In The Last Jedi, Master Yoda visits Luke on the mostly ocean planet, Ahch-To, where he has chosen to live in exile. This location is significant as it is where the Jedi Order was first founded, and the location of the first Jedi Temple.

Yoda tells Luke about all the Jedi teachings he was supposed to pass on, specifically, failure. He says that failure is the most important thing to pass on because, “the greatest teacher, failure is.”

I’ve talked at length in various posts how important failure is. It is our biggest teacher because we will always gain valuable experience through every failure we have. And the only true failure that exists is either not trying or refusing to get back up when you fail.

The truth is, we miss 100% of the shots we don’t take. If we are still alive and breathing, then we’re still in the game. We can still push through our failures, learn from them and achieve greatness.

Have you ever seen a leader who loves the attention he is getting? Maybe you had a bratty class president in high school or your manager at work who clearly loves using the power he has.

True leadership isn’t about showing off power or being able to boss people around. True leadership is about working with your team to create something bigger than the individual. One of the best examples of a good leader is the conductor of an orchestra. In an orchestra, the maestro, or the conductor, is in charge of guiding the orchestra. Although the leader, he stands with his back against the audience. Here are 3 lessons we can learn about leadership from an orchestra conductor.

3 Leadership Lessons from an Orchestra Conductor

A Good Leader Doesn’t Follow the Crowd

A true leader doesn’t follow trends or do what everyone else is doing. They also don’t do what is cool or what might win him popularity. A true leader does what is best for the team, the project, and the group at large. It doesn’t matter to him what is happening in the crowd, whether it is clapping or booing, interested or distracted. He is separate from the crowd and stays focused on the job at hand.

If you want to be a good leader, you must be okay with standing alone and being different. This is easier said than done, especially in our modern world with social media and pop culture all around us. If we don’t jump in on a trend immediately, whether it is a Tik Tok challenge, sipping on Dalgona coffee, or watching Squid Game, it can be easy to feel behind and isolated from the world. However, remind yourself that leaders aren’t distracted by what the rest of the crowd is doing. A true leader has the strength to stand alone.

A Good Leader is Focused

Although an orchestra conductor is ‘performing’ on stage, they aren’t facing the crowd. Rather, they are fully focused on the task at hand. They are completely immersed into guiding the rest of the orchestra to create something beautiful. If you want to be a true leader, you must stay focused on the task at hand, fully attentive at creating the best outcome possible.

A Good Leader Doesn’t Look for External Validation

How often have you done something just to be validated or noticed by others? Maybe you cooked a lavish dinner for your partner and posted about it on social media. Or maybe you worked a little extra at work so that your boss notices you.

It’s easy to do things to get noticed by others. As social beings, we crave validation and appreciation from others. However, what sets a true leader apart is that they don’t do things for credit or appreciation. The best leaders are the ones who do their job silently and strive for excellence. Their motivation is intrinsic, not extrinsic.

Remember, leaders are often portrayed to be loud, charismatic, bold, and in the limelight. However, a true leader is far from that. A true leader is unafraid to be different, is strong, strives for excellence, and is focused on guiding and inspiring his team for a positive outcome. Everybody wants fame, attention, and credit for doing a good job. However, a true leader, like an orchestra conductor, turns his back to the applause and focuses on the job at hand. 

Life and death, the two opposites that serve as a common thread uniting every single human being that ever existed. When we think about death, we realize the importance of truly living and feeling alive. But what does it mean to truly feel alive?

That’s a question that many people ask, but few can confidently reply to.

Is being alive just a matter of breathing in and out? Is it going through the daily routine and tasks, just to repeat them once more? Is it working, eating, talking, exercising, learning, and sleeping?

Living and feeling alive are two very different things. It’s easy to get caught up in just the surviving and existing part of living, but that lacks the exhilaration and joy that the experience of life truly has to offer us.

Feeling alive is more than just living. It’s about fully experiencing life with exhilaration and passion. Feeling alive doesn’t just mean being happy; it’s about being present and engaging with life with all your senses. It’s that feeling when you see a breathtaking sunset, or you make a deep connection with a stranger, or you feel moved by a song. It’s the feeling that wants to make you laugh and cry at the same time. It’s a beautiful feeling. So how can we be intentional about feeling more alive in our daily lives?

3 Ways to Feel More Alive

1. Seize the day. What do you want to do today? Live each moment as your last. Live today like there is no tomorrow. We often get caught up in this idea that we will ‘live’ later. But when is ‘later’? We go to school so that we can get into a good college. We study hard in college so we can get a good job. We work hard at our job so that we can retire. We keep waiting for the next thing in life, when we will be happy and when we can finally do what we want. The problem is the ‘next’ thing keeps changing and constantly moving further and further away. So stop chasing tomorrow. Stop chasing the weekend. Stop chasing your retirement. Stop waiting for that special occasion. Live your life today.

Want to take a road trip? Do it now! Want to call up your crush and share your feelings? Do it! Want to switch up your routine and go to the beach during your lunch break? Why not?

Seize the day and make every moment count.

2. Be present. Feeling alive means truly experiencing each moment. When we are distracted by our thoughts, phones, or what we want to eat for lunch later, we miss out on the moment around us. Rather than multitasking or thinking about something else, immerse yourself in the bliss of this moment. This moment doesn’t have to be extraordinary for you to fully enjoy it.

Remember, all you need to feel alive is to remind yourself of this present moment and the magic of being alive. Don’t take anything for granted; everything around you is a true miracle. Being a living, breathing human being is a marvel. You are alive, you are here, you are reading this. The words I have written are reaching you, wherever you are in the world, through this crazy thing called a computer and internet and thoughts and vibrations. That is beautiful. Let these small things move you.

3. Give up excuses. To feel alive, you need to give up excuses. It’s easy to stay in bed, watch Netflix, eat junk food, and go to sleep. But to feel alive, you need to give up the easy options and take intentional action. It means taking risks, whether that is signing up for that dance class you have always wanted to take, starting that dream business, or getting up to work out and get back in shape. You can always say “I don’t have enough time”, “I don’t have the money”, “what if I fail”, or “what if people judge me”, but such excuses keep us from truly experiencing life to the fullest.

Your time on earth is limited, so make each moment count. Life passes us faster than we realize. Seize the day, be fully present and intentional with every moment, and ditch the excuses! It’s time to live life to the fullest.

In Cobra Kai, Johnny Lawrence (my favorite character) often shouts, “Quiet!” to his students both in and outside of the dojo. It is his way of getting their attention or keep them from talking over him. And I love the tone of his voice when he yells it!

In the series, Johnny resorts to this as a means of showing his authority. He isn’t your typical sensei, and he doesn’t have time for political correctness. And he shouts, “Quiet!”. A lot.

When you are learning something for the first time, sometimes you are better served by just listening and observing at first. I used to feel anxiety when I was learning something that I didn’t understand, and I would ask tons of questions right off the bat. When I did that, I was often left feeling even more confused.

There is a time and place to ask questions and seek clarification. But when you are just learning, trust that the information you seek will come to you during the process. And if it doesn’t, you can always ask.

If you are a fan of Game of Thrones, you are aware of the catchphrase that everyone in Westeros uses, “Winter is coming.” But what does it really mean?

While “Winter is coming” is the motto of House Stark, there are probably at least three distinct meanings to this quote. First, the Starks live in the North, in Winterfell. Winter hits their land the hardest, so they are in a constant state of preparation. This could literally mean, prepare for the Winter.

“Winter is coming” can also mean The Starks are coming. When Arya Stark kills members of House Frey who participated in the Red Wedding, she tells the people that she spared to tell everyone else that, “Winter came for House Frey.”

Perhaps the overall meaning of, “Winter is coming” is the overhanging threat that ultimately comes to fruition. This would be the return of the White Walkers and they must all be prepared for such an event.

While we don’t live in Westeros, it is always good to be prepared. Whether it is saving money for a rainy day, stocking up on things you might need, having a plan on what you will do if X happens, etc. it helps us to know we have a plan of how we will handle things if we need to.  

Does it seem like the world gets louder, busier, and more chaotic with every passing year? You are definitely not alone if you find that you often feel over-stimulated by constant noise and distractions. You might have trouble concentrating and feel mentally foggy much of the time. You might also have a difficult time falling asleep or staying asleep. This can have a negative impact on your energy and stress levels.

Outer distractions can also make it difficult to hear your inner voice, otherwise known as your inner guidance or intuition. This can lead to feelings of disconnection and isolation. It can also leave you feeling confused and uncertain when you’re trying to make important decisions.

There is a simple, wonderful remedy that can help with all of these things. It is the power of silence. When you enter into a quiet space and disconnect from the noise and activity in your environment, you will notice immediately that your stress and overwhelm begin to decrease. You start to feel calmer, more open, relaxed, and you re-establish the connection with your inner self. And this allows you to hear your inner voice more clearly.

If the idea of sitting in complete silence makes you feel restless and uncomfortable, a good compromise would be to listen to a soothing, gentle sound. Focusing on your breath moving in and out of your lungs, or a recording of nature sounds like rain or ocean waves can be helpful. As you listen to these sounds or simply enjoy total silence, allow your mind to quiet down as well. Set aside scattered thoughts. Let go of any concerns or challenges that may be weighing on you and focus on just being present in the moment. Breathe deeply and let your body become still and relaxed.

Within a few minutes, you should notice that you feel more connected to your inner self. As your scattered thoughts begin to clear, you might be surprised to receive unexpected insights about problems or challenges you’re facing. You may even get a creative idea for a new opportunity, or you just might start to feel a greater sense of clarity about your life.

As you continue with this practice daily, you should notice that you develop the ability to access your inner guidance at any time. It won’t matter where you are, or what is happening around you. Even while you are in the midst of busy or loud environments, you can simply pause, take a deep breath, and turn your attention within. As you focus on the stillness and peacefulness of your inner self, you will instantly start to feel clearer and more balanced.

You may also notice over time that your intuition begins to communicate with you more clearly as you go about your daily activities. This happens simply because you have consistently created a space for that inner connection to flourish. As a result, you may find that you have an easier time making decisions or recognizing good opportunities when they appear.

With so many incredible benefits coming from the simple act of sitting in silence, it’s certainly worthwhile to give it a try. Before long, you will come to value those precious quiet moments alone each day because you will see clearly how the practice has improved your life in so many ways.

Do you ever find yourself thinking about something you did in the past, wondering what it would be like if you had done something differently?

Maybe you wish you could take back one of the things you said. Or perhaps you wish you could have acted differently. Or maybe you wish that your situations had been different and someone else hadn’t hurt you the way they did.

Part of being human is having to deal with the fact that some things don’t go the way we wanted them to. And that’s okay.

While your past might not be perfect, there is still a lot you can learn from it. And the biggest, most important thing to remember is that your past does not have to define you, if you don’t let it. No matter what happened in the past, you can use your past to your advantage by thinking of it as a preparation for the present and the future.

Don’t Let the Past Define You

The beauty of your identity is that you decide who you are. What happened in your past does not have to define who you are.

For example, if you tried to start a business and failed, you could define yourself as a “failure”. Maybe you walk around with the burden of being a failure, and you live every moment as if you are a failure. As a result, you will never try again, making you a failure by default.

On the other hand, the moment that you decide “I’m worthy of success”, you redefine who you are. You will look at the past failure as a series of challenges and a lesson that made you stronger; the failure will now be something that pushed you closer to the right path. You will act like somebody who is successful. You will take the chance. You will be more confident. You will try again. And that’s the only way you CAN be successful again.

Let Your Past Teach You

Every situation in our life has the capacity to teach us great lessons. A ‘bad’ situation is only 100% bad if you let it be a struggle and you choose to not get anything out of it.

For example, maybe you invested all your savings in setting up a business which failed. While this can be an extremely unfortunate situation, it can also teach you a lot. You might learn that it is unwise to spend all your savings on a risky idea. You may also learn what does not work in a business, and what you could have done differently. Going forward, you are wiser financially and in making business decisions.

But what about the times when the past wasn’t your fault? Maybe someone hurt you in a relationship or you grew up in an unsupportive environment. There are still important life lessons to be learned. For example, if someone in a past relationship broke your trust, you can be more cautious of who you trust in the future. In addition, it can be a learning lesson of how to treat other people in the future as well.

Forgive Yourself and Others

Arguably the most powerful way of breaking the hold the past has over you is forgiveness. When you forgive, you let all the anger, bitterness, hurt, resentment, and regret melt away. The past cannot be changed, so why are you carrying the weight of it? Forgive yourself and forgive those who hurt you. This will make you feel so much lighter so that you can then focus on the present and creating your future intentionally. If you wish you had done things differently in the past, that means you have grown, and that’s a great thing to celebrate!

Remember, you cannot change anything in the past. The only thing you can change is what you do in the present. So, create the present and your future intentionally.