Watching
If Nobody Was Watching, What Would Still Matter To You?
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If you were the only person on Earth, would you still suck in your stomach?
I asked myself that question a few months ago and I couldn’t shake it.
Not because of my stomach. I suddenly realized how many things I do without ever questioning why.
A little while later, I walked into a clothing store looking for something specific.
Then something strange happened.
Standing there in the middle of the store, I noticed the noise was gone.
For the first time in my life, the background noise was gone.
The endless habit of viewing myself through other people’s eyes had gone quiet.
It was like a radio that had been playing my entire life suddenly got switched off.
The silence was shocking.
That moment sent me down a rabbit hole.
How much of what we call “me” is actually programming?
How much energy is spent managing appearances, protecting identities, chasing approval, and playing roles we never consciously chose?
Lately I’ve been fascinated by a thought experiment.
Imagine if we couldn’t see anybody’s income, job title, credentials, awards, or social status.
Instead, imagine we could see something far more revealing: a person’s level of peace, fulfillment, presence, and congruence.
How quickly would our hierarchy rearrange itself, and how differently would we see one another?
The deeper I’ve gone into self-inquiry, the more I’ve realized that many of the things I thought were “me” were simply programs running in the background.
I couldn’t see them while they were running.
I only noticed them when they became quiet.
That’s been one of the most peaceful discoveries of my life.
It leaves me with the same question I started with.
If nobody was watching, what would still matter to you?
Read The Next One: THE DANGEROUS CHIP ON MY SHOULDER →
PLAY IN THE LIVING LAB →
ENJOY THE FULL LIBRARY:
The Dangerous Chip On My Shoulder
Why Do Smart People Stay Stuck?
I Threw Away Every Medal I Ever Earned
Instead Of A Promotion, I Got Fired
I Ran An Experiment With The Universe
People MisJudge High Performers
The Cost Of Other People’s Opinions Of You
Some books are discovered after they’re published.
This one can be experienced while it’s still unfolding.
What began with deep self-inquiry became the Courageous Heart Expedition—and now my first book. Stories, films, photographs, reflections and discoveries are coming together as the work continues to unfold. You’re invited to explore what I’m creating and find your way in.
My Latest…
The Living Lab
Life is a lab. It’s always open.
How much of your life did you actually choose?
Most of us inherit far more than we realize—beliefs, identities, fears, and subconscious programming that control how we see ourselves.
The Living Lab is an ongoing exploration of what we discover when we question what we’ve been taught, challenge the ego, examine our conditioning, and experiment with different ways of being.
Because once you see what you didn’t choose, you get to decide what comes next.
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Independent work like this exists because people choose to help make it possible. You can help me keep creating it.