Before I continue with clarity, I wanted to give you a bit of my story and how it relates to clarity. I’m from a small town Lancaster, Texas ( a suburb of Dallas) and my childhood though on the surface was great, it was filled with many hardships. I was bullied, made fun of, and emasculated on almost a daily basis  (college would be a place of misunderstanding as well ). My self-worth,  esteem, and my masculinity were nil and my friendships were one-sided. I was a friend to them they weren’t to me.  I was depressed and felt  alone and that I didn’t matter or had a place in this world. It wasn’t until  my Father spoke his final words and wishes for my life that I had a spark of hope. He said that I would change the lives of people and help young men become men and that I would write a book to help many (how accurate!!). And  when he died I was 24.  The process of healing began to take place in my life (it would be an almost 9-year process).

It got so dark, cold and lonely.  It was some nights I would ask God to not wake me up because I couldn’t take the pain any longer. I was in agony.  I remember laying prostrate on the floor in my apartment in tears  before the Lord and saying to myself ” Lord just send somebody who cares to help me.”  And God answered that prayer.  I had a stranger come into my life and he life coached me.  The first thing he did  for me was to be clear about some things:  I was a child of God, I was a Man of God and that I’m worthy of greatness entering my life. But, before I could even get to that place I had to map out my life and my problems and address them one by one.  I discovered through my process that I was never going to be able to achieve anything if I didn’t have a clear mind and spirit to even ponder and dream.  Throughout our journey, one of the things that my friend emphasized to me was that I would have to be alone for a while; intentionally.  I  removed myself from the world at hand and I began to pray more, write more and deal with the process that I was going through.  Solitude is a great component of clarity.  Sometime we have to remove ourselves from the world to get alone and spend some time communicating with God, ourselves and the future we want.  I’m reminded of how Jesus would depart from the disciples and he would go be alone to pray and get renewed and get more insight about his journey.

The same principle applies to us.  We must have scheduled alone-time.  This is absolutely essential for our greatness.  No matter how hectic or demanding our lives may be we must intentionally seek a quiet space in our lives to be able to collect our thoughts.  This is a non-negotiable.  When I began to seek solitude that’s when the ideas and positive thoughts started to sink in. When my friend suggested I write a book, the thoughts of my conversation with my dad began to rise up within me.  But, I wouldn’t have arrived at that place if I hadn’t incorporated the discipline of solitude.  It’s important to note that solitude isn’t being lonely, it is a conscious decision to withdraw from our lives to seek God and clarity.  No matter if its five to ten minutes it’s a great way to begin your new life.  Start out small and work your way up to an hour of you-time.  Remember you have the ability to not only change your world, but the world as a whole……BE GREAT!

Until Next Time,

Pervis

Pervis Taylor, III is an Author, Life Coach, Speaker and Contributor. His books Pervis Principles Volume 1 and 2 are available exclusively on his website: www.pervistaylor.com/author. He resides in New York City. Follow him on twitter @pervistaylor or facebook www.facebook.com/pervistaylor3.