Praise the Decoy of Mankind

Do not allow your desire for praise and recognition to precede your mission.

Do not speak of your pain in search of pity, for you will settle for that and never work another day for actual admiration.

Speak not to elevate yourself or risk your potential for more.

You will equate your speech to actual success and become an arrogant fool who speaks of his meaningless achievements instead of success.

If you seek validation, you will never reach success because the path for each is not the same.

One is an arduous road of self-discovery and mastery,

And the other is facades and marketing.

So keep your work to yourself lest you risk corrupting your goal.

Stop working and making sacrifices for praise.

To speak of your sacrifices is to undo them.

Some things are only virtuous in secret.

Some things done if found out by the beneficiary will do more damage in guilt and remorse than help.

Sharing what you have done will only make them anxious about the burden that you carry.

You might sacrifice something of importance for the greater good of another, but if they are made aware, they will be eaten alive by the remorse more than made whole by the good you have done.

And if all know of your deeds, have you done them for good or the recognition, and how do you act when no one is looking?

You are only a good person when others see you, but when it matters most, you will be alone, and who you actually are will come to the surface.

Stop making your every action an attempt to fuel your ego.

Your work is not a monument to praise but a quiet sacrifice.

It is taking on the responsibility that has been abdicated.

Guiding the lost.

Helping the helpless.

Others will benefit from your work far more than you will.

So you might as well do it for others.

And that involves doing it quietly.

Seek not praise lest it takes over as your main goal, and then you will stop short of achieving what you set out to do.

Praise will come a lot easier than expected, and if you aim for that, you will be too satisfied to continue the hard path that remains to greatness.

Avoid also your desire for pity for lonely is the road to greatness, and the craving for a shoulder to cry on increases at every step.

If you look for pity, you will get it and settle for the comfort it brings.

The desire to escape the pain and move forward is stronger than your desire for the achievement.

The painful road is your friend; it forces you forward, and pity will allow you to bear it.

So avoid it at all costs.

In pity, you will die and become nothing short of a stuffed animal to those around you.

Practice meekness instead.

Sacrifice in secret. Work in private. Be the warrior in the garden. The self-mastered monster.

More on that next week. Stay tuned next one is life-changing.