Monthly Archives: October 2015

The Blackjack Life Strategy

Take Advantage of Runs

In statistics, one of the tests of true randomness is “runs.”

Meaning if you flip a coin a hundred times, there HAS to be periods where you get a bunch of heads in a row, or a bunch of tails in a row.

When scientists or mathematicians are studying unknown phenomenon, if it doesn’t show runs, it’s not random. If it’s always back and forth, or at most twice one way or twice the other way, there’s something else going on.

In fact, one good strategy for playing blackjack is to follow the rules, so you’re getting close to 50% payouts, and bet bigger and bigger once you start winning.

Then you go back to your smallest bet when you’re on a cold streak. The logic is when you are on a winning streak, you’re betting big, but when you’re cold, you’re betting small.

Of course, this is why they have scantily clad waitresses giving out free booze!

No matter WHAT you’re going after, you’re going to have runs as well. Strings of good luck, and strings of bad luck.

Not really luck, just stuff that happens that’s out of your control.

The big mistake is to assume EITHER ONE is normal. If you think you’re going to be “on” all the time, you’re in for a surprise.

If you’re halfway through a “losing streak,” or worse, one’s almost over, then you may quit.

The trick is to apply the Blackjack philosophy. When the going’s good, go big. When you start to slow down and hit some rough spots, slow down a bit and wait for things to get back to normal.

Because they ALWAYS will.

Once when I was in college I had a TON of bad stuff happen at once. I was in a pretty dark mood for a couple weeks, but then I stepped back, focused on a couple of really important things, and let the rest slide.

Having a core set of goals is really helpful. If you don’t know where you’re going, and you hit those rough spots, it can be tough to get back on track.

But when you’ve got a collection of HIGHLY DEFINED things way out in the future you’re going after, it’s easy to stay on track.

That one job, one girl or one situation may not work out. But if you’ve got a BIG GOAL (ideal career, ideal relationship, etc) off on the horizon, it’s easy to pick up the pieces and get moving.

If you don’t have any highly defined goals, that should be your first goal.

Get some big dreams, and define them.

Do that, and you’ll have true purpose in your life.

These tools will help you get there:

Mind Persuasion

Moving Gold or Carrying Bricks?

What Will You Do To Double Your Salary?

I used to watch this TV show called “Fear Factor.”

It was an elimination show, with the winners getting big cash.

They had teams, usually couples, and the “tasks” alternated between gross and physical.

The gross ones involved eating bugs or something. The physical ones involved doing stunts like being blindfolded while parachuting.

One of the physical tasks had a Brinks truck at the bottom of a swimming pool.

There were gold bars in the truck, and the couples had to swim down, and carry up the gold bricks.

The couple who carried up the most bricks could keep them.

Now, when you’re carrying something that’s clearly worth a lot of money, you’ll work yourself to exhaustion.

On the other hand, it’s easy to forget the money at the end of the chain of events if it’s not clear.

Like if you’re laying actual bricks, and getting paid per project, it’s easy to slack off and take your time.

So long as you’ve got a project per month, that pays the bills and allows you to save a bunch, you’re happy.

But if you worked as hard as those couples carrying gold from the underwater truck, you’d be able to do twice as many projects per month, and make twice as much money.

Most people claim they’ll do anything for money. Or anything to double their salary. What they usually mean is they’ll do anything, so long as it’s easy, there’s no risk, and they won’t look foolish in public.

The truth about money (or pretty much anything else you want) is that it’s pretty easy to get.

So long as you’re willing to do what it takes to get it.

The world is filled with people that have money and unmet needs, for example.

Just figure out what those needs are, and figure out a way to get it to them, and you can get paid a lot.

Trouble is, most people want to be TOLD what to do. They want to be TOLD how to do it.

But here’s the billion dollar question you MUST answer:

If there WAS a secret magic way to explain what people want, and how you could get it to them, so YOU could get paid, why would anybody tell you?

What’s in it for them?

And why would they only tell YOU? What happens when they tell everybody else on Planet Earth?

The truth is that finding the path from where you are, to what you want is completely and absolutely up to you.

The good news is that since most people are too lazy to try ANYTHING, you’ll be the only one getting the good stuff.

So, what do you want?

Are you willing to try something to find out how to get it? And KEEP TRYING until you do?

Most people aren’t.

How about you?

These will help:

Mind Persuasion

Do You See Holograms Everywhere?

Do You Really See What You See?

Near my home there’s a small museum.

They usually have local artists there, and sometimes more nationally famous people.

A few weeks ago they had a guy who toured the world to take pictures of cats.

Not lions or tigers or leopards, but regular cats.

He gave a speech, and then sold those coffee table books filled with pictures of world cats.

A few months before that, they had a display with a bunch of optical illusions.

Those are pretty interesting. They way they work is the take advantage of the assumptions we make when we see things.

Scientists tell us that when we see something, up to 40% of what we “see” is actually internally generated.

Similar to your browser, in an effort to save computing power, our brains reference what’s stored inside, rather than what is outside.

This pretty fun when we’re seeing these stairs that go round and round and never go up.

But it kind of sucks when there’s opportunities all around us, but we don’t notice.

Even worse, when we’re referencing remembered fears instead of the safety and potential pleasure that’s looking at us and waiting for us to make a move.

There’s certainly plenty of ways to reframe things.

Taxes aren’t a burden, they’re membership fees which spur investment which help everybody make more money.

We care for you so much that we’re keeping you locked up for your own good.

We’re not firing you, we’re giving an opportunity to explore more careers.

The biggest and most deadliest reframes, however, are the ones we do to ourselves.

Sure I’d like to start my own business, but I just am waiting for the economy to pick up.

Sure, I’d love a relationship with a loving and affectionate person, it’s just that I’ve got some important things going in my life, and I need to take care of them first.

Yes, I know I should be sending our resumes, but I need to finish taking that online class first (that I haven’t signed for yet) which will make my resume look REALLY good.

And on and on.

The truth is the only time you have is now. What you do with NOW will define your entire life. There is no “next time.” That sexy person wants you to make a move NOW. That hiring manager wants to see your resume NOW. The world needs you to start your business NOW.

Not later.

Let all the other goofs of the world flip flop around in their minds, waiting for the mythical goddess of opportunity to show up and literally push them to action.

Action starts in YOUR mind.

Here.

Now.

Mind Persuasion

Wisdom Of Cavemen

One More Zebra

One common theme in many stories is a “magic key.”

A key, or map, or answer to a riddle.

Whoever finds the answer gets all the good stuff.

A famous one was Gordian’s Knot. Story goes there was this super complicated knot that nobody could unravel.

Whoever could, would get mad rewards.

So Alexander (The Great) shows up and hacks it in half with his sword.

That’s one way to solve problems! Not much elegance, but certainly effective.

They tell us that symbols that keep popping up in mythology (swords in stones, treasure maps, etc) are there because we have a deep subconscious need for them.

In your day to day life, what is the biggest “magic answer” you might be looking for?

It might be the perfect thing to say to that person you’ve got your eye on. It might be the perfect investment strategy. It might be the one thing that finally gets you unstuck from your rut so you can finally get some.

It can be tempting to slip into the “all I need” mode of thinking. If I ONLY had a boyfriend, everything else would be PERFECT.

If I ONLY had ten percent more money every month, everything would be PERFECT. Etc. Etc. Etc.

However, this is a trap. Because once you get that “thing,” it won’t last long. This isn’t bad. This isn’t some con of life. This isn’t a trick of being human.

This is just the way you are. Built to ALWAYS want more. ALWAYS want to know more, be more, do more, see more, achieve more.

Imagine a bunch of cavemen a couple hundred thousand years ago. “Man, all we need is ONE MORE ZEBRA, and we’ll be set for life!”

Luckily they didn’t think like that. They likely NEVER thought in the “all I need” mode, at least for very long.

We are all descendents of those ancient cavemen who thought in the “tide me over” mode.

They knew a big kill was good, but it was only for a couple weeks, at best.

That one guy or girl you may have your eye on may be GREAT when you get them, but only so you can go out and get MORE stuff next time.

That ten percent raise will feel fantastic when it comes, but only to push you to see even MORE money in six months or so.

If you think in terms of “I only need,” then you’re life will ALWAYS seem incomplete.

But when you think in terms of “tide me over,” your life will ALWAYS have purpose.

Forward momentum. Consistent achievement. Endless growth.

Whatever you’ve got now, get some more.

These will help:

Mind Persuasion

Harmonic Oscillating Playgrounds

Swing Your Way Through Life

Resonance was always one of my favorite subjects.

Every physical entity has a certain “frequency.” Meaning if you hit it, it will shake at its own frequency.

Now, most objects like chairs or tables or watermelons don’t shake or resonate very long. That’s what’s called “over-damped resonance.” Meaning the way the system is set, it physically can’t shake for very long.

Then you have “under-damped” resonance. These are things that shake, or swing back and forth a long, long time. Like a pendulum, or a swing.

And if you apply the external force at the SAME frequency as that objects resonance frequency, you can get some pretty BIG oscillations.

Kids on a swing for example. When they pump their legs back and forth, they are pumping them back and forth at the precise frequency of the swing-kid combination.

They THINK they’re just playing on the swing, but what they’re REALLY doing is “applying a specific resonance frequency to an under-damped harmonic oscillator.”

Funny thing is that when they want to get off, they can do so pretty quickly. They just pump their legs at the OPPOSITE resonant frequency, and they slow down in a hurry.

Now, some systems are super easy to understand. Swings, pendulums, yo-yo’s, etc. You can get them swinging pretty quickly, and stop them pretty quickly.

Other things are more complicated. But the same structure nonetheless.

Every time you are “in the zone” while having a conversation, for example, you and your conversation partner are resonating off each other’s personal resonance frequency.

When you meet that special somebody, and you really “click” you’re continuously and unconsciously pushing each others buttons in the right frequency.

Any time people get into a fight or disagreement, it even shows up in our language.

“Not on the same page.”

“Not speaking the same language.”

“Not talking about the same thing.”

Keeping this idea of “resonance” in mind can be helpful. You can think of two people be in or out of resonance.

You can think of you and the world being in or out of resonance. Or you and a project you are working on, or you and whatever it is you are creating.

Whenever you push, the world will push back. Just like the kid on the swing. If you try and FORCE the world into YOUR frequency, it usually doesn’t work.

But when you step back, clear your mind, and pay attention, then you can operate within the world, at the WORLD’S frequency.

Making everything smoother and more natural. Gliding through life, getting whatever you want.

Getting your mind right is the first step.

Learn More:

Mind Persuasion

Thoughts Into Things

Magic Imagination

When I was a kid I got a Swiss Army Knife for a birthday.

At the time, I thought it was the coolest thing. Couple knives, magnifying glass, a saw, some tweezers, and a toothpick.

I was in boys scouts at the time, and most of that stuff came in pretty handy.

Later on, I bought a couple of these “fifty in one” electronic kits. It had this big circuit board, and you could wire all the components together in a bunch of different configurations to make a bunch of different stuff.

Lie detectors, pH meters, even a strobe light.

The core message of Think and Grow Rich are “thoughts are things.”

Everything that’s around you right now, was once a thought. Now it is a thing. Sounds pretty cool, but it’s also pretty normal.

I mean, if you were to imagine a peanut butter sandwich, and then get up and make a peanut butter sandwich, so what?

Sure, in the short term, it’s a pretty mundane facet of human nature.

But when you think of a BIG thing, that’s when it starts to get interesting.

Especially if you aren’t really sure WHAT that thing is, only an idea of the kind of outcome you want.

Sort of like shopping for a new shirt or a pair of shoes. You don’t have a specific idea in mind, but you’ll know it when you see it.

Only when you’re building stuff, you’ll know it when you create it. And most often, all along the way you’ll create all kinds of other things. You’ll also create a lot of new relationships.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the “holographic theory” of the universe. Everything is a mirror of something bigger, and something smaller.

Now whether or not this is a metaphor isn’t really so important. Because creating your life is a lot like making a peanut butter sandwich. Or making something to eat when you aren’t sure.

You get started, see what kind of ingredients and tools you’ve got, and get to work. On a broader scale, getting something to eat is part of staying fed and healthy. And every time you make something to eat, you get more information in your brain on how to do that, and the results you’ll get.

No matter what you want, it’s out there. Maybe it exists, maybe it hasn’t been created yet. Maybe YOU are the only one thinking of that right now.

There are two crucial elements in between those thoughts in your head, and those things out in reality that they’ll become.

People, and tools.

Get some:

Mind Persuasion

Two Views of Reality

Broken Or Beautiful

When I was a kid I loved science. I read all kinds of books on physics.

Only because there were for regular people, all the complicated math had been taken out.

Then when I was in University, and I took the regular classes, the math kind of blew me away.

Often I’d be intimidated at the beginning of a class, as I had math anxiety.

But then after slogging through all the work, and when I finally understood it, it was pretty cool.

I had this vague notion that once I “understood” the physics of stuff, life would be simpler, since I’d “know” everything.

Only problem is that the more you know, the more you don’t know. Only later did I realize that the vast majority of science is really a very detailed description of the “what.” Nobody really knows the “why.”

It’s been said there’s two basic schools of thought, when it comes to how we interpret “reality.”

There’s those who look out into the world, and decide it’s not the way it should be. This means somebody is doing something wrong, and somebody needs to “fix” the way the world works.

This usually leads to frustration. It’s like trying to teach a pig to sing. It doesn’t work, and it makes the pig angry.

On the other hand, there are those who look out into the world and take it for what it is. Then they figure out what they want, and they operate within the world to make it happen.

It’s kind of like wanting to cook something for dinner. If you have your heart set of pizza, but you don’t have any crust, cheese or sauce, it’s going to be difficult. But if you step back and just figure you’d like something good to eat, you take a look in the fridge and see what you’ve got to work with.

Of course, going out into the world is MUCH more complicated than opening up your fridge to see what you’ve got.

The world is filled with all kinds of people with all kinds of different skills, beliefs, talents, backgrounds, ideas etc.

Even if you have ZERO idea of what you want, other than more money, a better job, a better or new relationship, just getting out and getting involved will give you an idea.

Humans have been riffing on each other since the first caveman saw another caveman throw a rock at a zebra.

Now look how far we’ve come!

However, it won’t happen if you sit around waiting for them to come to you.

But once you get out there, amazing things will happen.

Learn How:

Mind Persuasion

Find Their Buried Treasure

The Diamond Inside

Long time ago I went to this persuasion seminar.

One of the metaphors was a Russian doll. The speaker actually had one of those dolls that had a bunch of smaller dolls on the inside.

On the very inside, to emphasize his point, was a real blue diamond. Very rare. Very expensive.

The message, of course, was that everybody has something EXTREMELY valuable on the inside.

And it’s our job, as communicators, to find that.

Since most people are afraid to go first, it will help our cause (whatever you’re individual cause may be) to GO FIRST.

Most people won’t approach, so they wait for somebody else to approach.

Most people won’t start conversations, so they wait for somebody else to start conversations.

This puts YOU in a very powerful position.

You, of course, are an EXPERT on the human condition.

We all are, since we’re all humans!

When you start off by ASSUMING that person has treasure buried deep beneath their fears, you’ll speak to them in a much different way.

However, this requires a couple of things to happen.

One is you’ve got to be wholly congruent yourself. If you walk over and start talking, but are nervous or anxious, it’s going to come across in your body language, facial expressions, and overall energy.

Luckily, this is pretty easy to fix. Just take a few minutes every day, and relax into your emotions. Imagine something scary or unpleasant, and just accept those emotions. Don’t try to change them, or ignore them, or explain them away.

Just accept them as part of who you are.

We ALL have a HUGE mix of emotions. Good ones, neutral ones and bad ones.

If you can accept ALL of them as purely natural, then you’re WAY ahead of the game.

The second thing you can do, to open up the treasure in others, is to ask them the right questions, in the right way.

Instead of sounding like an interrogator, you’ll sound like you are GENUINELY interested in them, which you will be.

Simply by being in their presence, you’ll make them feel safe and comfortable. Comfortable enough to share with you their deepest desires. The greatest hopes. Their biggest dreams.

And once they start talking about them (with you), a few pretty AMAZING things will happen.

One is they’ll NEVER forget you. Since so few people have EVER made them feel that way.

Two is that they’ll subconsciously associate those dreams and desires with YOU.

Three is that ANYTHING you say or suggest will be much, much more likely to be accepted and acted upon by them.

And I’m sure you can start to imagine, now, how many ways you can use these skills!

Get Started:

Interpersonal Resonance

Are You Using Cheese?

Treasure Takes Effort

When I was a kid I loved to go fishing. Me and a few buddies would go down to the local pier, and try and catch fish, but usually didn’t have much luck.

Then once or twice a summer, when we’d save up some cash, we’d go out on a big “party boat,” where they take a bunch of people out into the ocean to fish.

The fish we caught out there were a lot bigger, and a lot more of them.

Then later, I’d go with my dad and his friend, in a very small boat. We’d catch even MORE fish, since we could move around, and go to where the fish were.

Then even later on, I’d go backpacking with some friends. Way up into the mountains where few people had ever gone before.

Those lakes had some GREAT fishing. Big rainbow trout. The best day I ever had was with me and one other friend, in this huge basin with a bunch of little lakes. We’d walk from lake to lake, spend about an hour at each one.

Walking around the perimeter, casting and reeling.

We started in the morning, caught enough to eat for lunch, went back and caught enough to eat for dinner.

Needless to say, if ALL we wanted was to catch fish, that was some serious work. It took two days of hiking just to get there. Not just strolling, but walking up some steep mountains with huge packs on our backs.

But the path to the fish was just as enjoyable as the fish themselves. Gorgeous meadows with no other people. Wild bears and deer that most people only see on TV, or the zoo. Pure skies at night, billions of stars.

Compare that to the fishing down at the pier. No fish. Plenty of people who can drive right up, and eat ice cream while they watch us. All kinds of haze at night with very few stars.

Fishing on the pier was kind of a waste, so we didn’t spend to much on bait or tackle. Maybe some cheese.

On those lakes, on the other hand, half the fun was preparing. Spending all those hours in sporting goods store, checking out all the different lures and hooks.

There’s plenty of treasure in this world. But it’s not going to be right outside your door. You have to go looking for it. And you’re going to need some tools. Not chunks of cheese.

The effort is up to you.

The right tools you can find right here:

Mind Persuasion