The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose PDF
Preview The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose
FIRESIDE Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Copyright © 1999 by Matthew Kelly Revised copyright © 2004 by Beacon Publishing All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. First Fireside Edition 2004 FIRESIDE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Designed by Jan Pisciotta Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kelly, Matthew. The rhythm of life : living every day with passion and purpose / Matthew Kelly. p. cm. 1. Christian life—Catholic authors. I. Title. BX2350.3.K453 2004 158.1—dc22 2004050068 ISBN-10: 0-7432-7351-6 ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-7351-0 Visit us on the World Wide Web: http://www.SimonSays.com Contents Part One What Do You Want From Life? Everything is a Choice Do You Really Know What You Want? The Happiness Paradox Too Busy Doing What? Quiet Desperation The Five Questions The Meaning of Life Seven Dreams A New Perspective Live Passionately Part Two Finding Your Genius The Gentle Voice Within Understanding Our Legitimate Needs Beyond Our Wants Harnessing the Power of Our Needs and Desires Everybody Is a Genius Part Three The-Best-Version-of-Yourself Overwhelmed by Experts Choosing Happiness The Enemy of Excellence: Minimalism Are You Free? Follow Your Star Celebrating Your Unique Self Part Four Discovering The Rhythm of Life Why Are We All So Busy? What Can Creation Teach Us About Ourselves? Priorities Timing Part Five It’s All About Energy Our Most Valuable Resource Creating the Rhythm The Three Instruments Sleep: The Foundation of Energy The First Instrument The Sacred Hour The Second Instrument The Seventh Day The Third Instrument The Art of Slowing Down Part Six The Way of Excellence A Childhood Lesson What Is Success to You? Why Are They Successful at Everything? 1. The Knowledge Principle 2. The Dream Principle 3. The Vision Principle 4. The Life Principle 5. The Thought Principle 6. The Dedication Principle 7. The Belief Principle 8. The People Principle 9. The Communication Principle 10. The Final Principle The Ten Principles of Excellence Part Seven Living the Life You Were Born to Live Enjoy the Journey Be the Difference That Makes the Difference Leaders, Critics, Dreamers, and the Future How Do You Perceive the World? Can You Hear the Music? The Measure of Your Life Will Be the Measure of Your Courage Let Your Light Shine! DO NOT LET YOUR LIFE BE LIKE A SHOOTING STAR, WHICH LIGHTS UP THE SKY FOR ONLY A BRIEF MOMENT. LET YOUR LIFE BE LIKE THE SUN, WHICH ALWAYS BURNS BRIGHTLY IN THE HEAVENS, BRINGING LIGHT AND WARMTH TO ALL THOSE ON EARTH. LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE! Part One What Do You Want From Life? Everything is a Choice Everything is a choice. This is life’s greatest truth and its hardest lesson. It is a great truth because it reminds us of our power. Not power over others, but the often untapped power to be ourselves and to live the life we have imagined. It is a hard lesson, because it causes us to realize that we have chosen the life we are living right now. It is perhaps frightening for us to think that we have chosen to live our life exactly as it is today. Frightening because we may not like what we find when we look at our lives today. But it is also liberating, because we can now begin to choose what we will find when we look at our life in the tomorrows that lie unlived before us. What will you see when you look at your life ten years from now? What will you choose? Life is choices. You have chosen to live this day. You have chosen to read this book. You have chosen to live in a certain city. You have chosen to believe certain ideas. You have chosen the people you call friends. You choose the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the thoughts you think. You choose to be calm or restless, you choose to feel appreciative or ungrateful. Love is a choice. Anger is a choice. Fear is a choice. Courage is a choice. You choose. Sometimes we choose the-best-version-of-ourselves, and sometimes we choose a-second-rate-version- of-ourselves. Everything is a choice, and our choices echo throughout our lives…and into history…and on and on into eternity. Most people never fully accept this truth. They spend their lives arguing for their weaknesses, complaining about their lot in life, or blaming other people for their weaknesses and their lot in life. You may argue that you are forced to live in a certain city or drive a certain car, but it is not true. And if it is, it is true only temporarily and because of a choice you have made in the past. We choose, and in doing so, we design our lives. Some may say that we do not choose our circumstances. You’d be surprised. We have much more power over the circumstances of our lives than most men and women would ever admit. And even if circumstances are thrust upon us, we choose how we respond to those circumstances. Others may argue that they did not choose the country they were born in or the parents they were born to. How do we know we didn’t choose these things? We are all endowed with free will. Did we not have this free will before we were born? Perhaps one day we will realize that we have chosen much more than we have even imagined. I hope that day is today. For the day we accept that we have chosen to choose our choices is the day we cast off the shackles of victimhood and are set free to pursue the lives we were born to live. Learn to master the moment of decision and you will live a life uncommon. Do You Really Know What You Want?
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