Take The High Path
The Higher Path Beckons
Welcome to the YouTopian Journey, a Substack featured publication. Each week I will be sharing unique wisdom that can help you in the daily battles that we must all fight in the game of life. This week we discuss why you must choose to take the high path, regardless of the difficulties.
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A SPECIAL NOTE
This issue was the result of an almost two-hour audio interview I did with the Philoinvestor on his Substack. He has transcribed it so you can enjoy it at your convenience. You can read a snippet below:
BEYOND MOUNTAINS ARE MORE MOUNTAINS
So many people think that if they get to the top of the mountain they’ve made it. And they don’t realize that there are bigger mountains past that.
You have to go forward. Man is a goal-seeking animal. And I mean real powerful life-affirming goals; I feel we don’t even have goals anymore.
Things have been reduced. I think people need to have something to shoot for.
Because when they go after that they are changed, they start to realize – “I don’t need to do this. I don’t need to play this video game.”
Your life changes, you stop hanging out with certain people. You realize that they are aimless and they start holding you back.
The people that I keep in touch with and the people that I get along with are usually people similar to me. They are striving for something and they are restless in a way in that they always aim for something higher and bigger that they know they can go after.
You need to stay away from those that say, “What’s the point? Why are you doing this? You don’t have the experience.”
You can read the rest by clicking the link below.
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Now onto the good stuff.
THE EASY PATH IS NOT FOR YOU
“Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.”-Vincent Van Gogh
Life is grueling. Make no mistake about it. It isn’t easy for any of us. Despite what is constantly promoted on social media, life is not sunset cocktails and smiles on the beach. Life is a constant series of challenges that we can either give in, give up, or give it our all. Sadly, the latter option is rarely chosen.
Why is this the case?
Because many seek the easy road. They seek the comfortable and paved path that the multitude follows. They don’t even question this path, let alone where it leads. It must be the correct course as everyone else is following it. So, the multitude follow this easy path into universities they cannot afford to obtain degrees that they cannot use, careers that they don’t enjoy, and relationships that aren’t meant for them. They bemoan their fate, wondering how so many years were lost and where they went wrong.
This is the height of foolishness. You are not made for the assembly line of life. You are made for adventure, creation, struggle, and victory. You have one life and it is up to you to determine the course. This is difficult. It is a very heavy burden of responsibility and freedom. This requires an ability to endure, to persist, and to keep focused on something that no one else can see but you.
Few want to partake in this. It is frightening. It is painful. It is difficult. It may even be insane. But you must take a part in stepping off the easy path and into the unknown, especially if you want to grow and succeed.
“There is a time when it is necessary to abandon the used clothes, which already have the shape of our body and to forget our paths, which takes us always to the same places. This is the time to cross the river: and if we don’t dare to do it, we will have stayed, forever beneath ourselves.”-Fernando Pessoa
The time for changing your path is now.
The easy and safe path won’t lead you to the destination of your choosing. It will lead you to mediocrity and conformity. It will keep you chained to a position that you have clearly outgrown. It will confine you to the people whom you have little in common with, especially when it comes to ambition and personal exceptionalism. Even more threatening, it will cost you time and energy which cannot be recovered.
Look to your network of personal and professional relationships. How many are actually taking a chance on themselves and forging their own way? How many have stepped off the easy and comfortable path? How many are attempting to make their dreams a reality and achieve their goals? How many are actually living?
Do you want to remain like them or do you want to bet on yourself and walk the higher but more difficult path? Only you can choose and you must make sure to choose the difficult and higher path each and every time.
“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself.”-Walt Whitman
You must accept the challenges that await. Walking the high path is something that we are all capable of but that few actually do. Understand that when you undertake this journey through the darkness and the unknown, you forge your own path like every dreamer, innovator, creator, inventor, teacher, writer, founder, and leader that has come before you. Let their strength be your strength.
Ultimately you must understand that while every journey is different, each person who has accomplished something of true merit has had to go against the grain, leave their comfort zone, and make their way through obstacles. They have all trailblazed a way through the rough wood and the open sea, finding their way to the higher path, where you belong.
“If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s.”-Carl Jung
THE QUEST FOR THE HIGHER PATH
“The path that leads to pleasures is the downward one: the upward climb is the one that takes us to rugged and difficult ground.”-Seneca
The quest to the higher path is full of adversity, not because it is hard, but because we are so comfortable in our current position. We live lives full of pleasures that beckon us to remain warm but hallow. While our stomachs may be full, our souls remain empty.
It is difficult to break free from these pleasures, we are surrounded by them.
Facebook, the buffet, Tinder, Reddit, the PlayStation Network, Tulum, XBOX LIVE, On Demand, YouTube Premium, Poker, Netflix, Tik-Tok, unlimited refills, pizza with cheese baked into the crust, Starbucks, HALO, Instagram, and more! Pleasures are never scarce. They are society’s most plentiful resource. But these pleasures come at a cost. They rob us of our time and remove our drive, pacifying us and keeping us committed to the safe and easy path.
You must not let them bog you down. You have a destination in mind and a dream to make a reality. You must run past these pleasures, avoiding them while you focus on your goals. This is both exciting and difficult as the quest for the higher path is one that few can understand, let alone undertake.
The multitude will not understand you. They will not understand why you avoid the good times and fun that pleasures provide. They will question your absence, wondering why you have chosen to focus on what is in their opinion, a fool’s errand. This is the fate of all those who undertake the quest for the higher path. It always has been and always will be. Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer understood this hundreds of years ago when he wrote of the famous character Don Quixote:
“Don Quixote… is an allegory of the life of every man who, unlike others… pursues an objective, ideal end that has taken possession of his thinking and willing; and then, of course, he stands out as an oddity in this world.”-Arthur Schopenhauer
I know this feeling personally. Whenever I undertook some goal that appeared to be nothing more than a fantasy to my peers, few supported it and even more questioned it. YouTopian Journey was one such goal that was questioned, misunderstood, and finally ignored. Had I given in, I would have never sought the higher path of creating YouTopian Journey and putting it out into the world. If I had remained on the safe and easy path, you would not be reading these words or enjoying the art. This is the fate of all who seek the higher path. We only have ourselves to rely on.
This is your path.
However frightening or difficult it may appear, this is your path. The higher path leads to higher goals and a higher destination.
You have something within you that needs to be brought forth. Some idea that needs to be transformed into reality. Some passion that can be transmuted into something that is valuable to others.
It could be a new technology that our society is lacking.
It could be a Substack newsletter that people need in their inboxes more than they realize.
It could be a film that tells a story that hasn’t been told and could change the audience upon viewing it.
It could be a company that behaves ethically and benefits not only the shareholders, but the customer.
It could be a poem, a painting, a paragraph, something that only you can give birth to. And you must give birth to it! You are the only one who is capable and uniquely qualified.
“Go forth on your path, as it exists only through your walking.”-Saint Augustine
Regardless of what you are working on, it will take you to the higher path. It will elevate you among your peers and colleagues. It will be difficult and even painful, but worth it. That is the price of achieving the higher path, difficulty and pain.
This deters many.
Do not let it deter you.
The higher path is lonely. It is littered with the remains of those who made the attempt and gave up. You will encounter storms of every type, disasters that could alter your course.
It will be painful.
It will be difficult.
It will take time.
It will be worth it.
Trust me.
Seek the higher path and you won’t regret it.
“If you embark on an uncharted path, infinite secrets will appear at the end.”-Bushido saying
ONE LAST THING
None of this would be possible without help from subscribers like you. If you know someone who could benefit from this issue, please share it. We need forward thinking and courageous individuals who can put their creativity to use and benefit not only their peers, but society at large.
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There is a lot of cool stuff on the horizon. If you want to be involved and help the community grow, drop me a comment. You can also comment on what you thought of the issue. It truly makes me happy to see how my work is motivating, inspiring, and helping you in your endeavors.
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I’m Shaun Gold and if you are reading this, you are already on your journey. Catch you next week.
Thanks for sharing. I feel we all are together in this irrespective of our colours, religion or nationality and going through more or less a similar life situation. Please keep updating.❤️
You touched on an interesting point. ‘It seems like everyone is in separation…’ We will come back to that in a moment.