- The story you're about to hear
is going to change everything in your life.
It will change the way you think,
the way you work, the way you relax, how you socialize.
It will change every single aspect to your existence
here on Earth.
This is David, and David was a very nice young man
who followed a very traditional path in his life.
He did well in school, he went to college,
he got a traditionally good job,
and he met a very nice girl.
David was the type of guy who always did
what he was supposed to do.
But one day, something awful happened to David
that would change the course of his life forever.
After his 30th birthday, David went
to the doctor's office to get his annual blood test done.
A few days later, David received the phone call
from his doctor saying that they found an irregularity
in his blood and that he needed to get an MRI scan done
as soon as possible.
The next day, David went in to get it done.
He was sitting in the medical room,
waiting for the doctor to come in to tell him his results.
The longer he waited, the faster his heart began to beat
and he could literally feel and see the sweat droplets
crawling down his face inch by inch.
Every minute that went by felt like an eternity.
The door opens, David sees the doctor,
and he immediately could tell that something was off
just based on his empty expression.
"Hello, David," the doctor said.
"Hi," David says.
"David, there's no easy way to say this.
"We have found a cancerous tumor in the back of your brain.
"Fortunately, it's not too big,
"and if we get it out as soon as possible,
"we don't think there will be any further complications.
"However, it is a very dangerous procedure."
With shock and fear in his voice,
David says, "What kind of risks?"
"Well, the tumor is very close to your brain stem,
"so if we make a wrong move,
"you could experience long-term brain damage,
"which would impair many different things,
"like the way you speak, the way you think, your memory.
"You may even forget the people who you love in your life.
"But if we don't do this procedure,
"you will likely die in the upcoming years."
Tears began falling down David's face.
"I know this is hard, but I can book you in
"for a surgery one week from today
"with one of the best neurosurgeons in the entire country.
"Do you want me to book it?" the doctor said.
"I guess so," David said.
"Good luck.
"My prayers are with you," the doctor said.
The following days would prove to be the most confusing days
of his life.
This situation made David reflect
on all the major choices that he had made in his life,
like going to school, choosing his career,
his girlfriend, even the city he lived in.
He literally thought of everything,
and the only feeling that he really felt
was this weird, dull emptiness
that he couldn't even really put into words.
The days leading up to the surgery,
David completely isolated himself
because whenever he saw someone that he loved,
he was just reminded of the fact that he may forget them.
It was now time for the surgery.
David laid there on the white medical bed
in the operating room, waiting to be put to sleep.
The idea that these doctors
were going to cut his head open and then go into his brain
with their little tools to remove a lump of tissue
that was slowly killing him was both unbelievable
and terrifying to him.
The doctor came in, looked right into David's eyes,
and said, "It's time.
"When I put this mask on your face,
"it will release a gas that will put you to sleep.
"Start counting backwards from 10 starting now."
"10, nine, eight, seven."
David had fallen asleep for potentially the last time
in his life.
While David was asleep, he began to dream.
Random memories came fluttering back to him,
some good, some bad, but even in his dreams,
that confused, empty feeling still haunted him.
Within his dream state, David suddenly found himself appear
in a totally black room with just him and a mirror.
He walked over to the mirror and he began
to stare at himself.
"Hello," his reflection said.
"Hello?" David said, in shock.
"Don't be scared.
"This is just a dream.
"Plus, I'm not actually you," the image said.
"Right, this is just a dream," David thought to himself.
"Well, you certainly look like me and you sound like me.
"If you're not me, then who are you?" David said.
"I'm who you think you are," the image said.
"I'm who you think you are?
"What does that even mean?" David said.
"I'm the person who you think you are," the image said.
"You just said the same thing twice," David said.
"Sorry, I'll be more clear.
"I'm the accumulation of all the voices
"that you have internalized from other people,
"like your parents, your friends, and society,
"who all wants you to conform to what their idea
"of who you should be.
"To put it simply, I'm the person the world
"has told you to be, and unfortunately,
"it looks like you have listened to them."
David looked down for a moment, still feeling confused.
"I'm the person who the world has told you to be,"
David thought to himself.
"So you're saying I'm fake?" David said.
"Well, I'm the one who is truly fake.
"The real you is still inside you,
"and it will always remain in you until the day you die.
"But yes, in this moment, you think you are me,
"but you aren't."
"Okay, so if I think I'm you, who is a fake person,
"but I'm not actually you, then who am I?"
"That is a great question.
"You should probably figure that out
"before you actually die for real.
"Oh, did you hear that?
"Looks like our time is up.
"I sure hope you stop listening to everyone
"so you could finally start living your own life."
David wakes up.
The surgery was a success.
He is now physically healthy.
When David got home from the hospital,
he just sat in his room, trying to absorb everything
that had just happened.
He was confused, happy, angry, all mixed
into an emotional cocktail.
As he was feeling all of this,
he once again saw his reflection in the mirror in his room.
He began to stare at himself very intensely,
just like he had in his dream.
But this time, nobody spoke to him.
Then suddenly, David began to feel very, very emotional.
But this time, it wasn't that empty or confused feeling
that he had experienced before the surgery,
but rather, it was this powerful feeling of loss
and sadness, because for the first time
in his entire life, he realized that he had no idea
who he really was or what he wanted out of his life.
He felt like a lost human being.
And this is how most people live their whole lives.
They pick a career that they don't really like.
They choose a partner that their friends
or their family will tell them is a good one.
And they will choose a value system
that social media or society tells them is a virtuous one.
Most people live a life that is not their own.
They are being fake without even being aware of it.
World-famous psychologist Donald Winnicott,
calls this fake person the False Self.
And being infected with the False Self
is the reason why so many people wake up
at the age of 80 filled with regret,
because they've realized that the life they
have just lived wasn't actually the life
that they wanted.
If every single person on Earth got rid
of their False Self and truly understood themselves,
they would know exactly the type of career
they would want to have, or the type of spouse
or partner they would want to be with.
They would know every single thing
that they needed in order to be 100% happy.
But most people will be infected with the False Self Disease
until the day they die.
And the only cure for this disease
is that you have to stop listening to other people
who tell you how you should live your life.
And then, once you do that, you have to become self-aware
in order to figure out what type of life you want to live.
It's better to live half a lifetime
being the person who you truly are
than to live 100 lifetimes pretending
to be someone who you aren't.
If you want to get some motivation
to learn who you truly are, then click the screen now
and watch my motivational story.
I promise that you'll love it.
Thanks for watching, and I'll see you soon.
(light music)