Today’s guest is Phil Lee, who we met in Episode 14 when he shared his wisdom around sales mastery. What you probably don’t know about Phil however is that while he has excelled in pretty much all areas of his life and from the outside looking in, is a very successful guy. He went through a period 4 years ago where he knew that something was missing and he sought to find that elusive happiness, joy and peace that so many people yearn for but don’t ever expect to truly find.
He explains it as this, “We have thoughts and feelings, but they are not who you are. We are a slave to our thoughts and feelings. True freedom is freedom from yourself. The vast majority of your thoughts, no matter how much money you have, are ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’, and they are either past and future based…”. The dilemma for most people is that are trying to find happiness outside of the present, and outside of themselves. What they don’t understand is everything we need to be happy is inside of us right now.
It’s true that most business owners and high performing humans are either stressed out, maxed out, burnt out or just trying to keep up with where they believe they SHOULD be in life, not where they actually want to be. And if you were to ask most people what actually makes them happy… they most likely couldn’t even tell you because they don’t allow themselves to have those deeper conversations because it’s too confronting to admit for all your ‘success’, you aren’t actually happy in a deep or authentic sense. It almost feels wrong to say that something is missing when you outwardly have so much.
“All these things that trigger us are actually gifts from the universe saying if you really truly want to be happy, let go of what’s stopping you right now. It’s not some future destination, all those things are nice and when it happens you think, cool, that’s the answer! But it’s not. True happiness resides within and it’s an energetic state of being and it can only be realised and experienced when you let go of the personal self.”
Phil Lee
We are never taught in the western world that there is something more for you that extends far beyond material wealth and possessions. It’s no wonder so many people have so much and yet feel so miserable! So we medicate ourselves with more food, more holidays, more purchases, bigger houses… but it’s a never-ending spiral of dissatisfaction. Phil and I discuss the notion that our true purpose on this earth is to experience, learn and grow from the moment. “The purpose of your life is not to get what you want, but to let go of yourself” says Phil, paraphrased from Michael Singer, the Untethered Soul.
“We are trying to figure everything out and control it (life), according to our own fears and desires. Which is cutting us off from the universe. If you truly want to be happy… which is the ultimate goal, be happy now. There is only one thing, it’s now. You are part of it, it’s the only thing there is. Just allow yourself to feel a part of it, to be filled with love and joy which is essentially what the universe is about.“
Living consciously means to be aware of the thoughts and the emotions you have. But not letting them rule you. Meditation is a great awareness practice but it can often freak people out when you sit in silence and let free thought flood in, because we have spent so much time holding it down that when we are confronted by it, we don’t like it! Letting go of your old stories and the ‘stuff’ that we hold internally as memories, is what is holding people back from experiencing true joy, because they let it bog them down.
So if any of this is resonating with you, and if you’ve ever thought “I’ll be happy when I get this, or do this, or see this”… you need to listen in to this podcast or watch the video!
If you want to get in touch with Phil, contact him via his website