From Nothing 2 Something

Read time: 4.5 Minutes

Today is the last day of the retreat.

I’ve been here since Monday.

6 of the most beautiful days I’ve ever had.

I’ve

  • seen

  • learned

  • experienced

… so much in such little time.

If I shared with you all the insights I’ve gained, the “Read Time” would be of at least 20 minutes.

Don’t you worry, I won’t do that.

But, what I will do… is share with you something powerful I’ve experienced (more than once) during my time here.

As for the rest of the powerful shit I’ve been a part of, I’ll save that for next week’s emails (& the weeks after that).

Throughout this week though, two distinct events have reminded me of the power of creation.

Something my father has shared with me over the years.

He’s always told me how anything you put your mind to is possible…

BUT.

Only as long as your mind is put to it.

I don't think I’ve ever fully understood what he meant by this until this very week.

Besides, of course, the fact that this was something people said & that there was some truth to it… through:

  • putting in the work

  • being committed + disciplined

  • believing in yourself enough to show up

But besides that… I didn’t give it much though.

This was until I witnessed it with my own eyes TWICE this week.

In two distinct moments during our retreat, I experienced people from my group “create” something completely out of nothing.

Yesterday, I tried to explain such moments to my girlfriend & brother on the phone… but without much success. And it’s not because they couldn’t believe or understand me, it’s cause it wasn’t that crazy to them.

It wasn’t “new” to them.

My father had instilled & engrained this notion that “there is possibility in anything you want, all you need to do is create it” since I was a very very young boy.

It has become a part of me.

So much so that I hadn’t even noticed I was already practicing it.

Throughout my entire life.

(Even if I didn’t fully grasp what I was doing).

Therefore, both my girlfriend & brother were “used” to this mentality.

But seeing others do it too was what made the real difference for me this week.

The Event

One of the other retreaters is an actress.

For today’s letter, let’s name her Felicity.

Felicity had been practicing her vocal range & singing abilities every morning before our coaching sessions for an upcoming audition for a musical.

She sings so beautifully.

Incredible voice.

But, she’s been dealing with some “self-doubt”.

  • She doesn’t think she’s good enough

  • She doesn’t believe she has what it takes

  • She doesn’t consider herself a powerful singer

Which is one of the main things that brought her here.

Felicity is aiming to free & quiet her mind.

That little inner voice inside that continually takes the driver’s seat of her life.

During our time here, we’ve all realized that we are separate from that.

We are not the same as that voice.

If that voice says something, we do not have to follow through.

If that voice has a preference, you can surrender to the opposite.

That, in fact, is how one “surrenders to the flow of life”.

If life puts something in front of you, it would be a disservice to not follow through with it.

And why? Because you had a preference towards doing something else?

If life puts something in front of you and your initial, automatic thought (& subsequent feeling) is “I don’t want to do this”, you surrender by actually doing it.

Mind says no. Lips say yes.

“How does any of this relate to the actress auditioning for the musical?!”

That inner voice was telling her she couldn’t do it.

That inner voice was taking control of her life.

That inner voice was leading.

But it doesn’t have to.

And as we were in the ocean yesterday with the entire group… our coach & host of the retreat, Alex, brought up a “possibility” for this woman.

Imagine if you were to sing in front of the whole beach pier tonight after our dinner. You would get more out of that moment than anything else we’ve done all week combined.”

Alex — [with a cheeky British accent]

He offered a possibility.

And she saw it as such.

Fast forward to after our dinner last night — Felicity led the group down to the pier.

As I looked at her, I could tell she was nervous.

Or maybe excited.

It’s the same thing, to be honest.

Same physiological feeling. Just a different connotation or explanation offered to you by your mind.

A subjective one may I add.

One that you can

  • Create

  • Change

  • Construct

… as you see fit.

As we continued our stroll down the pier, I saw Felicity looking around calculating in her mind how and where she’d undertake this performance.

There were loads of people all over the pier having dinner in a bunch of different restaurants.

But one restaurant/bar specifically had live music playing.

They had hired a live band.

Enter Donna.

(Another one of the retreaters who’s here with us this week)

She spots the live band and immediately sees the spark of this possibility.

She goes up to the bar.

Orders a drink.

Speaks to a server.

(In a foreign language may I add)

Gets passed on like a ping-pong to a waitress, who then passes her to the owner.

Who finally tells Donna to directly speak with the live band herself and ask them.

Donna was asking each staff member if her “professional & talented singer who just flew in from London” could sing a song.

She created her as that.

What’s stopping her from being that?

You guessed right. Nothing.

Nothing but that voice in your head telling you otherwise.

10 minutes later, the live band started playing the instrumental of the song Felicity had said she would sing.

Before we knew it, Felicity was up there.

She grabbed the mic as if she had done this a thousand times before.

As a matter of fact, she had.

She’s that professional & talented singer who just flew in from London, right?

Create. Create. Create.

You can create yourself to be whoever it is you want to be.

Add surrender to it and life will quite literally guide you through it.

The power of creation lies within us all.

Possibility surrounds us all too.

Be like Felicity.

And create something out of nothing.

Thank you for reading.

Happy Saturday & much love,

Julian

PS. What’s the most incredible thing you’ve created or achieved by harnessing this power? Reply directly to this email and share your story with me.

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