What is Enlightenment?

A great illustration of enlightenment is the story Acres of Diamonds.   Nearly a century ago, to bring about the founding of Temple University,  a man named  Russell Conwell toured the US presenting a story titled Acres of Diamonds.    

In case you never heard the story, here’s my rendition.   You can read and listen to the original story here.     But here’s my version for brevity.

A poor Arab farmer who had a great wish to be wealthy went to talk to his priest about his dream.   He wanted with all of his heart to make a name for himself and his family.  

At that particular time in history, there was a great ‘rush’ for diamonds.   People whispered to each other about the surest way to wealth was by finding diamonds and trading them for gold and wealth.   You could almost rule the land if you had enough diamonds.   Much like the Gold Rush era of the United States, diamonds carried the same mythological power to make poor men wealthy and destitute people kings and queens.

The farmer was confused about where to look for diamonds so he asked his priest.   The priest told him that he could find diamonds in running water such as a stream or a river.   So the farmer quickly sold his farm, his possessions and left his family behind to get enough money to travel in search of the perfect stream.   That which contained diamonds as far as the eye could see.  

For several years the farmer walked the land, searched riverbeds and streams unsuccessfully for his diamonds.   After he was weary and penniless from his search, he threw himself off a cliff to kill himself.

Meanwhile, back at his former farm, the priest came to visit the new owner.   As he entered the house, he couldn’t help but notice a brilliant sparkle from the mantle over the fireplace.   As he looked closely at the source of the sparkle, he almost fainted, because what sat right there was the largest diamonds the priest had ever seen – possibly one of the largest in the world.   It was uncut and in its rough form – but still was worth a fortune.

The priest asked the new farmer if the former had returned with this stone.   The reply was “no, I found that while watering my horse in the stream at the edge of the property.”

The farmer went on to say there were plenty of those stones on the property, only this one was the largest he had yet found so he decided it would look good on the mantel.  

The priest asked if he could see this stream.

As the farmer toured him around the property, it occurred to the priest there were literally ACRES OF DIAMONDS the former farmer had no idea were there.   He had traded his fortune before discovering what a diamond looked like.   He traded his heritage for what amounted to a story.

The original farmer had everything he wanted yet it was his lack of knowledge, his lack of enlightenment that prevented him from taking advantage of it.   Had he been enlightened to the fact he already lived in his own diamond paradise the story would have had a much different ending – but probably a lot less entertaining.  

People usually use the term enlightenment in a spiritual sense; however the light bulb over the head image certainly applies.   Your ability and dedication to seek is the key to gain the enlightenment in the areas you want.   The recipe for enlightenment is one part study and one part inspiration and one part action.

The first farmer needed desperately to be educated.   He needed to know what a diamond looked like in its raw form.   That may have been enough or maybe not.   Take for example the saying “can’t see the forest for the trees.”   That means we can know, but may not be able to see.   How many times have you lost your car keys and found them in a place that was “right in front” of you the whole time?   Knowing what car keys look like isn’t enough.   You need the enlightenment to see them.   Ok, maybe I’m taking this too far.   But I want to make a point.

A recent pursuit on the web is the “gold rush” of seeking fast money through Adwords, Adsense and Internet Marketing.   As I’ve displayed on this blog, the easy riches might not be so easy.   You can pour in hundreds if not thousands of dollars into this “diamond seeking voyage.”   And come out penniless.

That’s not to say, it never works.   Of course these programs do work for some who have an enlightenment of sorts.   Which brings us to the next part of enlightenment – you must also be skilled enough to receive enlightenment.   It’s simply not enough to receive the education and the vision – you must also be able to use the enlightenment.   We can all probably think of a preacher or two who received enlightenment of religion, however did not have the skill to use the enlightenment and so they fell from grace.

Enlightenment is the ability for you to see things clearly in their most pure, most powerful form.
So if we want to be enlightened, we must also be willing to accept and put to use the enlightenment we receive.   That’s why one of the first questions I ask my clients when they mention they want to achieve a certain goal is the question “Why?”   I ask “Why do you want that?”  

Here’s a good example of how seeking enlightenment in the wrong area:   Considering I run a successful Internet business, people often contact me and ask me if I will help them set up an Internet business for them too.   I am definitely open to the opportunity, but in helping, I want to make sure I really am helping someone and not creating an Albatross that will sink them to the bottom of the ocean.

Let me explain.   I’ve had a potential client or two contact me to set up an Internet business for them.   I ask them specifically what their goal is.   The replies I get are a bit unnerving to me.   I’ve heard comments like “well I know nothing about running a website or html so I need you to set it up so I can just sort of collect the money.”

What this person needs is not a web developer, but enlightenment.   Running a website of any sort requires some degree of html skill and ability.   By putting the cart before the horse I can tell this person has bought into the “gold rush” easy Internet wealth hype and isn’t seeing the true work necessary to run a successful Internet business.   I can say from experience even the most automatic, and “turn key” of the businesses do require work – and a lot of work at that.  

So what does all this enlightenment talk mean to you?   Well, I consider this a great time in human history to be alive.   By virtue of the mass of information and resources available to the average person is astounding by historical standards.   You can seek enlightenment in any area you wish.   However, be careful to seek the complete package, not just a quick fix.   If you don’t seek the pure enlightenment you risk throwing yourself off a proverbial cliff like our farmer in Acres of Diamonds.

If you seek money enlightenment, you must find the best method of money generation for you personally.   It may be web based, it may be from becoming a surgeon, it might be from writing.   Only you can tell.   But you must be willing to see your own acres of diamonds for what they are.   We each have our own set of unique skills and value we bring to the marketplace.   Don’t fall into the trap of looking on someone else’s garden and saying “I wish that was mine”.   Until you’ve done the research, soul-searching and “practice gardening” enough to know if you even want to own a garden.