Tag Archives: Backpacking

Maximize Your DNA

Once I went on this backpacking trip with a couple buddies.

We went from one end of Scotland to the other, and went to a bunch of distilleries along the way.

Most of the time we stayed in pretty rural areas, but every once in a while we’d walk through a city.

We each had HUGE backpacks filled with all kinds of junk.

Once we were walking down the sidewalk of a relatively large city, and some guy hanging out said:

“There goes the snail, carrying his house on his back.”

Which I thought was pretty funny. Because when you carry so much junk around, you tend to walk pretty slow.

The funny thing about snails is they always tend to look for the same type of shells.

Scientists call this an “Extended Phenotype.” A phenotype is your physical appearance, compared to your genotype which is the makeup of your genes.

An extended phenotype is the idea that some creatures build up their “bodies” by transforming the world around them.

Beavers building damns, for example.

A lot of things we think of as “choice” are really genetically programmed into us.

At first, this sounds like bad news. Meaning if all we are is a collection of genes, our choice and free will don’t have much say in the matter.

The thing about us humans thought is ON TOP of our all genetically programmed instincts is MASSIVE FLEXIBILITY.

Think of it this way. Say you were walking down the street, and you saw a dollar (or whatever money they use in your country). You’d AUTOMATICALLY pick it up, right?

Now, how long do you think it would take to LEARN a new money, say if you were on vacation or something.

Meaning how long would it take before you had the same reaction upon seeing the DIFFERENT type of money?

Not long!

Another thing that you have PRE-PROGRAMMED into you (which almost nobody takes advantage of) is your goal seeking ability.

Every single action you take is to achieve an outcome. Even if you are flipping channels on TV, each time you push the button, you are HOPING to increase your level of pleasure. Humans are ALWAYS looking out into the future and trying to ACHIEVE a better state.

You CANNOT NOT do this.

But when it comes to CONSCIOUSLY choosing that better state, most people don’t know how.

They make wishes, they hope for magic, they wait until tomorrow, or whatever other excuse pops in their brains.

But when you make efforts to take your GENETICALLY PROGRAMMED goal seeking behavior, and layer some consciously chosen goals on top of it, THAT is what a fully engaged life feels like.

That’s when you start to fully realize your potential as a human.

Choose what you want, and get started:

Mind Persuasion Ebooks

Are You Letting Others Choose Your Life?

I used to do a lot of backpacking.

Once me and a buddy decided to take the back route to Mt. Whitney.

Most people go in through the front, so it’s really crowded.

But the back way in is a lot less crowed, and therefore has a lot more wide open meadows and streams and lakes with a lot of fish.

The back way to the top is a five day hike. The front way is two, one if you start at dawn.

The first day was the worst. Fifteen miles. We wanted to push over the first pass, which was very difficult.

One stretch of about two or three miles was particularly grueling.

A long, uphill walk on very loose gravel.

It was so loose that simply walking forward, by pushing off with your feet you lost a little ground.

But once we got over that first pass, it was magnificent.

A HUGE valley with several small lakes. Plenty of fish. No other people.

On the other hand, I’ve been car camping quite a bit. Where you drive right up and park.

Sometimes people even sleep in the car. You can bring huge coolers filled with food straight from the grocery store.

It’s only sort of camping if you sleep outside. But nothing comes close to sleeping on the ground, under the stars, knowing there’s no other people around for fifty miles.

Everybody wants more out of life. But few people are willing to put in the work to get there.

Some people spent a great deal of time, money and effort looking for “shortcuts” that will circumvent the necessary work.

If they’d spend that SAME amount of time, money and effort on ONE GOAL, for at least a year, they would make amazing progress.

Most any goal you want (at least that’s worthwhile) WILL take time. It will take effort.

And you will have those long uphill climbs that seem like you’re putting in TONS of work and not making any progress.

That is when it’s easiest to quit. To question your motivations. That’s when the self doubt starts to creep in.

You may even find that the biggest obstacles between where you are and where you want to be are your own doubts and fears.

Does this mean if you remove your doubts and fears your goals will magically appear?

Nope.

But the required ACTION to get there will be much more fulfilling.

So much so that you’ll enjoy doing it. Even if others think you’re crazy.

If you don’t take efforts to create your life, somebody else will do it for you.

Most people are content to do that. It’s safer. Less scary. You won’t get in trouble.

But you won’t get much else, either.

What do YOU want?

Get Started:

Mind Persuasion Ebooks

Time Shifting Magic

When I was a kid, I was in boy scouts.

And every summer we went on a long backpacking trip.

About a week, carrying all of our stuff on our backs.

Usually we would park at trailhead. Then walk up a long set of switchbacks.

These are trails that criss-cross up a really steep set of mountains.

Then when you’re on the other side, it’s like a completely different world.

Because the only people that you see (which aren’t very many) are people that walked there.

It’s fun on the way up, looking down at the parking lot. Seeing our cars getting smaller and smaller.

Then when we come out on the other side, a week or so later, it’s a welcome site.

After sleeping in tents, eating freeze dried food and no showers, seeing a bunch of parked cars, even from a long ways off, is pretty refreshing.

See things from different perspectives is useful.

One way easy way to do this is see how we use language.

I’m sure you’ve heard the famous Einstein quote about insanity.

Doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

One way we “do” the same thing is talk about things the same way.

Like if you’ve got a “problem,” you use it as if it were a real “thing.”

I’ve “got” this “problem.”

I don’t know how to get rid of this “problem.”

I need to put “this” behind me.

What happens when you describe your “problem” in a different way?

This is slightly different than the useless “I don’t see problems, I see opportunities!” bumper sticker mindset that some people spout .

For an example, think of a problem you HAD a year or so ago, that is now resolved.

Now think of something useful you learned from that.

Something really useful, not, “I learned that people are idiots.”

Now, when you look at a “problem” in the future, instead of saying “how can I get rid of this,” or something similar, ask yourself, “When I DO solve this, I wonder what I’ll learn?”

That simple replacement, when you take out the “if” and put in the “when” is very powerful.

Just say these two sentences, out loud if you can, to see how they affect your emotions.

If I get rich I’ll be able to buy a nice house.

When I get rich I’ll be able to buy nice house.

The difference may be subtle, and you may need to really WORK to believe the second one, but when you do, a whole new future of opportunities will open up.

You’ll think of new ideas, dream new dreams, and start taking new action.

Instead of waiting, you’ll be doing.

That one simple shift, (when instead of if) is only ONE of the many language patterns in the Covert Hypnosis book.

You can use them on yourself, to “fix” your own problems.

You can use them with others, to help them with theirs.

You can use them pretty much anytime, anywhere with anybody.

Get Started:

Covert Hypnosis