We recently connected with Henry Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.
Henry, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
“Purpose” can be defined as the reason for something’s existence. For example, the purpose of a screwdriver is to tighten and loosen screws, which is straightforward for inanimate objects. However, defining an individual’s purpose can be more complex. Sometimes, it’s apparent, like how Michael Phelps appears to exist to swim fast. But assuming someone else’s purpose won’t help you discover your own.
To achieve this, we must begin from within. If purpose is your reason for being, how do you know if you’re aligned with it? People often describe purpose as a feeling, a sense of certainty, a knowing. It’s a state of tranquility when your soul, spirit, and energy are entirely focused on a singular path. This resulting feeling is one we wouldn’t want to trade for anything else.
We’re magnetised to this feeling due to its enduring nature. It’s a persistent and patient energy that enables individuals to persevere through even the most harrowing times. When we act on it, we’re left with no regrets, regardless of the outcome, because we’ve done our best in pursuit of something intrinsically meaningful.
The question then arises: how can we foster more of a feeling? To understand this, it’s helpful to explore feelings themselves. Feelings precede thoughts. If you watch an infant, they are feeling beings before thinking beings. As we grow older, we learn to think, focusing our awareness on the self-organizing, ever-evolving machinery of the mind. We are taught language to simplify a non-linear, chaotic universe into practical symbols, or words. Your comprehension of this text attests to its effectiveness. Concurrently, we also learn speech, a method to share theory of mind through the reverberation of hot air. This too is an incredibly valuable tool.
We learn to use words but then they end up using us. Just below our inner narrative is the feeling sense, merged with our consciousness, usually situated behind our eyes. Our awareness is captivated by this as it is the most immediate and urgent aspect of mind. Our attention is constantly pulled to this ever changing flow of partial sentences responding internal and external stimuli, suspended in our mental states.
When searching for purpose, what we’re looking for is a feeling underneath the words. How do you get underneath the words? Any introspective practice, whether it be Tai Chi, Vipassana meditation or psychotherapy, teaches you metacognition. The ability to observe your thoughts. This detachment from thoughts is the first step to delve beneath words and cut through the noise.
When your mind is still, all of this settles. You establish a pure connection to your feeling sense. This leads to a deeper interaction with other aspects of yourself. In the West, we speak of “following your heart” and trusting your “gut feelings”. These signals become more pronounced when the mind is quiet as there is less to attend to.
I found my purpose through stillness. The practice of quieting my mind allowed for me to understand what it was that I truly felt I was here to do. This inquiry took years but it was the single greatest investment I have made for myself. Now stillness is my purpose. Sharing this allows others the ability to cut through the noise and listen to deeper parts of self and then to take this information and arrange the circumstances of their lives accordingly and elicit more feelings of purpose.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Still Life supports hand-picked community of founders, CEOs, and leaders. Still Life isn’t a “mountain-top” experience where we teach some cool wellness tricks that you’ll forget after a few weeks. As you learn to weave Stillness into your daily rhythms, you’ll build real, lasting friendships with an LA-based community that lasts far beyond the 3-month program.
When you’re Still, you’re only aware of the present—no past, no future. Our community members report “losing their sense of self” and experiencing unbroken states of mental focus.
Stillness isn’t reserved for elite athletes or the super spiritual—it exists within us all. And when you get Still, you’ll see an automatic, tangible impact on what matters most: your work and your relationships.
We are looking to launch a weekend retreat of our core curricula (Values, Communication & Relationships) in May 2024.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The quality of resilience – the ability to bounce back mentally. Maxim: Let go or be dragged
Maxim: Things that hurt, instruct
Maxim: If you’re offended, you fear there is truth there
The quality of effective time management
Maxim: Motion is easy, results are hard
Maxim: Short term hard = long term easy
Maxim: Action expresses priority
The quality of careful information gathering
Maxim: Bad information is worse than no information
Maxim: Be careful not to ask people for directions to places they’ve never been
Maxim: There are no statues erected for critics
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
Our ideal Still Life member is a young professional between the ages of 25 and 40. They are deeply resonant with the idea of changing the world and are driven to make their dreams a reality. Known for their curiosity, determination, open-mindedness, ambition, and kind-heartedness, they are morally motivated individuals with a keen interest in creating a positive impact on the planet.
Overall, our ideal Still Life member is a progressive, mindful, and motivated individual who is seeking personal growth and aims to make a positive impact on the world. As a part of our hand-picked, diverse community of high-achievers, they have the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals spanning various fields, interests, and passions, beyond their 3-month program. Our past members have formed lifelong friendships, business partnerships, and have even become co-founders and investors.
Our mission is to support our community with tools and accelerants to reliably find Stillness, collect insights about self and take responsibility to make the world a better place, in their own unique way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.still.life
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/still.life/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/still-life-inc/
