Will Bowen Audio

Sometimes the hardest part in any creative process is knowing when you’re complete...finished...done...concluded…

 

(LOL - you get the point).

 

Mike Gnagi, a regular attendee for these JumpStarts LIVE, painted the image you see in this thumbnail and I think it’s really quite beautiful.

 

More than that, there’s a great story behind the paintings creation which Mike has given me permission to share and which has a lot to say about why the creative process is challenging and unending.

 

Whether you consider yourself a creative person or not, this JumpStart will have a profound impact on how you view your life and your world.

 

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1-to-1 Life Coaching: www.ComplaintFreeCoaching.comMembers-Only, exclusive access to Will: www.ComplaintFreeLife.com Website: www.WillBowen.com Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WillBowen YouTube Channel: www.WillBowenVideo.com Podcast: www.WillBowenPodcast.com

About ten years ago, I realized how often both I and others were using the word “hate.”

“Hate” is a strong word and yet we were tossing it about casually saying we hated everything from the weather to ourselves.

The word “hate” means “to dislike to the point of taking action against.”

So, if you hate something enough to take action then that’s good.

But, if you’re just whining as an excuse for actually doing nothing then you're just part of the problem.

Entrepreneur, orator, activist, and advisor to several presidents Booker T. Washington famously said, "I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him?" 

In this JumpStart, learn why the Buddha said that hate is like holding onto a hot coal; it only burns you.

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Would it be ok if I talked really personal for a sec?

I LOVE what I get to do for a living (creating life-changing content both for free and for-a-fee and sharing it with you.)

I also LOVE the community of positive and like-minded individuals who gather daily to watch and/or listen to these JumpStarts either every day.

Thanks to all of you all around the globe who join with me in making life happier and the world brighter for ourselves and others.

For the last 4 months I’ve been doing the JumpStarts LIVE as a daily lifeline of hope and inspiration during the Covid 19 pandemic.

*** Now, I need a break -- so I’m taking a week off, BUT I’m recording new, fresh JumpStarts that will launch every day at 8:30 weekdays while I’m gone ***

As my parting shot before I enjoy some recreation, let’s break down the word “re - create” and how we can renew ourselves by taking time off.

 

*** Resources ***

1-to-1 Life Coaching: www.ComplaintFreeCoaching.com

Members-Only, exclusive access to Will: www.ComplaintFreeLife.com

Website: www.WillBowen.com

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WillBowen

YouTube Channel: www.WillBowenVideo.com

Podcast: www.WillBowenPodcast.com

As you look at this final painting in the Voyage of Life series by Thomas Cole, note that the voyager’s face is peaceful and serene while his gaze is upward toward his continuation to the next journey.

 

Having seen one of the two sets of original paintings of this series by Thomas Cole I can tell that there is something missing in EVERY version of this image on the internet (including the thumbnail you’re seeing now) and, sadly, it’s really the point of this painting.

 

In today’s JumpStart, I tell what’s missing and why it’s essential.

 

Hint: read “The Little Prince.”

 

 

*** Resources ***

 

1-to-1 Life Coaching: www.ComplaintFreeCoaching.com

 

Members-Only, exclusive access to Will: www.ComplaintFreeLife.com

 

Website: www.WillBowen.com

 

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WillBowen

 

YouTube Channel: www.WillBowenVideo.com

 

Podcast: www.WillBowenPodcast.com

Of the four images in this series by Thomas Cole, my favorite is the third: Manhood.

 

Possibly, it’s because this is the stage in which I now find myself so it’s the one I relate to.

 

More likely it’s because this is the one painting in the series where all the action takes place and yet -- the drama is not fully necessary.

 

Although the man in the boat is praying for deliverance from the turbulent waters, he is doing the one thing a person should never do in a small boat regardless of the conditions -- STAND UP.

 

He prays to God but if he would sit and trust, the waters will become still again.

 

Let’s discuss how we need to “put away the things of a child” when we become an adult.

 

 

*** Resources ***

 

1-to-1 Life Coaching: www.ComplaintFreeCoaching.com

 

Members-Only, exclusive access to Will: www.ComplaintFreeLife.com

 

Website: www.WillBowen.com

 

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WillBowen

 

YouTube Channel: www.WillBowenVideo.com

 

Podcast: www.WillBowenPodcast.com

When I was 12, I knew how I wanted my life to turn out and I could see it so clearly just as this youth can see his dreams in the second Voyage of Life painting by Thomas Cole.

 

When I was 13 I planned to replace Peter Chris and play the drums for KISS, I was going to marry a Farrah Fawcett (LOL), have several adoring kids, and travel the world with my loving family playing rock-and-roll to sold-out arenas.

 

This vision hung before me like a vaporous apparition pulling me forward.

 

You had grand (and perhaps silly) dreams when you were a youngster -- where are they now?

 

As you can guess, none of my dreams worked out exactly but they served to clarify my goals as an adult.

 

The challenge is -- most adults have given up on compelling goals and only dream of getting safely through to retirement.

 

Your dreams aren’t dead, they are asleep waiting for you to revive them and it’s never too late.

 

Let’s get started now.

 

*** Resources ***

 

1-to-1 Life Coaching: www.ComplaintFreeCoaching.com

 

Members-Only, exclusive access to Will: www.ComplaintFreeLife.com

 

Website: www.WillBowen.com

 

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WillBowen

 

YouTube Channel: www.WillBowenVideo.com

 

Podcast: www.WillBowenPodcast.com

Back in 2003, my class in ministerial school took a trip to Washington, DC and while we were there me and a few friends visited the National Gallery of Art.

 

One of my friends had once volunteered at the National as a docent so he knew which pieces to show us during our rushed tour.

 

One series of paintings, The Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole struck such a chord in me that I bought replicas for my home.

 

Over the next several JumpStarts, we’ll be using these paintings as a framework for our own evolution, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

 

We begin with the first painting Childhood, which introduces the key components found in each: the voyager, the guardian angel, the river, and the landscape whose seasons change in each painting denoting the seasons of a person’s life.

 

When you are a child, life stretches out before you like an eternity awaiting your exploration.  

 

You are (supposed to be) safe, protected and provided for and your childlike perspective is precious and vital to your growth.

 

Today, let’s explore reawakening the newness of your childhood.

 

 

*** Resources ***

 

1-to-1 Life Coaching: www.ComplaintFreeCoaching.com

 

Members-Only, exclusive access to Will: www.ComplaintFreeLife.com

 

Website: www.WillBowen.com

 

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WillBowen

 

YouTube Channel: www.WillBowenVideo.com

 

Podcast: www.WillBowenPodcast.com

Congressman John Lewis took his fight for civil rights to the other side when he died July 27, 2020 at the age of 80.

 

Along with Dr. King, Lewis stood for equal rights in our country and was almost killed in the process in Selma, AL.

 

In Lewis’s memory, let’s consider the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley and how it’s words can inspire us all:

 

Out of the night that covers me,

      Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

      For my unconquerable soul.

 

In the fell clutch of circumstance

      I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

      My head is bloody, but unbowed.

 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

      Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

      Finds and shall find me unafraid.

 

It matters not how strait the gate,

      How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

      I am the captain of my soul.

 

 

“I am the captain of my soul” never forget that,  for truer words were never spoken.

Today if two men wanted to duel to resolve an argument, most people would be scandalized.

 

However during Hamilton’s time, dueling was a sophisticated way of guarding one’s honor and was a common practice.

 

The Broadway smash musical Hamilton contains a fascinating song with the 10 rules and protocols for dueling.

 

The interesting thing about dueling is that the very thing that gave rise to its prevalence (defending one’s honor) ultimately became the death (pardon the pun) of dueling.

 

However, we still carry around the same grudges that caused people to shoot one another and it’s those grudges that should die -- not people.

 

Today, let’s unpack how a fear of being ostracized from the herd causes people to obsess about their reputation and honor (with the right people -- that is).

 

 

*** Resources ***

 

1-to-1 Life Coaching: www.ComplaintFreeCoaching.com

 

Members-Only, exclusive access to Will: www.ComplaintFreeLife.com

 

Website: www.WillBowen.com

 

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WillBowen

 

YouTube Channel: www.WillBowenVideo.com

 

Podcast: www.WillBowenPodcast.com

According to Wikipedia, “The Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.”

 

And according to the lyrics from Hamilton, “The plan was to write a total of twenty-five essays, the work divided evenly among the three men. In the end, they wrote eighty-five essays, in the span of six months. John Jay got sick after writing five. James Madison wrote twenty-nine. Hamilton wrote the other fifty-one!”

 

While most people avoided responsibility, Hamilton made it his personal mission to see that the U.S. constitution was ratified.

 

The phrase, “If it is to be then it is up to me” has been in print in the United States for over 60 years and no one is quite sure of the originator of the quote.

 

However, “If it is to be then it is up to me”  was certainly embodied by Alexander Hamilton and we are in need today of individuals who take responsibility for changing the world.

 

Victims give up; whereas, victors like Hamilton endure.

 

Which are you a victim or a victor?

 

If you want your world different it’s up to you.

 

Let me leave you with one last quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”  -Margaret Mead.

 

 

*** Resources ***

 

1-to-1 Life Coaching: www.ComplaintFreeCoaching.com

 

Members-Only, exclusive access to Will: www.ComplaintFreeLife.com

 

Website: www.WillBowen.com

 

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WillBowen

 

YouTube Channel: www.WillBowenVideo.com

 

Podcast: www.WillBowenPodcast.com