Most of my adult life I’ve spent teaching seminars on how to create true and lasting success, and if you’re like the majority of the people I’ve worked with, you’ve had some success in your life. In fact, you’ve probably had some real successes and you might even be one of those super achievers who has grabbed that proverbial brass ring and really made it in the eyes of the world. But as powerful as you appear on the outside, for many, it’s not how you feel on the inside.
On the inside there’s still somehow an emptiness. You thought when you made the money or had the recognition or bought the beautiful home, that emptiness would somehow vanish. Yet when you had that big success or walked into that new home, it was like walking into one of those houses on a Hollywood movie set. The emptiness was still there on the other side.
The gift of this time on our planet is that we’re seeing the fragility of life and asking ourselves, “What’s really important?” We’re wanting to live a different kind of success and a new kind of power—the kind that comes from being aligned with your truth; from having your inner match your outer; from knowing what your real purpose is for being here and following the voice that urges you to do it.
And have you noticed that that voice just doesn’t seem to give up no matter how much you try to ignore it or tell yourself all the reasons why you can’t live your real purpose right now or hope it will just go away? But it doesn’t…
And there is another kind of power that is dying a slow death and that is “power over.” There have always been people who believed that “power over” was a legitimate way to create a happy and successful life. But it has never worked and will never work.
This old model of power coming from the belief that if you can control others and compel them to do what is in your best interest, all the while trying to make them believe that it is really in theirs, is increasingly unsustainable in our ever-more awakened world. It’s as if we’ve been recently bestowed with x-ray vision and we see how those who attempt to wield power through control are actually people who live in constant fear – fear of what’s on the other side of losing that control and fear that others can see through their futile attempts. Guess what? We can. Because even if these people appear to win, their deep unhappiness is glaringly obvious behind the façade.
We now live at a time where the only way to create true success, deep fulfillment, genuine happiness and real power is to go inside and tap into the greatest power we have as humans, the power of self-knowledge. The time has come to know thyself. And once you do, you will then be able to live with self-respect, self-love, and a deep sense of your own value no matter how much you gain or lose in the outside world.
And when we live connected to this kind of power, the power that comes from doing your inner work, there is nothing we can’t have, be or do. There is nothing we can’t create and no heights to which we can’t soar. And when we have this type of power, we’ll feel no compulsion to have “power over.” Because along with that deep self-love comes an extra bonus—an unshakeable knowing that we don’t need to control anyone or anything and all will be well.
And once we begin to live with a profound connection to our power within, we’ll no longer be afraid to share power with others. We won’t feel threatened by their success, in fact we’ll rejoice in it, even if they appear to be more successful than we are. We’ll live lives filled with deep mutual respect, effortless influence and support from others, as well as from the Creator, the God of your own understanding.
This new kind of power also gives us the confidence to move forward with our biggest dreams and the courage to allow ourselves to love and be loved. It gives us the foundation to face our fears because when we live with a strong foundation of inner power, we realize that once we put forth our best effort and act for the highest good of all, we can let go and know that whatever the outcome is, it’s perfect. As it says in the Vedic scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, “Be not attached to the fruits of your actions but to action alone.”
When we live this new kind of power, when the Universe puts a challenge in our path no matter how great, we know somewhere inside of it, there is a gift and the challenge is there so that we can draw upon our inner resources and become the best versions of ourselves we can possibly be.
When we live this new kind of power, we live aligned with our own highest truth, and have mastery over the one person who matters—and that is, of course, our self.
For over four decades, Debra Poneman, bestselling author and founder of Yes to Success Seminars, has shared her system, used by hundreds of thousands around the world to live lives of not only success and abundance, but true happiness and profound self-love. Debra’s clients have used her formula to become mega-successful entrepreneurs, renowned transformational leaders, NY Times bestselling authors, impactful world-changers, millionaires, billionaires—even household names. Yet Debra feels her greatest accomplishment is not just that she has helped so many live their dreams but has helped them know how glorious they really are and how they can most powerfully contribute to a world that works for everyone.
Visit www.yestosuccess.com to learn more about Debra.