Ohhhhh Treasure!

I have always found a depth of motivation from quotes, having read an endless amount my entire life, and yes as expected, I do in fact have my fair share of favourites - namely from Anias Nin, Dr. Seuss, Ralph Waldo Emerson and especially Oscar Wilde - but one that really always jumps out at me is by Paulo Coelho which says "Remember that wherever your heart is, know that there you will find your treasure"...

Wow! Deep right? I know.

The thing that I find most interesting in that and why it is in my list of favourites is because throughout my entire life, I have embarked on many quests and put my heart into everything that I do, and so I fully understand the entire meaning of this quote. I don't think there came a time when I did not find some kind of heart in anything I did - and naturally, there was some kind of treasure - however, the treasure in all these things were the lessons that came from it. Let me be honest, lessons I love, but after a while, it gets to a point when you're just sitting alone and you think, "OKAY, so when do the lessons stop and the rewards begin?"

It's okay to have those moments of questioning everything because these introspective moments help you to understand whether the impact you have had is personal - only to you - or if you have affected the lives of others in some way.

I think that my life until a few years ago was an unbalanced scale of impacts mostly toward myself because it was literally just learning ALL. THE. TIME. Lesson after lesson kept being thrown towards me and lets face it, when you are young and insanely naïve, you tend to be selfish. I did not realise then that all those lessons and no reward were actually preparing me for a life full of heart and reward now.

So like I said before, I have put my heart into a lot of things, and don't get me wrong, I loved every single minute of it all and it is only now that I see the treasure in those things - you know, because naivety and all that - but I still felt something missing. You know how you go your entire life sometimes just hoping and praying that there will be some place you fit in, some place you will not feel like an outsider? Well, the fitting in came recently for me and at the same time, I also found a ton of belonging.

Recently, in 2020 (yea, the year we don't speak about and collectively renounce), I began an incredible journey of self development and self actualisation which has led me down so many incredible paths - from self therapy and acceptance to speaking on stage in front of some of the best people I have ever known - and has pretty much given me to tools to build a better version of myself a hundred times over. I began publishing motivational video content and built this entire personal brand around encouragement, self help and motivation and also continued writing and publishing my own poetry. During this time, there was a moment, a brief moment, that pretty much changed the course of my thinking and gave me incredible confirmation.

[some backstory to follow...]

In 2020, during the whole you-know-what, there was an environmental awareness competition that I wanted to participate in. So I signed up for it through my university and was so hyped to do it, but I did not attend because of my busy schedule at the time. Fast forward a few months later, I get a phone call from a friend asking me if I would love to be a guest speaker at a Toastmasters meeting. I was hesitant at the time but then she told me that I have actually been an inactive member of the club since a few months prior and if I did not attend, my membership would be cancelled. Naturally, I showed up because I was not about to miss an opportunity to speak on stage, in front of actual people - and also the membership was paid by the campus so you know, free stuff - but also I really wanted the great conversation starter of "so this one time I ACCIDENTALLY joined a Toastmasters club".

I do show up and speak, and fast forward a few months later, not only am I named as treasurer of the club - BIG W! - but I also have improved so much and enhanced my public speaking skill. Imagine the true impact that these kinds of positive accidents can have on ones life.

Ever since then, and putting my heart into every single speech, I found my treasure. It took me a long while to realise but I finally found some place that I belonged, and kept finding treasures with every single person I met and every speech that I delivered. But, the treasure was not only in speaking, it is definitely a treasure in self because of how much I have grown in every aspect of myself since I joined. My true impact was realised when people started coming up to me and telling me how much I motivate them and how great my energy is; this was probably the first time that I balanced out that impact scale. With the more heart and energy I push into making people feel special and encouraging them, the more treasure I receive, and this is not treasure in the form of the compliments or anything - I do appreciate these, always - but the treasure is in the fact that I am actually getting through to them, people are listening and applying what I say to make their lives better. I always say that if we want to change the world we need to start with one person, and so my treasure is changing the world through these people.

When I finally realised my impact

I want you to think of all the things in your life that you love, all those things that bring you joy. You continue to do it because of that joy, you put your heart in it because it makes you feel a certain way. There is a treasure in everything that your heart is in, and I am sure that it has most certainly changed you in some way, because that is what these things do, they make you better. The treasure does not need to make sense to anyone else because lets face, you are living for you and whatever makes sense to you matters. When you have your multiple AHA! moments and figure out where the treasures are, you will realise that all these special things in your life really do help you in some way and believe me, you will appreciate them a whole lot more.

The most traitorous thing we can ever do to ourselves is give up on something because of someone else. Yes, people can be a huge factor in making you second guess yourself, but if it is something that you love doing, do it again and again, because it is your happiness that matters, always. Now, I know that you may not immediately find the treasure in those things that make you happy, because most times happiness needs no reason, but when said things start to bring you true peace, the answer will always become clear.

When you find your treasure, keep it as your reason for being, and let it always remind you why you love those things you put your heart into!