I happened to come across a podcast in which the guest, Răzvan Vasile, proposed a simple but challenging exercise: choose one of the four imaginary boxes he was holding in his hands.
The boxes contained:
- The most beautiful,
- Richest,
- Healthiest, and
- The most powerful.
The podcast’s host chose, without hesitation, the health box – a natural choice, one we’ve heard over and over again, especially in public or spiritual contexts. But Răzvan Vasile’s retort was even more memorable: “Why not all of them?”
And here I’m reminded of a theme that has haunted me for a long time. We are taught to choose only one thing. To compromise, to settle for less, not to be too ambitious, not to want everything. We’re told it can’t be done. That it’s selfish. That it’s impossible. That if you want too much, you risk losing everything.
Society – through upbringing, religion, family and culture – has given us, sometimes subtly, sometimes brutally, the idea that we have to choose between happiness and wealth, between beauty and authenticity, between power and goodness. We have rarely been told that we can have it all. On the contrary, we were warned: be careful what you wish for!
In my book, The Secret Success Code – The JeDI Code, written years ago, I dealt in depth with this topic of money and how we have been implanted with limiting beliefs about it. One of the most damaging is the phrase, “Money doesn’t bring happiness.” This phrase, taken out of a much deeper philosophical context, has become a form of control. People have been taught that spirituality and prosperity are incompatible. That a man with money cannot be profound. That material wealth automatically means shallowness.
The truth is that money, like any other instrument, is neutral. It doesn’t bring or take away happiness, our relationship with it does. How do you feel when you see money in front of your eyes? Do you fear losing it? Or do you feel gratitude for having the resources to help, to create, to support others?
Why not all of them?
The real question that should guide us is this: why have we been taught to choose only one of the boxes? Why couldn’t we be healthy, rich, beautiful and strong – all at the same time? What stops us? Time? Destiny? Resources? Or just our beliefs about what is ‘right’ and what is ‘possible’?
The reality is that the human mind operates within the limits we impose on it. If we are told we can’t have it all, we behave as if we can’t. We will unconsciously sabotage any attempt at abundance. We will build success in one area but compromise it in another, because we have been taught to.
Choose everything!
Choosing everything is not greed. It is not narcissism or toxic perfectionism. It means allowing yourself to believe that you are worthy, capable and free enough not to limit yourself.
You can be successful in your career and at the same time an empathetic and present partner. You can take care of your body without sacrificing taste pleasure. You can be strong without being tough. You can be wealthy yet generous and humble.
It’s not a choice between good things – it’s an opening to the whole. It is a choice not to give up any of the parts of you that yearn for meaning, beauty, fulfillment and freedom.
What I want you to remember is…and that includes me:
You don’t feel obliged to choose just one box. You can choose them all – if you dare. Choosing everything is not an illusion, but a conscious decision to overcome your programming, honor your potential and live your life in accordance with who you really are.
Every day, there are many roads ahead of you. Don’t choose according to what you’ve been told “you can”.
Choose everything!
No excuses. No shame. No compromise.
Because you deserve it. And because it’s possible.
Have a day of choosing everything!
Claudiu
