Deepak Chopra’s father made a tiny but meaningful gesture on his 14th birthday: he gave his son some Sinclair Lewis and W. Somerset Maugham novels as a birthday present.
Chopra’s father was a doctor in India, and he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.
Chopra aspired to be a novelist. In school, he ignored biology and chemistry. “Journalists and other authors who were family friends were the ones I most respected,” he told SUCCESS. “I had no desire to become a doctor.” My father, on the other hand, was well aware of two things: my creative imagination and the fact that those novels were all about doctors and healers.
You’re pliable at 14, so after reading them, I went to my father and told him I wanted to be a doctor.”
Imagine your father’s knowing grin. Chopra went on to become a well-known endocrinologist, a medical school professor, and one of the most prominent proponents of mind-body medicine, which combines Western medical knowledge with ancient Eastern ideas.
He has also written over 50 books, including Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul. And, today, when money, fame, and influence are our culture’s traditional definitions of success, Deepak Chopra has amassed all three.
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However, that last statement diminishes his achievements. He didn’t just happen to succeed. He achieved success according to his own standards. That’s a lot more impressive achievement. It’s almost a result that he achieved the fame/fortune/power success trifecta along the road (what he refers to as the “limited” meaning of success).
Chopra adds, “I define success as the following.” “First and foremost, the progressive achievement of worthwhile objectives. The ability to love and be compassionate is number two. No. 3, to connect with your inner creative wellspring. And, finally, to progress from success to significance.”
That last component is quite important. It’s what gives rise to people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett—those whose material wealth allows them to focus on more humanistic and fulfilling pursuits, or “significance,” as Chopra puts it.
They grow larger than their achievement as a result of that labor, and that is ultimately what motivates them when they are alone and out of the spotlight. “Material success without meaning to the common good is ultimately unsatisfying,” Chopra argues, speaking from personal experience.
In summary, people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Deepak Chopra don’t think about accumulating enough money to “retire by 40,” or any other age. They have no intention of retiring at any age. They’re fighting dissatisfaction, which forces them to fine-tune their A-game and long-term objectives.
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Money is merely a consequence of this procedure.
That isn’t to argue that material achievement isn’t exciting, as Chopra points out. “Oh, it’s pretty exciting at first,” he replies with a chuckle. “However, after many years of soul-searching and people-watching, I have realized, to my own surprise, that being immensely affluent is irrelevant.”
As proof, he cites a close buddy who is a multimillionaire. “Every evening, this man’s level of happiness or unhappiness is determined by an e-mail informing him of his net worth depending on the stock market’s performance that day. What sort of existence is that? He’s a perfect example of how millions of riches can’t make someone happy.”
“Material achievement without a connection to the common good is ultimately unsatisfying.”
So the key is to forget about money entirely? Not in the least. “Financial security is quite important,” Chopra says, citing the flexibility it provides. The secret to true success, on the other hand, is a little more complicated.
He advises against pursuing happiness. Do not seek thrills, such as those obtained by making and spending large sums of money. Strive for perfection. Pursue happiness. And Chopra has done so by living up to his own notion of success, rather than societies. It’s true. It’s significant. The nicest part is that it’s all his.
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“Creativity is the Source of True Prosperity,” He Explains.
“Wealth and money have become synonymous in modern culture.” Money is not the same as wealth. As Chopra defines it for himself, “wealth in its true meaning is a success.”
What role does creativity play in achieving success? It all comes down to the basic word: create something valuable that didn’t exist before.
Creativity is also the ability to think freely in order to achieve your objectives. Chopra claims that only a small percentage of individuals accept this. Oh, they speak a great game about life objectives, viable company models, and fascinating new revenue-generating concepts. True creativity, on the other hand, necessitates an open mind and a sense of wonder, two qualities that have grown increasingly rare in recent years.
Why? People nowadays do not have open minds. Even while most individuals would consider themselves “creative” and “inquisitive,” many of us are locked off to even the tiniest shift in mentality. Chopra claims they’re liars, and two events—the financial crisis and September 11—prove it.
“Curiosity and open-mindedness” he defines as “being aware of what’s going on in your surroundings.” “What has transpired in recent decades with economic crises is the result of a lack of knowledge of what is truly going on around us.”
After 9/11, we were obligated to do so. Now we have a better understanding of the rest of the world, and we can comprehend the framework in which violence, power, and ecological calamities occur.”
What does this have to do with realizing my full potential, you might wonder?
Being trapped in your own head implies being cut off from the rest of the world. “Imagination, insight, intuition, conscious decision-making, love, compassion, and understanding are aspects of a core consciousness that we bring into the world as children,” Chopra explains.
“But then we’re indoctrinated into social conditioning hypnosis, which tells us that rapid satisfaction is the key to happiness.” Every day, that is sold to us.”
Chopra proposes a few strategies for fostering more creativity and curiosity:
Adopt a Mindset of Growth.
Happier people perceive creative chances when a difficulty occurs, while unhappier people see, well, hardship, according to Chopra’s studies over the last five years. He explains, “It’s trained throughout childhood through a phenomenon called mirror neurons.” “You do what you do if you see folks whining all the time when you’re a youngster.”
“The behavior is mirrored in your neurons.” Step back and ask yourself, “How can I turn this into an opportunity?” to shift your mentality.
Engage the “strangers.” “Sleeping with the enemy” is not the same as this.
It simply means that you should make an attempt to connect with people with whom you have the least in common, or even those with whom you completely disagree, and deconstruct their point of view until you grasp its intrinsic value (it is, after all).
This, according to Chopra, is the mark of a creative, inquiring, and open mind. “There’s a lot of research on emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and how they’re all connected.”
We now have a president who was aware of all of this on some level. Despite the fact that his middle name is Hussein, he formed an incredible link with Americans, and he transcends the definition of ethnicity in many ways: Is he black?
Is he a white man? Nonetheless, he defied all obstacles to become President.”
It’s a basic concept, yet it’s a hallmark of learning that many people overlook (even with pride by some). But it was via reading that Chopra was able to realize two of his lifelong ambitions.
Instead of becoming a writer, the young man went on to become a doctor… who has published more than 50 novels. You can, in fact, fulfill numerous destinies. Chopra could not have accomplished this without a lot of reading. “Books have always had an impact on my life. Boarding a plane with 100 books [on my Kindle] gives me a peculiar sense of satisfaction.”