1. Opportunity looks a lot like hard work.
2. The sexiest thing in the entire world is being really smart. And being thoughtful and being generous.
3. Everything around us we call “life” was made up by people no smarter than you and you can build your own things.

“Build your own life other people can live in.”

It’s great to see a young man at 35 realize his huge influence over young people and at least attempt to inspire them to live beyond their egos. As he said in this second tip:

“Everything else is crap. I promise you. It’s just crap that people try to sell to you to make you feel like less. So don’t buy it.”

I had the opportunity to work with Ashton’s sister, who is a teacher, a few years ago on a project to teach enlightenment to children in the most challenging cities. I can tell you, they really seem to be very genuinely caring people, especially about children.

In a world where we are being conditioned to follow our own egos because we can’t trust anyone to be our role models, it’s great to see a young man at least take a shot at trying to inspire people. Of course, many will attack him, look for his flaws, so that he cannot inspire anyone. It has one wonder why the media circus is so against any form of real inspiration other can cat videos.

If we can take off our glasses of judgement and imperfection, we might find great inspiration in this short video:

Brief highlights in this CBS News article: http://cbsn.ws/17vBs3F

In a brief article on LinkedIn today, Bill Gates says:

“Not many people get to ask Warren Buffett for advice on a regular basis. I feel very lucky in that regard: The dialogue has been invaluable to me, and not only at Microsoft.”

Find out what wisdom Gates gets from Buffet here: http://linkd.in/11YPGWj

On this date, Bill Gates is the second richest billionaire on the planet at an estimated $67 billion. To get there, and make Microsoft so dominant, Bill must have a big ego. A big healthy ego (self-image) has him say, “I know what to do”. He’s really got to trust himself.

What most people don’t see in these “self-made” people is the team they surround themselves with. Typically, very successful people have mentors and coaches. The old term “self-made man” simply meant that his parents didn’t give him all his money. It didn’t mean he was alone in life. .

When Bill started Microsoft, Paul Allen, 3 years Bill’s senior, was not only his business partner but also a mentor and confidant. Steve Jobs looked for mentors, finding Suzuki Roshi (the great Zen teacher) and many other teachers. A big reason Jobs hired John Sculley, CEO of Pepsi, was so Sculley could mentor him and teach him about leadership.

What strikes me about Gates’ revealing statement above is that he asks “advice on a regular basis.” Who do YOU ask for advice on a regular basis or is your ego telling you, “I’ve got this. I need to do it all on my own to prove something”? Who do you check in with REGULARLY to play your best at everything? Who is your sounding board, your bullshit detector, so you aren’t a slave to your ego mind calling all the shots?

Great coaches and mentors, like Buffet, ask powerful questions. You’ll notice that in the Gates article. They help you ask the right questions rather than tell you exactly what to do. A spouse is often a great bullshit detector. They can’t hear the chatter in your mind so they can just ask you better questions that you can on your own. Talking to a therapist regularly can be a great journey to be happier and play a better game. You might find a business mentor that has built a big business already. It could be a one-on-one connection to a spiritual teacher where you can explore true fulfillment. If you are committed to happiness, you wont’ try to do it alone. That’s just the ego trying to make us suffer.

The truth is, we see actors and athletes that have the fame, fortune, and good looks but still they suffer or self-destruct. Look at a Bernie Madoff that couldn’t get enough money, no matter who it hurt, driving him to prison. Or a Lindsey Lohan, who seems to get worse every year. So, it’s not these external things that create freedom.

What is freedom then? Most people think freedom is doing what you want when you want to. But that isn’t freedom, as we just realized. It’s not having, doing, or being anything. The only true freedom is freedom from your ego mind. That chatty monster in your head that never shuts up. That monkey that runs your life and causes ALL of your emotions. News flash: nothing outside of you causes your emotions. It’s your monkey that does.

Either YOU can be free or your MONKEY is free. Which one is it going to be? The monkey says, “I don’t want any discipline. I don’t want rules or schedules. I don’t want goals or anything to practice. I want to be free.” It’s the same monkey your parents had to deal with when getting you to brush your teeth. It’s the same problem you see in your own kids running around crazy. But the monkey is powerful and it makes you think that YOU are it.

It’s your choice now. You can’t play ignorant. You know now. Either you let the monkey in your head be free, crazy, running around or you have some loving discipline for the monkey so it serves YOU, your true self, higher self.

This is the ancient battle played out in the news even today. The inner screaming monkey wanting to be free vs. your human self being free. Which one’s it going to be? It won’t be easy, but YOU will be free.