Raf Adams's Blog

Your Struggle Is a Reflection of Your Decisions

Many business leaders need to make a lot of important decisions, and every decision carries consequences that shape outcomes.

To optimize decisions and get better results, leaders often need two things: better data and broader perspectives. Research provides the data, while leadership coaches offer the insights and perspectives.

All of these are important to maximize the effectiveness for the individual, the team and the organization.

Now in life, the same principle applies.

We all make daily decisions in our relationships, at home and for ourselves. These decisions have consequences, which then create outcomes.

These outcomes then determine the quality of your life.

So you have quality of business.

And you have quality of life.

These can be separate, and these can be aligned.

A friend of mine needs to raise 50M dollars in the coming weeks to keep his business afloat. Also, his private life is not fulfilling. He has been married for 30 years and told me, ´´we are not a couple anymore, we just live together´´.

His business is under extreme pressure, and his home life, in his words, has “no emotion.” Looking back, he says, “I should never have signed that contract.” One decision, one signature, created many of today’s problems.

After nearly 17 years of working with leaders, and reflecting on my own life, I’ve realised something: The most important thing in life is not happiness, fulfilment, love, peace, or even success.

All of these are outcomes.

And those outcomes come from one element: the quality of your decision-making.

Your decision-making is the most important thing in life.

I was challenged on this once, ´´no BREATHING is the most important thing because if you don´t breathe, you can´t live.

And I said not true.

Because breathing is also a decision, you can choose to stop, and sadly, some people do.

The career you are in today, the country you live in, and the relationship you are in are outcomes of decisions you made.

And those decisions determine the quality of your life today.

So if you are struggling with anything in life today, you need two things:

–        Insights

–        Upgrade your decision-making -> different outcomes

It´s like going to the doctor, you need an analysis (insight) to identify where the pain is, only then can the right medicine be applied.

Many leaders rely on data, science, and reason to make decisions in the external world. That works.

But what about your inner world? Your inner world has its own data: emotions, challenges, fears, and desires. What is your toolkit to address those challenges?

Many of my past clients have their external world in order, but their inner world has turmoil which, if not addresse,d can lead to burnout and a lack of fulfilment.

So if you are struggling with any area of your life internally, first listen to your emotions, then change your decision making.

Insights nurtures your Monk, and data and Science nurtures your Suit.

Bridge the gap inside you and bring both of them together as one.

Decide wisely.

Raf Adams

(written by Raf, not AI)

 

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now,  click here to get the Suited Monk book  or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague.  Yes I want it!

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How Practical Philosophy Can Improve Your Business Decisions

How Practical Philosophy Can Improve Your Business Decisions?

Practical philosophy is the application of philosophical principles and practices to everyday life. For many people, practical philosophy is a way to find meaning, purpose, and happiness in their lives. It can also be an effective tool for making better business decisions.

In the world of business, success is often measured by external factors such as financial success and career achievements. But true success goes beyond these metrics and involves finding fulfillment and satisfaction in what we do. Practical philosophy can help us to focus on what truly matters and make decisions that align with our values and goals.

One of the key principles of practical philosophy is the idea that our actions and decisions should be guided by our own personal values and beliefs. This can be difficult in a business environment, where there are often competing demands and external pressures. But by grounding our decisions in our own values, we can make choices that are authentic and true to who we are.

Another important aspect of practical philosophy is the emphasis on mindfulness and presence. In the fast-paced world of business, it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and lose sight of what’s truly important. But by practicing mindfulness, we can stay focused on the present moment and make decisions based on what is happening right now, rather than getting caught up in worries about the future or regrets about the past.

The philosophy of Buddhism and Taoism, as well as ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato, all offer valuable insights for making better business decisions. For example, the Buddhist concept of non-attachment can help us to let go of our attachment to outcomes and focus on the present moment. Lao Tzu’s philosophy of wu wei, or effortless action, can remind us to trust our instincts and let go of the need to control every situation.

 

 

At the heart of practical philosophy is the idea that our lives are a journey, and that our decisions should be based on our own individual goals and aspirations. This means that what works for one person may not work for another. It’s important to trust our own intuition and make decisions that align with our own unique path in life.

Practical philosophy can also help us to cultivate the inner qualities that lead to success, such as motivation, focus, and resilience. By developing these qualities within ourselves, we can become more effective leaders and make better business decisions.

By grounding our choices in our own values, practicing mindfulness, and trusting our intuition, we can make decisions that lead to both external success and personal fulfillment. By embracing practical philosophy, we can find greater happiness, achievement, and success in our careers and in our lives.

8 results by applying practical philosophy in business:

Helping us to make choices that align with our values and goalsEncouraging mindfulness and presenceProviding insights from philosophical traditions such as Buddhism and TaoismHelping us to trust our own intuition and follow our own unique pathCultivating inner qualities such as motivation and resilienceTaking a holistic view of our careers and livesEmphasizing self-awareness and introspectionPromoting balance and harmony in our lives.

Practical philosophy is not just a set of abstract ideas – it is a way of living and a mindset that can be applied to every aspect of our lives, including our careers and business decisions. By incorporating practical philosophy into our daily lives, we can gain greater clarity, focus, and direction in our professional endeavors.

One way to incorporate practical philosophy into our business decisions is to take a holistic approach to our careers. This means considering not just our short-term goals, but also our long-term aspirations and the overall direction of our lives. By taking a broader view, we can make decisions that align with our values and goals, rather than just going with the flow or following the path of least resistance.

Another important aspect of practical philosophy is the emphasis on self-awareness and introspection. By regularly taking the time to reflect on our thoughts, feelings, and actions, we can gain greater insight into our own motivations and desires. This can help us to make better business decisions, as we will be more attuned to our own needs and preferences.

Practical philosophy also emphasizes the importance of balance and harmony in our lives. In the world of business, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and lose sight of what truly matters. But by striving for balance and harmony, we can make decisions that align with our overall well-being and happiness, rather than just focusing on external success and achievement.

Ultimately, practical philosophy is a way of living that can help us to make better business decisions and find greater fulfillment in our careers. By incorporating its principles and practices into our daily lives, we can gain greater clarity, focus, and direction, and make choices that align with our own unique path in life.

Take this this 2-minute questionnaire will help you discover where you are on your life journey. Take your free check-up here now.

Happy Living

Raf Adams

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now, click here to get the Suited Monk book or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague. Yes I want it!

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How To Make Suit Monk Decisions?

How To Make Suit Monk Decisions?

Business. Social Media. Finance. Health, and even relationships.

Everything always goes through the mind. 

Some go through the heart first for a few weeks or months, but then it becomes a mind game.

Imagine you start a business based around your purpose. You love what you do from the heart. But soon you will realise the struggle of running a business through the mind. Not having enough clients, problems with marketing, not finding the right people to hire, not getting funding or sales coming in…

Even if you start a relationship with someone, you fall in love through the heart. But what happens after a few months and years in many relationships? It becomes a mind game. ´´You said this and because of that…´´, it becomes an argument, a rational, a distant relationship.

If you start a new job, you love the new environment, meeting new colleagues and learning new things. But after a few months, things become dull, you realise it’s not the dream job you were looking for, with office politics going on and the pay is not worth all the extra problems you now have, and now you have more expenses, for some reason!

And so, most of our intentions in life are good, they come from our heart first. 

But then there comes a moment when boredom, challenge or status quo sets in, and at that moment, the mind takes over to control or manipulate to get what we want, especially in relationships.

The mind needs to be fed when you are not in harmony with yourself. And the more you feed the mind, the stronger it becomes.

When you are in harmony with yourself, you experience your life, and you don’t mind changes, you don´t mind moving forward, and you don´t mind obstacles. Because the heart knows it is for the greater good and for your expansion.

How can you keep using the heart as your guide for decision-making and choices?

How can you keep using this philosophy to stop the mind from taking over and monopolising the biggest decisions you make in your life?

Constant awareness!

However, you cannot be constantly aware during or after work when being involved in the external world.

Awareness is developed and used by making a conscious choice to set time apart for reflection. For example, each morning, 20 minutes when having your coffee.

Or a Sunday afternoon journaling about how your week was and reflecting on if any changes need to be made in your life and business.

These conscious reflections will allow you to stay on track and keep ensuring your inner and outer worlds are aligned and not separated.

The big question is, where have you set time apart for self-reflection in your week?

Happy Living.

The Suited Monk provides guidance on how to live a good life. This this 2-minute questionnaire will help you discover where you are on your life journey. Take your free check-up here now.

#philosophy #balance #innerwisdom

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now, click here to get the Suited Monk book or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague. Yes I want it!

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Suit and Monk Hacks for Maximising Leadership Potential

Suit and Monk Hacks for Maximising Leadership Potential

Hacking. The ability to take shortcuts to maximise your potential.

Daily cold showers are a hack to stimulate blood flow and improve health. 

Using meditation headsets before sleeping improves sleep quality and waking up refreshed.

Getting a subscription to book summary services, so you don’t have to read whole books but just get the essence of each book to save time and get results quickly.

These are all life hacks.

Life hacks exist to maximise your performance, maximise your health, leverage your time and achieve your personal goals.

But you can only hack so much in life.

There are parts that you cannot hack. 

Emotional healing is not a process you can hack. 

Finding your purpose in life is a process you cannot hack. 

Maturing as a leader is not something you can hack.

These are the Monk parts of you that have to EVOLVE. 

You can hack the Suit and be more efficient and productive and learn skills and tools but to grow your Monk on an emotional and spiritual level is a process that CANNOT be hacked or short-cut.

And so in your career, you can only be ´´so successful´´ because there is always more to achieve. 

At the end of the working day, when you are at home and supposed to be switched off and relaxing, you always return back to your Monk. 

But most people can’t relax because, subconsciously, they don’t enjoy being in their Monk. 

Being in their Monk means to go back to suffering because they are not at peace internally, there is no alignment with their true life purpose; hence there is so much overwork, addictions to substances and activities that numb and dull the suffering. 

That´s why we pursue so much in the Suit (external) world, to avoid suffering and to obtain some version of ´´happiness´´.

But the only way to be truly happy is to align your internal Monk with your external success.

And so when I ask you, what do you focus the most on in your life and career, the Suit or the Monk? What will be the answer? It is the Suit. We focus on building our business, building our careers, and being successful. 

But which one is more important? The Monk. Because you want to have sustainable happiness, and happy relationships filled with love and live a life of meaning and fulfilment. 

But this part was never developed for us in school and later on in the workplace. The Suit is important, but if the Monk is not aligned to your suit, you will not be happy.

And so, through hacking, we aim to obtain a better Suit. Hacking is useful, but it only helps so much. You need to involve your Monk in everything you do.

Many senior executives, usually in midlife, realise the importance of developing the Monk. 

Because the Suit is already successful, but on a deep subconscious level, you feel, now what? 

I am successful, but there is something more, what is it?

The mind cannot fulfil that purpose. If you are at that stage, be aware that it has to come from the heart. And because the heart is intangible, it is difficult to understand what the heart is asking for.

Everything in the inner world, whether it be fulfilment, purpose, love, connection, values, or joy… has to be experienced. 

Forgiveness, for example. 

Forgiveness cannot be hacked, it has to be experienced. 

And so, if you want to be truly happy, learn to listen to the messages of your inner Monk, starting with the emotions you feel daily. Acknowledging these emotions are gateways to start bridging the gap within yourself.

You can keep using life hacks to improve your Suit, but it only brings you so far, and if you just add a little bit of Monk to it, soon you will discover that the quality of your life and happiness will increase tremendously together with your success on a sustainable level.

Happy living.

Raf Adams

The Suited Monk provides guidance on how to live a good life. This this 2-minute questionnaire will help you discover where you are on your life journey. Take your free check-up here now.

If you want to know the size of your Gap feel free to take this free questionnaire, based on research of 200 Global CEO´s on how to live a life fulfilling life.

#philosophy #balance #innerwisdom

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now, click here to get the Suited Monk book or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague. Yes I want it!

The post Suit and Monk Hacks for Maximising Leadership Potential appeared first on .

How to Redefine Leadership Power For the World Today

How to Redefine Leadership Power For the World Today

Power has two components. 

External power and internal power.

If I ask you to give an example of external power, the answer is quite easy… some politicians, an aggressive leader, an army, a narcissist..

If I ask you to give an example of a person with internal power, the answer is more difficult… a Buddha? People who meditate? Mahatma Gandhi?

It´s always easier to come up with things that are achieved easily… it´s hard to come up with examples of people of character.

Why?

Creating a powerful Suit is easy, just attach it to your ego and voila! You have it! This just takes a second.

Can you create internal power in a second? Think about it…

Internal power takes years and years to develop through struggles and overcoming difficulties… It is a process that cannot be sped up. And the ´´unfortunate´´ part of internal power is that no one can see it. No one can see you are doing the work or did the work.

Who has more authority in the world, the external or internal power? The external one… that´s why people en mass follow leaders who project external power. Because it gives a false sense of safety and security. You can hide under the umbrella of external power in the hope it covers up your internal weakness and lack of thinking for yourself.

However, external power can be destroyed in an instant, a scandal, exposure of lack of integrity, and people lose faith.

Internal power cannot be destroyed because it is rooted in the essence of a human being. It goes beyond belief, it goes beyond image, it goes beyond trying to be or prove anything, and so it is always there.

So would you prefer external or internal power?

The best answer would be a little bit of both, with the internal coming first and adding a healthy dose of external power too.

In business, we call this ´´Developing Character´´, a ´´Wise´´ and ´´Authentic Leader´´. 

Regardless of your performance, experience or achievements, this character development will be the most important ´´work´´ you will ever do in your life.

Your external can always change, but your internal will always be with you.

How to get started developing your internal power? You must begin with your values.

And the reflection point is very easy: ´´where are you making decisions in your life and career NOT in alignment with values?´´ Because that’s where you lose internal power.

The answer is easy, most people would say, I’m already aligned, I have the power. I make decisions true to myself. 

Wrong!

The mind will jump in so quickly to answer that question, just to give a sense of safety and security for yourself.

The first answer will be from the mind.

Now ask the same question again and reflect on it deeply, ´´where are you making decisions in your life and career, not in alignment with yourself (eg based on expectations of others, your wife or husband, your parents, friends, or because you ´´have´´ to). 

The next answer will go one layer deeper because you have questioned the first answer and chose not to accept it. The next answer may be a little different to the first.

Keep asking yourself the same question, and this way of self-coaching will allow you to access the subconscious mind, where the real answer lies.

If you think about it deeply and you realise something, that will be the starting point to developing your internal power. It´s all about small tweaks to reconnect with that part that is YOU.

Happy living.

Raf Adams

The Suited Monk provides guidance on how to live a good life. This this 2-minute questionnaire will help you discover where you are on your life journey. Take your free check-up here now.

#philosophy #balance #innerwisdom

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now, click here to get the Suited Monk book or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague. Yes I want it!

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How To Awaken The Leaders Inner Monk

How To Awaken The Leaders Inner Monk

Marketing. Sales. Emails. Messaging. Responding to calls.

The Suit world is very demanding. The Suit world is never finished, there is always more you can do in a day or more to achieve.

You can always write more emails, call more people, and respond to more messages.

One of the transformation aspects of a manager growing into a leader requires delegation. 

Delegation is the ability to take a step back, observe and not be ´´in´´ the Suit world but to observe the Suit world by having others to do the tasks.

The same is true in life. Don´t always be ´´in the world´´, sometimes, take a step back and observe the world. Don´t engage. Just observe.

When you observe the world, for example, when you observe a team, you are in a state of awareness. Awareness brings and gives space. That space is critical for the quality of your decision-making.

Space with no words or thoughts allows room for INSIGHT to come.

The Suit world is the same for everyone. Calls, marketing, emails, interruptions, decisions to be made… 

INSIGHT is personal. Your values are personal, your insights are personal, and your awareness is personal. Insight is new information aligned with your values and your direction and vision in life.

The problem in the world today is that many people put the Suit first and the INSIGHT second. Making money, and achieving goals come first. And insights (mostly obtained only during holidays) come second.

But you are not the external world. Your heart expresses itself to you and through you through INSIGHT. That is the real you. That is YOUR MONK speaking to YOU.

The mind often suppresses insight because the mind cannot understand the heart. The mind is often opposing the heart out of fear. Fear of losing, dying, and a lack of recognition. But only the heart can set you free.

And so the goal is to modify this process with the heart coming first and the mind coming second. 

It is the only way for you to be truly happy and successful in life and your career. Instead of just being successful and wealthy.

To bridge this gap requires an understanding of the Life Journey. It requires the practice of awareness. One layer of awareness each day. Either through a small meditation, or a small prayer. Or just come to the office 30 minutes earlier than everyone and have a nice cup of coffee, sit at your desk and journal.

Those moments in life should come first. Then let your success follow with the insights that you gain.

#leadership #executivecoach #suitedmonk #change

 

Raf Adams

The Suited Monk provides guidance on how to live a good life. This this 2-minute questionnaire will help you discover where you are on your life journey. Take your free check-up here now.

If you need help on this journey, feel free to check out my book The Suited Monk, or take this free questionnaire that helps you identify the size of the gap between your external and internal self.

#philosophy #balance #innerwisdom

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now, click here to get the Suited Monk book or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague. Yes I want it!

The post How To Awaken The Leaders Inner Monk appeared first on .

Awakening vs Enlightenment and its impact on Leadership

Awakening vs Enlightenment and its impact on Leadership

When I run workshops for companies, I can not talk about the spiritual. Some would not understand.

And so there is a big gap between ´´spirituality and belief systems´´ and ´´leadership and business´´.

But both are undisputedly related.

However, in business today, they are usually separated.

A person’s life and focusing on your career are two different things for most people.

But aligning your Suit (career) and your Monk (life) is essential for reaching your full potential, avoiding burnout, chronic anxiety and overwork.

Bridging that gap is not an easy task.

As an HR, you talk about external and internal motivation. You want people who are engaged. You want people who collaborate. You want people who are happy and go the extra mile. Why? Because it results in better performance. In the end, you don´t want happiness for your people, you want better performance because that´s how you will get judged at the end of the year.

If there are other means to get better performance besides focusing on employee happiness I´m sure you´ll focus on that (the mind can challenge this statement, some leaders do genuinely care about their people)!

That´s why many years ago, higher wages were paid, more company benefits were provided as a way to engage and retain talent.

But that model doesn´t work anymore. It works to a certain extent, but you and I know it is outdated.

Paying high wages is still important, but if it is the only way to retain talent, there is a problem with your culture or how you run the company.

And so the new trend is beginning, it already started before COVID, but it was amplified after COVID, ´´Happiness and well-being´´ of people to engage, motivate and retain talent.

But how can you engage people if they don´t know who they are?

How can you engage or create inspiring leaders if they are not open to change?

It´s all about ´´the life journey´´.

The life journey is not the responsibility of the company. It is not the responsibility of the company to educate people on this, but it has a direct impact on the engagement, motivation and retention of your people.

Who would you hire? A person who has gone through many difficulties in life, overcame them, knows his values and is clear on his direction and career path in life.

Or the one who shows a nice ´´Suit´´ has a lot of working experience, but he has no self-awareness, is attached to his ego and making decisions only by himself and not giving ownership to the team?

The first person has LIFE EXPERIENCE, he understands the journey. He is intrinsically motivated. The second person only developed his Suit but did not had a chance to go deeper into who he really is, an authentic person with values and purpose. The second person´s performance may initially be higher, but the damage he may do to the team and the culture will be far greater than the temporary performance he can bring.

The world needs more authentic leaders. The world needs more leaders who understand the life journey. The world needs more leaders who have ´´lived´´ the journey.

And the funny thing is, we are still on it.

As one of my coachees told me recently, a VP of an automotive company leading a team of 1,500 people: ´´I want to be a better person, what makes me genuinely a better person?´´

Asking yourself that question in every area of your life will bring greater awareness of how we can continue to grow individually and together, in our relationships, our business, and in life overall.

The only thing we need right now is just a simple and little bit more self-awareness. That will solve most of our pressing problems.

Happy living. 

Raf Adams

The Suited Monk provides guidance on how to live a good life. This this 2-minute questionnaire will help you discover where you are on your life journey. Take your free check-up here now.

#philosophy #balance #innerwisdom

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now, click here to get the Suited Monk book or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague. Yes I want it!

The post Awakening vs Enlightenment and its impact on Leadership appeared first on .

Building a Foundation of Inner Peace

Building a Foundation of Inner Peace

 

What do you prefer as a leader, to be happy or to be at peace?

Most people pursue happiness but not peace.

Because the perceived feeling of happiness is higher than peace.

Amongst happiness, we include a promotion, spending time with loved ones, going on a nice holiday, receiving a compliment for your work, finding solutions for problems we had etc…

This is the kind of happiness we refer to most often in our daily lives. 

This happiness almost always links to something external. A new job, a promotion, and a new relationship; are all external. 

This is a trap that some people are in because we believe if we change the external, we will be happier. 

In some cases, this is true, but if the external changes in a negative way, such as a divorce, losing a promotion or a client, it will also affect your happiness, so that is not sustainable.

The way to build life, and the way to be truly happy, is to focus on building peace within yourself and then happiness!

I´d like to repeat that sentence: The way to build life, and the way to be truly happy, is to focus and build peace within yourself first and then happiness on top!

I am sure that you haven´t heard this before from any coach, guru or personal growth specialist.

Why?

Because peace links to the growth of your inner core (your Monk) so deeply that you can hardly describe its shape, form or how to cultivate it. Otherwise, everybody would be at peace.

Most of us are happy, to some extent, but we are not at peace. True or false?

It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. It is there, but you can’t even begin to know how to find it.

Being in peace is a state of BEING that is not attached to any goal, desire, achievement or promotion or any external action.

It is a sense of self, a feeling that never goes away. Like a constant feeling of calmness that vibrates at a high frequency within yourself, a constant feeling of being content with oneself but on a very high sustainable level.

Have you heard people saying, ‘I’m not at peace with myself´…

Or I remember in one of my workshops participants in Germany: ´´hey Raf, yes, but that is kindda boring, isn’t it? To be at peace within yourself?´´

I had to laugh, a buddha laugh. Yes, it seems kinda boring. But it is only boring for the mind, not for the heart.

If your happiness depends on your external, it can be taken away from you at any moment. Is that what you want?

That way of happiness is redundant and disempowering, isn’t it?

So the only way your ´´happiness´´ can be sustainable is to build it on top of a foundation of inner peace. 

In this way, you can enjoy the Suit side of life, promotions, parties, a new house, a new relationship, travels, and money, because you know that at the end of the day, beyond all of that happiness, you will return to true inner peace.

So the question to reflect upon is, how far are you from inner peace?

If you are not sure how to bridge this gap, make sure you get a copy of my book here 

Raf Adams

The Suited Monk provides guidance on how to live a good life. This this 2-minute questionnaire will help you discover where you are on your life journey. Take your free check-up here now.

#philosophy #balance #innerwisdom

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now, click here to get the Suited Monk book or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague. Yes I want

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You are always in the presence of Greatness

 You are always in the presence of Greatness

Greatness is to witness something that encompasses all. Perfection in its purest form. A person performing a certain act, the beauty of nature or an artistic expression.

Thibaut Courtois goalkeeping in the final of the Champions League 2022 was greatness. The moment we land on Mars will be greatness, or the readings of William Shakespeare are pure greatness.

These are moments that we experience in life.

I am 100% sure that at some point in your life, you felt pure greatness. Either through an act, the recognition you received, or you just hit the nail completely. A perfect event.

Greatness seems momentary. However, greatness is constant.

What does it mean?

Human beings and biology are always programmed to achieve their greatest potential. Isn´t it so in our career that we want to advance and achieve the greatest potential as much as we can?

The problem is that most of the time, we do not enjoy the journey towards greatness. That journey is a journey full of obstacles, challenges and problems. 

It is often only the moment of greatness that we treasure when we finally have ´´that´´ achievement. A promotion, a financial milestone, or an athletic achievement.

What we need to keep in mind is that the goal in life is not to achieve that greatness. 

The goal is to enjoy the journey. Whether we then achieve that greatness or not is of less importance.

Why, do you ask? Because if greatness itself is the goal, companies cut corners, athletes take drugs and cheat to win. 

I´m curious about which road we are on today in society and what gets rewarded. The journey or greatness?

Greatness is and always should be an outcome of enjoying the journey.

Greatness is a child taking its first steps, falling down, and taking more steps. Greatness is, making a presentation, failing and succeeding. An athlete comes 6th place, the year after 4th, the year after 2nd and then 1st first.

Each and every emotion and sensation during that process of growth is greatness. 

Each sensation in itself is greatness.

And so, how many sensations do we experience in a day? Quite a lot. That´s a lot of greatness right there.

Seeing your colleague complete a project at work. Receiving or giving a compliment on social media. To be headhunted by a company for a new position.

It´s the small things that lead us to experience greatness and lead to one great moment.

So greatness is always, here, always available and present. The question is, how much are you enjoying the journey?

Raf Adams

The Suited Monk provides guidance on how to live a good life. This this 2-minute questionnaire will help you discover where you are on your life journey. Take your free check-up here now.

#philosophy #balance #innerwisdom

”I am a life mentor and philosopher and write thought pieces and provide perspective on life and leadership to help people to increase the quality of their decision making. By doing so, achieve mental, emotional and spiritual balance be more effective and make a positive difference for themselves, their teams, company and society. If you want to fastrack your results right now, click here to get the Suited Monk book or provide it as a gift for a friend or colleague. Yes I want it!

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Real Heroes always have a villain

Real Heroes always have a villain

I saw the movie ´´Elvis´´ yesterday.

I didn´t know much about him. My image was a handsome, successful singer who made a huge contribution and changed the music industry.

Women adored him, a genius musician, a great dancer, rich and seemed to have it all.

But after watching the movie, I saw the other side of the story. 

The struggle between his enormous talent and a caring and thoughtful soul who was concerned about real world issues (racial segregation, political situation etc)

A manager who seemed to focus on his self-interest and exploiting Elvis as his ticket to the good life.

The struggle of true love in the midst of temptations of the external world of drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Sometimes our inner Monk, our talent, gets squashed because people are not ready to hear what we have to say. 

Some non-believers will put down your dreams.

Sometimes our Suit gets successful, and our mind runs away with success, and we experience moments of euphoria, joy and happiness and believe this is our true purpose.

But that happiness never lasts. It ends. And we don´t want that. So we focus more on the Suit to get more success to experience more ´´happiness´´. But the happiness never lasts. So drugs, alcohol, and sex are more boosters to get those temporary feelings.

Elvis, at some point, compromised his talent to satisfy a few powerful people, with commercial music and conservative clothes to appease and to stop ruffling the feathers of those in power. 

He was not happy. 

His Monk and talent were suppressed.

How does this relate to you?

If your Monk is not aligned with the real world, huge suffering occurs. 

The suffering that leads to a destruction of self becomes mental, physical and emotional abuse of the body. 

All to cover up feelings of frustrations, anger and stress that came from suppressing your Monk.

It´s only when both Monk and Suit are aligned that true happiness and purpose can be achieved. 

To fulfil the true potential of a human being aligned with a healthy Suit, a good mindset, success and inspiration to the world. 

Achievement should just be the result of the expression of the Monk. 

The same applies to business. How many employees or leaders’ talents are squashed because others, their peers, or some superiors don´t believe in them, or are jealous of them? Or they take advantage of the talent and force you to ignore your Monk?

No wonder we are in the Great Resignation. 

People are fed up with uninspiring leadership, a lack of purpose and lack of adequate compensation.

Isn´t it time that we start doing things differently?

Covid brought tremendous pain to many of us, but it also served as a catalyst for liberation. 

We are now awake in that liberation.

What path will you take? Continue your Suit path or the Monk path? 

There is a lot to learn from Elvis and his life journey. 

I have a newfound, deep and humble respect for a man with a vision who made it a reality, and he changed the whole world (highest grossing artist of all time)

But let´s not make the same mistake. 

Let´s not choose either our success or our happiness. Let´s align both of them into one. 

It´s the only way to be truly happy and successful in life and business.

Thanks Elvis.

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