The Highest Goal

1. Discover Your Highest Goal Beyond Conventional Success

This experience, if we accept it and remember it, can catapult us beyond the socialization and comparisons that deter us from living the purpose of our lives.

Beyond external achievements. Most people define their highest goal in terms of external success, like career achievements or material wealth, or even a noble purpose. However, the true Highest Goal is an inner, spiritual connection—a profound sense of oneness and potential that sustains you in every moment. It's the "secret that sustains you."

Early life epiphanies. Everyone has a defining experience of this Highest Goal early in life, often around puberty, a moment of exultation where you feel great, connected, and full of potential. This memory, if consciously recalled and nurtured, can become the starting point for a life lived with purpose, transcending societal pressures and comparisons.

• Examples: Seeing mountains for the first time, a religious experience, a powerful dream, or a simple moment of profound connection.

Sub-optimizing prevents fulfillment. We often "sub-optimize" by settling for lesser goals, getting caught in the "tragedy of early success," or allowing societal expectations to dictate our path. This leads to a feeling of meaninglessness. The Highest Goal offers an alternative: a life of deep fulfillment that blesses not just you, but your community and the world.

2. Reclaim Your Innate Greatness and Unique Path

It is your nature, too. The process of finding your way to the highest goal, which Mipham calls enlightenment, is what makes your journey through life meaningful.

Your inherent nature. The Highest Goal is not an external achievement but your inherent nature, a state of enlightenment already within you. The journey of life is about discovering and living from this truth, creating a unique path that is authentically yours, rather than borrowing from others.

• Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey" metaphor applies to everyone's life.

Learning from crises. Overwhelming obstacles and crises are not hindrances but crucibles that push you to live from your highest expression. By facing these challenges, you draw on inner resources and grace, transforming them into opportunities for monumental growth and joy.

• Example: Tom Siporin, who overcame polio and bone cancer to become a prolific artist and community leader, living every moment with the slogan "I am."

Conscious cycle of recognition. To travel your own path, consistently pay attention to moments when you feel most yourself, in flow, and connected to the Highest Goal. Acknowledge and celebrate these "heroic acts" to build strength and confidence for future challenges, developing a "muscle memory" for your inner creativity.

3. Transform Life's Challenges with Practical "Live-Withs"

The answer I have discovered—the centerpiece of the effectiveness of the creativity work—is to start living from heuristics.

Heuristics for insight. To navigate life's complexities and move towards the Highest Goal, adopt "live-withs"—generalizations or rules of thumb for learning and discovery. These are not affirmations or prescriptions, but open directions that challenge misconceptions and call you to new, authentic behaviors.

• Examples: "Have No Expectations," "Psych Out the VOJ," "Pay Attention," "Ask Dumb Questions."

Experiential learning. Live-withs are meant to be practiced consciously, typically for a week, with reflection and feedback. This experiential process moves you beyond mere knowledge to wisdom, allowing you to observe what happens without judgment and integrate new approaches into your life.

• Writing reflections and sharing experiences amplifies learning.

Bootstrapping your best self. Use an ancient trick: "bootstrapping." Re-create the inner experience of your past high-level performances in new situations. By consciously applying the feelings and insights from your breakthroughs, you strengthen your best behaviors and accelerate your journey towards the Highest Goal.

4. Cultivate True Prosperity Through Inner Self-Worth

True prosperity is being happy and continuously experiencing the variety and infinity of qualities that make up your Self.

Inner wealth is paramount. True prosperity is an internal state of happiness and a rich feeling of self-worth, derived from continuously experiencing and expressing the infinite qualities of your Self. This contrasts sharply with society's focus on external rewards, which often lead to fleeting satisfaction.

• The "Is that all there is?" feeling after achieving external goals.

Faith in unseen evidence. Cultivating true prosperity requires enormous, abiding faith—the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." This faith is an inner knowing that allows you to act on an imagined future, even when the path is unclear, preventing the "cruel impoverishment" of denying your inner life.

Love what you do, do what you love. Discover your essential qualities by listing activities you love and hate, then identifying the qualities present or absent. By bringing these core qualities into all your activities, you transform work into fulfillment, making your life a series of moments spent doing what you love, regardless of the specific task.

• Qualities list: Love, Communication, Wisdom, Energy, Tranquility, Fun, Creativity, Service, Silence, Connection, Peace, Joy, etc.

5. Turn Fears into Breakthroughs by Facing Them Directly

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.

Fear as a blessing. Fear, often seen as a negative emotion, is actually a powerful source of energy and information. It's an "expectation with alarm" that, when approached consciously, can reveal what you need to learn and transport you to new levels of living.

• Fear, like joy, is part of the universal "spanda" or vibration.

Three ways to deal with fear. Most people either deny (repress) or fight their fears, which leads to recurring issues or superficial victories. The most effective approach is to "move toward" fear: observe it, understand its source, and learn from it. This often causes the fear to dissipate, leaving clarity.

• Example: A student overcoming flight turbulence anxiety by observing sensations and breathing, rather than succumbing to disaster scenarios.

Live in Self-Time: "Don't Worry, Just Do It." Overcome the "tyranny of the urgent" and the "Voice of Judgment" (VOJ) by living in "Self-time"—the eternal now. This live-with encourages you to act without agonizing over potential negative outcomes, trusting your inner resources.

• Practice: Ignore clocks, set a timer for focused work, or dedicate a specific "worry time."
• Benefits: Increased focus, effortless accomplishment, and a deeper connection to your Highest Goal.

6. Relate from Your Heart with Unconditional Compassion

There is enough love in the individual human heart to fill the universe.

Love is an inner resource. The vast love you feel for others originates within you, not from the external person. This inner love is a direct experience of the Highest Goal, enabling you to approach all relationships with compassion—seeing the highest in yourself first, then in others.

"See with Your Heart" live-with. Practice seeing everyone you interact with through the lens of compassion, recognizing their shared humanity, hopes, and fears. This "precise observation" transcends superficial differences and judgments, fostering deeper connections and often eliciting the best in others.

• Example: A woman's patience and empathy transformed a frustrating wait for her husband into a shared moment of joy.

Silence enables true listening. In conversations, our minds are often filled with our own opinions and prejudices, preventing true listening. By "abiding in silence"—quieting your mind through techniques like silent mantra or focusing on breath—you become fully present and open to what is being said, enabling genuine communication and connection.

• "People don't listen. They reload."

7. Achieve Synergy, Not Just Balance, Through Intuition

Balance is a synergistic and dynamic state of being that comes from your connection to the highest goal, not from external conditions or judgments.

Beyond static balance. True life fulfillment isn't about rigidly balancing work and personal life, but achieving "synergy"—a dynamic state where all parts of your life work together to produce something greater than their sum. This synergy often thrives in busy, even chaotic, conditions when driven by a clear sense of purpose.

• Example: People experiencing balance during intense periods like starting new jobs, moving, and having a baby, due to focus and shared mission.

Highest priorities create focus. Sustain synergistic balance by setting priorities rooted in your Highest Goal and life purpose. Just as large rocks must fill a jar before pebbles and sand, addressing your "big issues" first prevents smaller concerns from overwhelming your life and draining its meaning.

"Yes or No?" for intuitive decisions. Overcome indecision and "analysis paralysis" by cultivating intuitive decision-making. The "Yes or No?" live-with encourages you to trust your inner knowing—a sense of "rightness" beyond emotion or desire—for daily choices.

• Practice: Use a coin flip to reveal your gut reaction, then act on it.
• Benefits: Clarity, efficiency, and a deeper connection to your Essence, leading to a life of choice and balance.

8. Become a Generative Leader by Embracing Giving and Receiving

They create creativity. They have discovered the secret of how to give and receive in an endless cycle of renewal.

The ultimate challenge: sharing your gifts. The final challenge is to share your unique gifts and inner resources with the world, becoming a "generative leader." This creates a two-way flow where your giving is met with receiving, fueling a positive spiral of intelligent growth and renewal.

• Generative leaders: Denise Brosseau (women entrepreneurs), Jeff Skoll (social entrepreneurs), Jim Collins (thought leadership).

"Participate in the Flow of Giving and Receiving" live-with. Consciously engage in acts of giving, especially when difficult, and be open to receiving. Give blessings, surprise strangers with gifts, and give generously to yourself daily. This practice transforms your interactions and reveals the profound energy of reciprocal exchange.

• Example: A simple "Bless you" led to a deep, intimate conversation and mutual affirmation between strangers.

Struggle refines being. The quest for the Highest Goal involves continuous struggle and tests, which paradoxically deepen your connection to others and your generative leadership. "Simply be"—take the risk to be your authentic Self in action, transforming criticism or feelings of unworthiness into expressions of your purest Essence.

9. Sustain Your Journey by Reaffirming Your Highest Goal

Living with your highest goal can give you a focus that will push you to be your Self and do your Work in ways beyond anything you've imagined.

Continuous commitment. The journey to the Highest Goal is lifelong, requiring periodic reaffirmation and commitment. Regularly reflect on your Highest Goal, celebrate moments of connection, and envision a life increasingly aligned with it. This clarity sustains you through challenges and expands your potential.

Tools for ongoing growth. Utilize practical tools to maintain momentum:

• Creative Expression: Create art, music, or stories that demonstrate your Self and its integration with your Work.
• "Self/Work" Business Card: A small card with your core qualities and true purpose, serving as a constant reminder.
• Lifetime Live-With: Develop a personal, provocative live-with (e.g., "Live It Up," "Do Your Duty") to guide your daily actions.
• VOJ Destroying Party: Ritualistically destroy written fears and judgments to symbolically release their hold.

The 10X Commitment. Make a "10X commitment"—a tenfold increase in your contribution to the world and personal fulfillment. This qualitative shift encourages you to do fewer, more focused things aligned with your Highest Goal, leading to a life beyond imagination.

• Example: A video producer's 10X commitment led to creating transformative digital stories for global impact.