Hi friends,

I just landed in Austin after a week in Cape Town, and wow, I'm eager to go right back to Africa.

Some of the locals I met there were spirited in ways I've never seen in the States. More embodied. Less head-driven. Swinging with the rhythm of life.

The worship service I attended yesterday stands out. Most of the services I attend in America are precisely timed, with the musicians playing on stage and the audience listening in the crowd. But this one was different. It was as if the entire congregation was moving in a collective dance, unaware of time and present in the flow of the moment, sort of like what you'd find in an afternoon drum circle.

Surrendering to Your Nature

We don’t choose our gifts. They choose us.

A mark of maturity is surrendering to the person you actually are instead of the one you wish you were. Most people never get such clarity, and they’re stunted for life.

The decision to surrender to your gifts is more painful than you’d think. You can’t really choose what you’re able to be excellent at because nobody has a say over the hand that nature deals. (Unfortunately, I’ll never become a professional golfer.) Instead, if you’re going to be world-class, you have to align yourself with your fingerprint. In our insanely competitive world, surrendering to your talents is your only chance at becoming world-class at what you do.

I suspect less than 10% of people ever surrender to who they really are. They spend their whole lives trying to fulfill a fake and manufactured image. And so, they get trapped in hollow careers and meaningless pursuits where they’re forced to be somebody they’re not — the stuff of a cold and haunting misery.

Surrender is terrifying at first. It comes with a loss of control. Chances are, you’ll disappoint your parents, teachers, and probably even yourself. If you’re doing it right, you may even pursue low-status projects. The vision you had for your future won’t come true because that vision was predicated on the person you wish you were, not the person you actually are.

What feels like the death of your dreams is actually the birth of something much more profound.

There's ease on the other side of surrender.

The flow of effortlessness is waiting for the alignment of your mind, body, and spirit — when you’re simultaneously surprising yourself and doing everything that would’ve made your 8-year-old self proud.