Category Archives: Uncategorized

What Are You Afraid Of?

Break False Fears

Destroy False Enemies

​There’s a pretty cool movie called “Coach Carter.”

It’s based on a true story of a guy who took over a high school basketball program, and turned a bunch of failing hooligans into a group of self respecting young men.

When they would practice, usually doing drills, he would lean in close and ask, “What is your greatest fear?”

The idea being that if they could confront their greatest fear, they could do anything.

I watched a documentary on the life of Bruce Lee, and in it he kept having this dream of some dragon that he needed to fight.

He couldn’t accomplish his life’s purpose until he fought this metaphorical dragon.

All the classic stories and myths since the dawn of language involves some kind of conflict.

Man vs. Man.

Man vs. Nature.

Man vs. Himself.

All of these are stories to help US go inside and face OUR biggest fears.

Because until you DO face your biggest fear, it’s got a funny way of popping up everywhere.

Back when I was in sales and starting to learn all about NLP, I did an interesting exercise.

I practiced, alone, with some of my most feared sales objections, from the scariest people, according to my own imagination.

I would practice, out loud, overcoming my biggest, scariest objections.

Once I did that, they stopped coming in the real world.

Fear has a way of doing that.

Even if you don’t acknowledge you’ve got any fear, it’s still there.

And it will keep popping up, everywhere you look.

Only because you don’t look inside to confront it, it SEEMS like the “world” is against you.

But that’s really just a projection.

A quick subconscious Jedi mind trick you play on yourself to “protect” your ego.

It’s safe to blame the world.

It’s easy to pretend it’s not your fault.

It’s TERRIFYING to admit that you’ve some unresolved issues.

It’s even MORE TERRIFYING to confront them.

But as Yoda would say, “Confront them you must.”

How?

There are many ways.

Actually going out and facing them, again and again.

Practice facing them in your imagination, until you’re ready for the real world. Kind of like shadow boxing.

Bottom line?

Face them ANY WAY YOU CAN, and defeat them.

Because on the other side of your greatest fears, are life’s greatest pleasures.

Just waiting.

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Are You Afraid of Cannibals?

Ditch The Meatsuit

Ditch The Meatsuit

​I was reading this interesting book on linguistics once.

It was talking about humans, and what aliens would think of us if they found Earth by accident.

Not the type of aliens who have been living here for decades, and have successfully infiltrated congress.

I’m talking about the aliens that are kind of out cruising around, get lost, and see Earth.

Then zoom in closer to see what kind of creatures live here.

They see humans, and then try to classify us.

First of all, trying to wrap your mind around this is impossible without knowing what type of creatures the aliens are.

Which means trying to imagine something that doesn’t exist, to get a perspective on something that does exist.

Anyhow, in the book, the guy concluded that aliens would look at Earth, all the stuff that’s been built, and then look at us.

And they’d conclude that we were “meat.”

If you’ve ever watched the TV show “Supernatural,” it’s about demons, angels and monsters.

And when the demons and angles take human form, they have to “borrow” a person to inhabit their body.

And what do they call it?

A “meatsuit.”

Now, I know we are much more than walking hunks of meat waiting to be barbecued.

But there are some cultures that may disagree. Thankfully, not many.

Just imagine the juxtaposition. One group of dudes has spent their lives exploring. Instead of sitting around being told what to do, they decided to go out around the planet to explore. Dangerous. Risky.

These were learned men and women. Mean and women of means. Of Letters (whatever that means, lol).

And here they come to some unique and never before seen culture, and the natives look at them.

What do the natives think?

“Wow, maybe we can learn about science, and math!”

Or, “hey those dudes look tasty! Let’s cook them and eat them!”

Obviously, deliciousness is in the eye of the beholder.

The bottom line is that you CAN see yourself as a collection of chemicals, electrical circuits, bones, and a bunch of steaks.

OR you can decide to see yourself as something incredible. Something miraculous. Something that is destined to CREATE something fantastic.

But if you’re waiting for somebody to give you permission, or give you a head start, or hold your hand and lead you to the front door of creative genius, you’ll be waiting a while.

And yes, you might wander into the wrong part of the world and get eaten.

But NOTHING will happen if don’t MAKE it happen.

Your life belongs to you.

How will you build it?

How To Get Better Each Time

Secrets Of Continuous Improvement

Leverage Every Experience

One of the worst feelings is getting taken advantage of.

That’s why people really don’t like salespeople.

Even if you negotiate for something, there’s always a suspicion in the back of your mind that you could have gotten a better deal.

Even in a job interview, you may get the job, accept whatever they were offering, but in the back of your mind you’re thinking that maybe if you would have held out, you could have gotten more money.

Some people are good at sniffing out people that are easy to take advantage of.

I recently read a book about these people, written by a psychologists who worked in the prison system.

They had some kind of “sixth sense” for needy and desperate people. Then they’d swoop in, manipulate the crap out of them, take what they wanted, and then leave.

Even if you’ve never been outright manipulated, it can still feel pretty terrible if you think you could have done better had you only asked, but you were afraid to or not assertive enough.

However, consider how powerful that feeling is.

That feeling of, “I could have done better.”

What happens when you think of that as a resource, rather than a burden, or a shortcoming.

Then simply “reframe” that feeling to “I will use this experience to do better next time.”

Sure, it helps to learn from the past, but if you ONLY dwell in the past,  you can’t see what’s coming.

Think of each job interview as practice for the next one.

Think of each job as practice for the next one.

Each project, each goal, each success.

After all, no matter who you are or what you’ve accomplished, unless you’ve only got a couple minutes to live, there’s still plenty more you can do.

You can either use the past to “prove” that you’re a failure, or use it to “prove” that you’re always getting better.

It’s completely up to you.

Now, for some people, admitting failure, and then blaming the world, is a lot easier and safer than actually getting out there and trying to better each time.

Because let’s be honest, not a lot of people accomplish much in their lives, other than becoming incredibly creative in justifying their limitations.

What about you?

If you look back into your past, up to now, and then way up into your future, where does it lead?

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Are You Wasting Your Genius?

Build A Better Mousetrap

Build A Better Mousetrap

​I was watching a movie the other night about some guy who invented a new device.

It was to help nurses who need to take blood from patients who may have HIV.

The device made it much safer, and all the nurses and blood techs the inventor talked to LOVED the idea.

The problem came with getting it past hospital administrators, who it turned out had secret deals with insurance companies.

The inventor himself was infected, as he was an intravenous drug user.

There was one scene where he was talking to one of the lawyers for the hospital, and he was trying to explain to the lawyer that he felt compelled to see this project through.

It was his personal vision. His life’s purpose. He said he had a great plan for his life.

The lawyer, trying to dissuade him, said “Feeling you have a great purpose is the most common feelings there is.”

Meaning his point was that EVERYBODY feels like they have some kind of “great idea” that they NEED to get out there.

And he’s right.

The problem is that most people do nothing about it.

Most people sit around and wait for the super important people to come knocking at their door and ask them what their great idea is, and then come back a couple months later with a sack of money.

You’ve likely heard the old saying, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.”

Meaning if you come up with a great invention, people will recognize you for it. 

But many people misunderstand this to mean “think of a great idea and people will beat a path to your door.”

However, you need to BUILD a better mousetrap. You need to take your idea, and turn it into something tangible.

Like the hero of the movie did before he died.

He didn’t sit around and wait to be discovered. He built his idea and went out into the world and FOUGHT against great adversaries to get it accepted.

He didn’t complain that “the system” was against him.

He didn’t wish it was easier.

He just got it done.

Having a great idea is just the start. You need to take that idea and turn it into something. Then you need to take that “something” (skills, products, whatever) and get it out there. Get it in front of people.

Sure, this isn’t easy. Often times it’s VERY difficult, and will take a LIFETIME.

But if you get started, and never stop, you WILL change the world.

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Blasting Off Is Only The Beginning

​If you take a piece of ice out of the freezer, it will melt.

It undergoes what scientists call a “phase transition,” meaning it changes from solid to liquid.

I once had this freezer that, for some reason, was the PERFECT temperature for some weird science.

If I put an unopened plastic bottle of water in the freezer, it wouldn’t freeze.

But if I took it out, and opened the lid, the whole bottle would freeze in a few seconds.

It was the COOLEST thing to watch.

Usually phase transitions take a while, like water turning into gas as it boils, but when it happens quickly it’s pretty cool.

Like in those super far north areas where it gets really cold in winter. People make YouTube videos of taking a cup of hot water, throwing it into the air, and before it lands it’s frozen.

It goes from the border of one phase transition (the water is steaming, so it’s going from liquid to gas) and then slams it into another phase transition (liquid to solid).

The idea of an “escape velocity” is kind of similar. Like if you happened to be on a space ship, trying to get out of orbit. It would take  HUGE amount of energy to blast off. Then it would take another HUGE amount of energy to leave orbit, and get out into space, where you’d avoid the pull of gravity from Earth.

Human struggles can be seen as the same way. You can be pushing along, not seeming to make any progress and then BAM! 

You’re up on the next level.

Most people are terrified to start ANYTHING unless they have some kind of guarantee it will work. And those that DO start something usually quit, because they don’t seem to be making any progress.

If you’ve ever tried to lose weight you know how frustrating this seems. At the beginning, you’re losing a pound or two a day. But then for a couple weeks, you’re flat lining.

This is when it’s EASIEST to give up, but at the same time, it’s the most CRUCIAL time to keep going.

Because it’s all that work on the plateau that is building up, which will eventually SPRINGBOARD you to the next level.

Next time you’re stuck, look up some old NASA launches on YouTube. See how much energy, and force is requires just to move a couple inches off the Earth.

Then imagine that same spaceship floating through space, effortless, not requiring any energy. Just momentum.

The energy is within you. When you tap it, you need to tap it consistently. Let it build up.

THEN you’ll go through your own “phase transition.”

Get Started:

Resistance Is Futile

Resistance is Futile

Rolling

​I have a friend who is holds an advanced black belt in Aikido.

This is not really a “hard” martial art, but it’s not exactly soft either.

He described it to me as managing energy flow, rather than throwing or blocking punches.

Which means you need to understand energy flow in the first place.

He told me that people who study other traditional “fighting” martial arts like Karate, learn how to avoid a fight. 

By always being confident and assure of your ability to defend yourself, you’ll never really reach that “fight or flight” point, therefore, you’ll avoid fights.

But he said that Aikido will allow you to leave a location BEFORE even the idea of a fight pops up.

Like if you were in a bar and the “energy level” started to disintegrate, you’d sense it and leave.

Then maybe twenty or thirty minutes later a fight would break out.

It was also interesting how he described the first full YEAR of training.

Nothing esoteric like in the movies where they blind fold you and throw ping pong balls at you, or have you sit and try and hit you in the head with a broom stick and you grab it from behind. 

These are great party tricks, and if you’re attending some kind of seminar, their good ways to make you feel you’ve got your money’s worth.

But in real life, they’re not so useful.

Anyhow, my friend said the first year of training was spent rolling.

Rolling around on the mats.

Rolling away from punches, and then rolling on the mats.

Not plopping down and springing back up like Jason Bourne.

Accepting whatever energy comes at you, and simply rolling with it.

Not fighting it, or changing it.

Rolling with it.

Only AFTER mastering the art of rolling with the energy that reality is ALWAYS throwing your way, do you learn to work WITH it. Never against it.

What does this mean to you?

Well, within the Borg collective, there is wisdom:

Resistance is Futile.

Meaning if you resist what the world throws at you, you’ll get slammed.

If you ignore what the world throws at you, you’ll get slammed.

But when you first ACCEPT everything that happens, and learn to ROLL with what happens, then you can move on to the next step.

Using the energy of the world, channeling it. Bending it like a prism bends light rays.

Never stopping it, or ignoring it, or wishing somebody else would take it away.

Of course, the strongest energy is ALWAYS coming from within.

Most people don’t realize this, let alone accept it, or even begin to think about using it.

But when you do, magnificent things will occur.

Learn How:

Destroy The Evil One

Hero's Journey

Start Your Journey

​Many stories have common themes.

If you study any kind of mythology, you’ve likely come across Joseph Campbell.

He pointed out that most myths from most cultures throughout all time have a very common story.

Normal guy or girl. Gets pulled into a big adventure. Makes friends along the way. Kills some evil bad guy.

Of course, the reason all humans respond to this type of story is because this is our lives.

Not just when we were born, but over and over. Every time you go through a different “phase,” you go through the same archetype structure.

You’re safe, yet bored. You’re pulled into an adventure (new school, new job, new relationships, etc). And you’ve got to learn new skills and make new friends.

But who’s the “bad guy” that you have to defeat?

Every time you have a desire “out there” in front of you, there’s ALWAYS going to be some kind of obstacles.

Even if you want to walk over there and talk to that cute girl or guy, the obstacle is always there.

Now sometimes, there really IS an obstacle. Like maybe she’s talking to some goof you need to deal with.

But most of the time, those obstacles, those “bad guys” are in your head.

And the ONLY way to defeat them is to face them.

Because simply by facing them, they will vanish.

Because they are not real.

This is why we LOVE stories like that. When the good guy kills the bad guy, we subconsciously imagine that it is US killing OUR bad guys. Our inner demons. Those imaginary obstacles that are keeping us from where we want to be.

How can you IMPROVE your bad guy killing skills?

One way is to accept that they will ALWAYS be there.

NOTHING worth getting is going to come without some kind of struggle.

Any time you face any kind of fear, of any sort, large or small, think of it as another exercise in “killing bad guy” skills.

And like any other skill, the more you do it, the better you’ll get.

In your imagination, pretend you’re Bruce Lee. Flicking his nose with the thumb of his right hand, while beckoning his enemies with his left.

Or if you want, you can be Scarface:

“Say hello to my little friend!”

There is no shortage of role models to help you kill your bad guys.

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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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