Category Archives: Belief

The Cutting Edge of Forward Momentum

The Magic of Forward Momentum

Generate Long Range Vision

They have this thing in economics called “disruptive technology.”

Everything’s going swell in one particular industry, and then somebody invents something new.

And it pretty much shakes everything up.

For example, when Henry Ford came along, the horse and buggy industry took it pretty hard.

When the Internet came along, print newspapers started going belly up. When Kindle came along, traditional publishers started going out of business.

The bottom line is that technology, which really means creative people at the forefront of society, is always marching forward.

While it’s pretty scary to get caught unaware, it’s pretty thrilling (and EXTREMELY profitable) to be on the cutting edge.

Even if you’re just a consumer, having all these things invented that make life easier is pretty cool.

Ever since I switched to Kindle, for example, I can bring my entire library with me everywhere I go. That is something I couldn’t have even imagined only a few years ago.

Before, if I brought a book to a coffees shop, and the book sucked, there wasn’t much I could do.

Both society wide an on an individual level, life is a constant forward motion of learning and discovery.

Or at least it can be. It SHOULD be, but many of us are afraid.

Many of us are afraid of change, afraid of learning new things, and afraid of the unknown.

To be sure, that feeling of “not knowing what to do” isn’t the best in the world.

But on the flip side, knowing perfectly well what’s going to happen, and being completely prepared, is pretty boring.

It’s like sitting on your couch eating familiar food and watching the same movie for the fiftieth time.

Sure, that might be a great plan if there’s a blizzard outside, but it’s not exactly the best strategy for a fulfilled life.

On the other hand, charging forward all the time without thinking can be pretty dangerous.

Naturally, having a balance is best. Being in that “sweet spot” of accepting the unknown while carrying within you that natural attitude of learning, discovering, and accepting all feedback that comes your way.

Being able to look out into a situation, and not know what’s going to happen, but still feel confident enough to make a move anyway is a pretty good skill to have.

Especially in our rapidly changing society and economy.

One thing that can help considerably is by having several long term “visions” for your life.

Meaning no matter what situation you find yourself in, you know how you can leverage it to your benefit.

Fully participating, and fully appreciating every interaction.

That’s what having strong self confidence is REALLY all about.

To fire up your own self confidence, so you can fully appreciate everything life has to offer, check this out:

Your Personal Road To Riches

Can You Paint By Numbers To Riches?

Is Step By Step Success Possible?

Most people would love a “paint by the numbers” system of success.

It doesn’t really matter what field. Relationships, business, health.

It seems us humans are hard wired to look for shortcuts. So when some savvy marketer comes along and gives us some secret formula that he discovered while hiking through some hidden cave in Tibet, we start salivating.

While that seems compelling from the inside out, let’s take a look from the outside in.

To be sure, doing anything mechanical WILL have a proven, step by step system. One that leaves no room for error, or mistakes.

Like rebuilding an engine, or baking a cake, or traveling from point A to point B. All you need is a simple, step by step system to follow, and so long follow the steps in order, you’ll be OK.

But whenever we do ANYTHING that involves other people, there’s really no simple method that works for everybody.

The “secret method” can ONLY be vague, at best.

Humans are a HUGE collecting of continuously changing variables, so if you want to create ANYTHING that’s based on the cooperation of others, there IS going to be a LARGE amount of winging it.

And this means doing stuff that won’t work, doing stuff that may have the opposite effect, and doing stuff that will work a million times better than we’d hoped.

To make it even more confusing, we’ll never know until AFTER we try.

To make even MORE confusing-er, we humans tend to look back at things that worked out and “rewrite” history, to make ourselves look like super heroes.

We say things like, “See, I KNEW that was going to happen!”

Or, “I had a feeling he’d say that!”

Now, most people are pretty uncomfortable doing things when they have no idea how it’s going to come up.

Hence our repeated tendency (since pretty much the dawn of time) to try or buy “secret solutions.”

But the bottom line is that unless you’re willing to take risks, accept and learn from ALL feedback, you won’t get very far.

The GOOD news is that changing your mindset, and doing some consistent mental practice, you can learn to actually HAVE FUN doing things when the outcome is uncertain.

Once you start to EXPECT and look forward to any feedback, (rather than pin you hopes on ONLY good feedback) life really becomes an incredibly fun journey.

Filled with learning, growing, success in all areas, and plenty other ideas to be discovered.

Secrets Of Self Actualization

Love The Path For Enlightenment

The Path Is Where It’s At

What does it mean to be “fully actualized?”

Maslow talked about this in his hierarchy of needs.

At the bottom are things like food, sex, etc. Stuff we all can imagine without any trouble.

But as you go further up the top, they get more vague and much more dependent on your own personal definitions.

The very top is “Self Actualized.”

I remember way back in university, one teacher was telling us that you had to go through the bottom levels to get to the top levels. And somebody asked of an example of a “self-actualized” person.

One of the examples she gave was Jesus. And I immediately thought of Jesus down at the lower levels getting his freak on so he could move up the pyramid. I guess they left that stuff out of the Bible.

Anyhow, I think most people have a bit of a misconception of the top levels of Uncle Maslow’s pyramid.

We tend to think it’s some kind of “state of being.” That once we arrive, all we’ve go to do is drink champagne and eat sushi off naked girls (or guys).

But the problem is that would get pretty boring, pretty quick.

Study after study shows that folks who win lotteries tend to go nuts after the initial thrill wears off.

Sure, we can all think of massive piles of material goods that we WANT, but what happens when we have them?

I suppose you could take handfuls of pills and play video games all day, but you’d self destruct pretty quickly.

Maybe being “self actualized” means being fully congruent in the PURSUIT of your goals, not in the getting them.

When you have something really big, really important (to you) and it’s just out of reach. Which means you’re firing on all cylinders, using all your skills (and learning new ones) to get you closer.

Some famous guy once said, “A man’s reach should be beyond his grasp.”

Meaning if you can get it with your current level of skills and energy, it’s not big enough.

Maybe we humans need some kind of a carrot out there to keep us moving forward.

One that we create, and one that we put out there.

Only when you focus on your own dreams with laser like intensity, and get busy, do you feel alive.

Click Here To Get Moving:

Self Confidence Generator

Is Your Inner Caveman Holding You Back?

Give Your Rational Mind A Chance

Leave Your Instincts Behind

Society is filled with paradoxes and contradictions.

A lot of them are simply because we are living in modern societies with caveman brains.

Our mind / body system was developed to live within groups of 200-300 people. Which can lead to problems in a society with hundreds of millions.

One idea is that we can hold about 200-300 people in our brain. Not necessarily their names, but their faces and how we interact with them. 

Like that girl you normally interact with down at the coffee shop. You see her outside of the coffee shop,  you would recognize her. Not necessarily from where, but you would see her face, feel that emotional signal of recognition.

Once you start going outside that 200-300 limit, it starts to get fuzzy. You start thinking you recognize people, when you really don’t.

Another holdover is our deep fear of being socially ostracized. Back in our caveman days, if we felt socially threatened, that was a HUGE and potentially life threatening issue.

So we developed all kinds of deep ninja emotions that kept us on guard of our social “health.”

Even a weird look, or seeing people talking in whispers would sound off alarm bells. 

Maybe they’re talking about us! Maybe the tribe is plotting something behind our back! Maybe we’re in big trouble!

These issues still plague us today. If you see a couple of people looking at you and whispering, you’ll immediately assume their talking trash about you.

Most people WOULDN’T assume they thought you were the most amazing person ever, and they were strategizing how to get on your good side.

The good news is these ancient social instincts can be overridden.

With a little bit of mental practice, you can ditch those old social fears, and grab the self confidence to do anything.

Imagine what you could do if you had ZERO social fear. If you could walk up and talk to that interesting stranger (who was super sexy or a potential super rich business partner) and talk to them as comfortably and fearlessly as an old buddy from kindergarten?

Imagine if you could stand up in a crowd of strangers, instantly command their attention and respect, and express your ideas in the best possible way.

This is your potential.

This is what happens when you leave your caveman instincts behind.

Are you ready?

Are You Easily Swept Up?

Don't Be A Sheep!

Learn To Think For Yourself

I’ve been to a lot of seminars, for a lot of different subjects over the years.

And one thing I’ve noticed is that the “momentum” usually wears off after a while.

During the seminar, when you’re listening to the teacher talk, and imagining how much better your life is going to get, it feels pretty good. Especially when you meet all kinds of folks and stay up late in the lounge area talking about your big plans.

Then the seminar ends, you go back home, and it’s the same old routine.

I remember once I was waiting in this HUGE line to get this famous TV personalities autograph for his book. It was for an Xmas gift, and I was kind of shocked at how much of a following this guy had.

While I was waiting in line (for about 4 hours) I formed a “bond” with a few people standing around me.

We started talking about our personal lives, families etc. We made plans to get together in the future. Like we were old chums.

But as soon as we got our autographs, that “bond” vanished like a wisp of smoke.

Poof!

It’s easy to feel all kinds of feelings “in the moment,” only to later wonder what the heck happened.

This very common, since humans are, on a deep level, “pack animals.” We pretty much soak up the energy around us, and let it override any “independent” thinking.

Most people don’t like to hear things like this, but how else do you explain how some of those crazy fads come and go and then are quickly forgotten?

Even 70 years after WWII, Germans are still wondering how in the heck they could have collectively gone so incredibly crazy.

It’s easy, natural and common to be “swept up” in “group thinking.”

It’s something else entirely to be able to create your own “energy” which has direction, and is under your control.

Energy that will propel you forward matter WHAT the circumstances are.

Energy that will keep you on track to YOUR goals and dreams, not the current “trend” of the crowd.

Now, this isn’t as easy as programming your destination into your GPS and just sitting back while it tells you where to go, but it is VERY similar.

Choose your destination. Program it into your brain, and you’ll see that “energy” fill every situation you find yourself in.

So you can do YOUR thing, not the crowds.

Why You Shouldn’t Follow ALL The Rules

You Know Which Ones to Break, Right?

Some Were Made To Be Broken

When I was a kid, me and my friends loved to “sneak” into the movies.

This was a long time ago, when they had color coded ticket stubs, AND guys standing at the door to each theater to check your ticket.

We’d save our stubs, and after a while we would have all the colors, so we could “re-use” them to see a couple movies in one afternoon.

I don’t know about you, but many of my fond memories from my youth revolve around trying to “break” or “bend” the rules.

Being about to sneak around authority without getting caught is always pretty fun.

Especially when the “authority” is some kind of puffed up guy trying desperately to get people to believe in his “authority.”

Of course, we did go too far a few times. Once my buddies and I were into collecting bicycle air caps.

Those things that screw on the top of the air stem on your bicycle tire.

Once we saw this really cool motorcycle, with these really cool chrome caps on the air stems.

I reached down to “feel it,” being a kid I wanted to “touch” everything I wasn’t supposed to.

Then this big scary biker dude (at least from a kids standpoint) came out and accused me of trying to let the air of his tires.

I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I DO remember that I ran away quickly after that.

The truth is that some rules ARE meant to be broken, and some rules ARE meant to be obeyed.

One powerful skill as an adult is to know the ones that don’t really matter, and have the courage to step over the line to see what happens.

Now, I’m sure you’ve got an idea of what “rules” are REALLY ones you simply can’t break.

On the other hand, there are other “rules” that people “make up” not because they are important, but because they make the person saying the rules FEEL important.

I don’t have to tell you this, because you already you know it’s NOT your job to make others feel important.

It is your job, however, to figure out what you want, and get it.

No matter how big, how matter far out there.

Your dreams belong to you, and nobody else.

If somebody tells you that SHOULD behave in a certain way, and that would keep you from achieving your dreams, while only make THEM feel important, well, screw that!

Your job is to break as many as THOSE rules as you need to, in order to make your dreams come true.

It’s not easy. But somebody’s gotta do it.

Why not you?

Is Life Really One Big Scam?

Anybody Got A Left Handed Bacon Stretcher?

How To Out-Con The Conners

I remember a long time ago, when I was in boy scouts, we had this crazy game we’d play.

It was only when we had these once a year “Jamborees” where hundreds of troops would get together and have all these competitions.

We’d all have our camps set up in this big huge circle around the competition area, which was at least a square mile.

The game was unspoken, but understood by all the different troops. Everybody would take their newest members, and send them out looking for something that didn’t exist.

My favorite was a “left handed bacon stretcher.”

The kids would go from troop to troop, and ask if they had one. The guy who answered the question would say, “No, we don’t, but I’m pretty sure that troop 634 has one.” And that troop would be the furthest away.

Now, the reason I thought this game was so fun was not in conning younger scouts. It was fun because me and my buddy would pretend to BE younger scouts going around asking for the craziest thing, and seeing how far we could push the envelope.

It was pretty fun, at least as kids, to pretend to be the “mark” while all the other guys, at least in our minds, were the “marks.”

Of course, this “game” doesn’t stop once we get older.

It seems that everybody is telling us half truths, and then happily sending us on our way, usually far, far away, so by the time we figure the jig is up, that other guy is long gone.

This partially stems from the fact that few people are comfortable saying, “I don’t know,” so they make up some half baked answer so they don’t feel stupid, and then send you away with only a partial answer.

Another reason this happens is many people are desperate to claim some kind of social status by giving you some convoluted answer, usually having nothing to do with your original question.

Politicians pull this crap all the time. Somebody asks them a question they either can’t answer, or don’t want to answer, so they simply spin it off into something else, which makes them look good, but ignores the original question.

What’s the answer?

Unfortunately, it’s ultimately up to you.

Which means few people will give you the straight dope. Few people will put their own social status aside to help you out.

Few people will tell you how it really is.

It’s up to YOU to take pretty much everything with a grain of salt, and kind of figure it out on your own, from experience.

Most people don’t like to hear this. Most people hate that it’s like this.

But the truth is that once you accept this for what it is, and why it is this way, life can be pretty fun.

Like like my buddy and I when we were kids, you can turn the whole “con” into your own game, where you can get the upper hand.

This will help:

Self Confidence Generator

Are You Waiting For A Miracle?

Life Is A Journey, Not A Destination

Never Ending Journey

I remember once, a long time ago, I was hanging out in the physics lab at my uni.

All kinds of cool equipment.

The guy that was responsible for maintaining the equipment was “famous” for giving out wise advise. He’d been there a long time, had known a lot of professors, and had seen his share of students, both exceptionally brilliant and exceptionally average.

Anyhow, he gave me and my buddies a piece of advice I’ll never forget. One because it continues to be true, no matter how much experience I get and no matter much older I get.

Two because at the time it kind of shattered a “dream” that I had.

Being young and dumb, I thought that if I studied hard enough to get a degree, then I’d be on easy street.

I figured companies would want to hire me, then all I’d have to do is show up, work and get paid.

But what he said contradicted that “myth.”

He said life was like a poker game, and any degree, no matter how expensive or prestigious or highly regarded, was merely the “ante” into the poker game of life.

In case you’re not up on the poker lingo, an “ante” is the minimum first bet you need to play.

It’s not uncommon for poker games to start off with a dollar ante to end up with pots of several hundred, or several thousand dollars.

There I was, a young kid, thinking I’d get a degree, and I’d be on easy street.

But like I said, that’s been proven to be a myth, over and over again.

Now, this may seem like a horrible thing. Like life is one big con job where you are “tricked” into thinking that “all you have to do” is X, Y or Z, and you’ll just sit back and enjoy everything.

But the truth is, if life really WERE like that, it would be pretty boring.

It might seem like a relief if you suddenly came into a lot of money, but sitting around enjoying the good life would get REALLY monotonous after a while.

It may not seem like it, especially if you’re struggling, which a LOT of people are these days.

But it’s a well known and often proven fact that when people win the lottery, or otherwise come into a lot of money, it actually makes things a LOT worse.

So what’s the answer?

To realize that life is one long journey. A succession of smaller goals, that will all stack up into one magnificent creation. 

Not a “once and done” kind of thing.

A step by step, always learning, always growing, and always getting better kind of thing.

If you aren’t sure where to start, this will help:

Get In The Game

Are You Living In Past Generations?

Ready For Some Real Action?

A few generations ago, humans enjoyed a pretty nice sweet spot of history.

The industrial revolution was in full swing, wealth was increasing faster than it ever had since the dawn of time. New inventions were popping out every day making life easier and more affordable, and the population was starting to explode.

Back then, if you were a normal guy with a normal brain and a normal set of skills, you could get a decent job out of high school. So long as you showed up for work every day, and learned a bit as you went, you’d be in pretty good financial shape.

One income was enough to buy a house and a car, and your wife could stay home and watch the kids.

Meeting your wife (back then) was still tough. You still had to overcome approach anxiety, social scrutiny, the huge barrier of her parents. Not only that but the choices were pretty slim. (You certainly couldn’t hit the clubs every weekend and take home a new one nighter.)

Of course now, things are much, much different. Both in a bad way, AND in a much better way.

If you’re the kind of guy who thinks you just need to show up and get good jobs, loyal girls and affordable lifestyle, then life sucks right now. Really sucks.

But if you’re the guy willing to knuckle down and make his own way, there’s no better time in history than now.

Sure the economy is in the tank. Sure it’s hard to find a decent,  old fashioned girl.

But guess what?

Since most guys aren’t willing to do what it takes, that means those that ARE willing to will have a HUGE advantage.

Like I said, it’s not nearly as easy as it used to be. Back then, you just went with the flow and you were good.

Nowadays, you’ve got to be a nimble free agent able to shift in a moment’s notice. More than ever, you’ve got to OWN your life, rather than merely be a participant.

You’ve got to take responsibility for EVERYTHING that happens to you, whether it’s under your control or not.

If you get caught out in the rain, you can curse the gods all you want. But it’s still going to rain.

How you RESPOND to the rain makes all the difference.

Complaining about the state of affairs isn’t a very good strategy.

It’s easy, and everybody can do it.

And the laws of economics say that if everybody can do it, it ain’t worth much.

Are you willing to take responsibility?

Are you willing to OWN your life?

If you are, glory awaits.

Are You Afraid Of Non-Barking Invisible Dogs?

Only In Your Mind

Do Imaginary Fears Rule Your Life?

Once, way back in high school, I came up against fear, and the fear won.

Me and my buddy had been watching some vids, and drinking a few beers.

His parents were out of town, and there these houses being constructed nearby.

We’d decided we would go check them out. They were just frames at this point.

It was night, and very windy. We were walking through this skeleton neighborhood, when we saw this “shape” off in the distance.

In all likelihood, it was a pile of lumber that had a tarp tied down over it. But in the dead of night, with the wind howling, we imagined it was a huge mean guard dog. (Why it didn’t bark didn’t come up in our terrified high school minds).

Instead of going to check it out, we talked ourselves into going back to the safety of the couch and the TV.

We told each other stories why it wasn’t a good idea to be out anyway. Why it was better to stay safely in familiar territory, rather than explore the scary unknown.

We convinced ourselves that going back to finish watching whatever videos we’d rented (filled with predictable plot lines where the heroes safely beat the bad guys) was the logical choice. 

The good choice. The right choice.

But the reality was that we simply came up against an unknown. We turned that unknown into something horrible, in our mind, and refused to face it.

We decided it was better to embrace a known safety, made up by somebody else (the videos) than to face an unknown risk, made up by our own minds.

This is very, very common. We humans do it all the time. We convince ourselves we’re doing the right thing. The logical thing. 

But are we?

Nobody got rich by taking the safest path. Nobody built a business by avoiding risk. Nobody ever created a wonderfully fulfilling relationship by avoiding potential rejection.

Of course, we were just kids, out exploring. We weren’t looking for hidden treasure or secret love.

But you’d be surprised how often those things show up out of nowhere.

Love, money, employment, friends, relationships. None of these really show up exactly how we think they will.

Which means in order to really get the good stuff in life, we’ve always got to be open.

Hard to do when you turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble, like me and my buddy.

What about you?

Are you ready to embrace risk, uncertainty, and potential setbacks?

Or would you rather stay where it’s safe and predictable?

If you’re ready to move forward, this will help: