If you haven’t read the previous letter, go back and read that one first, because this letter draws on those first concepts, explaining this big concept from Hinduism called Dharma.
You can read it clicking here

You have a feeling for your dharma, yet in your day-to-day life, not much has changed.

Still dealing with a lack of motivation. Still lazy. As if there was no mission.

A story

I’m on a week-long trip with a friend of mine, Said, and I was planning on enjoying the trip, coming back to the letter once I come back home, taking a break from tweeting.

What happened to my dharma? What about developing my writing skills, to aid me in the future?

What about the development of discipline? The mastery over oneself, the self-knowledge.

Is this work for me? Or is this purpose?

It was during a coaching session with Jack Moses that these things came at me.

“And do you plan on tweeting?”

It was a therapy session for me.

This is the first time I have had a coach in my life.

Never went to therapy, never joined a program with 1 on 1 guidance.

In the guidance, you realize why you came here, why you sought that in the first place.

“What would your 29-year-old you do?”

I came to my senses. As I regained the clarity of my why I could see more clearly.

I was in a dharma decision.

Would I act according to it, sacrificing comfort?

Or would I give up my momentum, and take a break, as if I needed it, when I just got started?

I took advantage of the trip, as suggested by Jack, and did some extra outlining.

I could have done more. This is one of the things I’m starting to realize. I can work harder. I can focus harder. I don’t need to slack, I don’t need time off.

I need time on.

What do you need for your dharma?

Time on for that thing. Time off to recover.

Work hard, play hard, as they say.

Finally, I’m here writing on the first day of the trip.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget this moment.

The letter is getting done while I’m on a trip, where I planned to just rest.

How life-changing can this be?

Your story

The reality is, that this kind of decision presents itself to us every single day. Every moment.

This is the main lesson when it comes to dharma.

With every decision you take aligned with it, the more energy you get to keep pursuing it.

What’s your excuse?

For me, it was that I wouldn’t have my laptop, that I needed to take a break, that I would rather enjoy the trip.

All bullshit. I don’t need my laptop, Said lends me his.

I don’t need a break. Writing is the break because for me it’s therapeutic. For me it’s play.

I’m in a flow state right now, and what a great feeling.

It’s impossible to fail because the act of writing is in and of itself the win.

And dharma is achieved on a moment-to-moment basis. Then, I’m at this moment fulfilling my dharma. There is no single better thing I could be doing right now.

Think about what were you telling yourself to avoid executing certain dharma decisions.

There are always reasons your mind tells you are true.

Don’t need to criticize yourself. Recognize and accept.

Let go.

If you want you can change.

If you do, let go of the past, don’t condemn yourself.

Stay present. Dharma is in the here and now.

“There is no way around it: Dharma always involves, at some point, a leap off a cliff in the dark.” — Steven Cope

It’s interesting, because you may think you need drastic decisions to live according to your dharma. Yet as we saw in the last letter, dharma is an inch away for most people.

Dr. K points this out in one of his lectures, answering a viewer's question, he says something like these:

“I wouldn’t recommend you to leave your job. Your job can give you the financial security you need to pursue your dharma without any burn. Without unnecessary pressures.”

I agree now.

Most of the time, we can dedicate one hour or two to that new mission, that new goal we identified. Sometimes more, sometimes way more, on weekends.

Yet that requires sacrifice.

Kobe Bryant, one of the best basketball players of all time, skipped college to get straight into the NBA.

The partying, the ego validation, the social life. Fuck that.

He talks about this sacrifice he made during his career.

No partying, no long nights.

No days off, unless absolutely necessary.

Dharma requires sacrifice because to say Yes to one thing, you need to say no to everything else.

That’s when you realize the power of it.

It’s so powerful to follow it because you’re cutting out every other option.

Each dharma moment, it’s a moment of reconnection with your divinity. Your true self.

All comes out, beautifully. The deeper you go the better it gets.

It’s the compound effect. It cannot cease operating. And you cannot stop growing.

Your craft, your mission, your well-being.

Your external world starts to align with your internal world.

More and more opportunities arise.

Because most people aren’t committed, when people look at you, when your sacrifices start becoming apparent in the world, when people see you saying no to everything else, they get you’re the real deal.

You’re the real artist, not the poser.

You don’t need to stick with it for 10 years for people to notice you’re not going to give up.

It can take just a couple of months.

For Jack, it would take seeing this letter published today.

He only needs to see the real commitment in these kinds of decisions to realize I’m in this for real.

When you’re a mentor, as I have been, it’s rare, very rare to find someone so committed to following your guidance.

When you see one, you try to give them everything you have, everything they might need, you want them to excel, and you know they will because they are under your guidance, they are your apprentice, and you are already there so by putting in the work they’ll get there too.

Sounding too wishy-washy for you? Take it from the non-bs man:

The work works on you more than you work on it. — Alex Hormozi

If you do the actions required, everything starts to align.

You know what gets aligned first?

Your mind.

You destroy the disunification of your mind, what gets you in the way of every important decision.

Because as I do, you have that voice in your head telling you excuses, and you believe them.

Yet because I invested more than half my savings into this cohort, where I have access to a coach (a dharma decision), I get back on track.

You don’t need to invest money as I did, you can invest your time and energy.

You can send DMs to other people starting on your craft as you are doing to hold yourself accountable and learn from each other. Then use books, YT, whatever, for expert guidance.

Yet if you have the money. Why not invest in your dharma?

Look at how that previous dharma decision of mine, buying the course with Jack, leads to more future alignment, almost effortless.

Because to be honest, it took me nothing to change my mind.

And it didn’t take much to put it into practice.

The same thing will happen to you as you make more of these moment-to-moment decisions.

Once you know your dharma, act on it fully.

Picture this, you know your dharma, and you want to act on it fully, but life gets in the way (it will).

It’s funny because before I said that the Universe starts to conspire in your favor once you start to commit more and more to your dharma.

But life WILL get in the way.

For me, it was this trip, and not having a laptop with battery that I could take on the trip, write on the train with, etc.

Plus, being on a trip, used to not do any work-like activity, but rather explore the place and spend time with my friend.

Think about this:

What will be a stronger signal of commitment? Getting the letter done on my house, or on this trip?

What will impress Jack (my mentor) more? What will show him more my commitment?

Easy answer.

What will show more my commitment to my friends and family, and the people that know me?

Easy answer.

As they see your real commitment they start to respect your boundaries more, and if they love you, as people close to you usually do, they will SUPPORT you.

This looks great, though maybe you think it’s bullshit, that it doesn’t apply to yourself.

Maybe that’s somewhat true.

Now, what will impress more the most important person when it comes to impressing in your life?

What will impress YOU?

Your true self, your self, your subconscious mind, however you want to put it.

They will know.

I think religions summarize this concept very well.

God sees what is done in secret.

Even good deeds performed in secret, with no external validation or support of any kind, God will see it and reward it. Very simple and easy to understand.

No psychoanalytic or theory of the mind is needed to explain it, yet equally true.

With fewer words, more meaning.

Dharma requires some belief.

Yes, following it strengthens your resolve, but you can’t expect a doubtless mind forever.

And dharma will require all of you, not just a part.

This is what’s hard.

But those leaps of faith, those risks, hopefully calculated risks, you take, because you believe in following that calling, that calling you can feel inside of you when you are listening to yourself.

Those leaps where there’s no clear-cut decision unless you put your dharma above everything as if you think it will be better even if it doesn’t work out as you would want.

When you’re not sure and you trust.

Those are the moments that make your purpose in life real.

It doesn’t look like purpose if it’s easy, comfortable, and straightforward.

Sometimes it will look like that, but I don’t think for long.

If you’re not feeling some pain, you’re not growing.

Because a part of you has to die for a new one to be born.

Because every time you learn and add something to your skillset, there is some old habit you need to unlearn.

Every time you need to change a habit, there’s some pain involved.

It’s tough to unlearn, your ego definitely doesn’t want it.

Yet it’s the only thing that will keep you truly alive.

Growth instead of stagnation.

Dharma instead of a “comfortable” yet meaningless life.

We covered how to find you’re dharma, and now how and WHY to commit to it.

Join me next week to see how to develop mastery over that professional skill.

Mastery over your thing.

In a sense, Dharma III. So stay tuned.

You can always hit me up at @ValenBiasi for whatever. I’m happy to connect with you!