Donald Trump & a Note to my Younger Self

Hey friend,

Welcome to the Friday 5x5.

Every week we share:

5 x Minutes Read

4 x Nuggets from a Book

3 x Thoughts from the Three Ps of Business, for good.

2 x Things I’m Frothing Over

1 x Great Example

Also don’t forget to comment or hit reply to let me know what you think :)

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5 x Minutes Read - Donald Trump and a Note to my Younger Self

Dear friend,

I owe you two things:

#1 - An apology

#2 -A confession

#1 - An Apology

I was so excited about flying to Australia last week I completely forgot to write a Friday 5x5 - apologies ??

#2 - A Confession

I am so bored of people being treated like we are problems to be fixed.

Let me explain

After spending time following the U.S. election coverage and the subsequent vitriolic debates on Twitter, I’m struck by how polarised we have become.

We have become people that reduce people to positions and worse, as I say, problems to be solved.

As someone who often sees things in black and white (it’s legit my dress code) and being all-or-nothing, I get it.

I like to go all in.

I’ve gone from being an avid meat-eater to fully vegan, and back again.

I’ve gone from aspiring to celibacy (purity ring and all) to falling head over heels in love, and back again.

I’ve gone from LGBT advocate to a self-selecting case for conversion therapy and pseudo-psycho analysis.

I’ve been a passionate union member tearing down elites, then a card carrying capitalist on a mission to create wealth.

Here’s the clincher: Identity is Powerful.

But it’s never Black and White.

We so desperately want to be on the winning side.

We so desperately then want others to be ‘wrong’.

We so desperately want to belong.

The irony is that to belong, we have to acknowledge we are all made different.

The truth is we are all created in God’s image.

The truth is he made us all a divinely orchestrated mysterious cocktail of genetics, nurture, gifts and destiny.

As I’ve reflected on this I keep coming back to this picture of me as a boy (seen above)

When I look into this beautifully quirky little lads eyes I see a boy who so desperately did not fit in but so desperately wanted to.

He wanted someone to have him be part of their tribe.

He didn’t realised he could create a tribe of his own.

Just like you.

So in a world that loves to tear others down.

And for for quirky little does-not-fit-in-a-box-rhysy here is some advice I would give him.

"Dear Rhysy,

I know you sometimes feel like the odd one out.

I know you’ve wondered why people treat you differently.

I know you wonder why people’s glances change when you act or speak a certain way.

I know there were times when you have felt truly unsafe.

I know you’ve wished you weren’t the way you were.

I know you’ve heard people say you should change.

But I want you to know that you won’t always feel like this.

One day, you’ll grow into someone who’s sure of who he is, where he fits in the world, and the value he brings.

You are deeply loved by God.

And even if you never quite feel like you belong anywhere, remember—you belong wherever you choose to be.

There will come a day when you fall in love—sometimes with women, sometimes with men—and you’ll have rich, life-affirming experiences.

There will be times when you encounter God in profound ways, moments where your faith ebbs and flows, but you’ll always be certain he loves you as you are.

There will come a day you’ll understand there’s a special way your mind works - they call it autism, you can call it a gift.

Though you may sometimes feel “too queer, too strange, too much of this or not enough of that,” you’ll learn that you were created exactly as you are meant to be.

You’ll realize that life’s richness lies in the diversity of people, each with their own beliefs, ways of thinking, and feeling.

And you’ll realise life is best and richest with different people in it.

You need them as much as they need you.

And remember, God doesn’t make mistakes.

Trust that what you are becoming is all part of God’s design.

Trust that you will be your happiest and most free when you stop looking for others to say you fit in.

Trust that being different, not the same is the best thing you can be.

Lots of Love,

Me"

Coming back to Australia has been such an epic opportunity to reflect.

I was ambling down the road to Bondi beach and shed a tear at how beautiful it was.

I was also reminded how far God has brought me and how a lot of that happened here, down under.

You see that little Rhysy has lived kicking and screaming inside of me for 40 odd years trying to fit in.

And I see this desperation to fit in and be ‘right’, played out on a macro level on the global stage.

Observing recent debates, I’ve seen people retreat into little playground spats of political camps, spitting out dummies and belittling anyone who thinks different.

It’s the whole world is kicking and screaming trying to prove that they are ‘right’.

One particularly live topic in these conversations around politics has been who the most “Christian” candidate choice is.

"You couldn’t possibly be Christian and support Donald Trump!"

"You couldn’t possibly be Democrat and love the Lord!"

And yet people can be more than an issue.

For me it was always:

“You can’t possibly be Christian and love men”

“You can’t possibly live a Godly life that way”

“You can’t identify as that and serve God”

And yet I appear to do just that.

I’m not really gay.

I’m definitely not straight.

I’m a queer little something inbetween.

Romantically peculiar and achingly orthodox.

Christians don’t always know where to put me.

Gays don’t always know how to classify me.

But I am the man who sits in both camps.

It’s what makes me always want to see both sides.

Until we accept that not everyone fits neatly into black-and-white categories, we’ll continue to treat people like problems to be fixed or worse enemies to be overcome.

It’s in our idiosyncrasy that we find fulfilment.

It’s through our own secret sauce we come most alive.

This has never been more true for me than in business.

When you serve authentically…

When you lead authentically…

When you sell authentically…

You win big.

You earn big too.

Plus you give other permission to do the same.

Q: What turns a business into a movement?

A: When you leverage who you are to serve the world.

Be who God made you.

Be more than a preference.

Be more than a profession.

Be a leader of a movement of outliers just like you.

Business is personal.

Business is spiritual.

Business is beautiful.

The entrepreneur is the gift.

And the world needs to see that gift brought to bear.

Be different.

Lead different.

And Do it soon.

The world needs just that sort of leadership and sharpish.

PS - let’s start to believe that those black-and-white lines that fence us in can be softened, blurred, and, perhaps, erased altogether.

Yours in admiration,

Rhys ‘Not in a Box’ Parry

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4 x Nuggets from a Book -? The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman

This book talks about the power of leveraging a certain part of your identity to achiever better results.

1. Unlocking Potential with Alter Egos: Herman suggests that creating an "alter ego" — a version of yourself with distinct, empowered traits — helps you step into new identities, enabling you to overcome fears, doubts, and limiting beliefs.

2. Using a Secret Identity for Confidence: By embodying a character with qualities you admire, such as a fearless hero or a skilled mentor, you can tap into hidden confidence and perform better in challenging situations.

3. Anchoring to Symbols and Artifacts: Objects like glasses, clothing, or jewelry can become "totems" to trigger the mindset and characteristics of your alter ego, making it easier to shift into the ideal state of mind.

4. Separating Self from Actions: The alter ego acts as a shield against self-criticism and fear of failure, allowing you to detach emotionally from setbacks and focus on growth rather than personalizing mistakes.

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3 x Thoughts from the Three Ps of Business, for Good: PURPOSE, PEOPLE, PROFITS

* ???? - What is a mission you would dedicate your life to? Could that be a business?

* ???? -?If you could clone one type of client to work with - who would they be?

* ??-? Want more money? Help more people with problems that matter.

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2 x Things I’m Frothing Over

#1 -?Australia - I feel like this place reminds me of who I am. Plus it’s sunny and the accent is fit.

#2 - Family - Sometimes the people that were once friends become the family you choose.

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1 x Great Example

I was chatting with an accountant this week about how they build their whole businesses on recurring revenue.

He refuses to do one-off jobs. He had to draw a line in the sand.

He now has stacks of profit and can afford more team.

Q: What would it take for you to make financial freedom none negotiable? Journal it out this weekend.

Praying for you x