The Road to Happiness and Fulfilment

Ponzo Illusion

About me

My name is Serban. I came from Romania when I was 23 with nothing but $200 and the desire to live the American Dream.

After 12 years of hustling in the world of Electrical Engineering and living what I thought was “The American Dream,” I learned what many successful people have realized: money and “stuff” do not make us happy. After being lost and confused about what I wanted from my future,  I embarked on a personal transformation journey. I have learned what it truly means not just to be happy and satisfied, but what it means to feel fulfilled.

Through my journey, I have accumulated an abundance of knowledge and created a blueprint on how to become fulfilled in life. It is a blueprint that I live by in my own life, which has helped me be at peace in life as well as be excited about where I am going. Today, my desire is to share with you this blueprint so that you can fast-track your own transformation journey towards a happier and more fulfilled life. 

My story

Seneca said that “it takes a whole lifetime to learn how to live”. The sad part is that most of us just let life happen to us and days, weeks, and years go by with us just “going with the flow.” But it comes a time in our life where we just flow endlessly in life or we decide to learn how to live a fuller life.

I was born in Romania where for the first 7 years of my life I lived during Communism. Growing up I did not live in luxury and oftentimes my parents struggled to provide for our family. I never had to stave, however, I did get suspicious of my parent’s financial situation when Santa brought me 3 years in a row — just socks. I never imagined that living in America was even a possibility. Yet, when the opportunity presented itself in 2005 to work and live in the US, I eagerly took it.

I’ve heard so many times the phrase “Living The American Dream”, but I never fully grasped what that meant. Once in the US, for 12 years I worked hard and tirelessly to build what I understood was “The Dream:” Have a good, secure corporate job, become a homeowner, get married, travel, have children (or not), save for retirement, get a dog (or cat), travel some more and make sure to collect stuff. That is what I saw in so many movies when I was younger, it is what my parents have told me many times and what society hints at every single day. And I was for sure following this blueprint laid out before me, following the rules and expectations of modern society.

However, as years went by, I often found myself pondering for a few moments, either at a crucial birthday milestone or another year passing: “is there more to my life than this?”. Was I allowed to dream of any other life than the one I was living? Everyone around me seems to be doing the same thing, house, kids, savings, and vacations, but I wasn’t sure that this path was really making them happy. Deep down, I felt that it wasn’t making me whole, making me happy.

I felt guilty and shameful as I had more in my life than I could ever imagine. I wasn’t sick, I had a beautiful home, family, and financial stability, but too often I felt empty, and frustrated as years went by and I was just there, like a spectator or sitting in the passenger’s seat, just letting it pass by. For years, I’ve struggled to find out what was that I wanted in life, what would make me feel whole, satisfied, like I mattered, happy, yet even more importantly feel good about myself – being fulfilled.

It was a challenging part of my life as I had this constant inner battle for being content with what I had and accepting my place and my life. However, deep down I knew that I had more potential and that I can create and do something that I would be proud of that would make me sleep well at night, that would give me that sense of fulfillment.

Lou Holtz said, “In this world, you’re either growing or you’re dying.” As years went by, I felt more and more like I was dying. I was in this state of feeling lost, with frustrations building up, and trying to carve my own way through life, but having no clue how or any kind of direction.

It was one September morning that my wonderful wife, seeing and understanding my frustration, suggested I should listen to an interview she’d heard where Lewis Howes met with the inspiring and motivational speaker Les Brown. It was the first time I was ever introduced to the notion of personal development. It created the spark that I was looking for!

From there, another friend introduced me to Tom Bilyeu and his wonderful podcasts, which was the incredible catalyst I needed in my life. Tom opened my mind to new possibilities, new ideas, and new ways to think and behave toward my future. It was the first time someone told me that I can create any future that I want for myself. I dived deep into how I can make a better life for myself.

With Tom’s guidance and many others like him, I was able to evolve and transform my life from being on cruise control, doing OK, to being able to have clarity in what it takes not just to be happy, but to have a purposeful and fulfilled life where I could be excited about every day. A life that is unique to me, that I enjoy, that is not dictated to me or influenced by society, by my family or friends, but rather by my own values and aspirations. A life that, even though it has challenges and difficulties, struggles and setbacks, is my own. It was at that time that I stopped dying and started growing.

It was exactly what I needed in my life. From that point on, I’ve evolved and improved in every aspect of my life: my relationship with my wife got even better, my health improved where I went from sort of going to the gym, to running marathons, getting that elusive 6-pack, and being in the best shape of my life. Not just physically, but also mentally.

I’ve grown in my career as well. For over 5 years I’ve found myself stagnating at my job, with no professional and financial growth. After this turning point, I was able to not just find a job but grow into a career I wanted and double my income.

And best of all, I found a higher purpose in life that guides me to help as many people as I can find their own path in life and help them get to their next level in life.

By taking the lessons that I’ve assimilated from countless podcasts, books, and courses that I immersed myself in and applying them in my own life, I was able to develop (or engineer) clear and actionable steps that anyone can take in their own life. These steps keep me on this road to happiness and fulfillment, which brings me joy, keeps me motivated to keep going, and allows me to feel at peace with where I am in life and where I’m going.

Just imagine applying these principles in your own life, may that be in your health, your relationships, your career, or your spiritual journey, and find yourself waking up each Monday excited about the week and looking forward to all the things you want to do with your life. If you’re like me, you want to live your own life, your own way that gives you satisfaction every single day.

We often think that it is much harder to change our lives as change takes effort and consistency, which it does, but it does not. How would you feel one year from now, knowing that you are in the same passenger seat, watching your life just go by, growing in your frustrations, and getting more and more hollow? That to me is so much harder than doing something small each day to better myself. Each day I look to grow 1% more than yesterday. And I can tell you that from a year ago, I’ve grown so much.

There are two types of people in this world: ones that just let life happen to them, and ones that control life so it happens for them.

And you can be in control.

If you are ready to take the next step in your own journey, and if you desire to go to the next level, reach out to me at TheRoad2HF@gmail.com

Ponzo Illusion

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