I hope that the past few weeks have been as wonderful for you as they have been for me. Each time I sit down to share a new philosophy or experience that has recently taken place in my life with all of you, I find myself not knowing where to begin or what I should communicate first. As a result, I have written article after article, but now it is time to share.

Brandentity is about to grow in a way that I have always dreamed of, and in the coming weeks there is going to be an extremely exciting announcement that I will make. I have always believed that Brandentity possessed limitless potential as to what it could become. I am not sure if all of you realize this, but in the early phases of this movement, we gained incredible momentum because of the vision of what was truly possible. The platform began as a solution for an epidemic that I believe infests our world; one that expands far outside the scope of what we see on the surface –the recession, obesity, healthcare, divorce, drugs, suicide etc. but is actually rooted deeper within our personal existence. What I am referring to is destroying our lives and coined as an Identity Crisis. This can show up in a variety of ways, whether it is within your career, relationships, parenting, health, etc. The root of this crisis is that whether you allow the world to see this pain and anguish, or you internalize it, you begin to live a life in which your environment has no workability and the outcome results in you becoming a shell of your true self. Maybe what I share does not resonate with you initially, but what I ask is for you to delve deeper into your existence, literally to your core, so that you can begin to understand who you are as an individual and what is holding you back from living a life where you achieve your fullest self-expression. This has been the mission of Brandentity from Day One, but what is about to happen is truly transformational, and I am eager to share this with you.

In the meantime, there are so many lessons which I have learned as this initiative is about to come to fruition and one of them surrounds the concept of coincidence. There have been countless occasions in my life, and I know that all of you can relate, where one of two things may have taken place:

1.)    I label an event or experience as a coincidence or “fate-esque” OR

2.)    I say “Why me…why does everything (bad, negative, difficult, etc.) have to happen to me?”

First and foremost, the term coincidence is derived from the word coincide which can be defined as “to correspond exactly; be identical,” or in other words, a PERFECT match. Therefore, nothing is a coincidence and nothing “happens” haphazardly to any of us during our lives. I can think of a number of events which have taken place, whether they surrounded the emotions of love, pain, fear, or challenging times, where I would immediately label the occurrence in this monumental fashion for no reason other than to define why it took place. But what I have come to realize is that all of us are EXACTLY where we should be at all times. This has nothing to do with our actual location in the world, but rather our whereabouts in our own existence.

This also relates with the concept of time because when these events take place; such as falling in love, starting a business, ending a relationship, or taking care of a loved one who is ill, these occurrences seem to manifest in our lives when we are ready to handle them—whether we realize this in that moment or not. Let’s pretend that life was a puzzle, and each experience represents a piece.  Therefore, if you are a visual minded individual, (and most of us are), look at life through that perspective and simplify the “events” by telling yourself that these are just PIECES.  I think it is important for me to delve deeper into this philosophy because if you are able to find where this concept “shows up” in your life, I am confident that even more meaning will be attached to where you stand today.

For me, the theory of “time is everything” is obviously not new, and I have heard it on a number of occasions in my past, but it has recently become an absolute reality for me in many areas of my life. Regarding Brandentity, I briefly mentioned how this organization is on the cusp of a transformation due to a newly established opportunity. But without all of the other PIECES which I have acquired over the years, I would not be who I am in this very moment, and as a result, this potential may have never been realized. These PIECES I am referring to were business successes, business failures, and various life events. These pieces have provided me with a foundation to build upon so that I can take my personal vision to an entirely new level. Another example lies within relationships because we often wonder “what was the point of a relationship that ended and why does everyone I get involved with tend to be ‘wrong’ for me?” However, each individual acts as another piece to “our puzzle of life,” guiding us to where we belong.

I am sure that all of you have had your heart broken and in that moment you pleaded for mercy, or maybe you are still holding onto the pieces of “what could have been,” and as result, you might not be allowing yourself to experience your next love, which could be your true love. But what I recognize is that the “fate” you may have attached to your previous relationship was a story that justified why this partner was not “right” for you. I am obviously not uncompassionate about feelings, but I have become more of a realist in the past 12 months and began to look at life through the lens of “what is” as opposed to what I create in my mind. I know that your breakup was painful, but without this experience you would not be where you are today—whole, complete, and perfect in this moment. And you might experience another breakup, or maybe you will get fired, or maybe sickness will enter your world, or maybe you will start a company and fail, or maybe you will miss your plane flight, or maybe you will be late for work. Think back to 9/11, an event which has etched a place in the lives of every single person who was alive during this time. How many stories were there of people who worked in the World Trade Center and for some reason, on the morning of 9/11, they were either late, stuck in traffic, ill, or just took a day off? The stories are endless, but the reason I use this as an example is because this is not a coincidence. Remember the term coincide means a “perfect” match. Those people who did not go to the office that day were exactly where they should have been in their lives in that moment. Once again…time is everything.

It is also important to recognize that you cannot fake or create your fate because this is derived well before you had a say. I am not going to go on a spiritual tangent at this moment, but instead, I share this with you because something that I have seen many people struggle with, (myself included), is accepting life for what it is. Remember, from my last blog post, our context is decisive, which means that the words we attach to the event which takes place is what will manifest because it is what we believe. So if you went through a painful divorce, lost all of your money in the stock market, connected with your “soul mate,” won the lottery, or did not get the business deal that you desired, I want to emphasize the importance that this is not coincidence, nor is it the universe trying to “get revenge,” but rather this is exactly where you should be in that moment.

I think back to the many experiences in my life which were neither positive nor negative (although in that instant you better believe that I labeled them) because they were simply events. So as Brandentity takes on a new life, as your world will always take on a new life, and as we progress together, I ask that you recognize life for what it is and remember that nothing is coincidence and everything is a “perfect match,” because we are always exactly where we should be at all times.

What “PIECES to YOUR PUZZLE” come to mind?

What does this mean to you? Please leave a comment.

Some pictures from Flickr.

These past two weeks have been magnificent in a way that I actually have trouble communicating, but I will give it my best shot because what I have learned is something that I hope all of you will embrace. The feedback that I received from my last blog post was a catalyst for my newly realized level of overall abundance about life. I literally had people from all over the world commenting, writing, and thanking me for revealing my TRUTH because it empowered them to begin approaching their own. The concept of TRUTH is profound because I believed that my STORY, the one I told myself EVERYDAY, was perceived as a far “safer” place to reside than my reality. Justifying my actions and inactions with a fictional tale as to why my choices were best suited for me was easy, and I literally convinced myself that everything was status quo. But hindsight is 20/20 and I am now aware that my essence was lost in an abyss of stories, self-directed lies, and a burning desire to feel secure.

This past weekend, I had the great fortune of celebrating a few birthdays with a group of my friends. It is always wonderful to connect with people who represent so many memories in your life because it enables you to reflect on the past. During this encounter, I spent quality time with a “long lost friend,” whom I was incredibly close with during our youth, but as time went on, we ventured in different directions.  As we spoke, we began to reflect on this past year, but keep in mind that he knew nothing of what took place, all that he knew was that I moved back to New Jersey. The irony of this conversation is that my friend actually saw me in March of 2010, at my “18 degree mark,” when I transitioned into the private equity opportunity, began a relationship and moved in together, started spending enormous amounts of money, got a second dog, etc. etc. etc. The 18 degrees occurred at a Whole Foods in New Jersey, where we bumped into one another after not seeing each other for almost three years. The discussion was brief, and then we went our separate ways. However, when we saw each other on this past Saturday, he told me that in our previous encounter, he felt that I was not the same Jared Yellin that he knew from the past. How is it possible, that someone who only entered my life for a moment was able to see how far I had drifted from my true self? Why didn’t I see what he saw? How is it possible that someone can be looking at their reflection daily, and yet not recognize the contradictions that someone else can see so clearly? When did I become so blinded and spiral out of control?

I found this conversation intriguing as this realization was enlightening. What I learned is that some people in our world have the ability to look at our circumstances through an objective and unbiased lens, with no ulterior motive, other than the fact that they care about our well-being and are able to see something that we are unable to see in ourselves.

After discussions with one of my mentors, he referred to my life as being stuck in the groove of a vinyl record, going round and round, listening to the same song over and over again. This song represents the fictional story that we tell ourselves about our lives. This song is our perceived TRUTH. This song is what keeps us stuck until we stop listening.

With this being said, I would like to share another realization that I confronted in these past few weeks. Due to a year of contradictions, I have made the commitment to immerse myself in being congruent with people, things, and events. Therefore, I recently joined a philosophy group and in our meeting, there was a woman who shared “her story” about her current relationship. She was talking about her mate of three years, and how she is consistently unfulfilled because of his actions and inactions. She feels like the love in her relationship is waning, yet they have been together for many years and leaving is currently outside the realm of her possibility. As she continued to share “her story,” there were many questions which were posed in order to simply induce thought, not to sway in either direction, but instead, to help her begin to see her TRUTH. As the conversation unfolded, she focused on the moments in her relationship that she interpreted as wonderful while completely ignoring the toxicity of their union. These moments represented vacations, nice dinners, events, sometimes intimacy, etc. This woman was holding on to her “song” of a first kiss, three years ago, and neglecting the multiple challenges which surfaced throughout their existence. I am sure that many of you can relate with the concept of holding onto the pieces of yesterday, instead of being open to the possibility of having the ENTIRE “thing” today and tomorrow. This woman’s “story” was the narration which echoed in my mind for the past 365 days. And then the challenging question was asked…

“What would your life be like if you no longer held on to the pieces of possibility, and instead opened yourself up to endless possibility?”

Please do not breeze through this question because if there is an area in your life where you are literally scavenging and clinging to memories of when things were “great,” then I would like to enlighten you based on my most recent revelation that nothing will change. Your decision to let go may result in being alone, unemployed, or even financially challenged, but I firmly believe that letting go of yesterday’s pieces will be more fulfilling and result in endless possibilities.

At the 18 degree mark of my 360 degree journey, the world knew what I had yet to discover, the same way that our group knew what this woman was unable to see in her reflection. The world knew that I was stuck, the world knew that she was holding on, and the world knows that many of us tell ourselves a story, a justification, and a skewed sense of reality because we are too afraid to FACE our TRUTH and listen to a new song.

I hope that this message has a far reaching effect in your lives because as I sit in front of the computer, I can actually visualize the 1000+ Identity Revolutionists reading this message and revealing your TRUTH. At times we are stuck in our story and listening to that same song. We all have MOMENTS, and I stress moments, where we feel trapped, almost like we are fighting in the darkness and the light has yet to be seen. But what I encourage you to do is dig deep and provide yourself with the permission of honesty so that you can let go of the pieces of yesterday, and enjoy the entire “thing” of today, so that tomorrow and everyday forward will provide you with the endless possibilities that are available in all of our lives once we let go…

What are you holding onto…?

What does this mean to you? Please leave a comment.

Some pictures from Flickr.

It has been months since we have connected, and although I cannot say that I am back and better than ever, I have returned with more clarity and a greater understanding of what makes Jared Yellin who he is as a person. Although our most recent correspondence has been sporadic at best, during this hiatus I was not sitting back and allowing the world to pass me by, but rather I was learning more about myself than I ever thought possible.

When Brandentity was first launched, I felt like I was literally on top of the world. My career was soaring; the identity revolution was growing rapidly; my thoughts and actions were congruent; I was living a life of health and wellness; I was closer with my family and friends than ever before; and eventually, I began a relationship with someone whom I thought was the missing piece in my existence. I was abundant in every sense of the word, and if nothing were to have changed, I would have lived a life of complete and utter fulfillment…or so I thought—I felt invincible. I say this with no disrespect or ignorance, but rather with a level of complete transparency of my emotions.

As 2010 began, I was introduced to a group of investors who were in the process of a large merger and acquisition of a nutraceutical company. They offered me the opportunity to take on an enormous amount of responsibility as a manager of the company and the spokesperson for all marketing initiatives. Simultaneously, I pursued a relationship with someone whom I thought was completely congruent with me, as I was with her, and we decided to move rapidly, forgoing the formative experiences that “might” be essential when it comes to building a foundation for a thriving relationship. As time progressed, I began to lose what made me who I was and began to suffer from an identity crisis.

The irony of this realization is that I still had an enormous following as a result of Brandentity, and many people would contact me on a regular basis with the desire to understand how I “found myself” at such a young age. During this time, I literally received 100’s of messages surrounding the concept of an identity crisis, but was unable to respond as I suffered from the same epidemic as many of you. I literally could not look at the website; I could not reach out for speaking opportunities; and I could not respond to people who were asking for advice…the year Brandentity was launched, was the year I lost myself. The once “so together” Jared Yellin was spiraling out of control as my passion for life was dormant and my beliefs of what was possible became non-existent.

But how could this happen when I literally just launched Brandentity? How could I make comments about introspection and finding myself, and how my past no longer dictates my present, and how I was unscathed by my parents challenging divorce, and how my tagline was “confidence is my presence, never tense, never hesitant?”

How could I be this blind???????????????????

And now, 360 degrees in 365 days later, I can tell you that I was not blind, I was not ignorant, and I was not lost. I was deaf because I refused to hear the screaming of my intuition that things were so incongruent; and instead, focused on the superficial components of my life while ignoring the guidance of my inner voice.

So here is my update, and I share this with you because I have a feeling that many of you have either experienced a journey like this in the past, are currently on an adventure like the one I will share, or are perpetually living in an abyss of chaos.

The private equity deal could not have been further from what I was looking to achieve in my life, even though on the surface I had everything when it came to finances, responsibility, and opportunity. It was strictly a business, and although I love the dynamics of the business world, I realized that I need to associate myself with like-minded individuals who are driven towards giving back to humanity. This did not exist, nor was it ever going to exist, but the opportunity did provide an enormous amount of autonomy which enabled me to support my relationship and everything that it entailed.

Over this year I made the choice to pick up my life on two occasions in order to keep the relationship intact, even though my intuition was screaming that something was not right. I literally gave up who I was and my desire to be congruent in order for this relationship to work, and although this was at no fault of the other person, the choices that I made were fueled by the contradictions that existed in my life. As time progressed, we moved to an extremely small town in Virginia, and although my inner voice was adamantly against this decision, I ignored its presence in fear that the relationship would not survive unless I was physically with the other person. This move was a pivotal experience because I was now living in a place where I did not belong, in a career which represented a contradiction, and in a relationship that was stifling and unfulfilling for both parties. How could the Jared Yellin, who once felt inordinately abundant, feel so alone and empty?

I am here today as a messenger, because what I am about to share is something that I recently learned. The only thing that truly changed in my world was the superficial, and I always had ME, but I was consumed by my perception of my circumstances. I literally was unable to look at myself in the mirror because all that I saw was a giant contradiction. I was once the person who wrote about pursuing their dreams for a career, yet I put my world on hold for an opportunity which was not in alignment with what I am looking to achieve. I was once the person who wrote about love as the most profound emotion, but was in a relationship where it did not truly exist. I was once the person who stressed the importance of nutrition and exercise, yet I was no longer concerned with my personal well-being. I was once the person who was financially balanced and in control of my fiscal life, yet my infatuation within my relationship led to the demise of my bank account because I thought that all of the superficial “THINGS” would substitute for the lack of love. These outside influences dictated my personal level of fulfillment, and as a result, I felt alone and empty. It is so easy to listen to the echoes of the outside world as they influence your decisions, but your intention must be focused on your inner voice and your intuition.

As time went on, something motivated me to reconnect with the company that I was with prior to the private equity deal. I did this with no intention of returning, but rather because I was in dire need of support and guidance from a group of people who played an integral part in my growth. During our first conversation, it became extremely apparent that I had unfinished business and it was time for me to return. Sometimes in life you don’t know what you have until it is lost or until you have a moment of reprieve where you are finally honest with yourself. Simultaneously, the relationship, which was once everything that I thought I wanted, began to fall apart, and it was time for the two of us to go our separate ways.

Therefore, as I sit in a Starbucks in Englewood NJ, I have literally gone 360 degrees in 365 days; living in NJ with my supportive family and friends, with the same incredible company, and ready to be part of this revolution with all of you. This journey has been the most humbling experience of my life because it allowed me to confront everything that I do not know about myself, while forcing me to come to terms with the fact that I am not invincible; actually I am no different than anyone. None of us are…we really are all the same regardless of our wealth, intellect, looks etc. We are all profound individuals, the only difference lies in our ability to listen to our inner voice.  My unconscious being was literally screaming at me since January of last year that every decision I was making was not in alignment with what I was looking to achieve in life, but I chose not to listen. Besides sickness or disease, there is no such thing as being blindsided or surprised by what life throws your way because if you were to allow yourself to delve deep into your internal being, the answer would have been apparent the entire time. Whether you go through a difficult breakup, make a poor investment, or take a risk in your career, your intuition will always be there to guide you as long as you allow this voice to be heard.

So 365 days later, I have less money, I am single once again, and I might have “wasted” a year of my business life, but what I gained is something that no money, no time, and no relationship could ever replace…what I gained was awareness, what I gained was a deeper sense of consciousness, and what I gained was genius as to what I still do not know. Therefore, I could not feel more fortunate about the last 365 days of my life and I hope that as we progress together, you will allow me to share these lessons with you.

In closing, here is one of my favorite poems, something that I read years ago as a result of a very special person in my world, something that captures the essence of what I have learned…

The Man in the Glass by Peter “Dale” Winbrow Sr.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum
And think you’re a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

He’s the fellow to please-never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear to the end.
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

Thank you for all that you do, thank you for supporting and believing in our mission, and thank you for always being YOU!

What does this mean to you? Please leave a comment.

Some pictures from Flickr.

I am sure many of you are already aware that I am a sponge for knowledge and I have been this way for my entire life. When I was a toddler, and begin to speak, I wanted to understand anything and everything. As time went on, I wrote a book about the Unanswered Questions in Life. For example, does chicken taste the same way to you as it does to me; when I look in the mirror do I see a reflection or maybe another world looking back at me; and what makes two people fall in love? Keep in mind, I was probably about ten or eleven years old when I completed this “book,” and it proves that I was interested in philosophy at an early age. But as time has gone on, I realized that my intrigue had little to do with philosophy and everything to do with the meaning of life. What I realized is that my “meaning” could be completely different than any of your meanings. We all have the ability to create our own meaning for living and define our own purpose in the world. Therefore, is life a science or an art?

Science can be defined as something that has been proven, time and time again, in order to achieve the same result as each prior trial. On the other hand, art is something that is unique to the creator, where they are able to depict their views in an aesthetic manner, and the interpretation of the end product is highly individualized. Therefore, on our continuum of life, the concept of art and science are at two opposite ends of the spectrum. But if this is the case, then why do so many people believe that you need to do A, B, and then C in order to get D? This would lead me to believe that life is a science, even though I wholeheartedly disagree with this philosophy. I believe that it is possible to do A, E, F and G in order to get Y, if Y is what you were looking to achieve.

A perfect example of this occurs when a parent assumes that they know who the perfect “suitor” is for their child. Before I provide my analysis of this situation, I want all of you to understand that the definition of “assumes,” in this situation, is highly influencing and convincing the child to pursue the person that the parent thinks is best for them, even if their child disagrees.  My philosophy on this situation is that the parent is most likely operating through the eyes of a scientist because they are basing this recommendation on an equation that leads to a happy marriage. “You need to make sure you choose someone who has the same religious beliefs as you, a stable career, good looking, comes from a supportive family, is not a workaholic, and wants to have children within the next two years.” This is what I call an equation that looks like the following:

A+B+C+D+E+F=G

A=Same Religion

B=Stable Career

C=Good Looking

D=Supportive Family

E=Not a workaholic

F=Wants children in two years

G=Happily Married

However, this scientific equation does not guarantee that G will take place, which proves my point that LIFE is not a science, but rather an art. Who says that we need to follow specific steps to elicit a certain result? The reason that science was accepted initially is because someone understood the fundamental principle that things are created as an art and then proven with science. Therefore, when it comes to your relationship, career, diet or exercise programs, breaking an addiction, etc. create your own masterpiece of art and then prove that it works through your own science.

This theory is also common when dealing with someone in the business world, who possesses years of experience, and believes that they have the answer to whatever question they are asked. This situation recently occurred in my life when someone questioned how developing the IDENTITY REVOLUTION could turn into a viable business. He told me:

“In order to succeed in business, you need to create something of value. I believe that your message is valuable, but I do not think that there is a business model here that can be monetized. But if you were to enter into my line of business, and follow these steps, you would make a substantial amount of money.”

What if Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, Howard Schultz, Mark Zuckerberg and many of the other innovators of our time listened to the scientific naysayer’s in their world? The point that I am making is that I believe LIFE IS AN ART. I do not believe that there are specific steps that can be taken in order to rear your children; I do not believe that there are explicit actions that can be implemented in order to achieve financial success; and I most certainly do not believe that there is a scientific equation for love. If you agree with this philosophy, then I encourage you to make your own masterpiece of life and realize that you will always have a clean canvas to work with as long as you recognize that life is an art, NOT a science…

Is life a science or an art?

What does this mean to you? Please leave a comment.

Some pictures from Flickr.