Whether it’s work that’s getting you down, your relationship is not going in the direction you’d like it to, or you’re just tired of that nagging, desolate feeling of emptiness – Ralph Smart probably has the answer on how to overcome your problems and find your balance.
Born in London in 1986, Ralph graduated from University of Westminster with a joint degree in Psychology and Criminology. He then worked various jobs, from retail to counselling, before realising that what he really wanted to do was to devote his time to improving himself and helping others.
This is how Ralph’s YouTube channel, Infinite Waters (Diving Deep) was born. Having joined in 2008, Ralph has been posting motivational and self-improvement videos ever since, oftentimes at a rate of one or two per day. His award-winning content is certainly reaching a broad audience – at the time of writing, Infinite Waters has 244 million views and 1.7 million subscribers. In addition to the vlog, Ralph is also a writer. Alongside the thoughts he shares daily on his Twitter, he has published three books to date, including the self-help guide Feel Free, a book of inspirational words and phrases aptly named The Book of Infinite Quotes, and a sci-fi novel titled Tryathon: The Love of a Galaxy.
Ralph offers a truly inspirational take on self-improvement. While most self-help content is focused on improving yourself in a certain area or to reach a particular objective, Ralph’s philosophy appears to be more about self-improvement being the aim, the means, and the ultimate goal, all at once. Ralph’s brand of self-improvement isn’t about identifying problem areas within yourself and working on those – and good thing too, because we all know how that works out. We put ourselves down by trying to figure out what’s wrong with us, then work on trying to fix that, and either end up still dissatisfied and looking for something else to criticize in ourselves or just go back to the way we had been.
Ralph’s method is different: one of the key ideas behind his philosophy is that we’re all born perfect, with all the tools that we need to live a successful life – but that we can still work on ourselves at the same time, to learn who we truly are, practice compassion, and provide value to others through living our best life.
There is a strong philosophical, even metaphysical vibe to much of Ralph’s content. Often, there is a focus on the importance of positive energy, the law of attraction, and the idea of putting trust in the universe to guide you in the right direction for yourself. In one of his vlogs, Ralph recalls the time he saw a piece of street art being created in London’s Trafalgar Square. The work-in-progress design included the words, “Do what you love to do and the universe will take care of you”.
Even this single guiding principle – one of thousands shared by Ralph every month – is refreshingly simple, surprisingly easy to implement, and sure to help you figure out your way in life.
