I’m starting to think there’s only one thing worth worrying about.
What do you think? Is there a master key that unlocks all the secrets of success?
There is.
Energy.
And I’m not talking like some Gaia-level cosmic energy or anything like that. I’m not asking you to sit with me in a tee-pee on this one.
I’m talking about your personal energy. Your life force. Your vitality.
Your juju.
I’ve written a lot about success. We all have this sense that the sauce has a secret formula.
And when we imagine that formula, it’s splays across the chalk-board like one of Einstein’s equations.
It’s like some complex cocktail: 2 parts grit, 3 parts passion, 1 part talent, 8 parts confidence.
But more and more I’m starting to think that maybe there’s only one metric worth worrying about – energy.
I’m starting to think that if you get your personal energy right, everything else might just take care of itself.
Think about your emotions. We think about emotions being given to us. The world deals us with a particular hand, and our emotions react accordingly.
But this isn’t exactly how they work. Rather, it seems that our emotions reflect our levels of energy.
Like, what happens when you have a coffee? You’re energy spikes and you feel great. Suddenly you’re having heaps of fun checking your emails and doing your tax.
Wheeeee.
And then the coffee wears off, and it all becomes a chore again.
When we have more energy we simply feel better. We have a brighter mood.
So there’s no way to manage our emotions. Only ways to manage our energy. And a lot of legal drugs – coffee, energy drinks, etc – are really just tools to hack your energy systems.
Similarly, think about some of the most popular ‘keys’ to success. Like grit for example. Well, grit is just having the energy to keep yourself applied to the task, no matter how tough the task gets.
Or goals. Goals are a way to keep yourself motivated, and motivation is an energy.
Or passion. Passion is just another word for having lots of energy – feeling so energised about something that you’d suffer anything for it.
So maybe energy is the only thing that matters.
Even if it’s not the be all and end all, it is definitely the first thing that matters. If you’ve got no energy, you can’t apply any of the tools of success. You can’t do some goal setting, you can’t learn new skills.
I mean, have you seen what happens when goth and emo kids do vision boards? It’s all crows and graveyards and 19th century dolls and stuff.
No wonder they don’t get anything done.
Now if all that’s true, then really, cultivating personal energy has to be the foundational practice in any success regime.
Think about Tony Robbins. He wakes up every morning, jumps in an ice cold plunge pool, and practices breath-work for 15 minutes. And that guy is pushing 60 and still looks like he could flip cars with his bare hands.
I’ve always instinctively worked on my energy levels. Life is just better when you feel great and look fantastic in a pant-suit. But now I’m coming to see how central it is to everything I do.
So what I would say is that if things aren’t flowing for you right now, the first step has to be checking in with your energy levels. Do whatever it takes to get your energy flowing again – walk, dance, swim, mainline some coffee, whatever.
Energy is the master key to everything you’ve been looking for.
DB