Ninos Youkhana

The worst fate is not knowing the heart’s desire. Lately, I have been thinking , reminiscing, and in search for my next dream. Asking myself  what some might call “The Big Question”.  What, where, when  will be my next dream, meaning my next logical step in my life. I accomplished my 10-year-old  American dream and I am living it now. But, I found myself in search of my next dream.  Why? Because I started to feel that duality of life – that cycle of frustration and boredom. As in, I am frustrated when I don’t have what I want, and when I get what I want, I am bored after some time.

After my pivoting moment, I write this blog while working at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad at the climaxes of my old dream. Had you asked me 10 years ago, if I would be doing when I am doing now, my response would have been, “Hitting the lotto is much easier”. Somehow, I feel my life was predestined, and opportunities were  presented to  guide me to  where I am.

As the end of 2013 is approaching, I am looking back and reminiscing about  it. It was/is a special year . I working at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, the zenith of my dream. I started to feel it has become a transitional year. Since the beginning of the year, I have been reading. My reading took me on a mental journey in search for a clue to my next dream.

It has been a long journey, as far back as 450BC to modern day, and across a few continents. I traveled in my mind building in my imagination.

It is  where I met Socrates who advised me that ” An unexamined life is not worth living”. I had the chance to meet Mithridates VI of Pontus,  “The Poison King”, and learn from him. I met Cato the Younger in the Roman Empire and his immunity to corruption and bribery making himself the embodiment of the Roman constitution. I came across a more than 100-year-old book about the New Thought Movement with their leader Charles Haanel. I dug deeper and tried to understand and decipher my unconsciousness. Then I met Eckhart Tolle who told me to stay in the “Now”. And lately, Timothy Ferris who introduced me to The New Rich (NR) and how I should follow this new movement and “Crush It!” with Gary Vaynerchuk and Choose Myself with James Altucher and Click to be a Millionaire with Scott Fox. And  in the Perfect Mess with Eric Abrahamson, I should find my Quiet with Susan Cain and not to be Fooled by Randomness of life and protect myself just like the old Mithridates and become Antifragile just like Nissim Taleb advised. Through that journey I stumbled on Happiness with Daniel Gilbert, and was warned by Daniel Kahneman to spend a few second to slow down my fast running brain. As the end of the journey is coming to an end, I realize What the Bleep Do We Know? Peter Schiff is telling me the dollar will crash. Nate Silver asking me to pay attention to the signal and ignore the noise.

As for me, I am not sure what my future holds, nor what will be my next dream. But, I know I have finally asked my big questions. Maybe I will attract the answers by The Law of Attraction or get nudged by the luck of life’s randomness and not make myself a Buridan’s Ass as this will be a worse fate. Until then, I shall echo the words of Louis XIV (14) “I shall see”. Lastly, procrastination is not a body defect; it is our natural built-in filter for selecting the things we love.

This is my 2013 journey. Good luck in yours 🙂

My 2013 list of books

Comments are welcomed below