Tao of Your Game
You have caught me in a wonderful state of mind – here, now I feel completely happy. I’m at peace, I live in balance, I’m filled with love and gratitude. Even when there is a challenge ahead of me – I accept it, I face it and I do my work. Walking my way makes me feel completely happy. And I’m willing to share with you what I’ve learned – my way of living, the methods and mindset that work for me, but the best I can do is to encourage you to listen to yourself, explore and recognize what works for you.
“What is put in words is not the fact, to see you have to go through it.”
~ Jiddu Krishnamurti
I noticed that many difficulties in life come from the lack of movement and development, from being stuck, paralyzed or not being able to move forward in some way. I see life as a game where playing is living and living is constant movement – this is what it means to be alive. In this sense, life is a game and the game is life, meaning that you need to expand your imagination and discover new ways of doing things in order to achieve results you couldn’t achieve before and see views you haven’t seen yet.
Being in balance plays a significant role in the way I see life. In a way, balance means living without extremes. It is health on each level – physical, mental and emotional. It requires alignment between one’s words, thoughts, will and actions. This is what I mean when I say whole or healthy.
Everything I do, think and feel I see as a form of creation. As a professional, I’ve learned some methods and techniques which I started applying in my side projects and for my personal growth. Then, I started making progress on tasks I was postponing for months or years, such as learning a new language, improving the communication with certain members of my family, practising a martial art or a sport, making a difference with my volunteering work and such.
“From one thing, know ten thousand things.”
~ Miyamoto Musashi
I’m constantly learning. I learn from the best sources – from nature and native people, from the best players and books in a certain area, from sports and martial arts. Furthermore, I adopt the best practices and apply them in my daily work. It seems to me that it is all connected, and a method in one field can be applied successfully in other fields, too.
I have learned to use strategy and innovation in order to achieve success. This means that I perform and deliver successfully before reaching the time and budget limit of each of my projects. What is more, I constantly work, measure my progress and learn. I break down big goals into small achievable chunks, then I do the first step and I continue refining my results. All in all, I have learned to work in a smarter, more effective and efficient way, minimizing the unnecessary effort. I work every day, I keep my game in balance and away from extremes.
In this book I share with you how I choose to live – light-hearted, with a straight back and a smile on my face. Nurturing balance in my life for so long has made my state of mind independent of (or less dependent on) external factors, and I believe this is healthy. I’ve learned to listen to the world and to my body. Nowadays, I go through changes easily, I adapt quickly, I recover faster, I achieve my goals and grow as a person every day.
I do believe that I have the freedom to make my own choices, to choose the rules of My Game, how to live and who to live with. I take responsibility for my words, thoughts and feelings, for my actions and my creations. I see the present moment as a photo of my skills and knowledge at my current level of development. Therefore, I embrace this moment entirely, live up to my fullest potential, let go when it's over and welcome the new moment.
Being my best self differs from chasing some future state, some illusion or a desire I hold on to. Being my best is the belief in myself supported by the effort to live in peace and harmony with myself, with others and with the world.
“Our humanity depends on everyone’s humanity.”
In this book there is nothing newly invented – I simply explore what works for me, what moves me. I respect that we all have different levels of understanding, but I do believe that when the ego is silent, we can learn from everyone. Be aware that it is highly probable that you cannot master all the methods in this book in 3 days and you don’t have to. If you are not willing to work, this book isn't for you. When you are willing to work, this book can work for you.
About the author
I'm lucky to be able to live my dreams every day – I love my life, I love the people and the world. Nowadays, I live without following or idealizing. I have learned to express myself completely, and then to be quiet, to trust my natural responses, to let all illusions go, to perform without actions, to empty my bowl, to become one whose heart is as open as the sky.
On love: Love is beyond language. Saying I love this or that is like an old photo illustrating the energy that went through my body in a moment in the past. It is pointless because I can only love in the present, and in the present, love is beyond language. I realize I may sometimes sound a bit controversial, but I am true to myself, authentic, honest and sincere.
I believe that I as a human being can express who I am only in a relationship to myself and others, to nature, to things and ideas. I exist only in a relationship. What is more, the development of consciousness can be shown as a result of the interactions in a relationship. As wise men say: "the good life is built with good relationships".
Why do I choose to live like this – simply because I feel responsible to live without fear, anger or violence, without following, blaming or pitying myself, without suppression and division. I choose in my everyday life to unite people, to observe myself and the world, to see what is with my full attention, accept it and live in balance, to be a host of freedom and love.
As Rumi says: love is the water of life. Therefore, I open my heart to love and I do what I like. Love fills me with energy and moves me every day, this is quite empowering. I choose work that I love and I never have to work a day in my life. This is who I am and how I live.
Dr. Bozhana Ivanova
About Tao of Your Game
With my mindset, which is based on agility and constant learning, I realized I can assist myself in achieving my goals in every aspect of life. It requires me to constantly raise my awareness – the solution to all problems, the opportunity in all challenges and the joy in every step towards the goal. By “goal" I do not mean comparing myself with others or living in a constant chase of ideals, but rather a goal that helps me grow as a person, a goal I choose with my heart and I am passionate about.
Combining methods, exploring, and learning can be complex at times. However, it helps me see that all aspects of my life are connected, and makes me pay attention to the points where it all connects. Every change creates a wave and affects many aspects of life, this is why it is important to wisely choose the direction of change.
This book has two parts. The first part includes topics related to my mindset and the way I see life. There is a list of questions for reflection at the end. The second part describes some tools, methods and techniques I use to apply my mindset in my every-day life in order to get my work done, to live and to express myself freely.
Please, avoid blindly following what I say, as this brings laziness and this isn’t what Tao of Your Game is about. This book is, however, about discovering your own inspiration, creating your own methods and finding your own way.
You decide whether the ideas in this book work for you or not. Question and test my words, but never twist them. See what works for you, create your own way for reaching out to others and living your dreams.
Be conscious about the world in and outside of you. Be at peace with yourself and the world around, live in a healthy state of heart, body and mind. Challenge yourself to be aware, to grow and to live up to your potential.
