Category Archives: Congruence

Money Money Money

How Many Problems Can You Solve?

How do you get money?

There are only a few proven ways.

One is you could find it. Go out looking, and hope you get lucky.

This CAN work, but it’s not very sustainable.

You could get it as a gift. This strategy tends to work for little kids around their birthday.

Adults, not so much.

You could steal it, (or otherwise con people) but that’s not very sustainable either.

You could just walk up to people and ask for it, but people tend to be a little sketchy when strangers walk up to them on the street and ask them for money.

And supposed they asked, “OK, what do I get?”

Turns out, this is actually the most consistent way to get money.

Just figure out what people want, and figure a way to get it to them.

Everybody has problems they need solving.

The more effectively YOU can solve their problems, the more you can get paid.

It’s actually pretty simple.

Aside from government coercion and corruption (of which there is plenty, unfortunately) this same method is how most fortunes were made.

Old school railroad guys solve the problem of travel.

Before they railroads were made, travel was slow.

The problem was, “I want to visit grandma in Kentucky, but it will take us a week to get there.”

Railroad people who solved this problem made a ton of money.

They made it easy to get to Kentucky (or wherever) in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days.

What about JK Rowling, the Harry Potter lady.

What problem did she solve?

“I’m bored, there’s nothing on TV.”

That’s what!

Everybody has a collection of experiences, an imagination, and ideas on how to help others.

And everybody also has a collection of problems that need solving.

Combine those together in an information age, and you’ve got a MASSIVE global economy.

Get in the game, and get paid.

Learn How:

Entrepreneurial Mind

Who Ordered The Brains?

The Structure Of Success

When I was a kid I love science.

Still do.

So when it came time to choose a major, I chose physics.

For a while, everything was pretty cool.

Until I hit those upper division classes.

With really difficult math.

At first I freaked.

I didn’t know if I could handle it.

I almost changed my major.

But I finally decided to stick with it.

And by going really slowly, and spending a lot of time studying, I finally managed to escape with a degree.

And once I figured out the “trick” to learning difficult math, it was easy.

Not easy, easy, but easier than I thought.

Before, I would listen to lectures, do the homework, and that was it.

And them cram for a couple hours before the exams.

But with those upper division classed, I had to change my strategy.

I found myself spending a few hours each weekend.

I needed to in order to keep up.

But once I got the “rhythm” it was normal again.

Meaning I didn’t worry, I just had to “re-calibrate” my studying frequency and duration.

And every other class after that was the same.

Since I’d learned the “study structure” of one class, I could apply it to all classes.

I’ve found the same thing is true in a lot of areas.

Once you step back and look at the “structure” you can apply the same “structure” to other things.

Kind of how you learn to ride one bike, you can pretty much ride all other bikes, so long as they have the same structure.

This is how our brains are wired. This is why we can live anywhere on Earth, even back before electricity and even agriculture.

Finding food, shelter, and staying away from dangerous animals has a similar structure.

Do it near the equator, you can do it at the north pole.

Sure, the content is different (predators, food, shelter) but the structure is the same.

Learning anything, skills, subjects, communication strategies, once you get the structure down, you can repeat it as often as you like.

Learn How:

End Self Sabotage

Mountain Climbing Metaphor

Circles or Straight Lines?

They say you can’t step in the same river twice.

Meaning every second that passes by, the river is changing.

The fish, the rocks and sand on the bottom, the amount of water is always in flux.

So too are us humans.

Once in chemistry class, the professor told us to close our eyes and think of a deceased person we admire.

I thought of my grandfather.

Then he told us to take a slow breath, and then open our eyes.

He told us that we’d just inhaled at least one molecule, (the very same one) that the person we’d just thought of had inhaled in their lives.

Then he explained all about the volume of our atmosphere, how many breaths we take, etc, and why what he’d just told us was statistically likely.

Scientists tell us that every seven years or so, all the atoms and molecules in our body are replaced.

Kind of like on Star Trek, when they beam themselves around, only in slow motion.

All the thoughts in your mind that make up your personality are continuously being updated.

So even who you ARE (when you think of “I”) is always changing.

Life, and every part of it, is a never ending process.

Always changing.

If you could take all those endless changes, and line them up, what would you produce?

Something magnificent.

On the other hand, if you took all those changes, and arranged them in a circle, you might find yourselves in the same place a few years or even a decade from now.

Either way, it’s up to you.

But it takes courage, and dedication.

You have to take small actions on a daily basis that are just a hair outside of your comfort zone.

But if you take your time to plan those actions, you’ll be surprised how quickly things add up.

No matter where you are or who you are or what you have or haven’t accomplished, the best time to start is now.

Learn How:

Stop Self Sabotage

Nothing Is Real Keep Going Forward

The Illusion of Perfection

They say that practice makes perfect.

And like most “truisms” that we all tend to agree are more or less correct, this one, while well intentioned, is not entirely accurate.

As a motivational statement, it does just fine.

In that regard, it IS true. Whatever you want to get better at, the more you practice, the better you’ll get.

And all else equal, practicing something MORE is better than practicing something LESS.

If they had a violin playing competition, for example, whoever practiced the MOST would end up winning.

You’ll find this is true in all people with world class skills.

They are the ones who have practiced the most.

They say you can “master” anything, and be “world class” with 10,000 hours of practice.

At an hour day, that is a little over 27 YEARS.

Which, in a world of instant gratification, seems like an eternity.

But it’s well within a normal life span.

Meaning if you start in your mid twenties, you’ll be WORLD CLASS in your chosen skill by the time you’re fifty or so.

Or, if you don’t want to wait that long, you can be world class in 14 years (two hours of practice a day) or seven years (four hours of practice a day) or three or four years (eight hours of practice a day).

Of course, you’ll NEVER get to a point where you say, “OK, I’m done, now I can rest!”

Because the idea of being “perfect” doesn’t really apply in many areas.

Sure, you can make a “perfect” circle, but how the heck are you supposed to bake a “perfect” cake? Or paint the “perfect” picture?

Paradoxically, “mastering” something is not synonymous with perfecting any skill.

No matter WHAT you are practicing, so long as you are drawing breath, you can get better.

Whether you are the world master, or you’re just starting out.

So, what would YOU like to get better at?

Get Started:

End Self Sabotage

Build Your Own Roadmap

Re-Gain Your Childlike Excitement

Why are little kids so happy?

Well, obviously not all of the time. But when they ARE happy, why do they look MUCH happier than adults? (on those occasions when adults are happy)

Do they know something we don’t?

Or do they know something we’ve forgotten?

One reason might be that they are always discovering things.

Especially right after they learn to walk and run confidently.

Their brains are like sponges, desperate to be filled in.

Now, there are a lot of ideas that we somehow “stop” learning when we get to age seven or so.

But that can’t be true, otherwise the only inventions we would have would come from seven-year-olds.

Since many inventions (especially medical and scientific inventions) come from people WAY older than seven, there’s something else going on.

Why does it SEEM that we stop learning at seven? (or at least for many of us)

Because we fall into the trap of needing to BE TAUGHT by other people.

People that continue to invent things are always thinking, “what if…”

And then trying a bunch of stuff out.

Truth is we ALL have that capacity.

Only in most of us, once “school” is over, we shut our brains off.

But your learning capacity is still there.

Your capacity for discovery is still there.

How do you use it?

Just like a little kid does. Just like a scientist or entrepreneur does.

Ask “What if…” and try something.

And see what happens.

Obviously, you want to try something that will get you going in a direction you’d like to go.

Like making more money, or having better relationships, or getting healthier or smarter.

The tendency for many is to wait around and BE TOLD what to do.

But that isn’t any fun!

It’s more fun to discover on your own. To continuously INVENT your life, one small step at a time.

To RE-DISCOVER that thrill of having curiosity and excitement about your future.

Because it’s out there, waiting for you.

Make It:

End Self Sabotage

Love Advice

Maximize Collective Genius

A famous quote that’s been attributed to many different guru-types, and even a few politicians is a variation of this:

“It’s amazing what humans can do together when nobody cares who gets credit.”

Meaning if you combine enough people together, with a diverse enough background, and set them to a common task, their collective problem solving ability is enormous.

Much more so than any one guy or gal.

(Or even a supercomputer for that matter.)

This has been proven time and time again in all kinds of studies.

One thing that will kill this genius problem solving ability is if ONE GUY is in charge and needs to be recognized as the “idea man.”

We all have experiences with people like that.

You’re in a group, trying to figure out something, and on one level, people are trying to come up with an actual solution.

But on another level, it’s like people are having an “idea contest.” Once they spit out their idea, they defend it no matter what.

They’ve even done studies on jury deliberations that show this.

When everybody says out loud, “guilty” or “not guilty” those trials take twice as long as those when they always keep it secret.

Meaning when they write “G” or “NG” on a slip of paper and then count the votes anonymously, those trials are over a lot quicker.

People are more focused on finding the truth rather than defending their version of it.

Something about saying “your idea” out loud makes it VERY HARD to change later on.

Social scientists are always trying to figure out ways to tap the collective problem solving ability of groups, without getting killing it with the “my idea is best” syndrome.

This is one of the reasons why giving advice rarely works.

It’s a subtle way of saying, “My idea is better than you’re idea.”

And since you’re giving them advice, they sort of presupposes that they’ve ALREADY stated their idea.

But here’s the funny thing.

If you tell a story, and wrap your “advice” in the story, they’ll look at it, and see your idea, but think it was their idea.

Especially if you take a bunch of similar stories, all on the same theme, and tell them one after another.

They’ll think you’re just talking random gibberish when this sudden spark of inspiration hits them.

They’ll actually look at you as if the idea just “came to them.”

Any idea will work, so long as you can wrap it in a few simple stories.

And the more people you tell the stories to, the better ideas they’ll come up with.

The only thing you need to do is turn off your own, “my idea is best” switch in your brain.

And you can get them to do anything.

Learn How:

Hypnotic Storytelling

Social Authority

How To Engineer Social Authority

Next time you’re at a party or social gather, do a little experiment.

Any time people are sitting around talking about whatever.

When one person is talking, watch the other people.

Try and decide when they’ve stop listening, and have starting thinking what to say when it’s “their turn.”

Also notice the times people that are speaking get “interrupted.”

Every once in a while you’ll get a group where one person is the clear “leader” and does most of the talking.

But most of the time there are at least two people who are vying for the social conversation “leadership” role.

This is human nature.

Humans always self organize into hierarchies.

And within those hierarchies there is also a lot of shuffling going on.

Nobody thinks this way consciously. This “social hierarchy” instinct is like hunger.

But much more subtle.

One way people notice who’s “in charge” is by the cues given by the other people.

Unless you’re in a high stakes poker game or a prison gang, the person “in charge,” especially during social situations, is usually the one doing the most talking, or getting the most attention.

For most people, this is natural and automatic. Both the talking part and the paying attention part.

But it’s VERY EASY to engineer this.

There are all kinds of very powerful language techniques to build MASSIVE interest in whatever you are saying.

And because these happen at the structure level, and not the content level, people will think it’s got something to do with YOU.

From a content standpoint, if somebody is talking about something EXTRAORDINARY, then people will KNOW that it’s the content.

But when you use regular content (normal everyday stories) but use them in a specific structure, people will be mesmerized but they won’t know why.

Some of these structure techniques are easy to learn, and can use them right away.

Some of them take a bit more practice, but are INSANELY powerful.

When you are doing your “conversation experiments,” see if you can find somebody that talks for more than a couple of minutes, while EVERYBODY else can’t take their eyes of him or her.

THAT could be YOU.

Learn How:
Hypnotic Storytelling

Wrap Their Minds In Mystery

The Wall St. Journal Pattern

One of the longest running sales pages was for the Wall Street Journal.

The same ad ran for nearly twenty years.

Why was it so successful?

It told a simple story.

Once upon a time there were two guys.

Both had the same degree. They both lived in the same sized town.

But one guy was ultra successful, while the other guy was average successful.

Why?

One had access to information the other guy didn’t.

Which meant one was able to see things, predict changes, take advantage of situations and opportunities, while the other guy didn’t.

The information, of course, was the one guy’s subscription to the Wall St. Journal.

Think about your favorite commercials on TV.

Very few of them are of some goof standing there saying, “I’m an expert and I recommend you try brand X!”

They’re usually a short story of some type.

Or if not a story, a short scene within a story.

The most famous commercials are serialized stories, with each commercial an unfolding of the tale.

Why do we love stories so much?

Think back to before we humans invented society.

They’d go out hunting, and then come home for the night.

Sit around the camp fire and talk.

What would they talk about?

Who knows, but judging by the plethora of mythology around the world, they probably told each other stories.

About heroes and monsters and angels and devils.

Humans are hard wired to not only enjoy stories, but to tell them, and resonate with them.

Which means no matter what idea or message you’d like to convey to somebody else, if you can wrap it in a story, it will be much more effective.

Learn How:

Hypnotic Storytelling

Yeah Baby, Yeah!

The Harpo Marx Pattern

Most people have heard of the “handshake interrupt.”

It’s one of the more famous “NLP party tricks.”

The idea is that we think of a handshake as one “thing.”

So when you “interrupt” that singular “thing,” our brains get confused.

Some people get a little confused, some a lot.

But there’s another version of the handshake interrupt that goes back WAAY before NLP.

The Harpo Marx handshake interrupt.

He was the one that played the harp, dressed like a hobo-clown, and didn’t talk.

He’d reach out to shake your hand, you’d stick your hand out.

Then he’d lift up his leg and place it in your hand.

Most people would instinctively take it, (like most people do) and Harpo would stand there with a goofy grin on his face.

Since humans are social creatures, we have a LOT of pre-programmed, automatic behaviors.

And handing something to somebody is one of those.

Any time we shift into “automatic behavior” mode, it’s a GREAT time to quickly sneak into their brain and cause some mischief.

Luckily, our language is FILLED with these automatic behavior structures.

In fact, Noam Chomsky, the original ho-daddy of linguistics, showed that we have neurological language switches in our brain.

And when you understand how these switches work, you can have a lot of fun.

When I was a kid, my mom HATED taking me to the department stores.

This was back when they first started making computers. Before windows, so it was just DOS.

I knew just enough programming (BASIC) to make infinite loops of curse words on the screen.

“Hey, mom! Look!”

Once you understand the deep structure of language, you can do this with people’s brains.

You can have fun, like Harpo, or you can give them silly ideas that get them giggling.

Whatever you do, you’ll be the life of every party.

Learn How:

Street Hypnosis

Look Into The Future

Discover Your Inner Vastness

In mathematics, there are two kinds of progressions.

Linear and geometric.

Linear (or arithmetic) progressions are series of numbers that increase in the same interval.

If you graphed them, they would go up in a straight line.

On the other hand, geometric progressions increase in the same proportion.

They go up a lot quicker.

The MORE they go up, the MORE they go up.

Your muscles can be thought of as arithmetically increasing in size and strength, up to a certain limit.

Meaning if you started doing pushups, the amount of pushups that you could do each day would go up in more or less a straight line.

Maybe you’d do ten, then twenty, then thirty, etc.

And once you got to an upper limit (maybe a couple hundred or even a thousand if you were a professional pushup athlete) the increases would level off.

Your brain, on the other hand, or rather the information IN your brain, can go up without any limits.

Sure, there ARE limits, but they are not based on the configuration of your brain.

You’ve only got so much time in the day, you need to do other things, (sleep, eat, take showers, etc), AND your life (at least this one) has a finite number of days.

But even if you were rich, you could afford a massive and continuously updating library of information (as well as professional tutors) your brain would NEVER get full.

This means no matter HOW MUCH you learn through the course of your life, you will always UNDER-UTILIZE your brain.

Most people don’t learn ANYTHING after school, except how to use the latest app, or the bare minimum to do at work and still get paid.

This is like having the world’s most powerful super computer ALL TO YOURSELF and using it to watch cat videos on YouTube.

Just like doing more pushups will help you do more pushups, learning will help you learn.

Especially when you step back and learn HOW to learn more effectively.

Even if you’re totally happy with your life, and see learning new things as a HOBBY, it will make life FEEL much more rewarding.

Because once you REALLY understand just how VAST your mind is, you will ALWAYS feel like you’re on the edge of a great discovery.

Click Here To Learn More