Matt Gersper - The Belief Road Map

Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Continue to learn. Appreciate your friends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.
(Mary Anne Radmacher)

At one time or another, everyone has struggled with making decisions about their life. When you are standing at a crossroads and feeling under pressure, it is not the ideal moment for reflection. Knowing who you are, what you believe, and where you want to go in life takes time, effort and a strong sense of self. But big, life-altering moments often come out of nowhere and if you arent prepared, you might find yourself making a decision that is fueled by musts and shoulds instead of based on the strong foundation of your personal beliefs.

Your Belief Road Map

If there is a part of you that feels stuck, held back by your job, friends, family, the city you live in, or another factor that seems beyond your control, you are not alone. People everywhere move along in life without stoking the fires of their dreams or breathing life into their inner desires. Doing what you think society, your parents, partner, or community wants you to do will only keep you feeling stuck and held back. The way to feel alive again is to learn about your inner beliefs and use those as your road map to the life of your dreams.

For many of us, life was simple when we were young. If we were lucky, we had our basic needs met and were able to focus on the important things exploring, playing, laughing, making friends, and having fun. Childhood is filled with wonderful moments, but it is also a time when our connection to who we truly are inside becomes starts to weaken from the demands of society. Along the way, people tell us what we should do and who we should become. Many of us lose the ability to listen to our intuition and inner guidance, and instead are always looking to others for direction.

If you feel like you have been wandering through life following a formula school to work to family to retirement to death but have not found true fulfillment in the journey so far, perhaps it is time to change. Whether you are just starting on your path of personal development or have spent years working on yourself, now is the time to begin using your inner compass. It is the only way to find the fulfillment you are seeking.

For a moment, think about the process of taking a vacation or planning a trip. First, you start with research and decide on a destination that excites or intrigues you. Then you book a flight or get driving directions. Next, you think about where you would like to stay and what you want to do when you get there. Obvious, right? Most people dont just show up at the airport and step onto the first plane they see, and yet many of us wander through life without any clear direction in mind. Similar to this example, life is also a journey that requires thoughtful planning. You might truly desire a tranquil town, but end up in a very busy city instead. Or perhaps you have always wanted to live abroad, but find yourself still in the hometown where you were born. Without a Belief Road Map in place, theres no telling where you might end up.

When you know who you are and what you believe, you will start living with the most powerful inner compass imaginable. You will discover opportunities suited to your skills and strengths, you will meet people who you connect with on a deeper level, and you will start to believe in yourself and your dreams. In short, you will begin to walk through life with purpose.

Discover Your True Beliefs

Discovering your true beliefs and then living by them is not an easy process. First, it takes time and effort to get to the heart of who you are as a person and how you want to live in the world. You might have to throw away beliefs that no longer serve you and redefine your dreams to align them with your heart. You will need to have the courage to be honest with yourself and the willingness to act in alignment with your truth. If this were a simple and straightforward path, everyone in the world would be successful, happy, and filled with peace. Sometimes it seems much easier to let others tell you where to go, and of course, we were all taught to do this as children because it suited others along the way. Theres no judgment in that everyone is doing the best they can with what they know. But that was then and this is now. It is important to remember that you have the choice of whether to use someone elses Belief Road Map or to make your own.

Identify Your Priorities

Identifying your priorities and using your beliefs to create personal philosophies is the cure to wandering aimlessly through life. First, you select a particular topic, like health or fitness, and then dive deep into your beliefs about why it is important to you, what it means to you, and what kind of role you want it to play in your life. Through this process you will gain the power to set up your life, and to make decisions, in alignment with your inner wisdom. Without this type of self-inquiry, you might have a sense that fitness is important to you, but it will be much easier to put exercise on the backburner for other things that are less meaningful. Fitness is only one example, but being disconnected from our beliefs, and therefore our inner compass, is how we lose our way. The magical thing is, you can always get back on track by taking the time to look inward and find your true north. Give yourself permission to stop following the formula of shoulds in your head. Instead, start listening to your heart and following your dreams. The Belief Road Map will show you how.

Meet Matt Gersper

This book is based on the life experience, personal study, and process of turning inspiration into action created by Matt Gersper. Together with his daughter, Kaileen Elise Sues, Matt launched his health and wellness company, Happy Living, in 2014 with one mission in mind: to improve the health and wellbeing of the world, one person at a time.

As a young boy, Matt dreamt of becoming a professional football player. Despite being small for his age, he trained hard and believed with every fiber of his being that he would one day reach his goal. Matt ended up growing into a strong safety, playing for his college football team, the UC Davis Aggies, and trying out for three professional football teams.

When it became clear that he would just fall short of that dream, Matt directed his tenacity and work ethic towards being successful in business. He climbed the corporate ladder for several years until he was fired over a disagreement with the management. While it was a blow to his ego, he used the experience of getting fired as an opportunity to buy an existing global trade business, which he purchased for $1.5 million and sold for $42 million ten years later.

After the successful sale of his business in 2014, he embarked on his next adventure and followed his heart to start Happy Living, a new company that would give back to the world. Through every step of his journey, Matt has relied on self-reflection, goal setting, and listening to his heart. This book shares his personal philosophies on life. And its not all about the good stuff even in the midst of failures like being cut from several professional football training camps, getting fired from an impressive executive position, and personal struggles like facing divorce after 24 years of marriage, Matts Belief Road Map has lit the path for new discoveries and adventures. You too can find the same stable, solid base, which will support you through whatever life brings to you.

Now at the age of 54, Matt believes that a better self and a more fulfilled, joyful life is possible right now, today, and every day for the rest of his life. It is his hope that this book will empower you to believe the same about yourself and your precious, unique life as well.