Just finished Andre Agassi’s autobiography – OPEN. 
It’s reminded me to think of my own path, how I’ve chosen to audit my life for the past 5 years. Setting out in May 2005 starting to DO the things I love I never ever thought it would take me 5 whole years to burst the bubbles and find what truly gives my life meaning and allows me to live on purpose. Agassi shares so much about himself in this book, he articulates the choices we make, he hated tennis, he loved tennis, he hated tennis. “I play and keep playing because I choose to play. Even if it’s not your ideal life, you can always choose it. No matter what your life is, choosing it changes everything.” This is my ultimate goal with producing my documentary, providing real human examples of people who’ve chosen their paths to Thriving. He writes out the code of respect:
The essence of good discipline is respect.
Respect of authority and respect for others.
Respect for self and respect for rules.
It is an attitude that begins at home,
Is reinforced at school,
And is applied throughout life.
Not everyone gets to learn respect at home. I’m certain that how our parents live and what they do is far more likely to be how we live than listening to what they say we should do and how we should live our lives. Yet, sooner or later its our choice and we can no longer blame them or allow them to seek some kind of gratification through us. We choose, but first we have to resign. On Tuesday I resigned from a relationship that has never been smooth, has never been what it should be and I have lived in the should place of this relationship all my life. Perhaps it was this book or one of Seth Godin’s reality check emails that helped me realise that it is not what I wish it were, that’s that. I can make a perfect problem imperfect! This relationship is not what I dreamt of and it never will be, its a slow and painful failure, and that’s what it is. Resigning from that dream clears the way for being OPEN to new ways of living, as Agassi says over and over he took a long time to get to know himself and like him Im a slow learner emmotionally.
“My theme, I think, will be contradictions” as Walt Whitman said
“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself.” What a releif to say it as it is.
Thank you Andre Agassi, your putting it out there has helped me and I’m certain lots of others be more real with themselves and as a result with the world they choose to create.
