Kent M. Keith - Do It Anyway: Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness by Living the Paradoxical Commandments

Copyright 2003 by Kent M. Keith

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Originally published in hardcover by Inner Ocean Publishing in 2003

Interior page design: Bill Greaves

Interior page typography: Madonna Gauding

Copy editor: Kirsten Whatley

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Keith, Kent M.

Do it anyway : finding personal meaning and deep happiness by living

the paradoxical commandments / Kent M. Keith.

p. cm.

ISBN 9781577316282 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Conduct of life. 2. Altruism. I. Title.

BJ1595.K35 2008

170.44dc22 2008003401

First paperback printing, May 2008

ISBN: 9781577316282

Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

New World Library is a proud member of the Green Press Initiative.

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T his is a book that I couldnt have written until now. I knew that the Paradoxical Commandments had traveled around the world and had been used by millions of people. But I didnt know how people had been using the Paradoxical Commandments.

Since the publication of Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments, I have traveled across the country and talked about the Paradoxical Commandments with people from all walks of life. I have also received messages from thousands of people who have used the Paradoxical Commandments in their daily lives. They have told me how they used the commandments to raise their children, or get through difficult times at work, or set their goals. They have told me that they use them as a checklist, and look at them every morning before they go to work, to help them stay focused on what is most important in their lives.

People have written to me to say that they were experiencing one of the toughest times of their lives, and were beginning to despair, when they found the Paradoxical Commandments on an office wall, or received them in an e-mail from a friend. The Paradoxical Commandments got them going again. I have heard from people who have carried a copy of the Paradoxical Commandments in their wallets or purses for twenty years.

I set out to inspire people, and now they are inspiring me! Their messages describe the personal meaning and deep happiness they have found by living the Paradoxical Commandments and doing it anyway.

While I have heard from thousands of people who are successfully living the paradoxical life, I have also met and heard from many people who are having difficulty in finding personal meaning and deep happiness. They are struggling. They are hungry for meaning, but they cant see the potential for meaning that is all around them. They are good, intelligent people. They just cant seem to break out and grasp the meaning and happiness that are waiting for them. They feel trapped.

Trapped in excuses.

Trapped in a difficult past.

Trapped in a difficult present.

It doesnt have to be that way. Each of us can break out of our traps, and find meaning despite the obstacles. What it requires is the courage and commitment to do it anyway. Thats what the Paradoxical Commandments are for: to remind us to do it anyway.

This is a practical handbook, a companion to Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments. The first book explained the Paradoxical Commandments. This book is designed to help you use the Paradoxical Commandments in your own life.

Part One is about how you can do it anyway. Yes, the world is crazy, but you can still find personal meaning. You may have a list of excuses, but you cant let those excuses stop you from finding meaning. You may have had a difficult past, but you can leave it behind. Life may be difficult for you right now. It may be difficult because you are locked into getting ahead. But even while striving to get ahead, you can find opportunities to get meaning as well.

Part Two provides examples of real peopleparadoxical peoplewho are living the Paradoxical Commandments and doing it anyway. Their stories illuminate and amplify the meaning of each commandment, and are complemented by questions that you can ask yourself, or use in discussion groups, to reflect on your own life and sources of personal meaning as they relate to each commandment.

Part Three is about how you can make a difference in the world around you. If you live the Paradoxical Commandments, you will become spiritually liberated and personally committed to making the world a better place for all of us. You will be free to be who you are, and you will be actively engaged in making a difference.

Part Four provides answers to the questions I am asked most frequently about the origin of the Paradoxical Commandments, such as what makes the commandments paradoxical, why and when I wrote them, who and what have influenced me the most in my own life, where the Paradoxical Commandments have traveled, and the Mother Teresa connection.

Probably the most important thing I have learned in traveling and talking with people about the Paradoxical Commandments is that great truths are simple, and can be understood by everyone. The truths embodied in the Paradoxical Commandments are fundamental and universal. They are truths I did not invent. I learned them at an early age, and was lucky to find a way to express them that has appealed to many others. I have found great joy in watching others share the Paradoxical Commandments with their families, friends, and colleagues around the world.

Most people can find personal meaning and deep happiness if they choose to do so. The challenge is to choose meaning, and then live in a way that maximizes it. That is what this book is aboutliving the Paradoxical Commandments and doing it anyway. If you live the Paradoxical Commandments, you will find the kind of deep personal happiness that touches your soul. That is the kind of happiness that I wish for you.