The other night I saw Neil Diamond in concert. I don't know how many of you may be Neil Diamond fans, but I grew up listening to him. Neil Diamond, to me, was and will always represent my childhood.
When I was growing up, my parents always had these Saturday night dinner parties with their friends at which they would drink, smoke some pot (yes I did grow up in the 70's) and listen to Neil Diamond. I'd always come down and sit in the living room with my parents and their friends as they listened to Neil Diamond.
By the age of twenty, when I'd be listening to Neil Diamond with them my parents' friends would ask me what I wanted to do when I got older. I'd look around the room and, being a pretty intuitive kid, I'd say "Not this" (because I knew that nobody in that room was really super-connected with their spouse).
I knew that they were eyeing other people in the room. I sensed it. I felt it. I also knew that I never wanted to live in a relationship where I desired other people because I so unsatisfied with the connection I had with my partner.
To me, finding my other half has always been about finding someone who is both my best lover and my best friend. The best lover is the person whose touch and whose taste is everything you've ever wanted. The best friend is the person to whom you feel like you can say anything without being judged.
Every time I was in my parents' living room with their friends, I felt like each and every person was judging every other person in the room (and were even judging themselves). It's amazing what we remember about our childhood and what triggers childhood memories in us. To me, Neil Diamond triggers those childhood memories.
So the other day when I found out Neil Diamond was playing at the Staples Center, I really wanted to go. I wanted to go and experience Neil Diamond again, but this time as an adult.
The last time I saw Neil Diamond in concert, I was with my college girlfriend Ellen Weinberger. It was a night I wanted to bond with my Father. My Father was someone who divorced my Mom and had a new girlfriend, and I wanted to feel like I was "Dad's son" (because my Father and I never had that bond).
So Ellen and I went to see Neil Diamond. As a typical 21 year-old, I thought I was the guy who was about to get his first hotel room with his girlfriend and was about to have hot hotel sex. I thought "Neil, you're cool. Dad, we'll never really bond together. But Ellen, you and I are going to go and have crazy sex all night long in a roadside motel."
So, I wanted to go back and experience Neil now as an adult to see what he is all about, because we appreciate something different at every stage of our lives. Not only do we appreciate different things, but we also learn different things.
So this time I went to see Neil Diamond with someone who captivates my mind. What I experienced, learned and felt this time was something totally different. I saw a 67 year-old man on stage with passion in his eyes. During the course of the concert, he told the audience about how often he gets asked when he's going to quit performing. He said his answer is always "never!" because he gets to touch people's souls every single day (and was in fact touching 18,123 souls at that very moment).
I connected with Neil in that way because every single day I have an opportunity to connect with all my readers. Every day I look with passion at how I've touched the souls of all my clients and all of those who have purchased my products.
Everything I do, I do with passion. I put all of myself into every product I create. When you purchase one of my products, you're getting all of me . . . but you're getting me in different stages of my life too.
I am constantly updating my products and adding new volumes to my products. I do this because life changes and evolves, and when I grow and become more powerful as a person I want to share those lessons with you.
I want to share every lesson I learn with you, because life is all about learning and growing. I want you to continue to learn. You should never stop growing.
Sitting with this wonderful person listening to Neil Diamond, I realized how much I've grown, evolved and how deep my connection is with everything in life. I also realized that the man standing in front of us on stage is someone who loves his life.
Then I looked at the person sitting next to me and realized I also love my life. I wouldn't trade my life, my experiences or what was happening in my life at that very moment for any amount of money, fame or for anything else.
Life is something you need to love and to embrace. That is what I learned and how I connected this time around when I saw Neil Diamond.
So let me ask all of you this: What are you all about and how did you connect with life today?
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