We live in an unprecedented time, one in which we have unusual control over our own lives. From dating to marriage, to what we eat, where we live, what we do, what faith we practice (or do not practice), what we wear, and what social circles we insert ourselves into we generally have control. Objectively speaking, we are the most free people who have ever been. We, then, should be the happiest we have ever been since freedom is such a significant contributor to happiness.

The Paradox of Options and Freedom

Curiously and subjectively, we don’t feel any more freedom than we did fifty years ago--when we had many less options. To illustrate: pollster Louis Harris asked a random sample of people whether they agreed with a series of statements. Two such statements were, “I feel left out of things going on around me” and “What I think doesn’t matter anymore.” These questions were asked both in 1966 and 1986 with only 9 percent of the 1966 sample feeling left out while increasing to 37 percent in 1986. Again, in 1966, 36% of people agreed what they thought didn’t matter while in 1986 the percentage grew to 60%. What are we to make of these dramatic experiential changes? Shouldn’t we feel more included in society and shouldn’t what we do matter more now since we have greater autonomy over our lives than ever before in history?

The University Epidemic is Actually Universal

I have been working on a university campus for more than eight years now, and this paradox became a sobering reality for me during a meeting with the Dean of Students. While discussing the challenges of student conduct, she asked me the question, “Do you know what the most attended workshop is on campus?” Being too embarrassed to say what I thought—which was a workshop on how best to roll a joint—I conceded that I had no idea. “Decision making,” she said. The number one workshop on a university is HOW TO MAKE A DECISION? I can see it now: I’m 70 years old and on the operating table for some triple-bypass surgery due to my love for sweets. The surgeon and attending staff look at each other and say, “Are you sure this is the best option for Matt? Do you think we should have tried other avenues before this? If we do this, which procedure do you think would be best for him?” I’m on the gurney for crying out loud! Please, someone older than me, save me!

The Problems We Face

Abundance vs. Scarcity

I would love to think the problem we face is simply a generational one but it is not. We live in an unprecedented time but we have yet to offer unprecedented solutions. We live in a world of abundance but we approach it through a lens of scarcity. In other words, we are ill-equipped to deal with real life because for every opportunity that comes to us, we only see the many things we lose by saying yes to that one opportunity.

Looking For Stability In an Ever Changing World

If the compounding pain of loss, arising from the myriad options we entertain, weren’t bad enough, we also live in an unprecedented time of unrelenting change. Never before in human history has life been so unstable. Before the product we purchase arrives at our door, another newer version is being offered. The inability to keep up with life’s ever changing demands with an infinite array of options, gives us a sense of overwhelming paralysis.

The Solution: Living the Real

Life does not have to be this overwhelming! In antiquity, new wine would be put into new wineskins so that the skins could expand with the the wine during the fermentation process. Putting new wine into old wineskins would result in an explosive disaster. This predicament is ours; we have found ourselves with new wine being poured into old wineskins! Living the Real is about reconsidering the way we approach life, love, finances, and whatever else with the purpose of being free to live life fully.

Who is Living the Real For?

• Anyone feeling overwhelmed by responsibility and is looking for a better system to help organize life around living more intentionally.
• Anyone who is looking for real hope for a better future and is ready to commit to a better and authentic way of living.
• Persons, who feel that they are not where they want to be.
• Anyone who is looking to strip the complexity from life and live more simply.
• Anyone who wants a career change and doesn’t know how to go about it.

My Promise to You

My work is to give you the best content available to begin living the real; living a more intentional life and focusing on what matters most. In the coming weeks and months, you can expect a number of great resources such as:

• A weekly blog offering inspiration, encouragement, and tools to leverage this unprecedented time by identifying and acquiring unprecedented opportunities.
• A weekly podcast entitled, “Your Life Reconsidered” where we will consider all the ways we currently approach life ill-equipped, offering a transformative reconsideration. Consider this podcast as your weekly realignment to ensure the course of your life is running as smoothly and directly as possible.
• Free online videos to help you get started with the tools I recommend to begin living the real in all the nitty-gritty details of life.
• Premium online classes with detailed instructions on the best systems that help you gain control of your life and allow you to live more intentionally. These classes will save you hundreds of hours a year by helping you focus on what is most important in your life and filtering out the rest.
• A FREE weekly VIP newsletter which will deliver all this content directly into you inbox. VIP members will also receive exclusive free videos and be the first to know about upcoming online classes, providing exclusive bonus material.

I invite you to join our newsletter now so that you do not miss any of the opportunities to receive exclusive content that is guaranteed to give you hundreds of hours of your life back, so that you may start spending time on the things that matter most.