Ripples

You’ll Rarely Know Your Impact

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You’ll Rarely Know Your Impact

Which is why it is even more important to leave your mark.

Over twelve years ago, I posted a short video called “The Best Way To Die.” I chose that name because I had repeatedly searched for that phrase for years. I uploaded it to a YouTube account I no longer use and thought I had lost access to long ago.

I wrote about this video in my book, Still Here: How to Succeed in Life After Failing at Suicide. The video has received far more negative comments and dislikes than positive feedback, as people were upset that I didn’t provide an easy option for suicide. That was the intention behind creating the video – I wanted people to momentarily direct their anger at me instead of themselves.

Last month, I unexpectedly regained access to that account and discovered a comment that filled me with gratitude and moved me to tears.

comment on "The Best Way To Die" video


I’ve been contemplating updating my book, Still Here, for a while now. I’m taking this comment as a sign that it’s time to do so. It will be gratifying to revisit the mention of this video and reflect on its impact eight years later. YouTube has also evolved for the better over the years. They no longer display the number of thumbs down a video has received, and multiple warnings and support resources surround the video.

This comment served as a powerful reminder that we should all share our experiences. We can’t predict the ripple effect of anything we create and release into the world. Embrace vulnerability and share more of yourself.

The original “best way to die” video:

Don’t keep your gold to yourself. Please.

 

Be well,
Andy

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About The Author
Andy Grant

Andy Grant is a best-selling author, award-winning speaker, Transformational Energy Coach, Healer, and suicide prevention activist. He holds certificates in Positive Psychology, the Enwaken Coaching System, Infinite Possibilities, The Modern Mystery School, and more.

Andy teaches workshops ranging from energy tools to ebook publishing. He is the founder of Real Men Feel, a movement encouraging men to come out of the emotional closet. As a survivor of multiple suicide attempts, Andy knows how low we, as human beings, can feel. He is committed to helping people realize how magnificent life is meant to be.

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Photo by Lucas Newton on Unsplash

Life Activation Anniversary!

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Happy Life Activersary to Me!

I am very excited today because it is the seventh anniversary of my Life Activation. It is my seventh life activersary! I want to thank Shawna Pelton, who activated me, Jordan Bain, who became my guide, and founder Gudni Gudnason of the Modern Mystery School for making this available to the public.

Life Activation is a 1000s of years old healing modality from the Modern Mystery School that turns all of you on. It flicks all these switches in you. It used to be called DNA activation because it brings more light and energy into your spiritual DNA, all of the building blocks that make you, you.

Even better than how you feel when receiving a Life Activation are all the unique ways that your life can improve in the weeks, months, and even years following your activation. My life is so much better now than it was seven years ago. I’ve grown in ways that were unimaginable to me. I’ve met many amazing people, learned powerful skills, and become a healer.

Before my activation on January 28, 2016, I had this vague sense of needing to do something specifically for men, but I didn’t know what it was. I launched the Real Men Feel podcast just two weeks after my activation. Two months after that, I became involved with the ManKind Project. A few months later, I became a contributor for GoodMenProject.com. And a few months after that, I became a lead editor for the GoodMenProject. Everything just kept building and building, filling me with more purpose, gratitude, expression, and creativity in ways never before.

I’ve become so much more of service, whether through writing, podcasting, teaching, coaching, or healing. It’s been such a gratifying journey. I still remember midway through receiving my Life Activation, thinking I don’t know what this is, but I know I will learn how to do it.

I also want to thank everyone that I have had the honor and privilege to activate since I was certified as a Life Activation Practitioner in 2018. See the videos below that I shot before and after my activation. I made them because I didn’t know what I was doing. So on a whim, I decided to shoot a video sitting in my truck before it happened. And after it, I felt so amazing. I wanted to capture that somehow. All I remember is that I was laughing and laughing, and I don’t know if anything made sense in the video, but you can check those out to see what I thought about the experience during the exact moment.

Just before my Life Activation:

Moments after my Life Activation:

If you want to feel that good, feel more aligned with your talents, skills, and purpose, consider a Life Activation for yourself. You are worthy of this, and you won’t regret it.

These can only be done in person. If you can’t come to me in Littleton, Massachusetts, I’ll help connect you with someone closer to you. Send an email (andy@theandygrant.com) or fill out the contact form, and I’ll get back to you right away.

http://theandygrant.com/lifeactivation

Be well,
Andy

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About The Author
Andy Grant

Andy Grant is a best-selling author, award-winning speaker, Transformational Energy Coach, Healer, and suicide prevention activist. He holds certificates in Positive Psychology, the Enwaken Coaching System, Infinite Possibilities, The Modern Mystery School, and more.

Andy teaches workshops ranging from energy tools to ebook publishing. He is the founder of Real Men Feel, a movement encouraging men to come out of the emotional closet. As a survivor of multiple suicide attempts, Andy knows how low we, as human beings, can feel. He is committed to helping people realize how magnificent life is meant to be.

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Taking a Big Leap | SkyJump

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Ending 2022 With A Big Leap

While in Las Vegas for a wedding last month, I jumped at the opportunity to take an 855′ leap from The Stratosphere tower on the strip. I wasn’t nervous at all until I saw someone do it. The time from the 3, 2, 1 countdown to me moving felt like a very long moment. The SkyJump was more thrilling than any ride I’ve been on and even more than parachuting. The only time I did that was a tandem jump, so taking that first/last step wasn’t up to me. You can see the video of my SkyJump here:

Here’s the view from the ground, shot by my wife.

One thing that hit me, which I couldn’t put into words right away, was the difference between taking that leap into nothingness for fun versus taking a jump for my demise. On the SkyJump, my nerves vanished once I jumped from the platform, and I experienced joy, thrills, and fun. Nothing in my being communicated that this was a bad idea. I felt completely safe, even though I had no idea how the mechanism that would slow me down worked. I didn’t even ask about it.

I’ve also had the experience of standing atop a building, believing I wanted to die, and trying to get myself to take a much less fun jump. At that moment, everything in my body and energy was saying don’t take this step. There was tremendous resistance, fear, and trepidation. I ended up calling a suicide support line for the first time.

While plummeting through the Vegas night, full of adrenaline and joy, it struck me how fearless the experience was. There was no concern or desire to go splat on the ground. I felt safe and alive, thrilled to be alive.

Whereas in my attempted doom jump, I couldn’t get myself to take that one step into nothingness. I hated myself then, judging myself as weak and pathetic, but looking back, I was safe in a very different way. My better aspects wouldn’t let me take that seemingly one small step.

The first half of 2022 was a dark crucible. I didn’t feel fully alive until July. I knew I wanted a year-end celebration. The SkyJump was a Leap of Life for me. A victory lap for all I had persevered through. I will never forget it and hope to do it again.

I wish you your own Leap of Life this year, a celebration of you and all you have made it through.

If you are in crisis and contemplating any sort of doom jump, please text or call 988 for immediate support. https://988lifeline.org/talk-to-someone-now/

 

Be well,
Andy

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About The Author
Andy Grant

Andy Grant is a best-selling author, award-winning speaker, Transformational Energy Coach, Healer, and suicide prevention activist. He holds certificates in Positive Psychology, the Enwaken Coaching System, Infinite Possibilities, The Modern Mystery School, and more.

Andy teaches workshops ranging from energy tools to ebook publishing. He is the founder of Real Men Feel, a movement encouraging men to come out of the emotional closet. As a survivor of multiple suicide attempts, Andy knows how low we, as human beings, can feel. He is committed to helping people realize how magnificent life is meant to be.

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Auric Region Series Healing

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My Experience with a new healing, Auric Region series.

I first shot a before-and-after video when I received my Life Activation in January 2016. Now, it’s become a staple whenever I have a new healing experience. This week I had the first of ten sessions making up the Auric Region Series from the Modern Mystery School. Several mystery school healers I know learned this modality in November, and all raved about how powerful it was, even after only receiving shortened versions of it in their training.

The word that kept showing up for days to describe how I felt was clean. I still feel very clean and expansive five days later.

I’ll be doing one session per week for ten weeks. I don’t expect to post something each week, but I certainly will at the end of the series.

This holiday season, be sure and give yourself a gift too. It might be an item you’ve long desired, an experience, or some quiet alone time. It is entirely up to you. The point is, do not neglect the most important person in your life; you!

This holiday season, be sure and give yourself a gift too. It might be an item you’ve long desired, an experience, or some quiet alone time. It is entirely up to you. The point is, do not neglect the most crucial person in your life; you!

I also share this because, as a healer, I never stop healing. As a coach, I never stopped being coached. As a teacher, I never stop being a student. If you are ever looking for a coach, healer, mentor, or teacher, be sure they continue to receive and grow. You would never pick a dentist who wasn’t a patient of another dentist or see a doctor who thought they were beyond seeing other doctors.

Be well,
Andy

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About The Author
Andy Grant

Andy Grant is a best-selling author, award-winning speaker, Transformational Energy Coach, Healer, and suicide prevention activist. He holds certificates in Positive Psychology, the Enwaken Coaching System, Infinite Possibilities, and more.

Andy teaches workshops ranging from energy tools to ebook publishing. He is the founder of Real Men Feel, a movement encouraging men to come out of the emotional closet. As a survivor of multiple suicide attempts, Andy knows how low we, as human beings, can feel. He is committed to helping people realize how magnificent life is meant to be.

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Photo by RKTKN on Unsplash

“You’re Just Like Your Father!”

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Did you hear, “You’re just like your father!” often when growing up?

Was it ever meant as a compliment? Was it always a put-down? Was it said sarcastically, with anger, with love…?
Being told we are just like our father was rarely meant to be a good thing for many men I’ve met.

My parents got divorced when I was five years old and it was very acrimonious. My mother didn’t say many good things about my dad. In times of frustration, where my mother and I were butting heads the most, she would sometimes say, “you’re just like your father.”

I clearly remember when I was about seven years old, my grandmother once remarking that I stood like my father. I recall being momentarily stunned, not sure how to receive that. Was it okay to be like my dad? Was she pointing out something wrong about me? And, how did she even know my father? I had no memory of them together.

That was one of the rare bits of evidence that my parents did indeed have some background. I had no memory of them together, hadn’t even seen wedding photos. I had to take their word for it that they were ever married.

Sometimes my dad would say “That’s my boy” with a bit of pride

But the times I heard that the most were when I was in trouble, acting out as a kid, or dealing with depression. It was a very mixed message.

When I first shared this video on Facebook, other men commented that “Like father like son” was another phrase they heard and not as a compliment. Guys said they didn’t like these comparisons when they were growing up, but they choose to take them as compliments as adults.

Many men shared the experience of meeting people later in life who thought their fathers were great guys. I remember how moved I was at my father’s memorial service when so many of his friends told me what a supportive man he had been for them.

Regardless of what other people said, are you comfortable being like your dad?

Can you see the best in your father?

I recently interviewed someone who does an astounding job of that.
Listen to Real Men Feel – Regular Guy Chat with Billy at Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Watch it on YouTube.

Or right here, right now.

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About The Author
Andy Grant

Andy Grant is a best-selling author, award-winning speaker, Transformational Energy Coach, Healer, and suicide prevention activist. He holds certificates in Positive Psychology, the Enwaken Coaching System, Infinite Possibilities, and more.

Andy teaches workshops ranging from energy tools to ebook publishing. He is the founder of Real Men Feel, a movement encouraging men to come out of the emotional closet. He also facilitates monthly men’s groups and is a contributor to the GoodMenProject. As a survivor of multiple suicide attempts, Andy knows how low we as human beings can feel. He is committed to helping people realize how magnificent life is meant to be.

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Photo by Harika G on Unsplash