Is Today the End of the World? (Your SUCCESS could depend on it being so)

So there is a lot of talk about Death and Destruction.  And it got me thinking – what if these prophecies are correct?

The consideration of the ‘End Times’ is so prevalent in our society today that it’s difficult to turn on the TV without seeing a show about these prophecies.  There are nearly as many shows about the people who are preparing for the ‘End Times’, they are known as “Preppers”.  Many consider the ‘End Times’ to have a date – 12/21/12.

And to pique interest even further, NASA scientists are concerned about the number of solar flares the Sun will send out, potentially impacting the electrical networks in the world.  Coincidentally, this solar storm will occur right around this date.  As a matter of fact, there are several unique and very rare galactic and astrological events occurring right at or around the same time.

A lot of people are preparing for the end of the world.  ‘End Times’ is the term for the ultimate calamity – the Apocalypse or Armageddon.  Some consider this biblically prophesied, some by the Maya Civilization, Eastern religions, and some by the Hopi Indians.  Factually, the Long Count Calendar of the Meso-American peoples will end on 12/21/12, marking the end of an Age; they believed Man began at the beginning of this Age.

So what if the world is at the end, not of existence but of an Age?

I have no interest in anticipating fire and brimstone and the collapse of the Human Race, but what if the world is going to change – what kind of change would I want to see?  At what age would I like to begin?

If you ask people about their worst fear, the most frequent answer is dying.  Well, few people ever experience knowing when they are going to die; only those people receiving a terminal diagnosis get this knowledge.  And so, getting this bad news from their doctor is considered by most to be the worst imaginable – because it lets them know when they’re going to die, at least to a time that is close at hand.

Ironically, being told that one’s life is soon ending seems to change nearly everyone’s perspective on life itself.  Upon receiving such a diagnosis, most people start living a very reflective life and usually attempt to atone for the ‘wrongs’ they feel they’ve made toward others or in their lives.  They also have regrets about the things they did or didn’t do.  They attempt to fulfill their ‘bucket list’.  They have remorse for opportunities they didn’t take or successes that fell through their hand, they want forgiveness, and they all want more time.

They want to taste, smell, love, and experience MORE and LONGER.  The weird thing is that these people no longer fear death – they may still fear dying, the pain, or discovering what’s next; but they no longer fear death – because it is now at hand and fact, no longer a concept.  It’s universal – very few people are ready to leave when it’s time to go.  Nearly every single person can understand these sentiments.

So here’s the utopian and idealistic question – since we are all dying (at some point we all will), what if we all started living like it?  … I don’t mean spending our retirement funds and not planning for the future of our children, but I mean live like it.

What would this entail?  It would allow us to be able to live, play, plan, and perform without the most limiting thing in our lives – FEAR.

In my book I’m writing (thankfully on the last chapter) – The Audacity of Fear, I discuss these aspects.  Fear is the number one reason for our tragedies and our failures, not only individually but globally – as communities, societies, and countries.

We can’t control our societies or our countries – but we do have the ability to prevent our fears from limiting our successes, our careers, and our relationships.

Ages are interesting, at least to me.  They typically mark tremendous changes in our world, not necessarily bad.  The Ice Age was bad — for the dinosaurs; the Stone Age was good – for earlier Man; the Technology Age?  — Frankly, it’s too early to tell.

An Age is merely a change, so if we decided to change the impact and effect fear has on our lives, and change the willingness we have to allow others to use it against us.  What would happen?

I work mainly with people who are at a ‘crossroads’; they are trying to get to the ‘next level’ in business or in sport, or they are trying to discover what is impacting them to cause their failures in business, sport, or life.

Without exception, they share the same limitation.  They have all been allowing their known and unknown fears to prevent them from meeting and fulfilling their potential.

I often reference golf and work with golfers mainly in the sporting realm; one of the main reasons is that golf is (in my opinion) the only sport that mirrors the internal confrontations in life.  Because in golf, to be successful at it, one must have aptitude, ability, and attitude.  It is the same in the business world and, believe it or not, also in healthy relationships.

The similarities?  Considerations of the consequences of actions for which we are solely responsible impact everything.  So, on the course, in the board room, and in life, having the time to act and not just react has a tremendous impact on our success.  Fear impacts these considerations.

IF we have the ability and the aptitude, failure to achieve one’s goals is directly correlated to how we consider or anticipate the consequences of our actions or decisions.  And this is because of fear and the many ways we associate it with the potential outcomes; internally and externally, intellectually and emotionally, and consciously and unconsciously.

So what Age would I like to see begin on 12/22/12?  The Age of Understanding Fear and Its Impact.

You see, fear is extremely intriguing to me, and I feel the greatest irony in life.  Because Fear itself only carries with it great power until we discover and acknowledge it, this results in awareness.  Once Awareness occurs, it loses most of its power.  Once Awareness occurs, we merely need to address it.

This is truly what Franklin Delano Roosevelt meant when he said, “… the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Many will state my opinion is very idealistic and utopian in view, and that it can never happen.  It may not ever happen, but it won’t be because it can’t.  And some believe that the entire concept is contrary to human nature  – but this is simply not true.

You see, Human Nature is the best thing we’ve got going – it is the essence of everything good in the world, the motivation for great deeds, successes, compassion, and humanity.  It is only when fear is added to the mix that humans become self-doubting, undeserving, and unconfident, impacting our successes; or mean, hateful, or violent, impacting our world.

Societally we see others:  Fear of not having enough (when we have plenty) or not having more than others is greed.  Fear of other people being considered our equal becomes racism, bigotry, and prejudice.  Fear of our self being unacceptable leads to the hatred or rejection of others.  And fear of Death can result in the willingness to kill and the rationalization that it is acceptable.

Individually, fear (and how one internalizes it) is the number one reason why we don’t meet our potential – in the boardroom and on the golf course.  And collectively, imagine how we’d feel about others – imagine the impact of consideration in our communities, societies, and our world.

… and imagine how you’d feel over the 8-foot putt that wins the championship.

Just imagine the outcome – imagine our successes, our relationships, and our world.  Just imagine how everyone would treat others …

Globally, this really wouldn’t be about religious beliefs – but simply about the Golden Rule … and contrary to Wall Street, the Golden Rule is NOT – “Do unto others before they can do unto you”.

We can do this, it’s really not that difficult – but first we must confront our fears before we can change the impact the fear has on our lives.

So when I say, “I hope it’s the end of the world as we know it,” – I mean it.  I hope that we receive a new Age, in which we are all able to have a change in consciousness and a change in perspective and understanding of Fear.  Having the realization that all of our actions impact not only us but others, and having consideration for others in all aspects of our lives.

This would be the result of understanding and addressing our fears.

How do we want to feel in those last moments of life – like we’ve done our best,, or that we wish we had time to correct things or having done things differently?  Can we commit to doing this – discovering our real fears?  And can we encourage others to do the same? And can we teach our children the concept?

Just imagine how your life and successes would be different and how our world would be different …

If we just started living like we were dying.

– ‘Cause here’s the thing – we are.  Maybe not today – the 21st, but it could be tomorrow or next year – but it’s happening whether we like it or not.

-Dave Jones