The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life by Boyd Varty

I do not know where I am going, but I know exactly how to get there.

Jason Anderson graciously bought me a hard copy of this book after we discussed the future and how I was unsure of what was next for me "in life." That feeling is when you know you want something but are unsure what it is yet.

I was slightly put off reading the book when I saw that Boyd Varty was a certified Master Life Coach. I usually avoid reading life coaching books. Who else can tell you how to live your life better than you?

It's nicely written and easy to read. Boyd weaves a philosophical thread, a bit of his purpose-finding story, into a lion-tracking storyline.

As with any motivational "self-help" book, it won't give you the answers but will make you think and question some of your views:

• What do you need?
• What sparks joy in you? How does it feel? What do you do to feel that joy?
• When was the last time you were fully aware of your surroundings? Not on your phone or in your thoughts, just in the moment.
• In the moment, with no social conditioning, who am I?

Tracking might be a perfect analogy for finding your way in life. You must always focus on the first tracks (the second and third first tracks), and tracking is always sequential - a series of first tracks.

It turns out, I needed to read that. We usually encounter the "unknowns" in life, so uncertainty and discovery are part of finding your way in life. If we are lucky, we might encounter the "first tracks." Then, there are the "second first tracks." Then there are the "third first tracks." And so on. To quote Joseph Campbell - "If you can see your whole life's path laid out, it's not your life's path."

Here are a few timeless thoughts from the book:

• Your beliefs about life are not reality. You can only go as far into the experience of creating life as the limits of your personal belief system will allow.
• Do more of what you like and less of what you do not.
• When one door closes, another one opens.

Details

• Amazon
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Published: October 22, 2019
• ISBN-10: 0358099773
• ISBN-13: 978-0358099772