The Starfish Rule, Fear of the Light, & More read and listen on sahilbloom.com read time 4 minutes Here are 5 interesting ideas to spark your curiosity heading into the weekend. Special Offer: Order a physical copy of my book during the first week of 2025 and reply to this email with the receipt and I'll send you a short personalized video with some topics in the book I think you'll love. P.S. We just hit #1 "Mover & Shaker" on all of Amazon. Movement is building!
Today at a Glance: - Question: Fear of your own light
- Quote: Resist conformity
- Framework: The Starfish Rule
- Story: Starfish in the ocean
- Book: Money for Couples
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Question to embrace your full potential: Are you afraid of your own light? This is an incredible passage from psychologist Abraham Maslow: "We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of great courage. We enjoy and even thrill to godlike possibilities we see in ourselves in such peak moments. And yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these very same possibilities...If you deliberately plan to be less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you'll be deeply unhappy for the rest of your life. You will be evading your own capacities, your own possibilities." I think that there are two types of fear: - The Fear of Failure: The fear that you will go after something and it won't work out. That everyone will know that you failed. That you will know that you failed.
- The Fear of Success: The fear that you will accomplish everything you set out to achieve and that you will never be able to live up to it again. The fear that everything will work out and you won't be deserving of that end. That you won't be ready for what comes from it.
We're all familiar with the first type—and we think a lot about how to fight back against it—but we rarely think about the second type, and it's particularly damning. Sometimes you don't give your full energy to something because you're afraid of what will happen if it works out. You're afraid of seeing what you're truly capable of. You're afraid of realizing your full potential goes far beyond the limiting stories you've been telling yourself. You're afraid of never being able to go back to the safety of those stories. But to fear your own light is to live in the dark—and that's not where you belong. Embrace the fear. Embrace your highest possibilities. Shine that light.
Quote on the resistance: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." - Romans 12:2 Every single day, the world will push you to conform. Every single day, it is your responsibility to resist. (Share this on X/Twitter!)
Framework on the power of tiny actions: The Starfish Rule I recently came across this beautiful story: An old man was walking along the beach when he noticed a young boy picking up starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, "Excuse me, but what are you doing?" The boy replied, "The sun is rising and the tide is going out. If I don't throw the starfish back in, they'll die." The old man shook his head and said, "But there's too many starfish on this beach. You can't possibly make a difference." After thinking for a moment, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean. Then, he turned to the old man and said, "Well, I made a difference to that one." - Adaptation of Loren Eiseley's "Starfish Story" (1969) - It's easy to adopt a negative mindset in the face of a seemingly enormous challenge. You're trying to transform your life, but it's impossible to see how the tiny actions today will ever create the change you seek. In those moments, remember the little boy from the story: Bend down, pick up a single starfish, and throw it back into the ocean. You won't change your life in a day, but if you change your days, you'll eventually change your life.
Poem I'm re-reading in the year ahead: I can't stop thinking about this poem by Khalil Gibran: Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow." And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater." But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy. Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced. When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall. It brings to mind a sage piece of wisdom from my late grandmother: "Never fear sadness, as it tends to sit right next to love."
Book I'm gifting to couples in 2025: Money for Couples This is a new book that I know I'm going to be auto-gifting to couples when they get engaged or married. Somewhere between 20-40% of divorces are attributed to money problems. This book is a tactical guide to turn money into a source of positivity in your relationship, rather than a source of stress. I particularly liked this exercise of designing your perfect day (something I've done in the past by myself, but now want to do with my wife): Worth picking up for any new couples out there!
In Case You Missed It: In Wednesday's issue, I shared 5 intentions for 2025: - Recognize time as the most valuable asset
- Control the controllable
- Find joy in the small
- Let go of the things that no longer serve me
- Go All In
What are your intentions for the new year? How are you going to keep them top of mind as you build toward the future?
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