Benjamin J Harvey: Living and Learning

There is no doubt that when you are doing something you truly love, you will thrive. You will be able to reach your true potential. You will make a difference to the lives around you.

However, sometimes, finding out what it is that you love seems an impossible task.

Benjamin J Harvey found himself in this position not that long ago. He struggled with a difficult past, was in $137,000 of debt, unhealthy and unhappy. After experiencing the tragedy of losing a close friend to suicide, Benjamin realised he needed to make some changes. Authentic, bold changes that would alter the course of his life for good.

“For many years, I had been looking into different personal development techniques, but what changed everything for me was when I decided to invest in myself,” he recalled.

“I spent $17,895 on educational personal development programs while I was still $137,000 in debt. I couldn’t afford it, but I made the decision anyway. What I learnt is that whatever you want to get in life, all you need to do is learn something new and then apply it. Education really is the secret to success.”

Finding authenticity and your own business success Benjamin took on the challenge of finding out what he truly wanted to do, not what societal norms or other people’s expectations dictated. He left his job to pursue his dream, something that took courage, but ultimately saved him.

“Knowing that you are not living your most authentic life is something that will haunt you forever,” he said.

Knowledge, skills, personal experience and years of undertaking various personal development programs led Benjamin to co-found Authentic Education with business partner Cham Tang. Together, they set out to make a difference to other people, to share their own learning and encourage others to similarly break free from the shackles of expectation and live their unique, authentic lives according to their own personal set of values.

Authentic Education’s core belief is; “When inspired people passionately apply the right education, they can change their life, and the world.” They work with individuals and organisations on areas including personal development, business strategising, productivity enhancement and presentation skills to create authentic, lasting change.

“At the end of the day, life rewards only one thing, and that is action!” Benjamin explained.

“A lot of people are getting around saying affirmations starting with ‘I am’, like ‘I am a successful entrepreneur’ or ‘I am happy’ but they are missing the thing that truly creates the change in identity, which is the ‘because’. For example, ‘I am a successful entrepreneur because I constantly study sales and marketing and apply it to my business daily’. This allows us to identify with the new behaviours that actually create the change we desire.”

How do you find out what you truly love doing and discover your own ‘because’?

Benjamin and Cham have found that many people they work with simply do not give themselves permission to fully live true to their own values. They become conflicted and confused, stuck in an endless loop of dissatisfaction and fear. However, they believe that everyone knows, deep down, what they love. Finding your exciting, authentic new career path is as easy as answering five questions in what has been dubbed the Values TRACK:

T: What do you love to talk about? R: What do you love to research? A: What skill acquisition do you love to act upon? C: What do you love to contemplate? K: What do you know a lot about?

The next step

Once you have found where you want to be, it is time to take action. Benjamin suggests finding a company that holds the same vision and mission as you, take every opportunity possible to learn from them. Think of every job as an opportunity to be paid to upskill and expand your knowledge of the world you wish to belong to.

Above all, Benjamin notes that the three most important things to learn are communication, influence and productivity – with these skills you will be able to pursue any career you desire. Take notice of people around you and learn from them as well.

“Always make sure you leverage other people’s knowledge along the way. You will always find someone who has done something similar to what you are seeking to achieve in life, so my advice would be to seek those people out and learn from them, no matter what the cost is. Other people’s knowledge will save you a fortune in the long run and a bucket load of time,” he said.