go get it.

Listen to it. Truly listen to it.

“Welcome To Wherever You Are” ~ Bon Jovi

Maybe we’re different, but we’re still the same
We all got the blood of Eden, running through our veins
I know sometimes it’s hard for you to see
You come between just who you are and who you wanna be

If you feel alone, and lost and need a friend
Remember every new beginning, is some beginning’s end

[Chorus]
Welcome to wherever you are
This is your life, you made it this far
Welcome, you gotta believe
That right here right now, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be
Welcome, to wherever you are

When everybody’s in, and you’re left out
And you feel your drowning, in a shadow of a doubt
Everyones a miracle in their own way
Just listen to yourself, not what other people say

When it seems you’re lost, alone and feeling down
Remember everybody’s different
Just take a look around

[Chorus]

Be who you want to, be who you are
Everyones a hero, everyones a star

When you wanna give up, and your hearts about to break
Remember that you’re perfect, God makes no mistakes

[Chorus]

Most people yearn for change, transformation; evolution… the word is irrelevant. In a nutshell: most people are not happy with themselves. And they want something more.

And this is not necessarily a bad thing. When you realize you are not happy with the way you’re handling your life, something amazing can happen: you decide to take control.

The problem is that most people 1) are not happy with their lives, 2) are afraid of change, 3) don’t believe they can change.

And this, ladies and gentleman, this is the most ludicrous bullshit you can have floating around in your mind.

Not happy with your life? CHANGE IT.

Afraid of the pain of change? We all are. LEARN TO LOVE IT.

Don’t believe you can change? You can… Because, EVEN WHEN YOU CAN’T, YOU CAN.

Drill this into your mind. When you believe deep down that you can’t change, use logic. You can change. When logic tells you why you can’t change, use emotion. You can change. And when logic and emotion tell you that you will fail… Just believe, despite the hard punches of the world, logic and emotion, that YOU can do it.

It’s your life, afterall.

If you have read “The Iliad”, by Homer, you understand that the concept of imortality was not understood in the same fashion most people do today. Immortality was dying an hero, having your deeds echoe through the world after you are gone. Life was not be lived as a shadow that fades away with the passing of Time; yet, that’s how most people live.

And I’ve had enough.

Life is not to be lived like that. Life is NOT a spectator sport. Life is NOT a rehearsal.

Life is an arena for heroism! Life is the sheer joy of keeping on fighting, keeping on moving forward…! That’s life for you…!

Brace yourselves; we’re going in!