You 2.0 – What it REALLY Takes to Be the Best Version of Yourself: Anthony Cheam

Full text of life coach Anthony Cheam’s talk on You 2.0 – What it REALLY Takes to Be the Best Version of Yourself at TEDxChathamKent event.

Listen to the MP3 Audio here: You 2.0 What it REALLY Takes to Be the Best Version of Yourself by Anthony Cheam

TRANSCRIPT: 

Anthony Cheam – Life coach

Listen I’ve been watching TEDx conferences for years now — and what I love about the TEDx conferences is the fact that they make it available to the globe – the global opportunity, the global culture. And it says to me that human evolution – it’s certainly moving in the right direction.

And so I thank you for having me here today. I’m honored and privileged.

So I have one question for you. How many people, by a show of hands, own or have used a computer, tablet or phone?

Wow! That’s all of you, right!

Now, how many people in here have ever had the message on the computer tablet or phone – the following: the message is – ‘A new version of your software is available for download’ ‘Would version 2.0… would you like to download?’

Now who in here has ever had that message, by show of hands? Yes.

Now how many people have actually ignored that message – said ‘No’ to it, or just completes it. ‘Nah, I’m not going to do it, I’m too busy!’ right.

I have too.

What happens if you continuously ignore that message over time – weeks, days, months, perhaps. Your computer begins to slow down, and it doesn’t run as effectively and as efficiently as you want it to and as it is intended to run.

The point being is this: in the case of antivirus software which in today’s advanced technological world, it is updating on its own without you having to do anything.

Now imagine for a second, you actually had to update your software every second into your antivirus software! If you continuously ignored that message, what would happen? Viruses would take your computer, slow it down, corrupt it, and eventually, the worst-case scenario it would crash.

Who in here has ever had their computer crashed on them all of a sudden? I have.

Who likes that, right? Nobody likes that, of course, not.

Now what is the primary intent of an update or upgrading your software? So it does the complete opposite, right. So it fixes all the bugs, so it fixes all the errors, so it updates your operating system, so your operating system can run that much more smoothly, productively and effectively.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just given you one of the greatest metaphors for life, itself!

How many times in here has life presented us with a challenge, a problem, opportunity, a struggle or any form of adversity today and life presents us on the screen of our mind, of our life. And it says: a new version of you… You 2.0 is available to you, right now. Would you like to download it now?

• Yes or no?
• OK or cancel?
• Download it now or later?

Now what happens if we turn away from that message? Then we begin to slow down and a whole host of viruses – mind and live viruses show up plaguing our body, minds and spirit and our hearts in the form of phobias, addictions, fears, anxieties, physical dis-ease shows up! And we wonder why.

Now what is the primary intent of having an update or upgrade like that in our life?

What is the primary intent of that?

And the intent is this — so you can work faster, stronger, more efficiently, be wiser, more intellectually sound, and ultimately, at the end of the day — these challenges that show up are to prepare us for the next challenges in life.

I like to use the metaphor for weight training. If your goal is to lift a hundred pounds over your head eventually in six months and you can only lift 40 pounds over your head, you must start with 40 and then eventually move up to 45 and 50 and 60. If you don’t train the muscle, when it comes time to do the actual lift for 100, you’re not going to be able to do it.

The same thing goes for life. We must have mental muscle, emotional muscle, heart muscle, spiritual muscle.

Now sometimes when we face in our computer and it says would you like to download it now – Yes or No! If we actually press YES on it, sometimes do we not get a message that says something on the lines of — “Before you download this, you must first accept the terms and conditions of this agreement… blah-blah-blah-blah-blah” And there’s about fifty pages, which no one reads, right! And then you got to press click on the square box at the bottom and then press ‘Yes’!

In life, if you choose to accept the terms and conditions of your challenge, your adversity, what you’re really telling me is this: ‘You’re accepting the terms and conditions to take responsibility… full responsibility for what shows up in your life.’

Now, there’s a whole slew plethora of challenges and problems that show up in our life, daily, from the outside world: the weather, the economy, that we have no control over — disease… our boyfriend or a girlfriend might leave us! Or a husband or wife might leave us! Other things we certainly can’t control.

However, would you not agree that going back to university, going back to college, or upgrading your skills and getting new certifications on a yearly basis…. would that not constitute an upgrade and update in your life software? Yes, yes!!!

We’re not nurturing your relationship with your kids, your family, your friends, God, the Universe… And continuously meeting the needs of those you love, constitute an upgrade and update in your software? Absolutely!

Would not prayer and meditation, and taking part in an exercise program, or eating nursing foods, that Bob so clearly pointed out, — would that not constitute an upgrade and update in your life? Yes!

Would not seeking counseling and coaching and coming to seminars like this and seeing me speak constitute an upgrade and updating software? Yes, of course, right!

But I’m not so easily convincing and naive to think that life is as easy as pressing a button on the screen of your life and ‘Yes’ and within seconds our life is better. It’s like I like the metaphor and you know, remember ‘The Matrix’? Who’s seen ‘The Matrix’ before, the movie, ‘The Matrix’ — great metaphor.

Neo is played by Keanu Reeves, who’s the primary hero, protagonist in the movie. And he’s asleep in a dream called ‘The Matrix’. And they find him, they pull him out! He’s the hero, he’s the savior.

And there comes a point in the movie – I love this. He’s sitting in a chair and they plug him into this computer and start uploading/ downloading new software into his brain, his computer’s a brain or his brain is a computer. And as the guy shuffling through the disks – he’s skipping the loading program – training program. All these things, he goes right to combat training and as he sticks it in, Neo looks at him and goes “I’m going to learn Jujitsu!” and the AI goes through the seconds — He’s a jujitsu master.

And he can chop his way through life and everything’s all fine and within hours he’s mastered every single martial arts discipline known to man, within hours. And later on in the movie, his girlfriend is standing on top of a building and she calls the guy up and says ‘I need to learn to fly this particular model of a helicopter. Could you do that?’ The guy puts the disc in. She can learn how to fly a helicopter – No problem!