All races, ethnicities, and nationalities are welcome here.
All gender identities are welcome here.
All sexual orientations are welcome here.
All languages are welcome here.
All occupations are welcome here.
All religions and spiritual beliefs are welcome here.
All pasts, presents, and futures are welcome here.
All mistakes, failures, and successes are welcome here.
All emotions are welcome here.
All thoughts are welcome here.
All perspectives are welcome here.
You are welcome here.
Have You Ever Asked Yourself…
What if we removed every invisible border surrounding our 200+ nations?
What country would we be a part of? What would our nationality be?
How would we identify ourselves?
Well, simply put…
We would be global citizens living in one nation – on one planet.
We may have different cultures. We may speak different languages. We may think differently and make different decisions.
However, the most important problems we deal with in life are not so different. Our deepest desires, which stem from our purest selves, are not so different.
Inclusion is a core value of this blog because we are all one species, living on one planet, at one time, doing our best to live our lives.
Instead of judging our differences and trying to get everyone to be like us, I believe we are all better off when we accept and celebrate our differences, appreciate our similarities, and learn from one another.
I intend for the energy of this blog to be welcoming. I intend to write so that everyone feels included in the conversation.
I may not always succeed at this, but I will try.1
Value #2 – Vulnerability
I first learned about vulnerability from Mark Manson.2 It essentially means to open yourself up.
The power in vulnerability comes when you open yourself up to the world, where it can criticize you or try to hurt you if it chooses to.
Yet, you open yourself up anyway.
You open yourself up despite the possibility of judgment because it’s an essential part of creating a deeper connection. In that deeper connection is the understanding we seek from others. To understand and to be understood.
“I know you, and you know me.”
The deeper “me.”
For true and lasting change to occur, we must go deeper.
Imagine me sharing “10 Ways to Live With Courage” or “22 Mindsets to Overcome Your Challenges” without sharing the pain I’ve endured, the challenges that could’ve broken me, or the anxieties and insecurities that tried to cripple me. It would be a disservice to the world and myself.
My intention is that, by sharing what I have within and opening myself up, you may feel more permission to go within yourself.
As I share the deeper aspects of myself, you will get to know me better.
And, perhaps, you will get to know yourself better, as well.
Value #3 – Open-Mindedness
In The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murphy said, “Be sure that your mind never retires. It must be like a parachute, which is no good unless it opens up.”3
The mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it isn’t open. (Tweet this)
Keep your parachute (and your mind) open
Open-mindedness is crucial for us to continue to grow.
As soon as we close our minds to new ideas, we shut off the flow of mental, emotional, and spiritual evolution.
A flower continues to grow until it reaches its fullest expression. As long as it is fed the sunlight, water, and nutrients it needs, it will continue to thrive.
However, if we cut off the nutrients, the flower starts to wither.
And if we cut off those nutrients for long enough, it will wither away.
We can nourish our lives in many ways, but the soul is the source of our vitality.
An open mind allows fresh ideas and perspectives to revitalize our souls. It helps keep us young at heart, energized, and vibrant.
Equally important, an open mind encourages us not to get stuck in our ways and resistant to the change that is inevitable.
This is a reminder to myself, as well, to keep my mind open as I write. Not to get too stuck in my beliefs, opinions, or ways of thinking.
A balanced heart could be the most powerful force for creating harmony in our lives and in the world.(Tweet this)
To be heart-centered means to express ourselves from this energy center. To speak from the heart. To write from the heart. To live from the heart.
The energy of the heart is deep and complex. But if we simplify it…
It’s love.
In that love there is joy, peace, acceptance, inspiration, intuition, abundance, guidance, and much more.
Heart-centeredness is a value here because I believe it’s one of the best ways we can manifest more harmony in the world. The magic of life truly reveals itself when we learn about our hearts and express ourselves more through them.
I know that my best life is a heart-centered life. Many of my desires are related to this aspect of me.
My intention is to write and speak from this place, and let it flow.
Value #5 – Continuous Learning & Personal Growth
This value is connected to Value #3 – Open-Mindedness.
I’ve spent the last ten years on a personal growth journey. In fact, this journey has no end. I will continue to learn and grow throughout my life.
Aren’t we always learning and growing in some way? I’d say yes, mostly.
The difference is doing it consciously and purposefully. It’s the intention behind it.
Continuous learning and personal growth means always being open to what you can learn from each situation in life.
What can I learn from this experience? How is this experience helping me evolve?
A challenge is not just a challenge. It’s an opportunity to tap into your deeper talents and abilities. A book is not just a book. It’s something that can have a profound impact on how you see the world and how you navigate life.
A conversation can expand your awareness beyond what you previously thought was possible, and life itself is full of lessons that feed the soul and can be shared with others.
Personally, I love living life this way. The whole experience becomes a grand adventure, a hero’s journey, with twists and turns that can surprise and delight us.
It’s about expressing ourselves freely without being held back by fear of criticism or judgment.
This is what is meant by “Just be yourself.”
Being yourself means expressing yourself freely.
It is the version of you that would express itself fully if it wasn’t caged in by insecurities, doubts, and fears.
I believe that this is the “you” the world was meant to fall in love with.
Maybe this “you” is silly and playful, even though you usually put on a stern front. Maybe this “you” is artistic and creative, even though you’re more strategic and logical in your daily life. Maybe this “you” loves poetry, but you’ve never shared it with anyone.
When we express ourselves freely, we free ourselves.
We free the deeper parts of us to express themselves – the parts closely connected to the soul and to the spirit.
Value #7 – Embrace All Aspects of Life
No need to sugarcoat it. Life can be hard.
I’ve been through the wringer. I’ve cried. I’ve wished things were different. I’ve wished I had made different decisions.
But I’ve also embraced my falls, and in doing so, they are catalysts I can use to reach the highest heights of my life (and help others do the same).
Embracing all aspects of life is practical. It’s a navigational tool that promotes resiliency and inner strength.
Embracing the good times is easy. It’s the challenges that need conscious effort.
When you can smile in the face of your challenges, you’re in a more empowered place to overcome them.
And when you really embrace your challenges, you can take advantage of them. They can become stepping stones to bigger and better things.
Listen to any success story, and you will hear how the person used the most difficult experience in their life as a catalyst to get where they are now.
It’s just a perspective.
But an incredibly powerful one.
Value #8 – Love and All Of Its Derivatives
The more I learn about love, the more I recognize how amazing this energy is.
Love can inspire a mother to lift a car off her child. Love can cause an entrepreneur to spend years struggling to get their business going, but continue because it means so much to them.
Love is also the energy that recognizes the divinity in all of us – that we are capable of unconditional appreciation of all beings and all life.
The energetic source of each of us, where we all come from, is love. It is the pure, unconditional love that flows when we connect with our essence.
By love and “all of its derivatives,” I mean the other energies, feelings, and emotions related to love and to the heart.
These include:
Joy
Gratitude
Thankfulness
Appreciation
Peace
Serenity
Tranquility
Contentment
Pride
Acceptance
Hope
Faith
Inspiration
Passion
Excitement
Enthusiasm
Abundance
Affection
Adoration
Admiration
Empathy
Compassion
Confidence
Courage
Respect
Optimism
I call these the Blessings of Life. These energies are not only some of the most wonderful to experience, but they also help us manifest some of the things in life we desire most.
Value #9 – The Highest Good for All
My intention behind everything is for the highest good for all.
What does this mean?
It can get a bit tricky if I get too philosophical and overthink it. But, basically, it means having everyone’s best interests at heart.
It’s not something I’m 100% perfect at, but that’s the purpose of the intention.
An intention sets the wheels in motion so that it’s a part of our energy as we navigate life and create. As I continue to set and reset that intention, it becomes a bigger and bigger part of my energy. Then it manifests more naturally as time goes on.
With my intention continuing to be for the highest good for all people, places, and beings, it will manifest more and more.
Value #10 – Courage
Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting despite it.
(Bravery is the absence of fear.)
Courage is a value here because courage is necessary to step out of our comfort zones and expand our lives. Courage is also essential to not be shackled by our fears, worries, doubts, anxieties, or insecurities.
If we were only to act when we didn’t feel any fear (or the other emotions related to it), our lives would probably be much smaller.
However, if we are capable of acting despite our fears, our lives can grow infinitely.
Courage is a subconscious skill and a habit that can be developed if it is not present in us already. I have spent many years consciously developing my courage.
My ability to act despite my fears has allowed me to do some pretty cool things:
Write my thoughts, feelings, and perspectives on this blog
Record videos and publish them on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok (it took months for me to really feel confident on camera)
Heal my own body for almost three years
All of these have required me to act despite my fears, worries, anxieties, and insecurities. If I had let my fears stop me, none of them would have happened.
That’s a sad thought.
So I’m super proud of myself for the courage I’ve had to do (and continue to do) these things. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s one of the main reasons why I continue to expand as a person.
Courage really is a skill and a habit. The more I’ve acted courageously over the years, the easier it has become.
These days, it’s almost second nature for me to act despite my fears.
Anais Nin said, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
This has been true for me.
And if I want my life to continue to expand, I must continue to be courageous.
Value #11 – Empowerment for All
The desire to keep others lower than us results from an imbalance in the power center of the body.
The desire to empower others results from balance in the power center and the heart center.
This blog is very much about empowerment for all people.
Empowerment is the difference between having opportunity and the tools to take advantage of it, or not.
Empowerment is the difference between facing a challenge and knowing how to tackle it, or not.
Empowerment is the difference between having one option to heal yourself, or having many.
Empowerment is the difference between understanding and tapping into your inner power, or not.
Empowerment is the difference between knowing how to manage your emotions, or being enslaved by them.
Empowerment is the key to fulfilling many of our desires, and it’s one of the deepest journeys this blog will take.
What is our true power? What are we really capable of?
How can we empower ourselves to live our best lives?
It is a part of my mission to answer these questions in my own life and share what I learn on this blog.
Now…I Invite You
If any of this resonates with you, I invite you to come along for the ride.
I don’t know how long the ride will last or exactly where it will go, but with these values set forth, I’m sure it will be filled with adventure and discovery.
If you would like to come along for the ride, the best way is to join my newsletter. It’s free, and it takes less than 15 seconds.
The newsletter is where I’ll share all new articles as soon as they’re published. It’s also where I’ll share stuff I’m not sharing anywhere else on the internet.
This content will be exclusivefor subscribers only, so don’t miss out.
This blog is many years in the making. I first had the inspiration in college almost ten years ago. Everything in my life has been building up to this.
And I’m so excited to share it with all of you.
Thank you for reading. I do appreciate it.
And I’ll see you in the next one.
What do you think of these values? Do you resonate with them? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.
Footnotes
For example, my sex book is gender and sexual orientation neutral so that everyone can feel included in the conversation.
Michael Karp is a personal development blogger and self-published author. He started his personal development journey in 2011 as a sophomore in college.
Since then, he has self-published several books, started an online business and became a digital nomad, achieved his dream of moving to Thailand and traveling around Southeast Asia, built a following of 18,000 people on Instagram sharing personal development advice, became a life coach, found his life purpose, and healed his body with the power of his mind.
With a deep passion for serving others, Michael continues his hero's journey on a mission to help people around the world to empower themselves, realize their true potential, and achieve their dreams.
