Category Archives: Goal Setting

Be Their Spark Of Life

When I was in elementary school, we experimented with bacteria.

This pretty much amounted to spitting in a petri dish, and then watching the mold grow.

Same stuff that grows on bread if you let it sit too long.

On the one hand, it’s a pretty basic process.

You mix a bunch of ingredients and watch the stuff grow.

If you buy a hundred loaves of bread and let them sit in your kitchen too long, they’ll grow the same kind of mold every single time.

Yet at the same time, WHAT that mold really is has baffled scientists since forever.

Sure, they can describe it, predict how and where it grows, but WHAT exactly is “life?”

How did it start?

Their best guess was that lightening somehow gave the primordial ingredients the energy they needed to transform from inorganic matter to organic matter.

Or God intervened.

Or maybe aliens.

Who knows?

On the one hand, it’s very, very predictable.

On the other hand, it’s almost magical.

Our emotions are the same way.

From inside our own minds, from our own subjective experiences, emotions can be wonderful, horrible, confusing, inspiring and everything in between.

Yet at the same time, certain chord progressions, which can be mathematically described and explained, tend to evoke the same emotions in many people.

On the outside, it’s purely scientific and rational.

But on the inside, simple songs can evoke very deep and powerful emotions.

Same with movies.

Produced with rational thinking creators, who know what type of story structures work, and which ones don’t.

Even cookie cutter Disney movies make people feel deep emotions.

At the same time, our emotions are indescribable, but easy to “manipulate.”

Not the best word.

But every time you specifically choose to see an action movie, or a horror movie, or a romantic tearjerker, you are HOPING your emotions will be manipulated in the right way.

The more effective a movie manipulates your emotions, the BETTER the movie is.

If the movie DOESN’T manipulate your emotions, it’s not believable.

What about one on one?

Can we use the same process?

Absolutely.

And if you create the RIGHT emotions, it doesn’t matter if you are creating them as rationally as the directors and actors and writers to get paid gobs of cash.

Because your target will feel WONDERFUL.

Learn How:

Love Hypnosis

When Will The Piper Come Knocking?

Economics is frequently referred to as the “dismal science.”

This makes sense when you look at all the other sciences.

Even if you don’t understand science, it’s extremely useful.

To kids and primitive cultures, science is like magic.

And not just magic, but the good kind of magic.

The kind of magic where you can take a clump of frozen stuff out of your freezer, pop it in the microwave, and a couple minutes later have a delicious burrito.

Or that allows you to walk down the stairs in one part of the city, scarcely take your eyes off your twitter feed, and walk up the stairs in a completely different part of the city.

Or even better, get onto a plane, fall asleep, and wake up on a different continent.

Only a hundred years ago, when somebody was traveling to another continent, goodbye’s were sad because you wouldn’t see or hear from the person in months or years.

Now, because of science, we can go to another continent, and face to face talk to our loved ones back home when we get there.

But why is economics “dismal?”

Because it forces us to ask a very important question.

One that few people ever ask.

One that politicians hope we NEVER ask.

What’s the question?

“At What Cost?”

Every single action we do has ramifications.

Most of the time, we can ignore them.

But as the story of the pied piper tells us, eventually we’ve got to pay.

The story of the pied piper of course is about a guy who got rid of all the rats in a city.

Then the people decided they didn’t want to pay him.

So he got rid of all the children, just like he did the rats.

Every action we take will need to be accounted for.

It’s very easy in the short term to ignore that.

The biggest risk is not taking any action at all.

It’s easy to put it off to tomorrow.

Humans are afraid of risk.

So we don’t take any.

But the biggest risk of all is avoiding risk altogether.

Because one day, you might need to be able to do something, or know how to do something, but you don’t, or can’t.

This isn’t a very comfortable thought.

But you don’t EVER have to do anything scary.

AND you can still watch all your favorite TV shows.

In fact, the BEST thing you could do is take very tiny actions, and make those actions a habit.

Until doing what NEEDS to be cone is comfortable and familiar.

Everybody’s situation is different.

But EVERYBODY has something in the back of their mind they know they SHOULD be doing, but aren’t.

All you need to do is find the tiniest, easiest way to get started.

And just do that one TINY thing every day.

Until that “seed” starts to grow on it’s own.

Get Started:

Seven Disciplines

Inoculate Against Letdown Depression

When I was a kid my dad took me bird hunting.

I was pretty excited. Buying the gear was exciting.

Driving to the small motel in the small town was exciting.

Getting up super early and eating breakfast in the 24H diner was exciting.

Driving out to the field to hunt was exciting.

The actual hunting part?

Pretty boring.

We all spread out across a big field.

And then waited.

Despite all our preparation, the most important part of bird hunting is being patient.

If the birds don’t come, you have nothing to shoot at.

All that preparation, excitement, buildup for a pretty lame payoff.

I remember once commenting to my friend after a HUGE dinner party.

She’d spent a couple weeks preparing, worrying, looking up recipes.

But the actual eating part was over in about an hour.

Lots of preparation, but BOOM! It was over.

A lot of things are like this.

Problems develop when you expect the payoff to be TOO BIG and monumental.

As if it’s going to change everything.

When in reality, it’s the preparation, the building that is the best part.

This is why having HUGE goals WAY out there is better than ONLY having a couple of short term ones.

Many people fall into the trap of thinking they “only” need that one “thing” and then FINALLY, everything will somehow “click” into place.

Unfortunately, when (or if) it does “click” into place, it’s only for a little bit.

And if you somehow convince yourself that getting that “thing” is going to solve your problems FOR GOOD, then you might have a lot of “post success letdown.”

Olympic athletes that win gold medals, championship sports teams, even soldiers returning from war or active duty experience this.

They focus on that BIG GOAL so much, that when it happens, they don’t know what to do. Because they’ve focused on that BIG GOAL so much, they didn’t notice that increase in energy, focus, intensity and all other things that are necessary for a fulfilling life along the way.

And when that BIG GOAL is achieved, all that energy that got them there is GONE.

It’s very easy to feel empty after that.

So at the very least, you’ve got have another goal in your back pocket ready to go when that goal in front of you is realized.

OR, make sure to create a MASSIVE ONE that is literally bigger than life.

Bigger than YOUR life.

That way, you’ll always have forward drive, forward momentum, and all of the other good stuff that makes life worth living.

Most people don’t have goals. And those that do tend to have goals that they didn’t choose, but were given to them by others.

It’s your life, and your choice.

Build it YOUR way.

Get Started:

Mind Persuasion Ebooks

Stop Insane Behavior

Once I had this bit of tendonitis in my wrist. It was something I had many times before.

And I knew if I went to the doctor, they would tell me the same thing.

Take some Advil, put some ice on it, and it if keeps hurting, we’ll inject you with cortisone.

Basically, since I knew the drill by heart, it was my “go-to” routine whenever it would flair up.

Only once a female friend talked me into going to the doctor.

Since this was the first time she saw me with this ailment, it was new.

And foolishly, I gave in. Went and waited an hour. Paid the co-payment (which at the time was $70.)

And was told the same thing. Advil, ice, cortisone if it doesn’t work.

She seemed happy. She said, “Well, at least you know!”

But I already knew.

She seemed to think the doctor would use some secret doctor magic to fix it, and when he didn’t she fell back on the “Well, at least you know!” answer.

This is what all of us do all the time. We have some goal or intention. We fail. Then we RE-FRAME our original intention, so we don’t feel like a failure.

We do this to protect our ego. If every time we didn’t get what we wanted, and we did feel like a failure, pretty soon we’d stop trying.

However, when we do something when we KNOW what’s going to happen, (like some doctor charging you $70 to tell you to take some Advil) it’s kind of foolish.

This is what they mean when they talk about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Humans are goal driven creatures. Every single day, we have hundreds, if not thousands, of small goals.

We set them, we take action, we achieve them. Sure, some of these are pretty simple, like eating and going to the toilet.

But often times they are of the “insanity” type. We keep trying the same thing, but it still doesn’t work.

Our brains are incredibly fast and powerful, which can sometimes be our achilles heal.

Meaning we’re doing the same things over and over, but we’re pretending we’re doing different things.

Maybe talking to different people and different locations, but we’re using the same strategies and operating from the same mindset of beliefs.

If you’ve got a horrible golf swing, buying new clubs won’t help. Or if you suck at playing the piano, buying a new keyboard won’t help. But that’s we do, while pretending we’re “doing something different.”

A fantastic way to beat this common mistake is to keep a journal. Write down your big life goals, and every day, write down what you did to get closer.

Then write down what happened.

Then write down what you could do tomorrow.

This way, you’ll elevate your natural goal setting and getting mechanism up to the conscious level.

And THAT’S when things start to click.

These can help:

Mind Persuasion Ebooks

How To Ditch The Agony Of Defeat

How To Create A Positive Feedback Loop

Whenever you do any kind of planning or manifesting, it’s always recommended to have a positive expectation.

If you think you’ll fail, you will increase your chances of that happening. Say you go in for a job interview, and you don’t think you’ll do well. This will decrease your enthusiasm, which will have a negative effect on how you present yourself.

Of course, this will decrease the chances you get the job, making your negative expectations come true.

On the other hand, if you’ve got positive expectations, and really imagine yourself having the job, then you’ll be much more outgoing, confident and articulate. Things interviewers love to see.

However, this won’t guarantee you get the job. Sure, it will increase your chances. But what if everybody else who’s interviewing is doing the same thing?

This is one of the problems with holding a positive expectation. If it doesn’t happen right away, it’s very easy to get discouraged, angry and resentful.

Expecting to get something, and then not getting it, feels VERY similar to getting cheated.

It’s the same, on an emotional level, as somebody making a promise to you that is based on pure lies.

I’m sure you’ve heard that old saying, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”

Thing about those old sayings is there’s a reason they’ve been around for a while.

How do you implement them? How do you continue to maintain a positive expectation when odds are you’ll run into problems, difficulties and obstacles no matter what?

One is to take on the mindset of responsibility. One of the reasons we feel cheated when things don’t work out, is we still have the mindset of “receiving something” rather than “earning something.”

Often times, we feel like we’re supposed to put in a certain amount of work and then the “universe” is supposed to “give us” a prize for our efforts.

Kind of like being a little kid playing some game at a birthday party.

Think of something that you KNOW is totally under your control. When things don’t go the way you’d hoped, you step back and do something different. This is pretty much the underlying structure of ALL human behavior.

Action, feedback, increased information, more action.

This is true for huge life dreams, like creating a lucrative career. This is true for very small things, like finding our way to the bathroom in the dark in a friends house.

To remove the sting of not getting what you want, think in terms of creating, rather than simply being a passive receiver.

Not only will it make things much easier, but because you’ll have much more control, you’ll be able to create a LOT more.

Learn How:

Goal Setting

Forge Your Own Path

How To Become A Creator

Some things happen randomly, by chance.

And others happen purely by conscious choice.

Generally speaking, most everything has a mix of both.

For example, you could be bored on a Sunday afternoon and go for a walk. You may start off without any particular destination, but that doesn’t mean you won’t make conscious choices along the way.

On the other hand, you could start out with a well constructed intention in mind, only to get sidetracked by an unexpected encounter.

Sometimes, these unexpected encounters are the best things that can happen.

The story of Facebook, for example, is really a story of a big accident. The book describing the story was called “The Accidental Billionaires.”

Sure, it wasn’t planned, but that doesn’t mean that anybody would be able to take advantage of such an opportunity.

I’m sure you know plenty of people who sit around coming up with great ideas. Everybody does that. But few people ever take action.

I saw this movie a few months ago, about a true story of a couple of inventors. They tried crazy invention after crazy invention, only to crash and burn every single time.

Finally they found one that worked, and they both became millionaires. The invention itself was incredibly simple, incredibly cheap to design and mass produce.

No matter what you’re doing, you’ll need to have a pretty clear picture of where you’re going, as well as the ability to respond to those things that happen by chance.

The good news is that you are hard wired to do this. You don’t need to learn anything. You just need to set your sights on what you’d like, and get going.

Here’s the even better news. Most people only have a vague idea of what they want. Even if that’s all you’ve got, that’s enough to get started.

All you’ve got to do is to try something. Anything. And see what happens.

If you get closer, great. Do more.

If you don’t get closer, no biggie. Do something else.

So long as you are willing to take action, accept whatever results you get, without self-judgment, you’ll be fine.

Along the way your target will become clearer, the path will become more visible, and your skills will SKYROCKET.

For some, this is pretty scary. Many of us are terrified to do something unless we KNOW we’ll be successful. We want guarantees, step by step plans, and if possible, to see somebody do it first so we know we’re not the only ones.

But where’s the fun in that? All followers get is the leftovers.

Leaders, creators, people like you, get much, much more.

Get Started:

Goal Setting

Why Failure Is Fantastic

How To Double Your Success Rate

One of the hardest things to do is accept negative feedback.

Now, most people will refer to this as “failure.” If you’re a normal person, who’s been through normal school, then it’s been drilled into your brain that failure is bad, and should be avoided at all costs.

Or maybe you played sports and got yelled at when you made a mistake.

One of my favorite commercials of all time is with Michael Jordan. Now like him or hate him, he and Nike (and whatever marketing company they used) made some pretty good ones.

The one I’m talking about is when he slowly talked about all his “failures.”

Like taking the last shot at the buzzer, and missing.

Like all the games he’s lost.

Like all the times he choked during the playoffs when his teammates were depending on him. Then he listed all the shots he missed (in the thousands) all the games he’s lost (at least in the hundreds).

Then he said, “I’ve failed again, and again and again and again.”

Then he looked at the camera and said:

“That, is why I succeed.”

The CEO of Sony, who took their company from when “made in Japan” meant junk to a global leader in electronics was asked, “How do we double our success rate?”

“That’s easy,” he responded.

“Double your failure rate.”

Even Babe Ruth struck out more than most people realize.

What is failure, anyway? It’s the natural feedback mechanism that’s built deep into your brain.

It’s what helped you walk, talk, read, write, and everything else you know to do.

If failure didn’t happen, learning would be impossible.

If learning was impossible, we’d all be monkeys throwing poo at each other!

So why is “failure” so scary?

Maybe because we associated it somehow with negative social pressure. Maybe we forgot that there’s ALWAYS a next time.

To be sure, if something really important is on the line, like a job promotion, or a championship game, not getting what you want really, really sucks.

But what’s the alternative? Not play? Not try? That sucks even more!

Your entire life is the sum total of your day to day behaviors and accomplishments. Your day to day behaviors and accomplishments are based on how you view the world, and how you view yourself.

Change one, and you’ll change the other.

Change the cause, and you’ll necessarily change the effect.

YOU are the cause. Your world is the effect.

When you embrace ALL feedback, both good and “bad,” then you’ll know the real secret of achieving anything.

That ANYTHING is possible.

This course will teach you how. Step by step.

Goal Setting

How To Build Your Castle

Turn Vague Desires Into Concrete Achievements

Inch by inch, life’s a cinch.

What does this mean? Any huge project, when broken down into very small, very manageable chunks, is pretty easy.

Alcoholics know that one day at a time is the best they can do.

Ancients told us that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Confucius told us that every journey begins with a small step.

Sure, this makes sense, and this is easy when we have a plan that’s laid out.

But what happens when we know what we want, but have ZERO idea how to get there?

Luckily, you’ve got the latest version of the most incredible software every created.

This software can take any vague idea and make it turn from thought into reality.

Of course, I’m talking about that squishy stuff between your ears.

The Human Brain.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) our brains don’t come with a user’s manual.

There’s no customer service hotline you can call.

So, how do you turn those vague dreams into reality?

One way is by journaling. Think of something you’d like. ANYTHING. Vague or specific, doesn’t matter.

For sake of example, we’ll use “more money.”

So at the end of every day, take a few minutes and jot down some ideas. Ideas you could do TOMORROW to make more money.

ANYTHING that comes to mind is fine.

Then the next day, make TWO entries in your journal (and two entries every day after that).

The first entry is ANYTHING you did THAT DAY, that may make it easier for you to earn more money.

Not money that you got, not money that you found, but any behavior that you did, which may turn into a bigger income stream in the future.

ANYTHING. Looking up different careers on Google, for example.

Next, write down anything you COULD do, tomorrow. Nothing huge, just one very small next step on your road to riches (or whatever else you’d like to create.)

If you got started today, and this is all you ever did, you’d be amazed. Sure, the first couple weeks, maybe even the first couple months may not seem or feel any different.

But you would be building up some huge momentum, AND training your subconscious what you want, and what to look for to help you.

Imagine if you started today. What would your life look like a year from now? Five years from now?

What would your life be like today if you started this five years ago?

Ten minutes a day can have a HUGE impact on your life.

To learn many more skills like this, check this out:

Goal Setting