A Cautionary Tale About Being Too Cautious

/ Paul Crouse Coaching/
A Cautionary Tale About Being Too Cautious
So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.
-- Jon Krakauer

I opened the door to the guest house in Osaka and looked up the steep, dark stairwell. There was a shadowed shape of a woman looking down at me. And then I heard a London-accented female voice call from another room: “Is he normal?”

“I don’t know,” said the shadow. “He looks alright.”

I climbed up those steps to my new life. That was my first day living in Japan, 23 years ago on Valentine’s Day, 1995.

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Don't Be Consumed By Fear

/ Paul Crouse Coaching/
Don't Be Consumed By Fear

The current morning ritual in my house goes something like this:

Me: (Reading the newspaper) “Oh my God…oh no....OH MY GOD!”

My Wife: “Trump?”

Me: “Trump.”

She doesn’t seem all too concerned.

“Freaking out doesn’t solve the problem,” she said.

As I read the paper, all of my political fears come bubbling up. Will one of his tweets crash the financial markets? Will he start a war with Russia? Will he start rounding up Mexicans and Muslims to put in concentration camps?

My mind does love to play out all of these scenarios just like an apocalyptic movie. And then I catch myself. The sun will still rise tomorrow. The birds will still be singing in the trees. There are still no zombies walking up the street.

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Ask Paul: Mid-Life Crisis. Help! [Vlog]

/ Paul Crouse Spiritual Development/
Ask Paul: Mid-Life Crisis. Help! [Vlog]

This is the first video in my new "Ask Paul" series. Ask a question and I will do my best to answer it.

Ann from L.A. wrote: "I'm kinda going through a mid-life crisis. Help. Not just for me, but for other mid-lifers too.... something than buying a mid-life yellow corvette, or something equally stupid."

So, here is my answer to Ann. Yes, it is about 10 minutes long, but some things need to be explained in more than a minute and a half.

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Crying in Stockholm

/ Paul Crouse Spiritual Development/
Crying in Stockholm

When she told me about her failed suicide attempt only days earlier, the recent events of my life started to make sense.

In her torment, she had gone to the top of a tall building to take a leap, but the door to the roof was mysteriously locked that day. The Universe was conspiring to keep her alive and that is why we met.

She was a Japanese woman living in Stockholm and I was an American who had been living in Japan for two decades. I was in Sweden on holiday. We were brought together in a way I could have never imagined.

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Death, Life and Choosing to Be Awake

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Death, Life and Choosing to Be Awake

I held my older brother in my arms as he died. He had drunk himself to death. The night he died, he was in a hospice because of liver failure. He was only 45. His last breath is forever burned into my mind.

 That could have been me. I had quit drinking 17 years earlier, when I was in my late twenties. I had found my bottom, which alcoholics and addicts need to do. The beginning of the end for me was an acid trip during which I did a number of exceptionally stupid things.

The following month was pretty hardcore, even by my standards. I had “the buzz” down to an art form. I knew how much I needed to drink so that when I smoked the weed, I found the perfect oblivion.

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Great Moments in Life: Kids on the Bus

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Great Moments in Life: Kids on the Bus

On the morning bus recently here in Kyoto, I sat down next to a bunch of elementary school boys. They all look at me suspiciously, and then start saying to each other "You go talk to him in English!" 

After it was determined that one of the boys could speak English better than the others, the one boy looks at me and says "hello!"

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