Compounding Wisdom
Implementing Your New Year’s Plan
Something to Live By
Something to Live By
I will govern my life, and my thought, as if the whole world were to see the one, and to read the other.
Seneca
I met up with a dear friend, Connie, in San Fran, and she gave me a gift, an old book she had found at the library, which was selling all of their books. She loved it so much that she thought I would love it as well, since she knew I loved old, undiscovered books that felt like lost treasures and filled the soul. They had a second copy for sale!
“Something to Live By” was published in 1945, and my edition is its 18th printing, from October 1963. As I opened up to read the intro and then the ending, it lit up my heart. Dorothy Kopplin had compiled the writings that touched her heart throughout her life, and it appears she had not much longer to live when she wrote this book for her son.
I told my friend it was like discovering Tolstoy’s last book, “A Calendar of Wisdom” also known as “The Path of Life”, which he deemed as his greatest contribution to humanity. He had summited the literary world with War and Peace, yet found no contentment even after he had accomplished his lifelong dreams. He spent the last ten years of his life compiling the wisdom of other wise people throughout history and adding his personal thoughts for each day of the year. Priceless.
As I read “Something to Live By”, it was a book I instantly recognized as Priceless. I read the first chapter, “What is Happiness,” and thought I must write about each chapter in my newsletter. It felt like Emily Dickinson’s sister discovering her collection of poetry after she died, or Mendelssohn reviving Bach 70 years after his death. I’ve used a few quotes from this chapter in this newsletter.
What does ‘something to live by‘ mean for you? And, what is happiness for you? What are the prevailing thoughts, principles, and frameworks in which you view life and your place in it?
I have asked myself these questions for decades and know some things for certain. The pivotal moments, experiences, and decisions that shaped who I am today.
Have you deeply pondered and asked yourself these essential questions, as the busyness of life buzzes all about you?
Your Health:
I’ve just started a Youtube channel to educate others about the first principles of health and our most common diseases.
How I Reversed My Plaque in 3 Months
Stop Eating These 3 Foods (Heart Attack Warning)
Subscribe, like and share with your friends and family. I believe that through this, we can save many lives and prevent a lot of suffering through health education.
Implementing Your New Year’s Plan
We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on the dial; we should count time by heart throbs. He most lives who THINKS most, FEELS the noblest, ACTS the best.
Phillip James Bailey, A Country Town
What 3 Values Do you Live by and Aspire to?
1.
2.
3.
Mine are:
1. Love 2. Honour 3. Glorify.
I truly try to practice and live these three values. I often fall short. If I had to add a 4th, it would be Humility. A 5th would be Gratitude. This would be akin to Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues and how he practiced them.
But as I distilled the practicalities of life, I have focused on 3 Main Pillars:
Health
Wealth
Meaning
And its 4 dimensions of: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Spiritual
Some of you wanted to see my New Year’s plan. I hesitate not because I don’t have one, but because the moment I show you my plan, I take on more accountability. It reveals my deep inner heart, although still on the surface. They show what I aspire to, want, fear, what I am fighting for and what I’ve decided is “This is going to me!”
But let me first explain why your plan really matters and why most plans fail.
Why Most Plans Fail
Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the ocean desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny.
Carl Schurz
Your brain’s first priority is to keep you safe, to make you survive today and tomorrow and as long as possible. It isn’t engineered to make you noble. It’s designed to first make you efficient.
Survival instincts to feed hunger, thirst, sleep, arousal, mood, deep in the centre of our brains lies the command centre, the hypothalamus, relentlessly keeping you alive and seeking comfort.
This instinct for efficiency is what sabotages New Year’s resolutions.
A new year, a new start: your higher self, your prefrontal cortex, wants meaning, love, and growth in your soul and spirit, sacrificing any hardships and short-term gratification for long-term, meaningful outcomes. This higher self is not rational. It is profoundly emotional and spiritual.
But your basic self wants you not to suffer, to go through seemingly unnecessary risk and just be comfortable, make it easy, shortcut or hack your way to results and outcomes and to maintain your status quo. Why risk anything?
But to stay the same in an ever-changing world and an ever-changing you is riskier than venturing, growing, and fulfilling the deep-seated ideals of your heart.
So the goal of New Year’s plan is not motivation, but a rewiring from effortful intention to a sense of your true identity.
It is to strive for the process of becoming and not merely the result. This takes ‘work on yourself’ from the inside first. Mindset. Spiritset. And Physicalset.
The hardest is to go from 0 to 1. Whether it be in business, health, wealth, or meaning. Going from 1 to 2 is next. Then 2 to multiplying is much easier. Most of the world is used to this third stage, where systems are already built and determined. Very few as they get into their 30s, 40s and beyond, like going from 0 to 1. When you were younger, going from 0 to 1 was natural. But it got educated out of you as ‘risk’. You learned to walk. Run. Ride a bike, Learn languages. Study new topics. Read many books. Write. Create. How often do you learn a new thing? Set an impossible goal. We called that Daydreaming. How often do you daydream? How often do you try to make that daydream into reality? Compared to when you were much younger?
I am a perpetual daydreamer. But I am now 55 and realize I need to prioritize my dreams for the most meaning. My health and wealth are just ways to fulfill meaning.
Your Meaning: Your Destination
Your Health: Your Vehicle
Your Wealth/Gifts: Your Engine
How to Go from 0 to 1: The Lead Domino
The thought that leads to no action is not thought- it is dreaming.
Eliza Lamb Martyn
Have you ever seen hundreds of dominoes being knocked down, one after another, in spectacular fashion? Well, what if you lined up your New Year’s plan like a system of dominoes and figured out the first domino for you to knock down?
I plan the year in four quarters, just like a business does, but I plan Q1 (1st quarter) in the most detail, as it is where I establish my LEAD DOMINOS.
January is the first domino, the ignition, getting the engine started.
February is knocking that first domino down.
March is hopefully compounding or revising the plan/alignment of dominos, based on real-time feedback.
Once Q1 gains momentum, the rest of the quarters become more defined. It’s no longer a ‘start’ but a continuation of what your ‘new normal’ feels like.
This requires focus, self-discipline, courage, and faith.
You can endure the often painful process of growth and learning if you have a goal worth living for. Sometimes that is a person. Sometimes it’s a deep-seated want and desire from childhood or sometimes it isn’t even for you but for the world.
My Lead Domino
The thoughts which nestle within us, and issue from us in language and in act, determine our moral character. The most exquisite piece of sculpture which Michelangelo or Rodin ever carved, WAS ONCE only a THOUGHT.
Theodore Cuyler
I also think about what will prevent me or constrain me most—my biggest constraint. Right now, it’s my health. I have to take care of my body and my vehicle to get to my destination.
I used to think health was how I felt, even though I knew disease could grow silently, like rust inside a pipe. It can accumulate and present itself when it is almost too big to fail.
So I am not only focused on quality measures of health as to how I feel, but also a scorecard to keep track and process my body chemistry numbers.
My Jan 8, 2026 #s are:
LDL 79 mg/dl (2.0mM), HDL 58 mg/dl (1.5mM), TG 107
HbA1C: 5.3%
Weight 146 lbs
My goal in 3 months for further plaque reversal is
LDL 60, HDL 61, TG 60
HbA1c 5.0%
Weight 132 lbs (I was at this before with my rapid plaque reversal).
I’m currently at 138 lbs near end of Jan.
In 6 months,
LDL 50, HDL 65, TG, 50,
HbA1c 4.9%
Weight 132 lbs.
I had done this in my first three months after my high Calcium score from May to August. It’s when I knew I was rapidly reversing plaque.
Most experts say LDL<55, apoB<55 leads to plaque reversal.
I realized as I inputted all my meals, that I was no longer eating <20g of fat per day. I was more like 50-70 g fat per day! I wasn’t measuring things precisely and drifted to how I was feeling.
Oat milk matcha : 8g fat (I sometimes had two a day). Before I was just consuming matcha in tablet form.
Edamame: 8g fat
Chia seeds: 2 tbsp is 8g fat. I started taking 4 tbsp
Flax seeds: 2 tbsp is 8g fat. I started taking 4 tbsp
Just eating these daily was 48g-60g of fat per day.
2.5-3x more fat than when I had first started.
Not to mention fat in beans and other foods I started to increase.
I’m removing oat milk matcha and just matcha tablets I used to eat, very sparingly edamame and no more chia seeds and just 2 tbsp of flax.
I’m aiming for Esselstyn’s < 20g fat/day
Intermittent fasting with 6 hour meal time windows with one day of the week one meal a day (OMAD) with enough calories, protein and as needed complex carbs.
Lentils have a 22:1 ratio of protein:fat (15g Protein:0.8g fat)
Black beans 17:1 (15g Protein:1.1g fat)
Chickpeas 4:1. (15g Protein:4g fat)
I am choosing Lentils and Black Beans as my protein source.
Now I am being much more ‘prescriptive’ so I can reverse my heart plaque. I realized the body is like a system, a machine and its cause and effect—input/output. I knew, but I didn’t truly understand it or implement it as concisely. I was ‘eyeballing’ measures and foods. Now I am treating it much more quantitatively, like math.
But my ultimate result is coronary plaque reversal, which typically takes 2.5-5 years.
Dr. Esselstyn noted that only his patients who had LDL<50 reversed their plaque. He’s proven it. I just need to follow it and enhance it for my own anatomy and physiology.
The blood flow in my artery with the biggest blockage (77% blockage) has increased from 75% in late August, which was considered the danger zone, to 80% blood flow, which is low-normal now. I do feel great, but I will repeat these exams in June.
My goal is to reduce my D1 obstruction from 77% to 60-70% by the end of 2026, to 40-50% by the end of 2027, and to 20-30% by the end of 2028. By then, the coronary arteries' remodelling plaque obstruction should be readily noticeable.
Carotid plaque is much easier to reverse, and I did that in 3 months.
I’m focused primarily on my PHYSICAL HEALTH in the health category.
For the rest of my HEALTH SCORECARD:
Intellectual health: Read one great book. I chose Paradise Lost and am reading it with my daughter.
Emotional Health: Solo bike rides 3x/week for relaxation, meditation and to get outdoors. Ride and run in nature.
Spiritual Health: memorize the book of Ephesians in the Bible. It has 6 chapters, so memorize a chapter every two months.
This is just my health section. If my wealth and meaning plans are of interest, please let me know, and I will consider writing about them as well if you think it will help you see into my mind and life.
Wealth is not just money, which is like fuel, but optionality to drive your vehicle and life where you want. But more importantly, there is your intellectual wealth, emotional wealth and spiritual wealth you must invest in.
Your Challenge (if you are willing)
There are only a few things that really matter in life. The rest is dressings.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Set a timer for 30 minutes.
Sit down with a blank page. Write one thing for each of the 12 dimensions below—one practice that, if it grew this year, would genuinely fill your body with energy, your mind with clarity, and your soul with peace.
Copy this:
HEALTH
Physical: ______________________________
Intellectual: ___________________________
Emotional: _____________________________
Spiritual: ______________________________
WEALTH
Physical: ______________________________
Intellectual: ___________________________
Emotional: _____________________________
Spiritual: ______________________________
MEANING / PURPOSE
Physical: ______________________________
Intellectual: ___________________________
Emotional: _____________________________
Spiritual: ______________________________
Then choose your training mode for January:
Draw the 12 boxes.
Write one practice in each.
Then answer one question:
What is my lead domino for the next 90 days?
Write it in ink.
The goal isn’t a perfect year. It's the year you became intentional. A year where the person you become by December feels like a quiet miracle. Built, not wished for.
Ease the Heartache of Loved Ones
Please forward my newsletter to your friends and family and ask them to sign up.
I’d love to help a lot of people prevent, reverse, heal and ease the suffering of disease.
You’ll find these articles insightful and helpful as well:
The Power of Your New Year’s Plan
Life-Changing Question
What is your Lead Domino for Q1?
Next issue:
What is Happiness
Something to Live By
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
The Mirror of Transcendence: How Serving Others Awakens You
From Self-Actualization to Self-Transcendence
He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.
Viktor Frankl
Last week, we explored the top of Maslow’s pyramid to Self-Actualization — becoming your highest self. But later in life, Maslow realized that there was a level even higher, broader and deeper to your soul and that is Self-Transcendence.
You don’t become your highest and best self on this earth until you give your self-actualized self away to others.
It’s not the next step or level after success, but it is the purpose for your success and self-actualization. It’s not the mountaintop. It’s the mirror.
That’s why so many people who climb the summit of success to self-actualization only have a brief glimpse of victory and celebration before they feel empty, down and alone on this summit as the celebration fades.
The mirror of transcendence reflects who you are — not when you look into it, but when others are changed by what they see in you.
Self-actualization is your calling. Self-transcendence is your contribution, your gift to the world.
Begin with the End in Mind
Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
Albert Einstein
Everyone sets personal goals, but wisdom says to begin with legacy. Ask not “What do I want?” but “Who do I want to become for the sake of others?”
When you begin with who you want to serve, everything you do and build is sacred and purposeful.
Self-transcendence doesn’t diminish you or your dreams. It highly amplifies them. It gives your growth and success meaning beyond just you and your name.
The Three Lenses of Self-Transcendence
Maslow: The Final Step Most Miss
Transcenders are consciously motivated by values which transcend their own self.
Abraham Maslow
Maslow describes the highest level of self as Self-Transcendence: “the very highest and most inclusive or holistic levels of human consciousness, behaving and relating, as ends rather than means, to oneself, to significant others, to human beings in general, to other species, to nature and to the cosmos.”
This is when we:
Seek truth, beauty, and righteousness not for status or personal gain, but because they are fundamental values
Serve without recognition
Align with something larger than ourselves
It’s about giving and serving on your way down from the summit of success.
Frankl: Meaning Through Others
Being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself.
Viktor Frankl “Man’s Search for Meaning”
In the holocaust camps of WWII, Frankl found that survival often depended not on strength, but on purpose.
People transcended this personal suffering and hell by living for:
The person they loved
A mission they needed to complete
A vision that outlived pain and perhaps incorporated this pain into the marrow of their souls to give it meaning and purpose
You transcend by offering your pain, not but hiding or running away from it.
Campbell: The Hero Returns to Give Wisdom
The hero’s journey ends when the hero returns to serve.
The Hero’s 12 Step Journey ends when he returns to the Ordinary World from which he came, transformed by an insight in the New World and offers this wisdom to his Ordinary World. He returns not to claim victory or to take, but to share. Not to shine, but to reflect and uplift.
You become the medicine you needed and offer it freely to all those who need it.
My Moments of Transcendence
It only takes a moment of insight into yourself to transform you.
Dr. Kevin Ham
The Hill For Elliott
As my good friend Elliott lay dying from sarcoma at age 28, I decided to do a charity ride to conquer cancer, a two-day ride with each day 100 km. That was in 2008. I was very afraid of the hills on that ride and I had this insight that this fear paled in comparison to the hill that Elliott had to climb due to his cancer. So each pedal up that hill was symbolic of the fight each cancer victim had to take where the summit was likely death. Now I embrace each hill climb in honour and in memory of Elliott, my mother and everyone who has and is fighting this fight to conquer cancer. I am helping my good friend Dr. Azra Raza with her life mission of preventing, detecting and eradicating this vicious self-immortalized cell we call cancer.
Practices to Awaken Transcendence
Begin every day and meeting with Gratitude
My team meetings start this way. It opens the heart.
Give Without Credit
True giving leaves no mark
Ask Who, not What
Who can I serve today?
Let Pain Become Your Path
Embrace it and transform it with meaning
Build What Will Outlast You
Principles, wisdom, systems, people. Seed the future now.
Life Questions:
Answer these questions and write them down.
Am I living to be seen- or to serve?
What pain in my story could become someone else’s hope?
What would it look like to live as a mirror and not as a monument?
Final Thought
“Self-Actualization says to become your best self. Self-Transcendence say to give your best self to others.”
Dr. Kevin Ham
Your light was not meant to be buried deep in you. It was meant to shine through you to others.
The mirror of transcendence is clearest when someone else sees themselves more clearly because of how you lived.
Next week: The Three Core Inputs That Shape Your Self — Self-perception, self-talk and self-environment.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
The Secret to Realizing Your Full Potential: Self-Actualization
The Paradox of the Pyramid
Begin with the end in mind.
Stephen Covey (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)
To Begin with the End in Mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
Begin with the End in Mind" is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.
At the top of Abraham Maslow’s Pyramid of the Hierarchy of Needs sits Self-Actualization, the end point we all strive for.
We often think that self-actualization is the world’s image of success, whether that world be your family, your friends, your peers, your workplace, your community or the media. Those are self-imposed expectations based on other’s conformed ideas of success.
Do we really strive to self-actualize and burst out of the seeds planted in our hearts, nurtured by plowing of the heart through the valleys of hardship, sorrow, and despair polarized by the heights of joy, recognition and pleasure?
But if you begin with self-actualization as the end in mind, you start on your journey to self-reflection, self-discovery and self-awareness.
This is what I started to realize in my 20s and became ever so aware in my 30s. All my years of darkness, hardships, sufferings, trials and tribulations were the cocoon that fostered the seeds deep in my heart to sprout and bear fruit in this world.
The End starts when you have a dream, a vision of what you want to do with your life, no matter how unseemly grand or small your vision may be. You can become that self-actualized person now as you need to first create the mental image of yourself and then the physical creation of yourself will come in due time.
I saw a grand vision, mission, values for myself that were somewhat clear but also somewhat vague. It was hazy but I started to take a step in that general direction. I have a much clearer vision and mission of my life now as I reflect on my many foolish missteps and mistakes.
The 3 Models of Self-Actualization
I realized I only have a relatively short time on this earth. How could I live and fulfill my dreams? So I asked, I searched, I knocked diligently upon this question for decades. I have read and been inspired by these three powerful models and contemplated how I could apply them in my heart and in my actions.
Maslow: Self-Actualization Through Growth
What a man can be, he must be.
Abraham Maslow
At the bottom of the pyramid, Maslow postulated that you need to fulfill your basic needs in succession, like food, safety, love and belonging, esteem before self-actualization. But later, Maslow revised his model when he realized that self-actualizing people often grow before their lower needs are fully met. Why is this?
How many stories have you heard of those without such basic needs rise up and grow up despite those deficiencies to do things that seemed unlikely or even impossible?
They saw a vision or a mission of who they could become in that moment they stepped forward into that void between lack and fullness. A purpose beyond just themselves. A vision of how they could transform themselves, like the caterpillar embracing its own cocoon to later emerge as the butterfly.
Your Hero’s Journey: Self-Actualization Through Trials
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.
Joseph Campbell
In his book, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” written in 1949, Joseph Campbell inspired George Lucas to write the trilogy Star Wars. Campbell saw that the principles of life in religion, myths and legends all had a common journey for the Hero.
He outlined 12 Stages of a Hero’s Journey, which can further be simplified to 3 broader Stages. He saw these as the transformation of the ordinary person into that extraordinary hero.
The Call - an invitation in your ordinary world calling you on a journey
The Trial - crossing the threshold into a new world of uncertainty, loss and fear
The Return - wisdom brought to others as you have a transformation from the inside out
Self-actualization does not happen in your ordinary life. It’s when you hear the calling in your heart to cross the threshold into the unknown, into the deep, into that dark cave you fear. Remember Luke Skywalker as he accepts his call to join the Rebels, as he faces Darth Vader in Yoda’s World first in a dream and then battles him losing his arm? He had to lose himself spiritually then physically in order to be reborn, resurrected, transformed.
This is the wilderness journey of Moses by himself for 40 years and later with his 600,000+ people from Egypt to Israel together.
This is Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the wilderness and being tempted three times by the devil in private and then carrying his cross and being crucified to it in public.
Note: You are that hero. Go find your journey.
Viktor Frankl: Self-Actualization Through Meaning
Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.
Viktor Frankl
If you have not yet read Frankl’s book, “A Man’s Search For Meaning,” make it one of your top books to read this summer. Frankl details his life in the Holocaust camp and what he saw. He was a psychiatrist, but on his arrival to Auschwitz, he was stripped bare of all that he was, all that he and instead of Dr. Frankl, was given a number for his name.
“I can see beyond the misery of the situation to the potential for discovering a meaning behind it, and thus to turn an apparently meaningless suffering into a genuine human achievement. I am convinced that, in the final analysis, there is no situation that does not contain within it the seed of meaning. To a great extent, this conviction is the basis of Logotherapy.”
Frankl saw that those who had meaning despite the torture, depravity and horror of the concentration camps, increased the chances of one’s survival. So he saw who he would become because of his experience and gave and encouraged others with what little he had in the camp. One morsel of bread daily.
Meaning gave him strength and hope. He believed that each person is the only one who could decide about the meaning of their life and that he has to take responsibility for creating and deciding his own personal unique meaning. S/he can also decide the meaning of a situation individual is the only one to decide about the meaning of their life and that the individual has to take responsibility for creating and deciding its unique meaning. The ability to decide the meaning of a situation has the power to create a positive outcome from the worst of situations. The worse the situation, the more profound the meaning and personal transformation.
How to Start Self-Actualizing Now
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Aspire Your Full Potential now
Write out your Self-actualization Identity Statement:
I am a person who is _________ (write out at least 3 or more things you aspire to be and do).Tape it to your bathroom mirror or by your bedside to read each morning and evening. Memorize it.
Align With Your Full Identity
Think and Act from this identity today
Don’t wait until you are ready or confident.
Start with one thought and action that reflects who you are actualizing.
Actualize
Notice in the word actualize is the word act.
Thoughts become actions. Actions become words. These become your character.
Life Questions:
Answer these questions and write them down.
What identity do I want to start self-actualizing now?
What is preventing me or constraining me from starting now?
Solve that obstacle or constraint
Final Thought
Start today with who you wish to become. Embrace hardship, failures, obstacles, fear and make them the fallowed ground to plant the seeds of your heart.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Next week: Back to How to be Self-Transcendent: How Serving Others Transforms You to Your Highest Self
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
How to Build Unshakeable Self-Confidence
Do you have what it takes to live your dreams?
Self-Confidence is so fundamental to you flourishing, yet it is the most misunderstood aspect of personal growth.
Dr. Kevin Ham
When I was young, I lacked a great deal of self-confidence. When teams were being picked, I was often the last one selected. I was short. I was quiet. Deep inside, I hoped that I would get picked early and be recognized as someone worthy of being part of their team. As I grew older, I decided to strive harder than anyone to develop the skills necessary to be a valuable team member. My mother invoked her dreams of playing the piano on me, but for me, such a solitary endeavour was not my dream. Instead, my dream was to make one of the high school sports teams. I tried out for the volleyball team. Despite being one of the shortest, I was pretty good, but I got cut. I didn't even try out for the basketball team.
In my final year of high school, I decided I would try out for the soccer team. During the summer, I would practice doing 100 kick-ups every day, ensuring that the ball never hit the ground with each foot. Then, I would practice hitting each corner of the goalpost ten times. I got very good at kickups and shooting. I gave it my all. Guess what? I made the cut! Even though I was mainly a benchwarmer, that was the beginning of my understanding of what it took to be self-confident.
Over these five decades, as I have developed myself, I have grown from nothing to 'me'. Weak in mind to strong. Physically weak to very fit. I have observed the inputs that lead to the Seven Pillars of Self and the Three Self Outputsthat have shaped who I am today. I want to write about these in the hopes that they help you develop yourself into the person you dream and aspire to be.
Self-Confidence is not Pride or Arrogance
Pride goes before destruction and a fall before a haughty spirit.
King Solomon
A fall from a great height hits hard. The higher you go in life, the greater the fall. True self-confidence is founded on humility and wisdom.
Humility is knowing who you are and in a spirit of serving and honouring others while still honouring yourself. God loves a humble and contrite heart.
Wisdom is discerning good and evil and knowing what to think, say and act, to who, when and where and understanding the depths and breadths of the circumstances and people.
Pride and arrogance stem from a heightened sense of self at the expense of others, characterized by self-interest and a lack of empathy for others, leading one to believe they are superior to others. It is self-serving, built upon the desire for power, status, control and recognition. It seeks gain rather than to give and serve.
Your 3 Self Outputs
You only reap what you put in and process with time, thought and action.
Dr. Kevin Ham
As you develop the Seven Pillars of Self, you will experience Three Self Outputs.
Self-Confidence
Self-Esteem
Self-Actualization
As I contemplated what I wanted to do in life, I also considered who I wanted to be. At the age of 14, I knew I wanted to be a medical doctor. At age 21 I knew and believed I would be a part of the Internet revolution. I dreamed of making some epic movies in my 50s to 70s. But these are things I wanted to do. Who did I want to be? I wanted to be a man of God. I wanted to be a good father, a good son, a good husband, a good friend, a good entrepreneur, a good doctor, a good philanthropist. I wanted to be an inspirational visionary, giving much more than I received. I wanted to have a wise and understanding heart, one that praises and glorifies God. And if I dared and God granted me such blessings to be not only good but also great as a human being and also in each endeavour I dreamt of doing. This has been my prayer. I have failed often, but each time I reflected and have been humbled by my shortcomings and looked to God and wisdom to lift me upagain.
I realized that self-confidence came from just a few things. But first, I realized what came before self-confidence.
3 Impostors of Self
Being untrue to your heart makes living a shadow of darkness.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Your life is a constant ping-pong match of self-doubt, self-lack, and self-criticism between your present being and the ideal being in your heart.
Self-Doubt
Until you have a good sense of who you are, you will have self-doubt. Everyone around is telling you who you should be, how you should be and what you should be doing. This can be internalized as criticism that confuses your heart about who you truly are and who you should blossom into. Thus, the great oracle wisely asks you to "Know Thyself." Until you are comfortable knowing who you are, warts and all, in spirit, mind and body, you will have varying degrees of self-doubt. Who are you? And you are not just your body. You are in your body.
Self-Lack
You came into this world empty-handed. You will leave empty-handed. What you lack does not define you, but most of the time, we view ourselves from the point of lack, of scarcity rather than as possessing all that we need. It is hard to believe in yourself if you view yourself as lacking in what you require. I knew I was going to be a doctor. If I had viewedthis from a point of lack, I surely would have given up easily. I failed the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) twice. I failed to get into medical school right after I finished university. Eventually, during my medical interviews, my dreams and confidence in being a great doctor shone through. Where did this come from? I believed I was going to be a great doctor. The energy that emanated was palpable, and I was finally admitted into medical school.
You are not lacking. You may lack the resources, the money, the skills, the network, but you can gain those things in due time. King David said, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I have no lack." (Psalm 23:1.) See yourself with all the gifts and abundance within you, just waiting to be actualized. One day, it will be… if you believe you do not lack.
Self-Criticism
Who are you to do that which you dream of? You don't have what it takes. You are not good enough. This self-talk, this self-criticism, where does it come from? Impostor syndrome. The inauthenticity of being leads to self-criticism. When you see a seed, do you see the tree? When you see a caterpillar, do you see the butterfly? Imagine doubting the two.
Imagine criticizing the seed and telling it that it will never become a tree. Imagine criticizing the caterpillar and telling it that it will never become a butterfly. When you compare your current being to that which you dream and aspire to become, what does the process look like? What does that transformation look like? What does that cocoon look like? And when you tell others your dreams of becoming your dream self, what do they say? Do they criticize, in the same vein, comparing your present state (that of a caterpillar) to your dream state (that of a butterfly.) It may be logical, but logic does not actualize dreams. Belief and being do.
Acknowledge who you are now. Accept yourself. But strive to be the being in your heart and your spirit. Develop the discipline and belief to become that person who you aspire to be. Every thought, word, and action tips the scale in favour of the present and future self. Each day is a new day to start again. We do go around life in circles.
While we might deeply care about what others think, both praise and criticism, it is often best to take it in, reflect upon and discard that which is not edifying or useful to you. I often discard 80% of the feedback from others after deeply reflecting upon them and examining my heart. If valid, I take it to heart.
3 Step Self-Confidence Builder
There are many systems proposed to build your self-confidence, like the great Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, King Solomon, and Marcus Aurelius' Stoic principles.
Dale Carnegie
Do the thing which you fear.
Shift focus from self to being interested in others.
Over-practice and over-prepare
Smile, use people's names, and practice being present.
Turn criticism into fuel, not fire.
Live with gratitude and enthusiasm.
Napoleon Hill
"I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my definite purpose in life. Therefore, I demand of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment..."
Definite chief aim (Desire)
Belief in yourself and your outcome (Faith)
Autosuggestion (Repetition of Belief). Speak your goal aloud daily.
Specialized knowledge (Skill building by practicing)
Persistence
Mastermind Alliance with like-minded people
Marcus Aurelius
Control what you can. Release what you can't.
Align your actions with your virtues.
Ignore praise and criticism. Follow your heart.
I focus on just three practices. This has been my self-confidence practice since Grade 10 when I had a deathly fear of speaking to girls. My first step was to look them in the eyes and say 'Hi,' then listen to them. I was so surprised when most looked away. This was a big realization that self-confidence is adding drops of water to a bucket and it will soon fill to the brim and overflow if I do the three practices below. The most important is #3, then #2, and then #1. Spirit, then mind, then body.
Self-Confidence Trinity
Make eye contact, smile and listen. (body)
See if you can maintain eye contact longer than the other person. In due time, you will be able to. Don't forget to smile. If someone is smiling, you cannot help but smile. Smiling is contagious. Since I have such a big mouth, my smile stretches wide. Then my heart starts to smile. I recall a time when I was having a bad day, and a stranger simply smiled at me; it had a profound impact on me. I felt like my burden just melted away.
Think and practice. (mind)
Think deeper, with your heart. Dream. Practice more. Rehearse and act until it is you. I practised my medical interview for years in my head and in front of a mirror. The more you practice, the shorter and more impactful your delivery becomes. Lincoln's Gettysburg address. It's just two minutes long. Wow.
Do your best to serve. (spirit)
Your best is all you can do. Give it your all. All your thoughts, all your energy, all your actions. What more can you ask of yourself? And each time, you will get better. It is the law of growth.
Life Question:
How self-confident are you on a scale of 1-10?
How self-confident do you aspire to be in 3 months, 6 months, one year, and two years?
Write a score down and evaluate yourself every 3 months.
Next week:
Self-esteem: Why do icons feel empty when they reach the pinnacle of success?
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
You have the will but lack the discipline (to accomplish your dreams).
Our brains are wired for short term gratification while dreaming of happily ever after without effort.
There is a dream in your heart, a goal you desire. You might pray for it, wish for it, and plan for it. But the effort to actually make it real seems intimidating. The bigger the dream or goal, the more daunting. So, you start shrinking your dreams and goals until they feel comfortable. You decrease the gap between expectation and reality until they are no longer inspiring dreams or goals. They are just another task to check off.
The Will vs the Spirit
Where there is a will, there is a way.
George Herbert
Deep down, you feel your will is enough to make things real despite any lack, limitations or obstacles. When you believe in it strongly enough, you think you will do anything and everything to find a way to bring your dreams into being.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
George Herbert
As Jesus prayed the night before he was to be crucified, he spoke to his disciples who were falling asleep. Even though his disciples all believed that they would also do whatever it took to protect and fight for their leader, they fell asleep, as their bodies were too tired to follow the will of their spirit.
This is tantamount when it comes to effort. One common form of effort that translates will into reality is exercise. How do you define exercise?
Exercise is a planned, structured, and repetitive subset of physical activity. The objective is to improve or maintain physical fitness.
To exercise your will is to plan, structure, and repetitively act to produce a result of that will. Now, apply this not only to physical exercise but also other areas of your life, such as mental exercise, spiritual exercise, relationship exercise, or financial exercise.
Once you apply it in one area of your life, you can then apply it in other areas of your life.
How can I climb higher?
You just have to do the climb.
Michael Woods, pro cyclist
I asked many of my pro cyclist friends how to ride my bike up mountains faster. They answered, "I hate to tell you this, but the best way is to climb bigger mountains and do it as much as possible." I was able to ride alongside four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome and Hugo Houle, the winner of stage 16 at the 2024 Tour de France, during their training mountain climbs. They were to go up the mountain, increasing power each minute and decreasing rest periods. Eg. 50 seconds regular, then 10 seconds at 500 watts for ten minutes and then increase this to 20 seconds at 500 Watts, then 30 seconds at 500 Watts. I tried this and, after 15 minutes, didn't have the mental strength to continue doing it. I realized that the practice rides were intense, and they had to often do blocks of training that were harder than the stage races of the Tour de France, where they rode in a peloton, drafting behind others to conserve energy.
Only by actually doing the 'work' will you see your limits, constraints, current level, and potential. I started to schedule mountain climbs on my bike, even doing the same mountain two or three times in one ride. I became very fit and much better at climbing mountains, although it was a power hour of mental endurance as much as it was physical.
Can you imagine your heart beating 170 beats per minute for an hour? My heart became so efficient, that my resting heart rate is now 43. In medicine, we were told that the normal heart rate is between 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm). I asked Froome what his resting heart rate was-- 32 bpm. Wow. Lance Armstrong's? 28. This is why their hearts are able toendure the tremendous rigours of climbing the European Alps and mountains for 3,400 km and 50,000m of elevation over 21 days. That's an average of 160 km and 2300m climbing every day.
The Hill Principle
The climb is your friend who is always right before you.
Dr. Kevin Ham
When I used to peer up the face of a mountain from the base on my bicycle, I would experience a lot of anxiety about how hard and painful it would feel to ride up. Then, one day, I realized that although the mountain would always remain the same and I would suffer, I would also become stronger, fitter, and healthier.
My mindset changed from one of anxiety and suffering to one of taking on a challenge to gain great physical and mental benefits. From that moment, I started riding up the hills and mountains with resolve and discipline to become the fittest person I could be. It was my version of 80/20 cardio, where I would climb each climb with intensity and then rest on the downhills and flats—like HIIT, High-Intensity Interval Training.
Best Longevity Predictor: VO2Max
Why do I want to live forever when I know my body will not?
Dr. Kevin Ham
My friend Paulo, who is the Performance Director for the pro cycling team Israel Premier Tech and a coach to Olympic Athletes, taught me this longevity hack: If you exercise HIIT for 30 minutes three times a week, your VO2Max will only decline 6% from age 60 to 80. I realized that my VO2Max could be the same at 80 as it was at 50 (my VO2Max was 51 at age 49 and ~60 at age 52).
So, mountain climbing became my will for physical and mental fitness with the purpose of longevity.
Schedule it in your calendar
Time is just moments scheduled, serendipitous, or passed away.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Your will is like the clouds. When you repetitively schedule your will into your plans and your calendar, it becomes like the weather forecast for your life--but you determine the weather forecast by your schedule. You determine the actual weather by doing what you put in your calendar.
It's that simple yet hard to do. First, you need to schedule your 'will' and then follow it with consistency and intention.
That's when your dreams manifest over time into reality. It's simple yet hard to do. If you start doing this, you will naturally rise to the top 10% or top 1% of whatever you set your will, mind, and body to.
Life Question:
What do you will to do this year, this month, this week, today?
Just do it.
Nike
Many things are out of your control. Find the things you can control, focus on them and then act on them. You will find your way to your dream by walking that path that appears before you.
Next week:
Resilience is the last step to the gates to success
Failures and breakdowns are inevitable before success appears.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
Why Multitasking Makes You Ordinary. Instead Be Extraordinary with the F word.
Even an hour of deep, focused work a day can produce extraordinary results.
Kevin Ham
The world encourages you to multitask and get lots of things done. This results in 'shallow' work over sustained, focused, 'deep' work that can give rise to something extraordinary.
Einstein focused for over a decade on trying to solve the problem of time and energy. Isaac Newton invested years obsessively focused on a few key problems, writing Principia Mathematica in the 1680s, which delivered the three laws of motion. Most people never dedicate themselves fully to one pursuit.
The most powerful F word most people think of is a four letter word. But there is a more powerful F word with five letters. It also has the letters U and C, but no K. A lack of it makes the day blurry, caused by constant distractions, newsfeeds, notifications, and busy work. It prevents us from dedicated, focused, deep work towards a single vision. Even an hour of deep work each day over a period of time can produce remarkable results over years, decades and your lifetime.
During the COVID pandemic, I decided to ride my bike every day for 30 days--either 30 km or 300m of elevation (a small mountain climb). It was about an hour a day. After a month, I was tired but was super fit, having ridden almost 1000 km in a month. I kept that up but with rest days and rode an average distance of 7,700 km and elevation of 100,000m every year for three years. In 2022, I was in the best shape of my life. I could ride 110 km in four hours on one bottle of water and one energy bar. Now, I maintain my fitness by riding more focused at 3500 km a year. My 100-year-old goal is to ride 100 km like Robert Marchand. He lived to be 109 years old and is the world record holder for fastest 100 km ride and distance cycled in one hour, for the 100–104 and over 105 age categories. He likely had very little competition at that age :).
But Multitasking Allows You to Accomplish Multiple Things at Once.
Ordinary is average. Extraordinary is special. Just takes an ounce of thought and a pound of application.
Dr. Kevin Ham
I used to think multitasking allowed me to accomplish much, but Dr. Alan Barnard had us do an exercise. Write down the numbers 1-10 then the letters A-J in order and time yourself. Next, write 1A, 2B, 3C, 4D, 5E to 10J and time yourself.
Writing 1-10 took me less than 2 seconds, and A-J took me 2 seconds. The total time was 3.55 seconds, but counting 1A-10J took me 10 seconds, which is 2.5 times longer.
When I memorize one chapter of Proverbs, it feels good and flows. When I try to memorize two chapters at once, I feel stressed. I get confused between the chapters, and it takes me longer, and I forget easier.
What's your experience?
Try the number/letter test. Next, expand that 1-26, A-Z. Then, add a circle, triangle, square as a third task. Then, add a fourth task—the time it takes compounds as more tasks are woven in.
Yes, you can talk and drive. But texting and driving? Forget it. Don't do it because you need to focus on your driving.
If you just set aside a dedicated time to filter out all the distractions, notifications, and thoughts and focus on doing deep work for one thing, it is incredible what you can accomplish.
Think … Just Think.
Of all the beautiful gifts we have, the ability to think is the greatest, next to love and to forgive.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Think and Grow Rich is one of the perennial best-sellers written by Napoleon Hill. The key word here is "Think". I almost think the title should be "Think, then you will grow ____ (fill in your word of choice here … rich, smart, fit, wise).
One of my mentors, Bob Proctor, told a pro golf player that if he wanted to improve, he needed to focus his attention on being able to focus. He asked the golfer to put a dot on the wall and stare at it for five minutes without losing focus on the dot. He said most people cannot stare even five minutes without their mind wandering. Then, increase the time each day. He would be successful when he could focus an hour on the dot. Then, he was told to apply that skill to each aspect of his golf game.
90% of my time, I like to think, then write my thoughts down, and then plan a path for my thoughts to come alive. Most are stillborn. Some are born. Few make it to adulthood. Very few reproduce offspring. Earl Nightingale, the father of personal growth, said that 95% of people do not think, 5% think they think but only 2% of people really think. I did not understand this because I thought I thought, but the question is, what are you really thinking about? The more I thought about my thoughts, the deeper my thinking became.
The problems that arise in life, like the waves and the stormy weather, not only give rise to emotions but also allow you to think. "Necessity is the mother of invention."
So think about your thinking, for you become what you think about.
Life Question:
What is your most important focus in life?
Focus is like a magnifying glass that makes sunlight start a fire.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Most people don't really know the answer to this question. Find one thing you'd like to focus on for the next month.
Put 10 minutes to one hour a day devoted without distractions on your most important focus for the next 30 days and see. Then persist and continue for the rest of the year and see. Then let me know the results in 30 days and each month.
Schedule this like an appointment in your calendar. Then tell your family and network that you have focused time for this period you blocked out, and then keep that appointment.
Guaranteed to be life-changing.
Next week:
You have the will but lack the discipline to accomplish your dreams. Why?
Our brains are wired for short-term gratification while dreaming of happily ever after without effort.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
Why your external drive is not enough. What’s inside of you?
Most people get depressed when they reach their goal because there is nothing more to obtain and hope dies.
Kevin Ham
Michael Phelps set the record for most gold medals in an Olympic game with eight golds. His dreams were more than realized. Then depression hit hard. He had worked all his life for this moment: 23 golds, 28 total medals. After the 2004 Olympic golds, he felt the post-Olympic blues and often felt suicidal, and this became more pronounced the more medals he won. Why?
Dopamine momentarily surges to new heights after we achieve a goal and then after the joy and excitement fades, it drops… It drops below the baseline. Mood plummets. This is the science behind postpartum depression and after other goals and dreams are realized.
While there is a goal and a drive to obtain that goal, what happens after the goal is accomplished?
Is More Better and Does More Make You Happy?
The day you discover less is more is the day you start living.
Dr. Kevin Ham
What is the goal? More... Success? Money? Fame? Power? Status? Happiness? Health? Joy? Peace?
Simon Sinek's famous three circles point out the obvious. Most people focus on the What, then the How, and perhaps the Why. Instead, we should focus deep within and focus on the Why, then the How, and then the What.
Simon Sinek’s Three Circles
Our focus on the Whats drive us to seek after more and more--even after getting one big What. What is your purpose? What is your Why? The reason to be? Whether personal or professional.
I've often pondered my drive for more, even after much success. What is driving me. Why do I feel so alive when I am starting something new, something big and all the while, I know just how much time and energy it will take in the remaining time I have left?
Harper Lee published one novel, which became a hit, winning the Pulitzer Prize: To Kill a Mockingbird. She never published another book, opting to stay out of the spotlight. She told the story of moral courage amid racial injustice. She told her story and the stories of so many throughout history, as she saw growing up in Alabama.
The same goes for Margaret Mitchell and Gone with the Wind. Neither of these authors felt the need to win another Pulitzer Prize or write best-sellers to define themselves. Their why had been accomplished, and it was enough.
These days, in my mid-50s, I am driven much more by purpose and meaning than the Whats. In 2007, I was on the cover of a business magazine I adored and on the front pages of many international newspapers. I had tasted great success, but I let it melt, not speaking with any reporters or venture capitalists, even as they clamoured all around me.
Everyone is Remembered By a Sentence
The man who freed the slaves and held America together during its darkest hour.
The man who wore simple clothes, walked in silence, and brought down an empire by starving, without lifting a sword.
Do you recognize each person above by what they did? Can you tell who they are by what they did? Can you tell why they did what they did?
Abraham Lincoln saw an enslaved person in chains when he was young and thought that if he ever had the power to free such enslaved people, he would. Born into poverty and raised with little formal education, he rose through perseverance, self-study, and deep moral conviction. As a lawyer, debater, and eventually the 16th President of the United States, he fought for liberty, for a nation "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
Gandhi was a lawyer educated in the UK, but when he travelled to South Africa, he was thrown off the train for being Indian, even though he had a first-class ticket. That injustice shaped his life. His life mission was to "Awaken the soul of a nation and lead by example--with humility, truth and love," He didn't wish for power. He wanted people to realize their own power--the power of truth, moral courage and peace. "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
What is your one sentence?
Life Question:
Who am I?
I am a spiritual being living in a human body, not a human body with a spirit.
Bob Proctor
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Gandhi
You are not your body. You are in your body.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Next week:
Why Multitasking Makes You Ordinary
Even an hour of deep, focused work a day can produce extraordinary results.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
Do you value your own thoughts and opinions enough?
Don’t let fear of criticism prevent you from doing what is in your heart
Don’t let fear of criticism prevent you from doing what is in your heart
What do you think?
Honour your own thoughts and heart first.
Dr. Kevin Ham
This may be one of the oft-asked questions you ask your friends, family and coworkers. A more critical question is to ask yourself, "What do I think?"
"Cogito, ergo sum." "I think therefore I am." declared Rene Descartes in the early 1600s as he pondered how he existed. Such doubt gave rise to thought, and this thinking declared his existence.
When we have a thought, an idea, an opinion, or a philosophy, why do we tend to doubt its veracity? As we develop our intuition, insight, and inspiration--all that comes from our heart or spirit--we need a logical way of expressing these in words and stories to bypass the logical guards in others' minds before making their way into their creative hearts.
We grow up with wonder and creativity, but over time, we are hammered into thinking mostly logically and scientifically. Without signs or proof of an intangible, an invisible insight or idea does not have merit until it is proven or if we can show it another's vision. This is why so many contrarian ideas seem foolish in foresight but obvious and genius in hindsight.
We become afraid to express those thoughts and ideas that spring up from our hearts--the ones that inspire us--because they are so quickly and easily discarded as being foolish by others. The filter on most people's minds is that of logic, proof, fitting in and conformity. So much so that unless one conforms or fits into the norm or the regulations, they are also quickly discarded as crazy and their idea as pie in the sky.
If I liked to wear bright turquoise or pink pants, many would consider me eccentric. I have been called crazy for so much of my life because many of my thoughts and ideas are contrary to what is the norm. I question why things are the way they are and how they can be reinvented or improved upon. For instance, why does the traditional school system focus on teaching children information rather than empowering them to question things and learn from first principles? Why don't we praise failures when experiments are conducted to find truths and gather insights instead of solely praising good grades? Almost all great discoveries, innovations, businesses and growth have resulted from a series of failed experiments that guided us to a version of the truth.
I think therefore I am. Your thoughts may be foolish, but with continued thinking about your thoughts, words, and actions, your thoughts can one day become wise. We are learning, growing, and loving beings. The moment we cease to do these three things, we diminish as human beings.
As You Think So You Are
Each of us is literally what we think, our character being the complete sum of all our thoughts.
James Allen
Deep in our hearts, we may feel and believe one thing, but outwardly express something that is superficial or contrary to our hearts. We call such a person 'calculating'. This proverb was written by one of the wisest kings in history, King Solomon, who demonstrated his wisdom when two harlots claimed a baby as their own. He ordered the baby to be cut in half and one half given to each mother. The real mother asked out that the baby be given to the other. The false mother asked that it be done, as she had accidentally smothered her baby to death while sleeping and did not want the other mother to have a child. The Hebrew word in this proverb, translated as 'thinketh' can also be translated as 'inwardly calculating'.
James Allen pondered this Proverbs 23:7 and wrote 7 chapters on it in a book entitled by the proverb, "As a Man Thinketh" in 1902. In it he expresses, "Each of us is literally what we think, our character being the complete sum of all our thoughts. Action is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruit. We are the masters of thought, the moulders of character and the makers and shapers of condition, environment and destiny."
If our thoughts shape our character, condition, environment, and destiny, we should really think about our thinking. The thoughts and opinions of others about our thoughts and ideas should be like mirrors to us, but what is truly important is our deep understanding of our own thoughts. This is presaged by the age-old wise oracle to "Know thyself."
Criticism is but a Different Perspective
Since everyone is unique, each will have their own perspective. This difference is what we perceive to be criticism.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Even the most popular book has its lovers and its haters. If you don't have any thoughts or opinions, there is nothing to love or hate. If you express no thoughts, what is your existence? The moment you have an idea you want to express, consider to whom you are expressing it. If you express it to experts, you may gain a valuable perspective and insight. If it's to people without any expertise or experience in the matter, what they have to offer is likely a mere matter of opinion.So then the question is how deeply have you thought about what you have just expressed?
I've started many businesses. I've failed many times, but I've succeeded many times too. The great home run hitters were also the ones who struck out the most. I go for home runs in my ventures. I value customers' perspectives, but as Henry Ford said, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." As in the scientific method, I should have a hypothesis that I believe to be true, craft out my assumption that I must disprove, gather the relevant data and conclude if my hypothesis has merit. We call this agile experimentation. I believe this works in almost every field, not just science and business. What we assume to believe, we need to experiment first through thought experiments as Einstein did, then through real experiments as quickly as we can. This is a skill and secret of life.
I've come to a personal conclusion for myself regarding criticism. Take it all in, and consider it deeply. Discard what is not useful, adopt what is helpful, and give yourself space between the criticism and the response with a statement like, "That's interesting. Let me ponder that a bit. Thanks." When people tell me how I should name or run my business, I consider if they've built a startup and how seriously I should take their criticism of the name or idea of my business. If they are a customer who would pay money, I will listen more carefully.
1000 True Fans and 1 True Friend
I only really cherish a small number of people. My heart can only hold so many.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Credit: Emmanuel Lafont
I heard that if you sell 10,000 books, you would be in the top 1% of all authors for all time. 90% of books sell less than 1000 copies. I've contemplated why this is. Robin Dunbar, a British anthropologist proposed that a person has 150 meaningful relationships. This consists of just five loved ones, followed by 15 good friends, 50 friends, 150 meaningful contacts, 500 acquaintances and 1500 people you can recognize. So if all your friends and acquaintances bought your book, it's still hard to sell 1000 copies. When I started my Linkedin following, it was hard for me to get 1000 followers from my existing real-life relationships. I now have 45,000 followers, but most of them I do not have a bidirectional meaningful relationship with.
I hope to publish books in my sixties and sell over 10,000 copies :). When it comes to business, your goal should be to get 1000 true fans. This implies the quality of the relationship is more important than the quantity. It allows you to find your target niche and those whom you service and how. When it comes to life, your goal should be to have five true friends. Lifelong friends. There are friends for a reason, friends for a season. But lifelong through all the ups and downs is special.
Why is this important? With true fans and true friends, you can express yourself and your ideas and have believers give you true feedback that you would not be defensive about because you have built such a strong foundation of trust. Criticism by those who aren't within your inner circles of trust then needs the circle of expertise.
Upon this foundation, you can figure out product-market fit for business and character-life fit for personal.
I gave the opportunity for 100 friends and family to invest in my new AI startup. 80% invested, saying they believed in me and that I would figure it out. They knew it was high risk and could lose their investment but were betting on me to hit it out of the park. This is more valuable to me than all the money they have invested, close to $10 million USD. It fuels me and inspires me while giving me deep accountability.
Life Question:
Do you really think about your thinking?
What are your five most important thoughts?
Write them down now.
Think about them deeply, three to five layers deep
Next week:
Are you willing to pay the price to get what you want?
Every great accomplishment in life requires a sacrifice.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
Why Fear of Failure is Preventing Your Success
Your failures are the stepping stones to your success.
Your failures are the stepping stones to your success.
Failures are only truly failures when you give up on your way.
F. Failure. I failed. Another great F word, next best after Focus.
No matter how many times you fail, you are not a failure. Please reread this sentence and engrave it into your memory. Why? Because the world, your parents, teachers, coaches, and peers all seem to engrain and espouse the opposite: that failure is bad and that when we fail, we are failures.
In my first year of university, I failed all of my midterms. I had never failed so badly in school before. Why did I fail? Because I didn't study. I thought I could cram as I had in high school, but these university exams were much harder. Being unprepared and not doing my best were my failures. I was a student. It was my duty to study. This I did not do. But even though I had failed miserably, I knew I was not a failure. I decided to study a minimum of two hours every day. By Christmas exam time, my lowest mark was 92, and my highest was 98. But even if I had failed again, I would not have felt like a failure.
As we age, we stop trying new things because we become afraid of failure. If we don't try to learn new things, we can't fail, but our circle of knowledge, experience, and influence remains stagnant and limited. The law of life is growth and experience.
Failure Lays the Foundation for Success
The repeated pains of failure harden the cornerstones of success.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Sara Blakely was told during her family dinners that failure should be celebrated and embraced. This, along with seeing her best friend dying, gave her the courage to do what she believed in. By embracing failure, she created the billion-dollar clothing business called Spanx.
If you think about how you became good at anything you do, it is through practice. Practice makes perfect. Hidden inside this statement lies dozens, hundreds, if not thousands of failures to gain perfection. Playing a song? Playing a sport? It's the amount of repetitions multiplied by the intensity that leads to your result. So, when someone says they practice medicine or law, it means they are making mistakes along the way. It's human.
# of Repetitions x Intensity x Intention = Level of your Result
Larry Bird, one of the greatest shooters in NBA history took 500 free throws every morning before school. My youngest son started practicing three-pointers daily during the Covid pandemic. You raise the level of how many times, then change a few variables. 500 free throws at 90% success in 1 hour, jumpshots, eyes closed …
What Matters is Not Whether You Win or Lose
Whether you win or lose, you can be proud when you’ve given it your all and your best.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Life is not a scoreboard of wins and losses. Every day you are alive, you are in the game of life. The game is not about how much money you can make or how many titles or awards you can get.
What is the scoreboard, then? What is the purpose?
Look around you. Look at how the ants, the bees, the birds, and the butterflies live. They propagate life.
We are alive this day and each day to enter our cocoon. It's a unique cocoon, just for you to transform anew and be reborn in your mind and heart. Have you ever marvelled that what constitutes you came from just 46 chromosomes? But these body parts are not the real you. Your philosophies, values, beliefs, dreams, and purpose are your core.
Are you being you?
Thrive on Failure
Just a reminder:
You are allowed to fail. Really.
See your Magnum Opus, believe in your Magnum Opus, live your Magnum Opus and be your Magnum Opus.
Today’s Life Question:
Are you truly being you?
Dr. Kevin Ham
Just be you.
Next week:
Why Fear of Criticism is Stifling You
Your confidence is made either of sand or bricks. You determine which.
There is a time to listen to others and a time to listen to your heart.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
Leave Your Mark in This World
Timeless relevance in a world where it’s hard to stand out
Timeless relevance in a world where it’s hard to stand out
Paradise Lost was missing its mate, Paradise Regained, as blind John Milton saw Paradise in his darkness.
From the age of 12, John Milton dreamed of writing an epic story like Homer's Iliad. He believed he would and could. He trained himself in the works of the great writers throughout history, learned all the classical languages and dreamed of the epic he would one day write. Then, in his early 40s, he lost his eyesight. He lost all hope, believing that his dream had died with his blindness. He even wrote a sonnet, "On his blindness." Then, a flash of light arose in his heart; perhaps he could memorize his book and dictate it to his daughters to pen for him. In his blindness, he could imagine worlds beyond their mere physical appearance. He regained his belief that he could write something epic, something so transcendent that the world had never seen before.
Paradise Lost was his labour of love for the next 13 years. In his 10,000-word epic, he coined the term pandemonium. He combined his love of God, and the fall of man into a mesmerizing poem of epic proportions. He is one of my big role models, alongside Bach, Handel, Beethoven — who composed his last symphonies while deaf (listen to Symphony No. 5 and No. 9 full blast) and Helen Keller — though blind, deaf and mute from a young age who could see better than all of us (read a selection of her writings.)
In Your Weakness lies Your Strength
Most people believe their weakness is their weakness, but within your weakness lies your greatest strength. Thus it has been throughout all the ages.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Because I was bedridden with an autoimmune disease at age 14, I have always appreciated each day of health. This drove me to become a medical doctor. This past week, I was bedridden again from a itty bitty virus. It reminded me once again of just how weak and fragile I am. A little virus could wreak such havoc upon me in a short time.
The martial arts of Judo show us that another person's strength can be powerfully leveraged against them, and their weakness can be even more so. When I separated my left shoulder in Judo, I had to protect my left side a lot, so I attacked my opponent's left side, which was typically a person's weaker side. I won a lot of matches this way--as I was a right-handed fighter fighting like a left-handed person.
But when it comes to life, your deep desires and dreams arise from some essential deep need. Out of sickness, I sought health. Out of poverty (my parents were immigrants with very little), I sought to be wealthy. Out of weakness, I sought to be physically strong and fit. I've discovered that I can be in the top 1% through simple discipline, starting with just one sit-up per day.
What do you really desire deep down inside? Ask yourself why. It may be rooted in one of the six great fears of humankind:
Fear of poverty
Fear of loss of love
Fear of criticism
Fear of loss of health
Fear of old age
Fear of death.
(...Or maybe it is rooted in one of 7 great faiths--a topic for another time).
We tend to overcompensate for what we are weak in as we seek to complete ourselves. We want to be whole, holistic beings. But we all know that we each have an expiration date upon which we must return back to where we came from. And that which we fear the most is death, for upon that day, which we do not know, we cease to be. And so, deep down, we wish to leave our mark in the world so that we may live on.
We Exist Beyond This Present Time
That which is, will always be, forever and ever beyond the passage of time
Dr. Kevin Ham
We are blessed with life each day. And each day has enough of its own troubles and worries. We often wish that all the troublesome and hard things could forever go away and we just be left with the good. But we know that life teaches us that before joy there must be suffering. It is shown with the labour that birthed you, and so it is with every labour of love.
We must remind ourselves that what the world teaches us about success is not truly success. It is good to define what words truly mean to you. I used to think success meant fame, riches, high positions, titles, and awards. I have received many of these, but they have never fulfilled me for very long. But I am very fulfilled when I think of my loved ones and deep relationships. However, I also have a strong internal drive to accomplish my Magnum Opus. Like Milton wrote his Paradise Lost, his true Magnum Opus was Paradise Regained. Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 is epic but not as much as his No. 9. And what of all the works that led up to these?
Success is doing what you were meant to do or believe you were meant to do.
Only you can define what this is. To know thyself is great work only you can do. Just as Milton displayed that even blindness could not prevent his Magnum Opus when he believed it was possible to accomplish his great works, even so, it is with faith and perseverance you do your Magnum Opus to transcend time. Do not let time, space, criticism or any other constraint prevent you. With faith comes miracles.
I want to say a huge thank you to those who reply to this newsletter and let me know your thoughts and heart. Thank you dearly.
Bet on You
Just a reminder:
You are such a unique individual. No one will truly understand you 100%. Seek to understand yourself as deeply as you can. That is your insight. That is your true power.
I had a realization last week. I told my daughter why I love hugging her so much, and it is because I do not recall being hugged by my parents. Lately, I have been hugging my father, but he still doesn't hug me back :). He is 89.
My daughter has freely hugged me since.
See your Magnum Opus, believe in your Magnum Opus, live your Magnum Opus and be your Magnum Opus.
Today’s Life Question:
What truly lights you up?
Dr. Kevin Ham
Lean into this 100%, over and over again.
Next week:
Why Fear of Failure is Preventing Your Success
Your failures are the stepping stones to your success.
Failures are only truly failures when you give up on your way.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
Becoming a Renaissance (Wo)Man
You are made to unify wisdom from all walks of life liberally.
You are made to unify wisdom from all walks of life liberally.
You are neither just reason nor just rhyme. You are an epic poem in time.
To my dear friend, Rob T.,
When you didn't show up for lunch on Monday, I knew something was wrong. Something was so gravely wrong that I felt profoundly sad all day Monday and Tuesday. Today, I heard what happened.
When your business partner called me this morning, I knew my intuition was right. He told me you passed away in your home in San Francisco before your flight up to Vancouver. Just the day before, on Sunday morning, you texted, "Great…. Looking forward to it. See you then." You were such a wonderful person. I will miss you so much. You were only 58 and so full of life.
What is life when such moments come upon you? Each breath is so precious, and each life is ever more precious.
You are whole. You are human. You are soul. You are spirit. The psyche is the mind. You have two sides to you: logic (with sense and reason) and creativity (with imagination and innovation). Most people are right-handed, so the left of their brain, the logic side, develops more. We say, "It makes so much sense." "That's reasonable."
But we are creatures, creative beings who dream, imagine, make these dreams reality, and innovate. We aspire to what might not make sense, be reasonable, or be logical. This is the heart of the entrepreneur, the entrepreneurial spirit.
Which side do you lean on? I believe that we should develop both sides to realize our full potential. Those who do this are called "Renaissance men and women."
What is Renaissance?
Renaissance means rebirth. You must be reborn, like a caterpillar from its cocoon to a flying monarch adorn.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Leonardo da Vinci was trying to find a job when he was young. For ten paragraphs, he touted his engineering abilities to design bridges, waterways, cannons, buildings, and military engines. In the eleventh paragraph, he wrote, "Likewise in painting, I can do everything possible." Da Vinci is the perfect example of a Renaissance Man who mirrored the "infinite works of nature" that knit together the world in a tapestry of wonderful mathematical patterns with beauty and creativity.
You, too, have this within you. Both a scientific and engineering mind and a creative, artistic mind. The left and the right. Imagine if you were taught to use both the left and right hand to write? The left hand taps and develops the right creative side of your brain, and the right hand develops your brain's logical, scientific side. It is not that we are incapable; we haven't developed these two sides of ourselves evenly or with intention and practice. Even now, you can develop these parts within yourself to a much higher level.
I grew up with a creative mind and a musical spirit. Still, when I received a C+ in art, I decided to no longer take any courses in the arts that might affect my grades, as I believed at that young age it was essential to focus on mastering the sciences so I could get into medical school. Looking back, I wish I had a liberal arts education as an undergrad, as medical school was all science, logic, and process, with very little invention, art and creativity. I have this strong internal desire to excel in music and develop some musical and artistic masterpieces, even though I am a novice in these fields, having only played the piano for ten years.
The Generalist is the Specialist
Go deep like a microscope and see far like a telescope.
Dr. Kevin Ham
I had to decide whether to be a specialist or a generalist. I loved all the specialties as they delved deeper into each part of human health. Pediatrician if I wanted to work with children. Maybe a Geneticist, as I loved genetics. Surgery is known for its fast pace and immediate outcomes for patients. Oncology was interesting because cancer was/is such a devastating disease. Ophthalmology because the eye made an impression on me. However, I chose family medicine because I could learn about everything and meet so many people with so many different types of health issues. It allowed me to think about the whole person. Not just the body but also their soul and their spirit. About nutrition, exercise, the environment, family history, and genetics.
Steve Jobs took a calligraphy class he wasn't even enrolled in. This led to his love of typography and fonts, which became core to the beauty of the Apple computer. What if he hadn't taken this class? What would Apple products look like?
Which Voice Should You Listen to?
Which Voice Should You Listen to?
Prayer is the voice of the heart asking to be heard.
Dr. Kevin Ham
A Renaissance person is a holistic person, with a big worldview, with multiple points of philosophy that may seem to be opposing but fit in the construct of the imagination. Sometimes, the path that does not seem reasonable or make sense is the path that should be taken. That is the voice of the human heart. The voice of the logical mind cannot make rhyme or reason of such voice. So, which voice do you listen to?
In such times, I ask to "sleep and pray on it before making a decision." My logical mind and past experience already lead me to a decision, but I wish to give time and space to my heart to hear her voice, which quietly whispers and feels. People are often surprised because I follow my heart, which does not seem rational at that moment, but after the heart's decisions are all laid out in plain sight, it usually makes sense.
The senses operate from logic and avoid risk and danger.
The heart operates from love, compassion, generosity and grace and is willing to sacrifice itself.
Never Give Up on You
Just a big reminder:
You are one of life's greatest creations. You are here for many reasons. Cherish life.
See your Magnum Opus, believe in your Magnum Opus, live your Magnum Opus and be your Magnum Opus.
Today’s Life Question:
Of all life’s beauties, there is none more beautiful than your human heart.
Dr. Kevin Ham
What can you do to develop your heart and mind more fully?
• Choose one thing:Heart: love, generosity, compassion, meekness, humility, kindness, or nobility.
Mind: Reason, memory, perception, imagination, intuition or will.
Next week:
Don’t Miss Your Window of Opportunity
Timing is everything and the best decisions discern time, place and person.
Most times things don’t make sense, but it is the right moment in time to embrace the irrational and follow your heart.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
Resilience in Adversity
Every journey to Your Magnum Opus involves brutal setbacks and adversity.
Resilience is the mind to get back up even when everyone believes you can’t.
There comes a moment when you feel like giving up when it's just too hard, and you feel so trapped. You are about to throw in the towel and let life take you into the ground, but then a spark of resolve arises, whispering, "It's not the end yet. There is hope. You can live."
Have you ever had that moment?
This is the resilience in your heart, imploring your mind beyond reason that there is a purpose for you in this world. You just haven't discovered it fully yet. The setbacks, obstacles, adversities, and humbling blows push you down and drown you, but…
Adversities Are Your Mentors
We often seek mentors we admire, but the great mentors of our lives are the great adversities in which wisdom lies hidden.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Without resistance, there is no need for force to push forward. Without gravity, there is no dream to push upwards into space. If there is no adversity, what will shape your character, integrity, or resolve?
Just as weights, lifting reps heavier and heavier, tear and build new muscle and blood vessels, the weights of life come like waves, bigger and stronger as you confront them. If you are not pushed back, it will be difficult to develop your core values, mindset, and skillsets. These hardships are your mentors, just like coaches make you practice above and beyond your current abilities and capabilities.
I call this the "Hill Principle". I used to be very scared of riding up big hills. I once saw a cyclist fall because her chain snapped on the very hill I was about to ride up. After that day of riding, my knees hurt so much I could barely walk. This was a charity ride for cancer I was doing for my good friend Elliot Koo, who got a devastating cancer, sarcoma, at age 28 and died a good life at 30. I started riding up hills without fear when I thought of Elliot battling cancer. I could not imagine such a fight.
Now, I ride up large mountains, steep 25% hills, not merely to train my body but more so to train my mind and conquer my fears of the impossible. I started to ride standing up to generate more power up these 25% hills. Then, I developed the courage to ride up these steep hills sitting on my bike seat. Then I decided to ride up in the bigger, harder gear standing. Then, sitting, thinking that I would fall over. I got stronger and faster, climbing up the hills this way. They are still super hard, but now my body and mind are stronger.
The Hill Principle. Embrace it in everything that signals fear and conquer it by confronting it in bite-sizes until you can climb up that mountain of fear, pedal stroke by pedal stroke.
Resilience is the Hard Path to Your Magnum Opus
Life is just a series of setbacks to a dream placed deep in your heart that upon accomplishing it, you are ready to go onto the eternal stage of life.
Dr. Kevin Ham
The more you dream of doing your Magnum Opus, the more setbacks you will encounter, and they will become harder as you dream bigger. Each setback will either make you fall or make you stronger.
When I read the story of how God allowed the tribes in the land of Canaan to remain in order to train the younger generation in battle, as they had not yet experienced battle, it made me reflect on all the adversities I have had in my life. There were times when I was depressed, in despair, and sometimes suicidal. Still, looking back, I see how they made me resilient and full of grit — a tenacity to relentlessly overcome obstacles in different ways to advance to my dream.
Never Give Up on You
Just one big reminder:
When you think it's over, remember that it's not — you are just in the cocoon stage, and when you eventually emerge from your cocoon, you will be bestowed with a life-changing transformation. And unlike a butterfly, you will have many cocoon experiences that will transform you.
See your Magnum Opus, believe in your Magnum Opus, live your Magnum Opus and be your Magnum Opus.
Today’s Life Question:
What great mentor did you not see because she was dressed as Adversity?
Dr. Kevin Ham
What big hills do you still need to face?
• A hill that is not confronted will repeat in various forms (patterns) until you face it and eventually climb that mountain.Reflect upon the cocoons of your life.
Next week:
Becoming a Renaissance (Wo)Man
You are made to unify wisdom from all walks of life liberally.
You are neither just reason nor just rhyme. You are an epic poem in time.
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
The Courage to Your Magnum Opus
Greatness requires bold action and willingness to stand alone.
Greatness requires bold action and willingness to stand alone.
Your Faith
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther
Deep in your heart, you feel you have something of note, something important to do in this life you are granted. Perhaps that is buried so deep in your soul that you have forgotten what that might be. When you were younger, did you dream of doing something, of being somebody?
I used to stare at the sun, seemingly so close yet far away — an apt analogy to the dreams in my heart — so near, yet so distant. I pondered my life. I felt extremely depressed at the ripe age of 11. I felt some hope, but I felt more despair. I thought about the struggles of life and felt it was too hard. Perhaps I could make it all disappear if I stepped out into busy traffic. But I didn't want to make my mom sad or disappoint her. So, I thought about what I could do in life to make it meaningful.
The answer came to me at 14; I became so ill that I could not walk or move, and at that point, I resolved to become a medical doctor. I knew. I believed I was going to be a doctor right then and there. Nothing was going to stop me.
My faith drove me from age 14 until I became a doctor at age 30. Even though I failed to get into medical school immediately after my undergraduate degree, I still believed I would eventually get in—even if it took another four years. The failure fueled me to think, act, and pray even harder. I was accepted a year later.
Find your faith in life, and you will conquer any fears or doubts.
Your Vision
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
What visions have you had?
What visions have become deeply embedded in your heart?
In 1984, at age 14, I saw that I would become a medical doctor.
In 1993, at age 23, I saw thatI would become an Internet entrepreneur.
In 2000, at age 30, I saw that I would build a great media company in 20-30 years.
In 2017, I saw that crypto would be a big trust layer of the Internet.
In 2018, I saw that NVIDIA would be an essential part of singularity and traded my Google stock for NVIDIA.
In 2018, I also saw that I would make a Broadway musical and movie in 10 years.
In 2019, I saw that I would be co-owner of a pro cycling team, helping Canadian riders.
In 2024, I saw that I would create a great AI company.
What do I see in 2025? That is the question I ask, think and pray about in January.
What do you see for your life?
What visions do you have?
How strongly do you believe in your visions?
Alfred Hitchcock visualized all of his movies. Then, he wrote the scripts and described the visual scenes on paper. Then he shot the film.
Jordan Peele said the same thing for his movie ‘Get Out’. He visualized it every night.
What do you visualize and see for your life?
What Edison Visualized
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
Thomas Edison
Many people know Thomas Edison, who was sent home from school because he had learning difficulties. His mother told him, "Your teacher says you are a genius, and this school is too small for you. They don't have the resources to teach someone as brilliant as you, so I will teach you at home."
But his teacher's note said that he was 'addled,' meaning he was mentally deficient and not fit for the school. His mother homeschooled him and fostered his sense of curiosity and love of learning.
Learning implies that failure or not knowing is essential, and curiosity eventually reveals the truth.
In 1877, at 30, Edison had a vision for a recorder that could play back telephone messages.
"I want to record the human voice and have it speak back."
How determined was he?
"I am going to invent a machine that will record and reproduce sound, and I will do it if it takes the rest of my life."
Amazingly, it took him less than a year, but he resolved to do it, even if it took him the rest of his life.
After that, he went to work on the light bulb.
Edison said he found 10,000 ways that won't light up the light bulb. He didn’t say he failed. He was determined to find a way. How many more times was he willing to ‘not succeed’? How did he have the courage to continue?
He had a great vision and great faith that he would find a way. He had great courage to continue to learn and experiment.
And what was his vision? He saw a city of lights. In an era where candles were the only source of light at night, he saw an electrical system. It became his quest to deliver on his vision of a city of lights that inspired him to invent the light bulb.
"We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles."
Do you have the vision, the faith and the courage to dedicate your life to your dream?
Courage is sacrifice and acting despite your doubts and fears.
The courage to act comes from the roots of your faith and your vision.You must stand and believe in yourself and what you dream in your heart.
Faith requires steady, consistent actions to make your dream a reality. A miracle is just speeding up the time to be miraculous, and time is sped up with faith, vision, and action.
Visualize Your Vision
Just two big reminders:
Your heart is your soul's eyes. Look and see from your heart.
Have faith in you. Have faith in your vision. This faith is in your heart and not in your head.
See your Magnum Opus, believe in your Magnum Opus, live your Magnum Opus and be your Magnum Opus.
Today’s Life Question:
See your life from your heart, not your eyes and your current reality. This is how greatness is born. It's born in your heart and then seen in the world.
Dr. Kevin Ham
What are the visions of your life?
Every night, dream and visualize it.
Upon waking, daydream, visualize and pray about it.
Write them down in your notebook.
Write them down in your Notes on your mobile phone.
Just one or two sentences like Edison did.
Next week:
Relentless Iteration to Mastery
Greatness is a process of constant refinement from failure to discovery.
Step by step walk the thousand-mile road.
Miyamoto Musashi
See you next Thursday!
Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.
The 10 Obstacles Holding You Back From Your Magnum Opus
These 10 Obstacles to Greatness hold you back from your Magnum Opus.
These 10 Obstacles to Greatness hold you back from your Magnum Opus.
Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.
C.S. Lewis
(The trials of life shape the character needed to complete great work.)
Your Magnum Opus
Good is the enemy of Great.
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great.
Have you ever felt like you were meant to do something GREAT..? And you've been searching for what that might be? You thought it would be this, that, but you felt ill-equipped, untrained, not good enough, not worthy, or someone told you it was a bad idea? Self-doubt, lack of confidence, lack of courage, lack of self-belief … And the list goes on why you cannot do something GREAT.
It's just a handful of things that truly hold you back from your GREATNESS.
I went to a Hans Zimmer concert. He's the guy who puts great music to movies, like Batman and all of Christopher Nolan's movies, like Interstellar, as well as the soundtrack to Gladiator and Dune. I love his music. He said that he's been trying to do his great work (his Magnum Opus) and almost obtained it with this song. He started to play his Interstellar and played on the church organ. It was mesmerizing and beautiful. But he's still seeking to play his Magnum Opus song.
Hans is 67. He's received 12 Academy Award nominations and won two for Lion King and the recent Dune movie. He's still on his quest for ultimate greatness.
What's preventing him still?
Welcome to week 2 in our 12-week series on "The Journey to Your Greatness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Your Magnum Opus."
Many fail to realize their Magnum Opus, their life's great work, because of Ten Common Obstacles that derail their journey.
Let's uncover these 10 obstacles to greatness.
10 Obstacles to Greatness
Visualize your Magnum Opus as if it was the only purpose of your life. And ask God for the eyes to see from your heart.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Solve these 10 Obstacles:
Creating a magnum opus — a defining work of greatness — requires a rare combination of overcoming three big fears and seven significant lacks. This requires vision, persistence, courage, and opportunity. Most people never achieve theirs for these key reasons:
The 3 Great Fears:
We had great faith when we were young, but we placed an emphasis on avoiding our fears as we grew older. Embrace faith once again. Believe in yourself and your mission.
1. Fear of Failure
Barrier: Fear of failing, being criticized, or not meeting expectations prevents people from even starting. We never had this fear of failure when we were young. You learned to walk, talk, and do so many things without fear of failure. Why now?
Root Cause: You are taught not to take risks. Society often discourages risk-taking, promoting "safe" choices instead.
Example: Michelangelo faced enormous pressure while painting the Sistine Chapel but embraced the challenge. Many avoid similar risks, fearing they might fall short. Aim for greatness.
2. Fear of Judgment
Barrier: The desire to fit in and avoid criticism leads people to conform rather than push boundaries. This can come from the people who care most about you.
Root Cause: Pursuing a magnum opus often requires going against the grain, which can attract skepticism or hostility.
Example: Vincent van Gogh was ridiculed in his lifetime but persisted. Many fear rejection and abandon their ambitions.
3. Fear of Sacrifice
Barrier: Achieving a magnum opus often requires significant sacrifices—time, relationships, resources—that many are unwilling to make.
Root Cause: People prioritize short-term pleasures or stability over long-term legacy.
Example: Newton spent years in isolation during the plague, developing his revolutionary ideas in Principia Mathematica. Many aren't willing to endure similar solitude or effort.
The 7 Great Lacks
We think we lack, but we lack nothing.
1. Lack of Vision
Barrier: It's hard to have vision until you see it. Ask, and you shall receive. Ask what the vision of your Magnum Opus may be. There will be a revelation.
Root Cause: Don't get caught up in the day-to-day grind or settle for mediocrity, never asking, What is the one great thing I want to leave behind?
Example: Einstein envisioned a unified theory of the universe over ten years, doing thought experiments.
2. Lack of "Why"
Barrier: Without a deep sense of purpose, most struggle to sustain the energy and passion needed for a magnum opus.
Root Cause: People often pursue external validation (money, fame) instead of an internal drive to create something meaningful and personal.
Example: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was driven by a profound desire to express the human spirit, even though he was deaf. A shallow "why" cannot sustain such efforts.
3. Lack of Focus
Barrier: Most people live in a constant state of distraction and cannot dedicate focused, deep work toward a single vision. Even an hour of deep work per day can produce remarkable results.
Root Cause: The modern world encourages multitasking and shallow work over sustained, focused effort.
Example: Isaac Newton spent years obsessively focused on a few key problems, producing Principia Mathematica. Most people never dedicate themselves fully to one pursuit.
4. Lack of Discipline
Barrier: A magnum opus requires relentless focus, hard work, and time—qualities many struggle to maintain.
Root Cause: Modern distractions (e.g., social media, entertainment) and an inability to delay gratification derail long-term projects.
Example: Kobe Bryant spent countless hours refining his craft, getting an extra practice in at 4 a.m. just to practice three times instead of the pro's two practices a day. Most people aren't willing to sacrifice comfort or leisure for such dedication.
5. Lack of Resilience
Barrier: Setbacks, criticism, and failure often deter people from pursuing their goals. This, perhaps, is the most common obstacle.
Root Cause: Most people lack the mental toughness to persevere through challenges and rejection.
Example: Walt Disney faced bankruptcy and countless rejections before creating Snow White and Disneyland. Many give up after their first few failures. Edison said he failed 10,000 times in the creation of the light bulb. Wow.
6. Lack of Mastery
Barrier: People often attempt greatness without first mastering the fundamentals of their craft. You cannot break the rules if you don't know the rules.
Root Cause: Focusing on shortcuts and impatience prevents the years of effort needed to build expertise.
Example: Bach composed over 1,000 pieces before his Mass in B Minor. Many lack the patience to invest in such rigorous preparation. This mindset does not bow down to time but lets time ferment mastery.
7. Lack of Drive to the Finish
Barrier: Settling for "good enough" prevents people from striving for greatness.
Root Cause: Once people achieve modest success, they often stop pushing themselves, mistaking comfort for fulfillment.
Example: Steve Jobs was never satisfied with "good enough," which drove his constant innovation. Most lack this drive. Why? Observe the ants the wisest King Solomon pleas to you.
How to Overcome These Obstacles
Define Your Vision: Ask yourself, What do I want my legacy to be?
Embrace Failure: Recognize that failure is part of the process and a sign of growth.
Cultivate Discipline: Build habits that prioritize long-term goals over short-term gratification.
Seek Mastery: Invest time learning and refining your craft before attempting greatness.
Find Your Why: Connect your work to a purpose larger than yourself.
Build Resilience: Treat setbacks as stepping stones, not dead ends.
Eliminate Distractions: Create environments and routines that foster deep, focused work. Start with just 10 minutes daily. Then, increase as you build momentum. Think about doing it for a month, a quarter, a year, two years, three years and keep going. You cannot but progress with such a tortoise and ant mindset. Don't be the hare.
Make Your Legacy
Just two big reminders:
You do not lack. In time, you will gain all that you need. This is an incredible journey, adventure and purpose of your life.
Pursue faith over fears.
Most people never create their magnum opus because they let fear, complacency, or distractions hold them back. Greatness requires a clear vision, relentless effort, and a willingness to sacrifice comfort for impact. Those who overcome these barriers—like Newton, Einstein, Michelangelo, and Kobe Bryant—leave legacies that inspire generations.
Today’s Life Question:
There is often a big bottleneck in your life. Figure out what that is and flow through life.
Dr. Kevin Ham
What is your main constraint or obstacle for your Magnum Opus to be?
Start with the one that holds you back and work through them one by one until there are no more obstacles.
Write them down and figure out how to overcome each obstacle one by one.
Next week:
The Courage to Your Magnum Opus
Greatness requires bold action and willingness to stand alone.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther
A timeless expression of trust and courage in the face of uncertainty.
See you next Thursday!
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Unlocking Your Greatness: Your Journey to Your Magnum Opus (Your Great Work)
Patterns of Greatness do have reason and rhyme. Follow them and you rise to your Great Magnum Opus.
Patterns of Greatness do have reason and rhyme. Follow them and you rise to your Great Magnum Opus.
Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
Your Magnum Opus
Do great things, for you are destined for greatness.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Welcome to the first edition of 2025 in our 12-week series on "The Journey to Your Greatness: Achieving Your Magnum Opus."
Each week, we will delve into the lives of extraordinary individuals who achieved their magnum opus — and their contemporaries who fell short — to uncover the patterns of greatness we can apply to our own lives.
Achieving your Magnum Opus revolves around seven patterns of greatness — universal traits that drive success. Many fail to realize their Magnum Opus, their life's great work, because of seven common obstacles that derail their journey.
Let's first uncover the seven patterns of greatness.
Seven Patterns of Greatness
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
Pablo Picasso
(Sharing your magnum opus with the world is one of your life’s great purpose.)
Achieving your Magnum Opus requires mastering these seven patterns:
1. Vision Beyond the Immediate: Visualize a bigger picture and work toward a purpose greater than themselves.
Steve Jobs envisioned computers as tools for creative empowerment, not just machines.
2. Relentless Iteration To Mastery: Greatness is a process of constant refinement from failure to discovery.
Marie Curie spent years isolating radium; even when progress was slow, setbacks pushed her back, and obstacles seemed insurmountable.
3. Resilience in Adversity: Every journey to greatness involves brutal setbacks and adversity.
Walt Disney faced bankruptcy and repeated failures but persevered to create an empire of happiness, imagination and magic.
4. Courage to Act: Bold decisions define legacies.
Steve Jobs risked everything to return to Apple in 1997, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, and radically transformed it when others thought it fruitless.
5. Synthesis of Diverse Disciplines: Innovators integrate knowledge and wisdom from many fields.
Da Vinci combined science, engineering and art to revolutionize art and human thinking.
6. Mastery of Timing: Understanding when to act, balancing patience with seizing opportunities at the right moment.
Walt Disney delayed the opening of Disneyland until his vision aligned with the necessary resources and technology, ensuring its monumental success.
7. Timeless Relevance: A Magnum Opus endures across generations.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 Ode to Joy remains a masterpiece.
Today’s Life Question:
If you can dream it, you can do it.
Walt Disney
(A magnum opus begins with a vision that dares to dream beyond the ordinary.)
What do you wish for your Magnum Opus to be?
Walt Disney envisioned a magical kingdom of happiness for families.
Steve Jobs envisioned making a dent in the world by creating innovative products that push humanity beyond the status quo.
Martin Luther envisioned freedom from religion and state.
What dream of greatness has been set in your heart?
Being a great father, mother, son or daughter?
A great teacher? A great doctor? A great author? A great entrepreneur? A great athlete? A great reader? A great thinker? A great driver? A great friend? A great lover? A great poet?
A great _____ by doing ______?
Next week:
The 7 Obstacles Holding You Back From Your Magnum Opus
Just as the 7 Patterns of Greatness lead to success, the 7 Obstacles to Greatness hold you back from your Magnum Opus.
Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.
C.S. Lewis
(The trials of life shape the character needed to complete great work.)
See you next Thursday!
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The 3 Things That Make You Unique
What are you a triathlete of? Explore your blend of abilities that make you truly unique.
What are you a triathlete of? Explore your blend of abilities that make you truly unique.
Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
- Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)
Have you ever wondered what made you unique? Special?
I pondered this as a child. I loved reading, numbers, dreaming, and riding my bike. I wanted to prevent and cure disease. I wanted to share God's love.
But I wasn't exceptional at any one thing.
The best triathletes aren't the best at cycling, swimming, or running, but they are really good at each of them, and when woven together, they excel. If they only competed in cycling, swimming, or running, where fractions of seconds decide whether you matter or not, they would be quickly forgotten.
So, what are your unique abilities and dreams, and how can you weave them together to be especially unique? See this, and your whole world will change!
1. Your Experiences are Your Key to Unlock Your Greatness
The only source of knowledge is experience.
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
I've always been a generalist, not a specialist. I've been a Family Doctor, CEO, and generalist. I thought that was a weakness. When I read David Epstein's book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, I realized I was uniquely positioned to combine my love for health, wealth, and wisdom.
When you lose something, you can despair or fight to rise again.
I lost my health when I was 14 and vowed to learn about health so that I could help others. I became a doctor at 30. I don't teach health in hospitals or clinics but at community events, Bible and business conferences, and food festivals (and in the future via newsletters, social media, and books). I teach health as philanthropy. I learn so much more in these diverse settings and communities.
But to do that, I asked above for the wisdom to be an entrepreneur, a purveyor of wealth principles. My specialty is online startups intersecting with tech and the real world while bootstrapping.
I learned from my wise mentors that I should always seek wisdom, walk with wise people, and immerse myself in books that unlock wisdom.
The ability to connect seemingly unrelated fields allows for more insight and connections — making one exceptional in a special class. Don't limit yourself to a single narrow path; instead, cultivate a wide array of experiences that can give you unique perspectives.
2. Trial and Error is the Way
Mistakes are the portals of discovery.
- James Joyce (1882-1941)
Since I had not taken any business courses when I started my entrepreneurial ventures, I applied what I knew — the Scientific method:
Form a hypothesis, a list of assumptions.
Design an experiment.
Gather the data and get results.
Then iterate upon your hypothesis and assumptions until you discover ‘truth’.
Trial and error were the norm. But in school and business, you are taught you should not fail. Failure and learning are part of the process to discover truth. Don’t shy away from this, but lean deeper into trial and experimentation, designing and conducting the experiments to disprove your hypothesis (way of thinking) and assumptions (false beliefs) as quickly as possible in order to unearth truths.
Rather than sticking rigidly to one way of doing things, people who excel are often those who experiment and learn from their failures. The most successful people often take a winding path, testing different interests before finding their sweet spot. For personal growth, being open to making mistakes and iterating on lessons learned is key to standing out.
3. Thinking in Decades
Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.
- Bill Gates (1955-present)
Reading the stories in the Bible taught me to think long term. When God promised something, it often took decades, centuries, or millennia to be accomplished. But our natural inclination is to expect to realize our dreams quickly. We then give up too easily on our dreams.
What are your goals for each decade of your life? Your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s…80s, 90s, 100s? Work backwards from 120 to your present age.
I've done this exercise often. At 100, I would like to:
ride my bike 100 km and do 10 pull-ups
recite the book of Proverbs and
have donated 100 million dollars to health and church
These are subsets of the impact and measures of health, wealth and spiritual health for me.
While specializing early might give you a short-term advantage, you position yourself for better long-term success when you take time to explore and learn more broadly. Developing a range of competencies helps you be more adaptable and prepared to innovate or pivot when necessary, making you more resilient and exceptional in the long run. Play the long game.
Your Life Question:
You are most special but somewhere along the way, you forgot just how special. Remind yourself daily why you are special.
What are your 3 unique abilities?
List them now.
Then, a metric that will measure your progress for each of them, both a quantitative and qualitative metric.
For my health, I focus on VO2Max (a measure of oxygen utilization) and my 122 km bike ride to Whistler once a year. Ten years ago, it took me 5:07. This year, I did it in 4:01. Next year, my goal is 3:45.
My Life Lesson Then (from my younger self):
Dreams are meant to come true but we often forget to even dream, let along believe that our dreams can come true.
Dream and ponder.
I loved reading fantasy and science fiction books when I was young. The stories allowed me to travel across the universe and time, to imagine what life could be, and why not?
Life Advice Now (from my present self):
People dream of heaven, but we often don’t realize that heaven starts within us.
Let heaven come to earth. All dreams to become true must manifest while we walk the earth.
How do you pull the spiritual realm of the heavens into you and onto this earth? You pray and seek wisdom, networking with those who have similar dreams and align with you. Even the Son of God had 12 disciples.
Next week:
The One Thing that Skyrockets You to Success
The secret of all the most successful people in history.
The 80/20 principle states that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of efforts. Focus on the few things that truly matter, and success will follow.
Richard Koch (1950-present)
See you next Thursday!
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7 Principles of Life
Are You Really Living Each Day?
Are You Really Living Each Day?
You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?
Rumi (1207-1273)
I am now 54. How many more years? How many more days? To live. To matter. To dream. To do. If I am average, I have just 10,000 more days!
When I was in my 20s and 30s, I thought I had lots of time. Now, I think I have about five projects I can do with strength and vigour. I am more aware of why Warren Buffet reserved ten slots to invest well. He said he envisioned a punch card with ten slots, and every time he invested, there would be one less slot. Quentin Tarantino only planned to make ten movies. He has made nine thus far. One more left. Wow. I can't wait for his 10th and final film.
I have many dreams, but I have narrowed my list to the following: a Broadway musical, an AI company, a health and wellness retreat at Camp Howdy, publishing a series of books, three movies, and Gospel Media Network… Which ones shall I do first?
Life is short, but there is enough time to do what you are uniquely positioned to do, that only you can do. I have thought a lot about the principles of life. There are many, but if I had to boil it down to just seven, these would be the top for me.
1. You are a miracle. A unique miracle who will never walk this earth again.
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Out of the tens of millions of sperm cells from your father and one of the half a million egg cells, you are the unique genetic and environmental combination that will never exist again. You are truly unique. You seek to belong, to have purpose and meaning. That which we seek will eventually be found, but you must ask, seek and knock with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength. The world is waiting for you to reveal your heart. Someone is waiting for you. That has always been my philosophy, even when I was in despair or felt invisible. But after decades of seeking, I am discovering myself, finding my tribe, and voicing my heart. It may be one person (me) or some others who feel similarly or aspire to a greater vision and version of themselves, but I know each of us is here for a reason. Just like your chair, your table, your bed.
2. You are born upside down. You need to be born upright.
Being born again means becoming who you were always meant to be.
Siri Mitchell (1965-present)
My first child, Jessi, was about to be born, but she wasn’t coming out. She was feet first. A footling breech. We had an emergency C-section. She was fine and it was one of the most glorious days of my life to hold her in my arms.
The natural way to be born is head first. This means almost everyone in the world is born upside down. I believe that while you walk this earth, you need be once again be born rightside up- upright. We all wish to be upright before a Creator and our fellow man. Sometimes we lose our way and feel like we are tumbling around all over the place, stuck in sin and in guilt. We honour those who have integrity, who admit their faults, who are humble, who sacrifice, who serve, who are trustworthy, who are good and kind. We do so because they are being upright. Plant your feet firmly on the ground and stand upright, stand tall, and be who you are meant to be.
3. Your days are numbered, but you believe you are immortal.
Teach us to number our days so we may have a heart of wisdom.
Moses (1391 BC - 1271 BC)
We say ‘Friends forever’, ‘Love always’. We have eternity in our hearts and yet we know that just as we have a birthday, we will also have a death day. Most do not think about this latter day. We see it on tombstones. In my quotes, I reference the year of the quoter’s birth and their death. It is a reminder that we are mortal, that we should be wise to spend each of our days, as if it were our last. Memento mori - ‘remember death’ is wise. It seems sombre and grim, but it reminds us to be grateful for each moment, each breath, each person, whether good or bad, for everything is a tutor for us, if we have the eyes and ears to sense. Steve Jobs never believed in an ‘off’ button, because he believed life persisted forever. His products tried to eliminate this on/off button. We will one day have an off button but our souls and spirits will persist. That is forever in our hearts.
Don’t count the days; make the days count.
Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)
4. You are just water, dust and air. But you have a soul and spirit too.
The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.
Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)
We are 70% water, just like the earth. Why water? We are but recycled dust for the remainder of our bodies. We have iron. Why? We have metals like Selenium, Magnesium. We breathe air, but why? 80% of our cells are red blood cells. 20-30 trillion red blood cells (rbc). Each rbc has 270 million hemoglobin! Each hemoglobin can hold 8 oxygen molecules. This blood must flow so that it supplies this oxygen to the rest of our cells- to produce energy (ATP) in the mitochondria in our cells. It’s complex but we don’t even have to think about it. Just breathe and life happens. We can then use our thoughts, our minds and our spirits to create amazing things that nourish and inspire one another. This is the gift, our creations, our innovations. We have become like gods, creating and destructively innovating to the heavens above. Our bodies are just temporary vehicles for our soul and spirit that longs to live forever.
5. What separates you from life and death is just a breath. But that breath of life has more power than anything in this universe when combined with love.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
We breathe 12 times a minute all the time. The minute we stop breathing (try holding your breath for a minute), we start to suffer. Four minutes without oxygen, our brain stops working. After five minutes, we are no longer alive. Just 5 minutes separates us from the living to the dead. Grim. How are we so fragile?
While we have breath, we desire to share this breath with others. With some, it is a deep and lasting love. Others, a seasonal love. And sometimes heartbreak, when our breath ceases, we part from loved ones.
When breath combines with love, it is the most potent force in the universe. There is nothing more powerful. This is the most important principle in the universe and is contained in one word: LOVE.
When the breath is unsteady, all is unsteady. When the breath is still, all is still.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th century)
6. You are love, but that love is trapped inside your soul and spirit.
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
Rumi (1207-1273)
We are love incarnate, but that love is wrapped and encased in protective layers we have built so that our hearts never get hurt. Love wishes to escape and express itself through thoughts, emotions, words, works, and actions, but rejection and criticism imprison it again. The layers of encasements over the years make us invulnerable, 'protected,' but we are now entombed alive, our hearts buried, and the grounds of our hearts hardened and loveless.
Let love be free. Let it endear other's hearts. Love hurts because it is sacrifice.
The 30 trillion red blood cells each gave up its nucleus, its life, and thus lived only 120 days in the service of the rest of your cells. This is an expression of love embedded in your life, in your body, for an example to follow. Serve, provide love and life to others, and forgive and take away their hurt and wastes of life.
7. You wish to do all that is in your heart, but to do that you must rest deeply and be still.
He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
While we spend most of our thoughts and time in activity, the law of life requires that for one day a week, we rest completely, pondering life and our purpose.
Each day, we are also required to rest, not only sleep. And each hour we also require rest. Each moment we blink, we rest. Each moment we breathe, our heart and our body rest. After we exercise intensely, it is followed by rest.
We must be still and rest, not only in our bodies but also in our soul and spirit. Our minds must rest. But we are bombarded more than ever, and there is no separation between work and life, family and self. COVID tried to teach us and ask us, "What is essential? What really matters? If you are quarantined alone, what is life without anyone else?" We must rest a short while, but then we must reconnect deeply with others, with the world, to serve and give.
My Life Questions:
The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)
1. What will you start doing today that you dreamed about all your life?
Only you can search deep into your heart and mine this out. Seek it deeply and start today, as soon as you can. What is your first step? Do it. What is your next step? Place the last step to your dream and work backwards. And pray. Amen means "Let it be so."
My Life Lessons Then (from my younger self):
God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.
Billy Graham (1918-2018)
1. I thought I had lots of time to do all that I wanted.
Experiment to find the ten things you want to do in life. Write and narrow your list down to 10. Continually revise and replan as you discover yourself.
2. I dreamed a lot but realized action is equally as important as dreaming.
We only have one life on this earth. Please don't waste it idly. Press on diligently, like the ant. In their short lives, they teach us that we are part of a community that serves.
3. I am a romantic idealist.
I always dreamed of 'happily ever after in love.' My mother died in 2006. I fell sick and ill. I was heartbroken many times. I failed many times in school and business. But I still dream of 'happily ever after.' I get back up after I am knocked down. One day, I won't be able to get up. But my spirit will live on. Happily ever after.
Life Advice Now (from my present 54 year old self):
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
1. Love deeply, self first and then others more.
Seek to know yourself deeply. This is the first law. But even more is to love yourself deeply. Then, love others deeply. Besides, there is only one greater law. To love God. But if you cannot love yourself, how can you love others? If you cannot love others, how can you love God?
2. Forgive always. It is the greatest gift you can give.
Whether someone apologizes or not, forgiveness is the greatest expression of love and is even more powerful when given without an apology.
3. Wander outwards but eventually come home to your heart and then give your heart everywhere.
You always have to come to your true home—your heart. All life and love stem from the heart. Keep your heart pure and cleanse it from the stains of this world and yourself. Love always.
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.
Lewis B. Smedes (1921-2002)
Next week:
7 Principles of Blood
You understand life If you understand blood.
In every drop of my blood, there is life, and in every beat of my heart, there is love.
See you next Thursday!
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7 Life Crisis Moments - The First 4: Identity, Belonging, Purpose, Relationships
It isn’t a question of if, it’s a question of when.
It isn’t a question of if, it’s a question of when.
The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.
W. M. Lewis (1878-1945)
Life is a miracle. The sun, 192 million miles away, gives us light and warmth. The clouds give us rain. The seas and mountains are the calm and majestic grandeur of being. Like the waves that toss to and fro in the storm, some moments in life swell our souls up and down through the vortex of crisis. We have seven major life crisis moments. Each one a major challenge, but also necessary as steps for growth. These crises are universal, through which every person must traverse. I am in the final two life crisis moments, having passed five.
Crisis of Identity (Youth)
The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
Who am I? I am not my body. I cannot see my soul or my spirit. The world tells and taunts me to conform — just fit in. They tell us who we should be. Don't stick out and be myself. Societal norms and our education label us and conform us, and we tend to gravitate to a standard, and so we lose our individuality and the development of our soul and spirit.
I often stared at the sun, pondering this question. I read books to explore the human spirit. I travelled in these writings far and wide and felt I was not yet myself. My family life was in disarray. My father left us, and my mother, reconciling with him, moved us from London, Ontario, to Vancouver, Canada.
You are not defined by external labels or circumstances, I realized. I am shaped by my values, and my words and my behaviour shape my reputation. I was both a sinner and a saint. I would try to lean into the saint side of me. I would embrace this journey of self-discovery, a lifelong process to answer this age-old question: Who am I?
I am me. I am Kevin Ham. I am a dreamer who dreams of doing something great for my fellow humans — to inspire, to help others unlock the heart of their human potential, and also do great things myself. I would be a healer of souls. I would be a renaissance man, living and creating the dreams in my heart. Diving deep into my heart, I would explore myself, unearth the gold deep inside of me, and show it through pictures, words, poetry, books, musicals and movies.
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Crisis of Belonging (Adolescence)
True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.
Brené Brown (1965-)
My father left his job at Ford and started his own business, a grocery store called Pinto. I would see the bags of coins he brought home. I would take handfuls of coins, go to school, and give them to my classmates. That was my way of quickly making a lot of friends. I did this until the teacher told my parents.
Where do I belong? That is the next question we need to answer. While we start to discover ourselves, we quickly realize that we need to be part of something greater than ourselves to fit in yet be authentic. Peer pressure to conform to the group to belong outstrips the desire to be who we truly are. Do we fit into predefined, predetermined moulds and lose ourselves in the pursuit of acceptance?
It forces us to absolve our identity in return for acceptance and belonging. We encase our spirit and soul with layer upon layer of armour that protects us from being hurt. We shield our inner selves and mask ourselves to look and feel part of our tribe. We no longer unsheathe or unclothe our hearts to be vulnerable.
But despite being part of the tribe, we don't feel we truly belong until we find a person or cause that allows us to put our guard down and be truly vulnerable — to speak and feel with our hearts.
True belonging comes from self-acceptance, not the airs of conformity and camouflage. It happens when you connect with people who see and appreciate your authenticity.
Value depth over breadth of relationships and seek out people who value you for who you truly are rather than what they want you to be.
The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
Crisis of Purpose (Early Adult)
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
But why am I here? I want to do something in this world, but what? I want success, but what is success for me? We are told to get a good education, a good job, a good salary, and a good title and position. Without a deep purpose, these feel hollow.
It is said there are two most important days in your life: the day you are born and the day you understand and know why. The first was September 25, 1970. The second was August 5, 1986, the day I first believed in God, when I was born again.
It is the reason I keep going. I dream of building God.com, Religion.com, and Heaven.com once I get Jesus.com. I obtained the first three over 7 years, and the last one is still pending after 24 years.
I just came back from Guatemala, where I gave two health talks on the 7 Principles of Life and the 7 Principles of Blood. I felt that this is what I love to do. I connected these principles to body, mind, and spirit.
The pursuit of purpose isn't about achieving a title or status. It's about finding work and a way of life that brings deep meaning to your life and fills your spirit with joy and peace. Instead of focusing on external reward and validation, focus on internal fulfillment and peace.
Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.
Viktor Frankl (1905-1997)
Crisis of Relationships (20s/30s)
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
I am a romantic. Aren't we all? We dream of princes and princesses, fairy tale endings, and happily ever after. The Bible tells the story of Adam. He was given authority over all creation. Then, he was asked to name all the animals. As he named them one by one, he saw that each animal had a mate, male and female. This is what he lacked. He had no soul mate, even though he was all-powerful and perfect. His soul lacked love.
Then, from his rib was made a woman, Eve, bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, and the two became one — two bodies, one heart.
In the pursuit of success and ambition, relationships are in the background. Instead, they should be the most important. It isn't for what we live but for who we live our lives for and with. Our spirit and soul desire a deep-seated connection with someone who matters most to us and who matters deeply to us. This feeling of love on so many levels, whether it is friends, family, or a life partner, fills our souls with love.
Love is the most potent force in the world. Kings fall under its sway and give up their thrones. Love is blind because it does not adhere to the rules and laws of cultures, religions and countries. Love has no boundaries. Who matters most in your life? Prioritize them always. All that you do is for them.
Relationships are not just maintained; they are nurtured and cultivated with love, genuine care, and empathy over a long time. Make sure you create these moments, taking the time to make people feel special.
Find your true loves in all facets of your life.
Intense love does not measure, it just gives.
Mother Teresa (1910–1997)
My Life Questions:
Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.
André Malraux (1901–1976)
Who am I?
Sometimes, it is helpful to break this question down into sub-questions.
What are your three core values? Write them down.
What are the dreams in your heart? Write them down.
What are the plans to make your dreams come true? Write them down, experiment, and redefine this plan often as you navigate them.
My Life Lessons Then (from my younger self):
The most common form of despair is not being who you are.
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
1. Be true to yourself. Focus deep.
You may go far and wide, but eventually, you must go deep into your heart and explore its depths for your fears, dreams, and being.
2. Never quit.
It's easy to quit because sometimes life becomes too hard. I often thought of suicide when I was younger. But I didn't want to disappoint my mom. If I had lost her early, I perhaps would have had no hope. When we are in moments of despair, we may call it quits. At these times, we must go deep and resolve never to quit. I made that decision. I think it was the best decision of my life. Maybe I will fall into despair again in the future. But this lesson has stayed deep in my soul.
3. There is always hope. There is always love.
I thought I would never find love. But as I found love, I marvelled that love found me. It wasn't perfect, but love is overlooking all the imperfections, yet still loving. I realized that love is everywhere if you open your eyes and heart widely. There are so many people in this world looking for love. It's not just one soul mate you have in this world, but potentially millions—each unique and different. Like hide-and-go-seek, you must seek the love, define that love and let that love grow once found.
Life Advice Now (from my present 53 year old self):
One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
1. Forever in my heart
I seek eternity in things--to live a life beyond myself. Out of this body, I wish to pen words and thoughts for future generations. I want to make modern musicals and movies that stir the soul and move the heart.
Forever is a lifetime of being and living and dreaming.
Each of us has this within us.
2. Only one
You don't need a whole lot. Just one. One love. One purpose. One friend. It helps to have one more just in case something happens to the one, which we know, given time, it will. Then, we live in the moments, in the memories. My mother died in 2006, but I still think of her often. It was hard growing up under her strictness and her high expectations for me to do something great, to live her dreams. But I am who I am because of those struggles, those expectations. I did not let them put me in despair but rather used them as stepping stones to build my character and life as I struggled through them.
Find that one.
3. Purpose. Never forget.
Just do it. Let His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Next week:
Life Failures, Mortality and Legacy.
Are you doing what you are born to do?
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.
Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968)
See you next Thursday!
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The Power of Your Dream
What do you really want?
What do you really want?
You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage — pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically — to say ‘no’ to other things.
Stephen Covey (1932-2012)
What were your dreams as a child?
Who did you want to become?
What did you want to do?
Deep in Your Heart
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
Just think back and dig deep into your heart.
We all dreamed of something, often borne out of our needs and our wants.
When I was hospitalized at age 14, I wanted to be a doctor, which became my main drive in life. Then I became a doctor, but I also wanted to be an entrepreneur on this fast-growing Internet. I decided to go for it.
Then, I dreamed of making epic movies in my 50s, writing books in my 60s, and building a health and wellness centre and a meaningful Gospel Media Network. I'm 53 and turning 54 in a couple of weeks.
It's a constant drive that informs my choices. I work backward to give birth to these deep-seated dreams.
But before all of this, the pertinent question is:
"What do you really want in life?"
If there is only one thing you want to accomplish in life, what would it be?
Curing Cancer
The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.
William Osler (1849-1919)
One day, not too long ago, I found myself in the most elegant European hotel, Burgenstock, sitting atop the mountains above Lucerne, an hour away from Zurich. My friend, Ron Baron, suggested I spend a week there, citing it as the best hotel in Europe. Okay! I said, so I booked it. I love Lucerne, but this required a 30-minute boat ride away on Lake Lucerne, followed a cable car ride up the mountain straight into the hotel.
As I perched over the mountains in my hotel room, I started reading a book called 'The First Cell' by Dr. Azra Raza, an eminent oncologist and researcher at Columbia University.
I couldn't put it down.
Azra had known for the past 50 years, that she wanted to cure cancer. As I read the book, my heart leapt onto the pages. Her opening brought streams of tears flowing down my face.
Her husband, Harvey, also an oncologist, had just been diagnosed with his second cancer--the very same form of cancer that he was trying to cure and treat--blood cancer. Azra and Harvey had devoted their lives to treating those afflicted with this horror. And, now, she would be asked by Harvey to be his oncologist.
Pure Poetics
Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.
Robert Frost (1874–1963)
As I read each chapter, I sent her an email telling her how wonderful and heartfelt her book and her heart were. I wanted to help her. She had written about how difficult it was to get funding from billionaires. She had written to 100 and received one reply, who endowed her research: Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire oncologist, part owner of the LA Lakers, an astute early investor in Zoom, and producer of groundbreaking cancer therapeutics.
Then I asked Dr. Azra Raza (is this not the coolest name ever?) if I could be so bold as to write a book with her. She asked me to call her and proposed we do a documentary combined with some related writings. And so began our relationship. I asked her to be my mentor, as I marvelled not just for her heart to cure cancer but also for her love of poetry, especially Emily Dickinson. She could quote her by heart and from many of Emily's 1,800 poems.
Her daughter Sheherzad, who lost her father at the age of 4, had gone to film school and interned under Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, also a cancer researcher, whose phenomenal books would be made into documentaries by the great documentarian Ken Burns. Sid had won the Pulitzer Prize with his first book, a stellar story on the biography of cancer from its first appearance to now, The Emperor of All Maladies. Both Sid and Azra are superheroes in the realm of cancer fighters. Both will change the world. I can tell by their hearts and their minds, a dynamic duo who will revolutionize these immortal cells that refuse to die. And Sheher is documenting everything, our discussions, including the fundraising concerts with Hugh Jackman, Diana Krall, Christopher Cross, Elvis Costello, produced by Susan Brecker, another dear wonderful friend, whose husband Michael Brecker, famed Jazz saxophonist, passed away from cancer.
Left to Right: Siddhartha Mukherjee, Susan Brecker, Azra Raza, Me.
The Dream to Cure Cancer
Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.
Langston Hughes (1901-1967)
Since I started riding my bike to help raise money to cure cancer in 2008, when my good friend, Elliot Koo, age 28, had terminal cancer, I began dreaming about holding a charity ride with pro cyclists. I was infatuated with four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome. I had a Team Sky bike and kit (his team at the time).
Chris grew up in Kenya and trained in South Africa. The problem was there were no mountains to practice climbing on. So, he mimicked the mountains by pressing his brakes to create resistance for himself. Try that yourself. It's almost impossible to do for very long.
One evening, I met a guy named Simon Williams at a dinner with friends. He told me he produced charity rides. On our way out, I asked him, "If there is ever a time I organize a charity cancer ride, could you help?" "Yes," he said, "It is what I was born to do." Simon had survived cancer himself at a very young age.
In 2021, I became part owner of the pro cycling team Israel Premier Tech.
A year later, who signed with the team? Chris Froome. Wow. The first time I met him, I was star-struck. I started asking him question after question, and he politely answered them all. Then, I took a lot of photos with him.
A year or so later, I asked my partner, Sylvan Adams, if the team could send someone to help with a fundraiser for Dr. Azra Raza's cancer research. He said, "How about our best, Chris?" Wow, that would be amazing!
So I called Simon, and we organized the Dream to Cure charity event in 2023. Chris graced us with his generosity and humility. We captured videos of him riding side by side with each participant.
A couple of days later, at my birthday dinner, Chris surprised me with a gift. It was his Tour de France yellow jersey—the champion's jersey he wore when he won the Tour de France. And he signed it for me. I was so humbled.
Another dream come true.
How did this happen? I reflected.
No plan could have been written for this.
It was just a very high-level dream.
All heart. A little bit of mindfulness. And a lot of luck, but I call luck by her other names, Providence or the hand of God.
P.S. In a couple of weeks, my daughter Jessi and her good friend Bella will be interning at Columbia with Azra and staying with her at home. Wait until they see her living room full of books, where she had guests like Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate, give talks. It's priceless.
Thank you, Azra. Thank you, Sheher. Love you both.
My Life Questions:
We do not remember days, we remember moments.
Cesare Pavese (1908-1950)
What is your dream?
Your dreams a like a GPS. Your life will keep reorienting you to that want until you face the mountains and valleys that stand between you and that want.
It is scary to embark on a new road, where no path exists, to your Dream.
My Life Lessons Then (from my younger self):
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
1. Dream and connect by heart.
There is a pairing and need for every dream and fulfillment of your dream. Someone out there is looking for your heart, for your skills, for you. We play hide and seek, a metaphor to teach us that the things we seek are hidden but found when we seek.
2. Everything you do has value and is of use.
Many people thought I had ‘wasted’ my medical doctor dream. Azra, one of my great mentors and friends now, and I bonded and I was sitting with her, Sid, and the President of Columbia in New York Presbyterian Hospital for an hour. I hadn’t practiced medicine in two decades and there I was being introduced as Dr. Kevin Ham.
Those charity bike rides, 200 km in two days, trained me enough to be able to ride with the pro cycling team, riding in Israel, a place I had read about most of my life in the stories of the Bible. Then I met with the President of Israel with the cycling team. Wow.
3. Dreams are like clouds. Rains pour forth, but clouds also shield us from the sun.
Dreams inspire us but also they can feel so far out there, that they just remain dreams. Pray. Think. Speak. Act. On behalf of your dreams.
Life Advice Now (from my present 53 year old self):
In youth we learn; in age we understand.
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916)
1. Keep dreaming, even when things seem impossible. There is always a way.
Deep prayer, meditation, reflection and then thinking, speaking, writing, acting by heart is the key to our human powers. Our heart unlocks the doors that remain shut. The heart sees the way more than the eyes.
2. Life is a dream, even when it may seem like a nightmare.
The object of our want casts a deep shadow in the light of our hope and belief in our dreams. Don’t let the shadow fool you. Keep your eye on the object of your want. Let it be true. Let it be pure. Let it be heart. Let it be real. All true art is a reflection of our hearts.
3. Dream.
Go for it, always.
Next week:
Life Crisis: Teens. Mid-life. Late-life. End.
It isn’t a question of if, it’s a question of when.
The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.
W. M. Lewis (1878-1945)
See you next Thursday!
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Purpose and Mastery
The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
I became fascinated with the great composers Bach and Handel. Both were born in Germany in 1685, and both have changed the hearts of people and the world of music. Bach stayed home and wrote music for the church, and Handel went to the empire where the sun never set--England. They have each inspired me and led me to ponder what it is like to live a life dedicated to mastery and to live with such purpose.
While I took that sabbatical from work in 2009, I immersed myself in the world of music, playing the piano and dreaming.
Johann Sebastian Bach
I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well.
J.S. Bach
For most of his life, Bach was beset with tragedy and sorrow. He was orphaned at the age of ten when he lost his parents within a year of each other. He had 20 children, but 11 of them died. He lost his young daughter, three sons and then his first wife. He then remarried and lost four more daughters and three more sons, 11 dear children total. When he was old, he was in poor health and had cataracts that made him blind. How could someone produce such a treasure chest of music while being overwhelmed by such loss and hardship?
Perhaps Bach set his heart on fire by composing the world's most beautiful and meaningful music. Bach's music was the first music sent into space. He set his heart on composing music for God and man; perhaps that is why we feel so peaceful listening to his music.
At the beginning of each piece of music, he wrote, "Lord help." At the end of his music, he wrote, "Soli Deo Gloria" (Only Glory to God). His music was praise, prayer, and honour to God--a conversation between man and God in the form of musical notes.
Bach was prolific, writing over 1,000 works. The depth and complexity of his music pushed the boundaries of what was possible with music, and his music became the standard of excellence.
Bach believed his music should have a higher purpose. His sacred works like "St. Matthew Passion" were composed to honour God. His music was an expression of his faith and for mankind to feel the passion and love of the beloved Creator.
His works were not well known outside his country, but 70 years later, Felix Mendelssohn praised Bach and revived his work to worldwide acclaim. Bach's unmarked grave was discovered and raised to prominence, as his music inspired and lifted the great musicians and crowds who would listen to his music.
I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well.
J.S. Bach
George Handel
My Lord, I should be sorry if I only entertained them. I wish to make them better.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Despite suffering from poor health and financial distress himself, he put on concerts to raise funds for people imprisoned for unpaid debts.
Handel's profound sense of purpose is evident in his great Magnum Opus "Messiah" (Hebrew for 'Anointed One'), which, at 260 pages, he wrote in just 24 days as he set the words of the Bible to music. Handel said it was as if the music were dictated to him by God, and he just transcribed the notes furiously onto paper. The Hallelujah Chorus in "Messiah" is said to have inspired and uplifted King George II so much that he stood up during this part. It has now become a tradition to stand up during that moment of the performance. The delightful and powerful Hallelujah ("Praise the Lord") chorus has the power to transform the heart through the power of its music and singing.
Handel composed over 40 operas and 29 oratorios, but when he first incorporated Scripture into his music (though now very accepted and praised), it was a point of contention among the civil and religious communities of his time. He fell into hard financial times and struggled until his revival with the popularity of "Messiah."
I have been most industrious and have achieved much with my music. However, I desire to create works that will outlast even my lifetime.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Beethoven was inspired by Bach and Handel and throughout his lifetime, he relentlessly pursued musical mastery despite much hardship. In 1797, around age 26, Beethoven started to lose his hearing, and by age 44 (in 1814), he was almost totally deaf.
Beethoven's famous Symphony No. 5 was written in 1804 and Symphony No. 9, considered his Magnum Opus, was composed between 1822 and 1824.
How could it be that he wrote his greatest work of music while completely deaf?
He knew and felt music intuitively. During his "late period," he became an innovator. He pioneered the transition between classical and romantic music periods, reinventing the symphony, sonata, and string quartet. He stirred souls with emotional depth and complexity that were familiar yet entirely new.
He believed that music had the power to stir the human soul and convey profound human emotions and ideals. Through his music, he expressed his beliefs in freedom, justice, and the triumph of the human spirit.
Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
John Milton
The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.
John Milton (1608-1674)
John Milton had a dream to write an epic poem like Homer's Odyssey and Virgil when he was just a teenager. He studied Latin and Greek, literature and theology and studied at Cambridge.
In a letter written in 1645, when he was 37 years old, Milton expressed his long-held ambition to write a great epic poem. He referred to the project as something he had been contemplating for many years.
His early writings and sonnets also reveal that he was formulating ideas for an epic narrative even before he began working on "Paradise Lost."
The concrete work on "Paradise Lost" began in the early 1650s, when he was in his early forties. Yet as he embarked on his dream, his vision faltered until he was completely blind in 1652, at the age of 44.
He thought he had to give up on his dream of writing the epic book he had envisioned. This caused him unspeakable agony. He valued the power of vision and the loss of his sight was devastating. He expressed his sorrow and frustration in his poetry, "Sonnet 19," where he laments his inability to serve God through his writing due to his blindness.
“When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;”
Despite his despair, Milton also saw his blindness as a test of faith and resilience. His struggle with his disability became a part of his creative and spiritual journey. He started to envision his book deeply in 1658, recited it to his daughter, and completed his Magnum Opus in 1667.
While his epic took nine years to complete, it was in his heart from a young age. He had composed much of the book in his mind and recited it to his daughters by memory so they could transcribe it.
It is considered one of the England's greatest literary works.
My Life Questions:
The best use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.
William James (1842-1910)
What is my Purpose in Life?
Each of us has a purpose in life. What is yours?
A chair has a purpose. A building has a purpose. You have a purpose.
I have many dreams. Most of them I will never realize, but why?
Perhaps because you do not have the courage to start.
We limit ourselves. These limits prevent us from ever starting.
My Life Lessons Then (from my younger self):
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.
John Wesley (1703-1791)
1. I wish to do something for someone that outlasts my life.
This is called a legacy. Deep down we all have this deep seated desire to matter, to have purpose, to have mastery of something.
2. Mastery takes time, with deep thought, deep work and practice over a lifetime.
Every master starts as a baby, an apprentice, a novice who was not great at their dream. Over time, with deep focus, deep practice, deep work, they became a master. So it is the great lesson of life.
The adage, “Practice makes perfect” rings ever true.
Life Advice Now (from my present 53 year old self):
We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.
Chuck Swindoll (1934-)
1. I will create my own Magnum Opus, my great work for which I am purposed.
Just like these masters reinvented what they experienced with the dream in their heart, they took something familiar and made it entirely new, imbibed with the passion in their heart. People recognize this passion, as it sparks life in your soul.
I believe everyone has a Magnum Opus, but it must be pursued like these great masters.
2. You will be beset with trouble, obstacles and resistance. Yet you should push on.
As I struggle with my own likelihood of blindness—due to severe wet macular degeneration, that I was diagnosed with at a relatively young age of 50—I wonder how many more years I will have my sight.
Draw inspiration from John Milton, who wrote his Magnum Opus while he was blind and Beethoven, who composed Symphony No 9 while he was deaf. And, Helen Keller who wrote 12 published books and flew a plane while being both blind and deaf.
3. Dream for that things that bring spice and joy to your life. And when you make your dream come true, that will be your legacy. Through that action, you will inspire others to dream.
Go for it, always.
Next week:
My Dream: God.com
A pipe dream in the making
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
See you next Thursday!
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