Alex Angarita Personal Power

Sometimes making a go of it in the real world feels like nothing short of surviving in the jungle but its important to remember your personal power of creation. The first time I really understood this was when I had to start a fire without matches or a lighter while on Survivor Fiji.

In Fiji, I remember sitting in front of a pile of firewood and some dried coconut husks holding a machete in one hand and a flint stone in the other wondering what the hell I was going to do next. I would have looked completely incompetent if I wasn’t able to start a fire. Very nervously, I banged the machete against the flint stone and nothing. I tried again and again. Nothing. I got so mad (starving will do that to you very quickly) that I just went crazy whacking away in the middle of the jungle. To my surprise, the frantic banging did the trick. I was ecstatic. I had accomplished a simple task that any self respecting cave person could have done and yet I felt like I had just invented the light bulb. I felt such personal power. I had created something out of nothing. Not to be too dramatic but I had, through my willpower and perseverance, converted the energy around me to create the very source of life.

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Flash forward to Malibu this past weekend when I was camping in Leo Carrillo State Park. Hardly the unforgiving jungle but I decided that I wanted to try to start a fire without the use of matches or a lighter. The exact same thing happened. Nothing at first but then with some perseverance and after really going at it, there was fire once again. Life source accomplished! I felt the same surge of personal power that I did in Fiji.

Where am I going with this? My experience on Survivor taught be a lot more about my personal power than cool camping tricks. That moment, I knew deep down that I couldn’t go back to life at corporate law firm. It simply wasn’t my calling. It went against my instincts. I needed to create. I spent the rest of the time not only plotting with the other castaways but also planning the launch of my first company.

Last weekend, I was reminded of the essence of why I became an entrepreneur. That just happens to be my passion but the same holds true for many of the challenges we all face in the workplace and anywhere else in life. When we feel stuck, we often forget that we have the power of creation. Things are never as black or white as we think. Recognizing that its a jungle out there only means that there are no limits to the resourcefulness that you can bring to any situation. Tap into that inner cave man or woman and let it out. I promise that you will surprise yourself.

Lesson: Tap into your primal power of creation to unleash your creative instincts.

Activity: Make a fire without the use of a lighter or matches. Use the tools around you. Get creative and don’t give up until you have achieved life source.