Monthly Archives: December 2015

How To Guarantee Your Success

Don't Blow It

Can You Do What Most People Can’t?

​I had a friend once two took a piano class when he was a kid.

He told me that one day, they had a recital. He was up, and they were recording his “performance.”

Only he got really nervous halfway through, and had to restart a bunch of times.

He said it was horrible, and made him fear doing anything in public. What made it so bad was his teacher became very angry, instead of being supportive.

Something like that can really stick in your mind.

Most normal humans have a deep fear of messing up in public. Whenever the idea pops up of us doing something in the public eye, we immediately fear the worst.

That’s our ancient brains at work, trying to keep us safe.

Back in the old days, when we had to hunt for food, this was OK. If we saw a nice orchard with a bunch of juicy apples, part of us would want to eat the apple. But another part may be afraid of hidden snakes.

Even if there was only hidden snakes one time out of a hundred, that one time would be enough to slowly weed those “go ahead despite the fear” genes from the gene pool. 

Unfortunately, when we’re giving a speech, or walking across the room to talk to somebody, or pitching an idea to our boss, there is ZERO chance of hidden snakes. But our ancient brains don’t know that.

This is why it’s so hard to just “tough it out” or “feel the fear and do it anyway.” 

However, if you take some time to practice MENTALLY, you will SLOWLY obliterate all your false fears.

This takes time. Not just randomly thinking about it whenever you get a chance.

World class athletes know this. They know that visualization practice is JUST as important as real practice.

They schedule time, and do it every single day.

This is why they can perform well, when MILLIONS of people are watching them.

They’ve practiced so much in their mind, literally hundreds of thousands of times, it seems familiar.

This takes time. This takes effort. It’s HARD to sit and visualize something for ten or twenty minutes every single day.

Which is why most people don’t do it.

The truth is that you CAN get anything you want. If you are willing to do what it takes.

Most people aren’t.

Are you?

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Do You Appreciate Your Gifts?

Your Gifts are Versatile

Versatility of Emotions

​Once I got an unexpected present from a woman I barely knew.

A coffee cup.

One of those cheap, safe gifts that’s pretty easy.

However, it’s been a while since I drank coffee.

Now I use that same mug to scramble eggs. It’s the perfect size.

Now, when she bought it for me, she probably didn’t think I’d use it as my go-to egg scrambling tool.

But as an egg tool, it’s perfect.

Most gifts are pretty narrow in how you can use them.

Like if somebody gave you a watch, you wouldn’t use it as a door stop or a piece of decoration on your wall.

On the other hand, some gifts are pretty versatile. You can use them however you feel like it.

Sometimes you can go too far, though. Like that old joke about the person who thought the DVD drive in their computer was a coffee cup holder.

All of your emotions and drives are the same way.

Sure, your sexual drive makes you want to have sex. Which makes more people. Which is kind of the reason Mother Nature made it hard to ignore. Same with eating. Or running away from tigers and flying things that want to eat us.

Of course, you don’t HAVE to use them like that.

Napoleon Hill speaks about “Sex Transmutation,” where you take that ever present powerful drive and TRANSFORM it into something else.

Art. Music. An invention that will save the world.

This takes a little thinking, and some mental practice.

Another raw emotion that’s hard to ignore is fear. But since you know fear is usually false anyway, why not train yourself to be afraid of something useful?

Like being afraid of procrastination.

Or being afraid of not getting enough sleep, or not eating healthy.

After all, the whole purpose of fear is to keep you from doing things that are bad for you.

NOT things that are GOOD for you, like talking to strangers, or starting a business, or beginning an exercise program.

After all, your emotions, feelings, thoughts and instincts belong to you. Why not use them to help you get what you want, instead of allowing them to be obstacles?

Accept ALL your feelings. All your energy. All your gifts.

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The Nature of Reality

Awaken The Energy Within

Light Matter Energy

​When I was a kid, I loved physics.

I still do, but in a different way. It seemed so much more “magical” before I actually “learned” physics.

When I was in Junior High School, I read all these books on science. Quantum physics, other kinds of physics. All written by physicists for the layperson, so they had all the math taken out.

When I went through college, and got my degree in physics, I had to suffer through all the math, which kind of took out of the fun.

But it also added to the mystery.

I once foolishly thought that once I “learned” physics I would be able to “understand” how the world works.

Ha!

The more I learned, the more I discovered that physics, and all science, is a DESCRIPTION for what is going on.

And it’s only a description of what we can measure.

Before they discovered light waves, for example, they had all kinds of crazy ideas about how light went from one place to another. Even though they could measure the strength, brightness, etc, they still had no CLUE how it actually traveled through space.

Then they figured out it was waves. Or sometimes waves. Sometimes it’s particles. (It really does seem to have a mind of it’s own.)

One of the  most famous equations is Einstein’s, “E=mc^2” which pretty much says that all matter and energy are really the same thing. You multiply matter by the speed of light, by the speed of light, and you get pure energy.

Matter and energy are connected, by the speed of light.

Now, you’ve heard this over and over again, so it SEEMS to make sense.

But why in the world is this true?

Every Single Thing in the world, the universe, is made up of the same “stuff.” This matter-energy-light stuff.

You. Your thoughts. Your breath. Your intention. Your history. Your past.

There is NOTHING ELSE except this light-energy-matter stuff.

Unfortunately, this wonderful glimpse into the very nature of reality was used by us idiotic humans to make nuclear weapons. That small equation is at the heart of all nuclear energy.

Just like a hammer, it can be used to build a house or bash somebody’s brains in.

You are made up of that same stuff.

What will you use YOUR life for? Your own contribution to the infinite light-matter-energy continuum?

What will YOU create?

Will you BUILD something, or smash something?

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Are Your Fears Worth Fearing?

​If ever decide to become a world class tightrope walker, you should know the most important rule.

Don’t look down!

Here’s an interesting mind experiment. Think of a long, very sturdy, two by four going across two hundred story buildings. Ten meters across. No wind. 

Just a bunch of people down below watching. Some hoping you do OK, some with their smartphones ready in case you plunge to your death, so they can film it and become YouTube famous.

Would you do it?

Probably not.

How about for ten million dollars? Maybe, maybe not.

Now think about the SAME board going across some grass. With NOBODY watching.

Would you do it?

Why not?

How about for ten grand?

Hell yea!

Obviously, the two SEEM very different, but only based on what happens if you fail.

On the grass, if you fail, you just step onto the grass.

But how likely is it to fail? Walking on a board that’s four inches wide is pretty easy. You’d have to walk across while texting your friends or something in order to fall. 

In fact, if it were on grass, you could probably do it blindfolded.

Now, if it really were across a hundred story drop, it would be kind of a stupid thing to do, even if you COULD get a big stack of cash. After all, if you fall, you die. Even if the odds of falling are REALLY tiny, those really tiny odds could kill you.

But how many times do you imagine doing something, only to stop yourself because of what you IMAGINE the “fail” would be like?

Like talking to a stranger, or starting up your own business, or asking your raise for a boss.

Not only is failure not likely, but even if you DO fail, it’s no big deal.

So why does it seem so scary?

Inside all of us is a very ancient, and very scared caveman (or cave girl).

One that hasn’t learned that some “fails” are worse than others.

One that hasn’t learned that MOST “fails” are actually necessary, because they teach you some valuable lessons.

Your inner caveman thinks every fail means DEATH. Or exclusion from the tribe, (kicked out of the social circle) which also means DEATH. Cavemen and women didn’t do a good job surviving on their own. So we developed this HUGE FEAR of social rejection.

But just like our HUGE DESIRE to eat everything in front of us whenever we see food, sometimes our instincts are CONTARY to living a conscious, awake, rationally chosen life.

How can you quiet that cave dude down?

Like this:

Automatic Brain Upgrade

Which Software Are You Using?

Which Software Are You Using?

​If you have a Windows computer, then you know how often it automatically updates.

It seems like at least once a week before I go to sleep, I shut down my computer but then I’ve got to wait while it goes through a bunch of updates.

Then the next morning, when I start it up, it takes longer than usual. Like this morning!

Lots of software is like that. It gets released, but they are always working on improvements.

Some software does this automatically, in the background. You never know it happens.

Other software requires that you download the new version and reinstall it. First it removes the old components, and then it installs the new components.

Sometimes the upgrade is so significant you’ve got to buy the newer version.

This is a good metaphor for the human brain.

Whether or not you believe in evolution, we DO have several different “layers” in our brain.

The reptilian, mammalian, and “neo-cortex,” which just means “new brain.”

But unlike software, “they” didn’t remove old versions before putting in new versions.

They just put in new versions on top of old versions!

Imagine if you were creating a document in Word 2013, and elements of Word 1997 started popping up!

But that’s what happens in daily life.

Sometimes we’re living consciously, using our new brain (neo-cortex) but then something happens that reminds our deeper brain of our ancient self, so the reptilian brain takes over.

Usually when we suddenly get really nervous or anxious for some reason.

Our conscious brains are thinking, “hey that person looks interesting, maybe I should go and talk to them!” But the reptilian, fight or flight brain is screaming, “RUN!”

It can be difficult to deal with this if you don’t know what’s going on.

Some people call this “self sabotage,” some people refer to the “parts” theory, where “part of you” wants to talk to them, but “part of you” wants to run away.

These are all very useful metaphors.

And the more metaphors you can “try on,” the more choice you’ll have in different situations.

One metaphor is the “Chakra” metaphor.

Meaning we’ve got all these Energy Centers in our body, that are responsible for “lower” and “higher” functions.

If they are closed off, certain things frighten us.

If they are open, those things won’t scare us.

If you systematically go through and open them, life will be much easier.

How do you do that?

Like this:

Why Einstein Was Wrong

Model Of The World

That’s An Interesting Model

​One of the reasons I like quantum physics so much is the process by which it was discovered.

You had a bunch of the smartest guys in the world, (Einstein, Bohr, Plank, etc.,) sitting around this “black body.” 

No, it wasn’t that! Just a hunk of stuff. They would heat it up, and then measure the energy as it cooled down.

They kept trying to describe what was happening through various “models” or ideas about what they THOUGHT was happening.

And guess what? They were WRONG way more often than they were right.

In fact, they were right only ONCE. But once was enough. Einstein was wrong. Neils Bohr was wrong. But some young dude, Max Plank, was right. (That’s right kids, the dude who “discovered” quantum mechanics was in his twenties).

The reason this was so cool was they DIDN’T try and force the world to fit into their idea.

They didn’t fall in love with their own theory and then try and FORCE the world to “behave properly.”

They were SMART ENOUGH to know it’s ridiculous to keep believing in something when there’s evidence right in front of you proving it’s NOT TRUE.

Compare that to people today. Everybody’s got their own theory. And when they find that “reality” doesn’t match with their pet “theory” (which they likely copied from somebody else) then they get mad at reality. It doesn’t even occur to them to change their “model of the world.”

Because models are just that.

Models. Guesses. Approximations. Estimates.

And if YOUR model isn’t working very well, maybe you should CHANGE your model.

How do you do that?

Just play some mental “what if.” 

What if those “other people” who are the opposite side are more right than I give them credit for?

But this requires you to ask YOURSELF a very important question:

What’s more important, being RIGHT, or finding an accurate model so you can more easily GET WHAT YOU WANT?

Because it’s pretty tough to do both.

That’s why Kundalini is so powerful.

It could be completely mystical and esoteric.

It could be based on metaphysics.

It could be a metaphorical description of biological processes that are TOO COMPLICATED for the human mind to understand.

But the concept has been around for a LONG TIME.

Even if it’s “just” a system for reducing stress, so you can live healthier, live longer, make better decisions, get better relationships, develop better communication, it’s still pretty valuable.

Learn More:

Who Is The You Inside?

Open Your Heart

Open Your Heart

​I was watching this movie the other night.

One of the characters had been injured, and another one was trying to save him.

The guy trying to save him kept saying, “Stay with me!”

There’re plenty of easy to memorize and easy to say “truisms” about life.

Most of the time, though, they merely sound good.

Especially when they are given as “advice.”

Don’t let them get to you.

Keep your chin up.

Avoid eating certain foods.

The problem is that while these sound good, and nobody would really argue against them, it’s unclear exactly HOW we are supposed to do those things.

Like if you’re at school, getting bullied every day, and your teacher says, “Just ignore them,” HOW are we supposed to do that, exactly?

That’s what’s missing from a LOT of “advice.”

This is where NLP, and many of the processes therein, can come in handy.

There ARE specific strategies to “forget” certain things, or to “avoid” certain things.

They’re not magic, and they take some mental effort, but they work.

Take the advice, “open up your heart.” Now, they don’t really mean get a knife and start hacking through your sternum.

But it does mean to relax your chest area. To be less constricted. To be more “open” to your feelings.

To be more accepting of your feelings. So when you feel  them, you can appreciate them, and respond in kind.

Rather than pretending you don’t feel anything.

One way to do this is to simply close your eyes, and visualize your heart area. See it as a big, open source of energy, both sending and receiving. Every time you breathe in and out, feel the energy going in and out of your heart.

Modern medicine has come a long ways, but many cardiologists realize the power that something as simple as meditation has on your stress levels, which are the underlying cause of most illnesses.

Simply be focusing inwardly once or twice a day, you’ll find that you become more “open” to interpersonal connections, which will further your emotional, spiritual and physical health.

What’s the best way to go about doing this?

Any way that works!

Learn More:

Your Ancient Ally 

Listen To Your Friend

Listen To Your Friend

​Deep within you is a desire.

Many desires, to be more accurate.

Most people never spend a lot of time thinking about them, why they are there, how they got there, and whether or not they will ever go away.

On a deep and ancient level, they were put there to keep you motivated. So you would have to consciously choose to do things.

Eat. Breathe. Sleep. 

And for most people, getting these basic desires fulfilled never requires much conscious thought.

Just kind of go along with the flow. Follow the crowd. Societies are kind of built to serve that purpose.

People just keep doing whatever they’re good at, and things tend to work out.

People get their needs met, and if they’re lucky, a little bit extra. So you can not only get what you need, but you can get what you want as well.

And if you’re REALLY lucky, getting what you want will spur you to do something to get MORE of what you want.

After all, deep within you is a program that says, “If doing something gives you a reward, do MORE of that thing!”

And if you’re REALLY REALLY lucky, whatever that “thing” is will come natural.

That’s why MANY people with MASSIVE wealth don’t really know or even understand how they got it.

They just kept “doing things” that came natural to them. They just happened to be born at a time and place in history where whatever they liked, and whatever they were good at, whatever came “natural” to them got them more and more of what they wanted.

We should all be so lucky!

The truth is that EVERYBODY has something like that. A certain “thing” that just comes naturally, that will keep you getting more and more of what you want.

You may say finding that “thing” is the whole purpose of your life.

I know, you’re saying, “Why should I have to keep looking, when everybody else is finding theirs right off the bat!”

Well, consider what happens to people that find success REALLY early in life.

They kind of fall apart. They go nuts. Child actors, for example. Sure, money, fame, all that stuff we THINK we want, they get it without much effort, and it usually RUINS them.

You might say there’s a “magic middle.” You don’t want to discover your own “secret” too early in life, but on the other hand, you don’t want to suddenly realize what it is just as you take your last breath!

How do you FIND that magic middle?

Relax. Release. Look within. Listen to your friend. The ancient one.

He’ll tell you.

Learn More:

How To See The Big Picture

Develop Perspective

The Power of Perspective

​When I think of all the toilets I’ve been to, there are two that stand out in my mind.

One is in the Strathisla distillery, where they make Scotch. Strathisla is not the best known brand, but it’s the main Scotch in Chivas, which is a blend, rather than a single malt.

The reason the toilet stands out is that it was fantastic. The walls on the inside were real wood. The door went all the way to the ground.  The toilet seat was the most comfortable I’d ever sat on. It was for tourists, as they have regular tours.

The other toilet that stands out in my mind is the one on top of Mr. Whitney. A buddy and I had hiked to the top, but we didn’t take the most popular route, at least that time. The most popular route is super crowded. You can’t go more than ten or twenty minutes without running into people.

On that particular trip, we went the back way. We started about 50 miles north, and hiked our way down. We also slept on top, which is not exactly allowed. 

Why was that toilet so memorable? Well, a week before, a huge storm came through. Tearing off the roof and the front door. So it was really an outhouse (they have to build them up there because there are so many people).

Three walls. And as I sat there, doing my business, I looked out over the vast mountain range that we’d just spent four days hiking through.

It’s one thing to look at a beautiful mountain range. It’s something else to look at one you’ve hiked through, slept in, caught and ate fish in. It’s something else entirely to be looking out over said mountain while sitting on the highest toilet in the continental United States!

This is what happens with perspective. Seeing the same thing from different angles, different sizes, and different time frames.

You can look at any event like this. That one public speech may be terrifying. But it could also be one small part of an education that may earn you millions of dollars.

That one walk across the room to talk to that attractive person may be the scariest you’ve done in your life.

But it could also be the start of a wonderful relationship that could lead to NEW life.

Your mind, your body, your ideas, all can be seen as forests, or trees, or both.

The more perspective you have, the more you’ll see.

Learn More:

Ready To Cross The River?

Cross The River

Action Feedback Action

​Once a buddy of mine and I went hiking on this local trail.

Neither of us had been there before, and we’d been talking about it for a while.  

But when we were driving in my old Toyota Corolla, we came to this river crossing.

It was on this dirt road with a LOT of potholes, and this crossing was just before the trailhead.

Only it was pretty deep. Driving across, the water was about 3/4 of the way up my tires.

My little Toyota looked pretty funny next do all those big trucks!

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best decision. After all, the benefit was a hike in the local mountains. The risk was losing my car, or doing some significant damage and having to pay a tow-truck to come all the way out there.

Metaphorically speaking though, I’m glad I did it. We had a goal, we weren’t sure how we were going to get there, we came up against some obstacles (the pot-holed road and the unexpected stream) and we plowed right through.

Another time when I was in boy scouts, we went on this week long hiking trip in the Sierras. We’d come across these rivers we’d have to cross, and sometimes it took a while to find a decent place.

But once there were NO places where we could cross without getting wet. So that’s what we did.

We stripped down to our tighty-whitey’s, and walked across carrying our packs over our heads.

Cold! But REALLY cool.

Again, same principle. You have a destination, and you have an obstacle. You could either turn around and go home, or power right through.

Most people, when they think about what they’d like to achieve in life, everything’s fine until they come up against an obstacle.

Then they suddenly change their mind.

The secret of getting ANYTHING you want is to make the decision to do WHATEVER it takes.

Most people are simply NOT willing to do that. Sure, they’d love to RECEIVE whatever they want. But as soon as somebody starts talking about “risk” or “trial and error” or “feedback” or “obstacles” they run home to re-read their favorite books on the Law of Attraction or something. That’s EASIER than actually getting their hands dirty.

Which is the sad truth about most folks today. They’d rather believe in fairy tales that deliver NOTHING, than actually get out into the world and do the work.

But if you are willing to do the WORK, you CAN get anything you want.

Belief. Action. Feedback. More Action.

Keep that up, never stop, and the world is yours.

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