Can I live simply in a complex and chaotic world? This is a daily service podcast with Anthony von Heemman. I was at 25 years old, struggling with a situation in my business, the people in particular. And I ran to my mentor Rami for advice I must have shared and poured out my heart for over 15, 20 minutes.
And then he responded. Psalm 78, 72. That was it. David shepherd, that the people of Israel will not fight heart in a skillful hand.
Anthony, he said, whatever issue you now have or will have in the future, when it comes to people, it's just a question of heart and hand. That's it. William Golding, the greatest idea, said the simplest, right? Indeed, it was simple and it worked.
To this day I run to man of God and I hold on to the word of God, the word of life, to simplify my own life. 1 Corinthians 14:33. For God is not a God of confusion, right? But a God of peace.
Simple. Can I live in a complex and chaotic world? Certainly by avoiding. Okay, what not to do this time.
Not what to do, what not to do. Avoiding the noise. N O I S E. Albert Einstein, he simplified it by saying, if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Okay, so let's follow the word noise. Avoid the noise. Our list of enemies or compromises the noises we give into. Number one.
Never say no. Speak to thyself, Anthony. Let us learn from Nehemiah. When being distracted by opposing forces as he was building the walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah 6, verse 3.
I am doing a great work. I cannot come down. Wow, another failure leading to complexity, not simplicity is number two, opposing the tugging of the heart to a believer. The Spirit, the Holy Spirit is leading.
Karen Marie. Morning. The most confused we ever get is when we are trying to convince our heads of something our heart knows is a lie. Number three, insisting on a wrong stubborn self directed course, which is really pride, right?
For you and me. And we either humble ourselves or the world eventually humbles us. Come on, it's okay not to be okay, to pause, to be confused. In fact, Robin Mundell declares, and I quote, good be confused.
Confusion is where inspiration comes from. End quote. And we've said it here. The Chinese proverb, no matter how far on a wrong road, turn back.
So stop insisting on a wrong stubborn subterranean course. Number four, the fourth complicator or enemy of the civil life is seeing complex, anything complex or complicated as superior, right? Oh, it's more advanced and therefore it's more Designable. So we go through the most challenging alternatives, right?
The most difficult terrain, the most sophisticated strategies, and we over glorify them. Albert Einstein simplifies it for us. And I quote the three rules of work out of clutter, find simplicity from discord, find harmony. And in the midst of difficulty lies opportunity.
Peter Drucker, the father of management, passed away less than 10 years ago, said this. Seeing the way the world was changing, I now simplify change management into two steps. Step one, determine what you will absolutely not change. Step two, now be open to changing absolutely everything else.
Wow. And number five, the fifth compromise. The fifth enemy, the fifth complex maker, not change maker. Number five is expecting to understand everything.
Joe Rogan, you heard about him, right? Especially the past weeks. We all go through doubt. He said this.
It's hard. Those difficult moments are what build your character. Interesting, right? His Covid healing experience and the reaction of mainstream media and Big Pharma.
The five enemies of a simple life. Number one, never say no. Number two, opposing the tugging of the heart. Number three, insisting on a wrong, stubborn, self directed course.
And four, seeing complex as superiors, more advanced and more desirable. Number five, expecting to understand everything. N O I S E Noice So I go to my mentor, same person, Romy, almost the same time, 27, 28 years ago. And I was talking about how I hadn't slept and I was so troubled and I was so tired and had issues with my girlfriend.
And he said, adam and Eve, of course we went to Genesis, but oh, wow. At the end of that short reading, three things. Number one, Adam's first priority was to get to know God. That's the first person he spent time with.
Number two, the more he got to know God, the more he discovered his calling, which was to name the plants, right? And the beasts to build a field. And as he was spending time with God and as he was doing his work, Number three, he fell asleep. That's it.
He told me, anthony, you have so much in your mind and in your heart about your partner. Are you spending time with God? I said, yep. Are you working?
I said, yep. Then you just have to do one last thing. Fall asleep. Not the noise, my friend, but the voice.
As the wisest king said, right, Solomon, as he closed the book of Ecclesiastes, and I quote, fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. That simple.