Spiritual confidence, in the words of author Zeus Yiamouyiannis, means to trust with spirit: to build your sense of worth on your own inner genius instead of a job title. He tells Jeremy Van Wert why he believes the industrial "grid" is breaking down, and offers a way forward made of small courage steps, time for contemplation and living for the value of a thing itself.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Zeus defines spiritual confidence as trusting with spirit, which he says takes time in contemplation to get in touch with who you are.
- He argues that a sense of worth tied to a job or title is fragile, and that worth rooted in self-respect and "divine genius" can last.
- Intrinsic living means doing something for its own value, while instrumental living treats everything as a tool for getting something else.
- Feeling unfulfilled, in his view, is useful information, much like pain tells you your health is off.
- You can keep your job and still begin: choose one or two things you can act on, take a small courage step and give it real attention.
- A simple urgent versus important list can show where your time actually goes.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠWhat spiritual confidence means
Zeus Yiamouyiannis holds a PhD in the philosophy of education and wrote The Spiritually Confident Man and Transforming Economy. He says he wrote the first book because men's groups seemed to lack an updated picture of a man's journey, and because most left out women and the balance of masculine and feminine within each person.
He describes a man who moves from despair, to searching, to realizing that the grail is within his own spirit. For Zeus, confidence literally means to trust with, so spiritual confidence means to trust with spirit. He believes each person has a unique, god-given "divine genius" that we can choose to develop.
He is also starting a Substack on the topic, and he says the universe seems to be holding off on conventional jobs for him, so he is following that path himself.
ᚢWhy the industrial grid is breaking down, according to Zeus
Zeus calls the industrial model a grid: hierarchies of authority running one way and professional specializations running the other. His view is that people pick a box, climb or move sideways, and take their sense of worth from it. He says that model is collapsing, and that holism is health while fragmentation is disease.
Jeremy, a former executive, says he has watched promising people become agents of large systems to climb them, and he sees many counting the days until they can leave. Zeus adds that mid-career professionals face anxiety, outsourcing and shrinking benefits. He argues that putting your whole worth in a job leaves you with little if it ends.
If that sounds familiar, Jeremy offers a straight read on whether therapy and retreat work suits you, and you get to decide what comes next.
ᚦA seminary story about integrity
Zeus tells a story from his time at a seminary. He says he tried to help a fellow student he admired who was being criticized, and discovered what he describes as copied course material from a professor. He says he asked for a restorative response, and that administrators protected the professor instead.
For Zeus, this shows how an institution protects itself over virtue. He calls the spiritually confident response different: face what is difficult, even if it costs social status. This is his account of one event, and the episode does not verify it.
ᚨIntrinsic vs instrumental living
Zeus says an instrumental life treats work, other people and even yourself as tools for getting something else. In his words, you get burned that way, and even if you earn the pension you may lose the years. An intrinsic life is lived for the value of the thing itself, which he links to virtue.
He also reframes feeling empty at work. "The fact that you feel low and unfulfilled is a good thing," he says, because like pain it signals you are heading in the wrong direction. Stability that never moves, he says, is the same security death offers, and he calls it soul death. He adds that people often fear naming this because they would have to act.
ᚱHow to take a courage step toward a life that fits
Zeus does not ask anyone to quit everything. He suggests sitting in contemplation with a question such as what he would really like to be doing, and not answering too soon. He says childhood memories, joys or impulses that come in sideways can be clues to the work you cannot not do.
Then he describes laying everything on the table, honoring all of it and choosing one or two things you have energy for now. Treat them as sacred, even if it is a Meetup group, a call to a friend or a couple of volunteer hours a week. His seven C's include courage, compassion, creativity, curiosity, conscience, capability and critical-mindedness.
He also describes an urgent versus important exercise. Draw a line down a page, list what matters most on one side, list what you did yesterday on the other, and see the gap. He says this works better with a small community, because it is hard to do alone. If you want that kind of community, the Mindful Mutiny community has live conversation and a course library.
ᚲDistinctness, diversity and exchange in learning
Zeus says healthy natural systems need distinctness, diversity and exchange. He applies this to learning: he tutors students labeled learning disabled as "hyperprocessors," and asks what their genius is. He says the word education comes from roots meaning to lead out, and that its purpose should be bringing out what is already in each person.
Jeremy shares that he was a gifted child who was bored in class. Zeus's invitation is to learn how you learn.
Zeus's closing advice is concrete. Make real plans, meditate on what you want, talk to people doing it and run small experiments, such as baking a batch of cookies and trying them on friends. If you want a partner for those plans, coaching and individual work with Jeremy is one place to start, and a private 30-minute consultation is another.
Guests' opinions on politics, culture and public health are their own and are not medical or professional advice. This post covers only the parts of the conversation about spiritual confidence, work and learning.
ᚨ Questions people ask
What is spiritual confidence?
Zeus says confidence means to trust with, so spiritual confidence means to trust with spirit. In his view, that requires time in contemplation to get in touch with the integrity of who you are.
What is divine genius?
Zeus uses the phrase for the unique gifts he believes each person has to offer the world. He describes it as god-given and as something we can choose to develop.
What is the difference between intrinsic and instrumental living?
Zeus says intrinsic living is doing something for its own value, which he links to virtue. Instrumental living treats things as tools for getting something else, and he argues that it leaves you unfulfilled.
How can you move toward your passion without quitting your job?
Zeus says to keep your job if you want to, but give real attention to one or two things you can act on. He suggests a meetup, a call to a friend or a couple of volunteer hours a week.
Is feeling unfulfilled at work a bad sign?
Zeus sees it as useful information, like pain that tells you your health is off. He says it signals you may be heading in the wrong direction and can try another.