Since the fateful night of his car accident, Brendon has lived a fully charged life, and he’s helped millions of people around the globe transform their lives and feel more alive, engage
d, and fulfilled.
In The Charge, Brendon argues that the only way to measurably improve the quality of your life is to learn how to activate the very ten drives that make you most human.
Out of darkness
Why is it that in our abundant world of choice and connectivity so many of us feel lacking and detached? With all the how-to information available at our fingertips, why are we so unsure of which levers to pull to dramatically improve our lives? How is it that we have so much—a roof over our heads, opportunity, safety, choices, access to the entire world—and yet don’t feel sparked with energy all the time (or at least a lot more of the time)?
How can we think more strategically about ourselves and what motivates us today when meeting our basic human needs simply isn’t moving the happiness needle out of the blah zone? What’s going to lead us to exciting, fulfilling lives amid the sea change going on in our workplaces and our personal lives? How do we get that spark back into our lives, so that what we do fills us with joy and satisfaction? What levers can we pull on this grand ride of life so that we reach our full potential and travel in style to our destiny?
A charged life
A Charged Life is a consciously designed existence that feels evenly engaged, energized, and enthusiastic. It’s a life that is purposefully chosen and activated by leveraging the 10 drives that make us human, which are the subject of this book.
The Charged Life is not a one-time feeling or a fleeting spark. It’s an enduring flame in the soul that illuminates you throughout all your days no matter the darkness around you. Nor is it about wandering around with a fake perma-grin or feeling supercaffeinated or amped up by some syrupy cocktail of self-help affirmations. It is about elevated yet consistently even energy that is strategically planned for and sustainable, allowing you to be fully engaged in the moment and optimistic about the future. I’ll further describe this life in the next chapter, but for now you should underline the operative phrase in its definition: a consciously designed existence. In order to better design your life, you’ll need to understand and activate 10 simple drives of human emotion and happiness. These are the psychological levers that you can use to reshape and reenergize your entire life.
I won’t pretend the journey to knowing oneself is an easy one. In consciously deciding to take the reins of your life and ride off in a new direction, you’re going to find yourself (at first, anyway) on a bumpy, uncomfortable road. But that’s okay—it’s the only road worth taking. Life change is hard.
No matter your position, circumstances, or opportunities in life, you always have the freedom of mind to choose how you experience, interpret, and, ultimately, shape your world. If you can believe this, then you can strategically choose and create a Charged Life.
10 Human drives that make you feel life
- The drive for control
- The drive for competence
- The drive for congruence
- The drive for caring
- The drive for connection
- The drive for change
- The drive for challenge
- The drive for creative expression
- The drive for contribution
- The drive for consciousness
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Complement The Charge with Pursue Life, Liberty, and Meaningfulness