Breaking Through To The Next Level Unwind Your Mind | Weekly Wisdom With Dan Isaacman

I was out walking in my favourite spot along a beautiful path.
I strolled amongst the mangroves., the home of local birds, and a sanctuary for native Australian wildlife.
I took a moment to sit in a section where the path is elevated above the mangroves, looking out at an expanse of trees, seeing if I could spot a sleeping owl.
I was deep in concentration when suddenly approached by a stranger who felt compelled to tell me that “Jesus loves you”.
At first, I didn’t know what to say.
The young man appeared harmless and genuine. He had a kind and excited tone in his voice.
So I responded by saying, “Thank you, I appreciate that”, while trying to keep an open mind as the conversation continued.
I was intrigued by the story of what he had to say next.
We got talking about life and religion, and he helped me learn a valuable lesson.
The Power That Compels
This man was excited and compelled to share his experience.
So excited, that his energy was beaming as he told me his story.
He told me that when he was younger that he was a “typical boy” growing up.
He rebelled against his parents and was considered the black sheep of the family. He was involved with what he called “the wrong crowd” and would regularly take recreational drugs. He said that he was “living the lifestyle of a man who would die young.” His life trajectory was not leading in a direction that he was proud of.
That was until he started experiencing a strange phenomenon called sleep paralysis.
He recalled a vivid dream where he was being tortured in the underworld by demons as he slept.
It felt so real to him.
He then awoke in a state of paralysis and was unable to move while the thoughts of the demented beings tormented him.
That experience was the final straw, and he decided to make a radical change.
He told me that he looked in the mirror and reflected on his experience and life when he decided to seek Jesus.
From that day forward, he turned a new leaf.
He had had an awakening because he had a moment so decisive that it changed his life and identity forever.
His life had previously consisted of following the path of least resistance without any discipline or rules. As a result, he had no care about his body or the repercussions of his actions until he made a drastic choice to change.
Fast forward to 3 years later, and he was happily married with a young family that had long continued walking as we chatted.
He had chosen his path, and he willingly went through the pain and suffering of confronting his demons.
As a result, he seemed so alive and bursting with energy. He was excited like a child at the prospect of spreading his ideas and experience, hoping that he could help others reach the same level of joy.
Drastic Life Changes
After our conversation, I was impressed by the conviction and bravado of the man.
He had shared some personal stories with me and said: “it is like if you found the cure or cancer, wouldn’t you want to share it?”
He had a fantastic breakthrough that encouraged him to change his lifestyle and devote himself to his higher cause.
Our conversation didn’t change my belief, but he did help me to realise the nature of what it means to have a breakthrough.
The question that stuck in my mind was, “why are people’s stories of extraordinary change so similar?”
I started thinking about the nature of a “breakthrough” in a broader sense.
Many of the stories about drastic decisions that change our life seem to share similar pre-requisites and sound identical.
* I slowly or suddenly hit rock bottom. I live in a way that I can barely tolerate.
* It got so hard to change that I almost gave up trying to make it better.
* Then when I was about to break, I desperately sought help from within and without.
Life pushes us beyond our comfort zone, and when we think that the pain is intolerable, we have the opportunity to encounter a revelatory experience.
The commonalities of the experience make me believe that it is not unti