#spirituality #selfdevelopment #personaltransformation
Where to Find Belief in Yourself?
– When you start learning from a strong person, it feels like a squirrel learning from an eagle. We are all different, but in this situation, the squirrel knows: it will never fly like the eagle. That’s guaranteed. So, what do you do with that?
– Today, there’s a massive amount of content available: lots of teachers, coaches, instructors, and all kinds of people. Many people ask, “Where can I find this belief? How can I start taking steps myself? How do I do anything at all?” You listen to someone and think, “Well, they did it because they are that kind of person...” There's a good metaphor here: “How can a squirrel learn from an eagle when it already knows it can’t fly?”
This is actually a deep and important question. It’s at the core of our daily lives and how we consume so much content. Someone absorbing different material might not ask this question; they may think anything is possible because that's often what's promoted. We know many authors, bloggers, and coaches who say anyone can do anything. In “Business Youth,” we used to have a slogan: “Anyone can become anyone.” But on the other hand, some people who watch countless videos don’t have the strength to believe this, and their ego won’t let them move to the first perspective. Inside, they carry a huge fear that they will fail.
What Can You Learn From a Strong Person? The Role of Being a Student
When we talk about the squirrel and the eagle, it’s important to understand what the eagle, as a teacher, will do. If a squirrel is learning from an eagle, many people might think it needs to learn how to fly like an eagle. When I hear this, I think that a person can learn wisdom, love, freedom, a sense of space, how to interact with the world, and relationships from another. There is always something valuable you can gain from a strong person.
The question is: why do I go to a teacher? Is it to become like them, or to be myself but amplify my capabilities for growth and development? Often, people ask me for examples from my own life, like, “Alexander, if you were starting a business, how would you do it?” or “If you were in my real estate situation, what would you do?” or “Alexander, what exactly do you do with your wife? How do you handle things with your child?” I don’t give direct answers; instead, I always focus on the reason behind the question.
Where did this question come from? Why are you asking me this? Do you want to understand how the world works by studying my example, or do you want to achieve the same results as I did? Do you want to understand the truth of things or just copy a model so that things turn out the same way for you?
If you choose the latter (which is the reason for 99 out of 100 questions), you are under the illusion that you and this person are the same. You are not separating yourself when you ask this question, especially if you ask it to a teacher. When you go to a teacher with such a question, you are essentially saying: “I will become what you teach.”
If a squirrel wants to become an eagle, no true eagle (a real teacher) will take on the task. This is the quality of a teacher: the ability to truly recognize the genuine request of a person and decide whether to work with them, to determine what they can and cannot do, and to understand whether this person can reach certain heights. The teacher needs to see and know this.
The Teacher’s Ability to See the Real Next Step
I often give an example. I have a lot of businesses, big and small. So, people frequently come to me with questions like, “How do we change our sales automation system? How do we set up relationships with partners in terms of motivation?” But I can see that this person’s business will close in six months. What do I do? Do I give them an illusion and suggest a solution for sales automation or partner relations, knowing that it doesn’t matter? They’re trying to grow their business for results two or three years from now, but it’s clear their business won’t be there in six months. Should I tell them that? Should I talk about automation, or highlight what they really need right now for their business, which will help them with their next real step? Because soon, they’ll face this when they exit the business or their job. That’s when they’ll need to make the right decision, which they need to prepare for now.
This is what a teacher's ability is: to see the real next step for someone; and the ability of a student is to not want to become the teacher but to truly be a student. A real student never tries to compare themselves to someone else to copy them. They don’t do that unless it’s a specific task, like in sports. Especially when it’s about serious things like watching videos on business development, personal growth, or learning from someone experienced in spiritual or personal growth.
The Power of Uniqueness: Live Without Comparisons
Any question of specifics, like, “How did you do it?” is an illusion. Because I am a unique person, and how I do things—my relationships with my family, my wife, my kids—is my life, not someone else’s. More than that, only I can truly understand my experience, my whole psychophysical state, hormonal background, and all my feelings and sensations. You risk making a huge mistake if you ask questions this way or want to achieve the same results: you never know what you will face. I guarantee that many people, if they tried to live my life, would burn out in the first hour, while for others, it might seem like an easy time.
These comparisons come from a world of achievements and gain, not from the world of truly listening to the space and being a student. So, when you ask questions like, “Can I do this? How do I reach the same heights as that person?” or think, “I will do the same,” you need to pause and ask yourself: why do you truly want to do this? Do you really need to reach some so-called heights? Or is there something you can always learn from a good person?
We live in a world full of lies, where many people don’t try to be students, to find something valuable and helpful for their own development, and to use it to help others.
We constantly live in judgment, in discussions about others, in mocking, and in pointing out difficult things: “What did that person say wrong? Where did they make a mistake?” If I come to learn, I should forget about all that’s happening. I shouldn’t compare; I should truly take on the role of a student. It’s not easy, especially in a world where fake teachers exist. True teachers, real eagles, know two things. Some are convinced they can make a squirrel fly, and some just want to eat the squirrel. I suggest you always remember this, take a moment to stop, and stay in a state of freedom and true understanding of what’s happening. Don’t rush through life. Love the people around you.