Believe In Success

Success And Happiness – Just Learn How To Pay Attention

2011-07-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have been issuing a Free Personal Development Ezine for the past few years – twice a week, articles and short videos – and from the comments that I get I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s lots of guys and girls out there who give out about life, but who won’t take the appropriate action to change. A majority of people are unhappy in their work but are prepared to grin and bear it. The normal mind is numbed by the routine of daily life. Plenty of people are in unsatisfactory relationships. People are unhappy with who they think they are – their shape, weight, lack of assertiveness, low self-esteem, eating habits, fitness… But what all these people – and there’s a whopping great chance that this includes you – don’t understand is that everything would alter effortlessly if they simply sat up straight and started to pay attention.

Yeah, you heard me – just like what the teacher told you in nursery school! Psychological studies suggest that your happiness and success is directly linked to your ability to pay attention. That may seem a little bizarre – but think about it. Successful people are more focused – and focus is just a fancy word for paying attention. Presence is one of the main hallmarks of success – successful people have presence – and that just means that they focus to an abnormal extent on the here and now. Or, more to the point, successful people bother to turn up for their own lives! They are abnormally attentive to the here and now – they give it their complete attention.

Contrast this with your average Joe who, research concludes, is missing in action! The normal mind is, to use an Irish expression, ‘not all there’ – we’re all over the place. The normal mind is focused on your ‘stored knowledge’ – what you learned during your formative years. Your normal mind is immune to what’s actually happening now and that’s why ordinary people are stuck on the daily sorry-go-round!

You’ve got to pay attention, focus, get your head in the game. And, in real reality, it’s no big deal if you’re not sure what you want out in your life (how many of us are?!) – what’s of primary importance is that you pay attention to what’s taking place right now – you just don’t know what opportunities you might spot (which you caannot spot if you’re not all there!). Paying attention is about the here and now. Focus is about doing what you’re actually doing without dwelling on your self-defeating beliefs (from ‘I don’t like my job’ to ‘I don’t like me’). Focus is about being present, having presence and getting into the flow of life.

Has it now dawned on you that all the fantastic things that have ever happened in your life (yeah, even if you’re a desperate case, some good stuff happened somewhere along the way) happened in a spontaneous manner? You can rediscover life’s spontaneity, all you’ve got to do is turn up to your own life – right here, right now – pay attention to what’s actually happening, not what your bizarre, ordinary mind would convince you is going on.

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Criticism, Your Career, and Your Life

2011-07-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

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Throughout your career, you will encounter a series of so-called friends, confidants, and others who will come up to you and let you in on various things that “people are saying about you.” I am not talking about the sort of people who are happy to pass along good news; rather, I am talking about the sort of people who are mostly interested in passing along bad news about you, criticism of you, and more. There are people like this in every company and every organization, and the more you try to accomplish in your life and career, the more you will encounter these people.

When I was in college, I was in the process of deciding whether or not I wanted to run for a certain office. Someone who I thought was a friend of mine came up to me, sat me down for a serious discussion, and advised me not to run because people were saying bad things about me, and were apparently very disappointed that I had been late for a meeting a few days back.

“Being late for that meeting was a deal killer,” the person told me. “No one is ever going to vote for you, from what I understand.”

I went away from that encounter very upset, and I thought about no longer running for the office. Years later, I still remember this incident because it left such a bad taste in my mouth. It made me feel really bad about myself. Despite that person’s “friendly advice,” I ran anyway. Incredibly, the only person who did not vote for me was the person who had told me that I should not have run for in the first place.

This episode really left an impression on me because it was one of the first times I understood that there are a variety of people out there who are more than happy to pass along criticism to us, out of their own self-interest. In my experience, unwarranted criticism often has more to do with jealousy and people feeling threatened by us than anything else.

I went to an expensive private high school when I was around 16 years old. At the time, my father had just remarried a woman whose daughter, who was near my age, had dropped out of high school. When my father was not around, my stepmother used to say things to me like:

“Your father does not make enough money for you to go to that school. You should not be going there and you do not deserve to go there anyway.”

This was not a nice thing to say to a kid my age, or to anybody really. I told my father about it and he told me that my stepmother felt that the money he was spending on the school should be spent on my stepsister instead. There was a lot of tension surrounding my going to this school due to the cost, and my stepmother made it clear to me on several occasions that she did not like my father spending the money to send me there.

In the first few months I was at the school, my father was working overseas in Japan. I lived a pretty lonely existence at home because my stepmother had a lot of hostility toward me. One Friday evening my friends and I went to a dance at an all-girls school that was in the neighboring city. We did not know a lot of girls at the school, but before I knew it, a friend of mine had met a girl and her friend, and the four of us were headed to my house to watch television in the downstairs area of the house. That was all we planned on doing and the entire thing was pretty innocent. My stepmother was out for the evening, so I thought it would be okay.

We got to the house and went downstairs and started watching television. Around 20 minutes later, my stepmother barged downstairs. She accused me of having girls over to the house without anyone’s permission, being “out of control,” and all sorts of negative things. Even though there was absolutely nothing funny going on, her reaction was pretty alarming. Everyone promptly left.

The next day (Saturday) my stepmother stopped speaking to me entirely. She would simply walk away if I spoke to her, not saying a word. I was very confused by the entire situation, and I had never seen someone completely turn off and stop communicating like she did.The day after that (Sunday), in the afternoon, she came into my room and told me she was so upset that she thought I was going to have to move out of the house, and that she was going to send her brother over to speak with me. She told me that it was completely unacceptable that I had had women over to the house without supervision, and a bunch of similar things.

While all of this would have made perfect sense were she religious and if our household had a strict moral code, for example, this was just not the case. My stepsister actually had a good friend who was a very promiscuous eighteen-year-old stripper, and she used to sit in our kitchen talking about her exploits with my stepmother, and they all laughed about it. Four sixteen-year-old kids watching bad horror movies at 9:30 on a Friday night hardly seemed to qualify as a major moral transgression.

By Sunday afternoon I had not spoken to my father yet and she had not either. I was really taken aback by the entire incident, and I was horrified by my stepmother’s behavior. I had moved in with my father and stepmother recently from my mother’s home, which was more than an hour’s drive away. I sulked around the house in fear the rest of the day, not sure what to do. On Monday morning as I was going to school I heard my stepmother speaking to my father on the phone. She was talking very loudly because this was in the mid-1980s, and international phone calls were typically of poor quality:

“I think he should move back in with his mother and attend the public school there. I have not called the school yet. Do you think they will give the tuition money back?” I heard her say.

I was not able to speak to my father until that evening and, when I did, I realized that he was not that upset about anything. I think he must have been confused by my stepmother’s reaction, but he needed to take her side to however minimal a degree, since she was his new wife.

What I realized out of this terrifying ordeal was that people often seek to criticize us for reasons that are more self-serving than anything. Here, my stepmother was resentful and jealous about the household budget that was going toward paying for the private school I was attending, and she sought to undermine this by blowing out of proportion a very small incident.

There is nothing wrong with positive criticism, of course. If someone has a person’s best interests at heart, then criticism can help that person become better. However, most criticism you will encounter in your career, in your family, and in social settings is not intended to build you up; instead, it is intended to tear you down.

At work, in social relationships, and elsewhere there are always people who will speak negatively about us, blame us for something, or blow small incidents way out of proportion. When this occurs, the person blowing things out of proportion and speaking badly about you usually has no interest in helping you and, instead, is simply trying to bring you down. This sounds like a terrible thing to say, and to an extent, it even sounds a bit paranoid, but for most people this is the case.

When you are doing well in your career and life, instead of being happy for you, many people will become jealous and resentful of your success. In order to make themselves feel better, they will find fault with how you are doing by criticizing you, either to your face or behind your back. How many times have you heard someone say something like the following:

“That person may be rich, but they are unhappy.”“That person may be famous, but look at how unsuccessful their relationships are.”

Instead of being happy for people for what they have done, or what they have achieved, the reaction is to attack them for what does not seem perfect in their lives. This is a tool that many people use to feel better about themselves when they are threatened by others and their success.

I spend a lot of time trying to build people up with career advice and by helping people realize their potential. There are so many rewards and benefits to gain from pursuing your dream life; however, one thing that you simply cannot escape or ignore is the fact that the more successful you become and the better that you do in every area of your life, the more criticism you will face.

If you get a promotion, you may be accused of being a brown-noser. If you meet the person of your dreams, you will threaten that person’s friends, if they are single, because you are taking their friend away from them.

I grew up with sisters. I was always amazed at how their single friends reacted when any of my sisters got a boyfriend. In almost every case, the friends would look for various criticisms of the man, which they would quickly voice. I have seen this occur so many times, it seems like it is almost a natural sort of response. The girls were feeling threatened because they were getting less time with their friends, once their friends entered into a relationship. Men often do the same thing with their friends. They often feel threatened when their friends meet women. The woman may be called controlling, manipulative–and all sorts of things.

In most cases, your personal and professional success will invoke a bit more criticism than compliments and congratulations.

The ability to deal with criticism is one of the most important lessons you will ever learn. If you are going to improve and constantly strive toward your goals, you will need to learn how to deal with criticism. Most people stop and pull back when they are criticized, or they simply do not act at all, for fear of being criticized. If you live your life in fear of criticism, you will never accomplish everything you are capable of accomplishing in your life.

The best way to deal with criticism is to simply not let it bother you. If you get upset and stay upset about criticism then your ability to be happy, achieve more, and push forward has been limited. Once you allow others to limit the happiness you can experience, the person who has criticized you has achieved his or her objective.

Everyone has various associates who will try to bring them down with negative words and actions. It does not matter what their objectives are; however, you need to be aware of them. These sorts of people will destroy you if you allow their negative words to influence you, slow you down, or make you angry. The most dangerous of these people are the ones who appear to be your friends but are instead, your mortal enemies. They can do you massive harm. There are countless people out there who have allowed others’ negative opinions of them to control and destroy their lives. Many people do everything they can to make others like them, to not upset people, and this ends up taking over their lives. As a result they are never pleased with themselves.

You cannot make everyone happy. It is impossible. The more you base your actions on trying to make others happy all the time, the more trouble you will experience. You cannot stop people from talking negatively about you and criticizing you. The more you try to get others to approve of you, the more mediocre you will be–and the unhappier you will be. Guaranteed.

When someone is critical of you, the best thing you can do is to simply shrug it off and move forward. Who cares? It doesn’t do you any good to listen to criticism that is intended to limit you; do not pay too much attention to it because people will find fault no matter what you do. Not everyone is going to be able to understand you and where you are coming from. Moreover, when you try to win over critics, you will rarely succeed, because for whatever reason, they are threatened by you, and making them feel wrong for criticizing you will not help the situation.

I have watched critical people all my career, and for the most part, I have come to the following conclusion: Most critical people don’t work hard enough to do what it takes to be at their very best. Instead, they do their best to attack and criticize others, in order to make themselves feel better. Let them do this. Then forget about it and move on.

Do not spend your time worrying about what others are saying. Spend your time focused on what you want to do with your life, your dreams, and your aspirations for the future.

If you want to achieve anything of significance in your life, you must realize that a good portion of the people you encounter are not going to want you to succeed. Instead, people are going to be jealous and critical of you. And the more you achieve, the more criticism you will attract. If you change yourself in response to this criticism, you will start moving backward instead of forward.

When I was in college, my girlfriend was a very gifted writer and verbal communicator. In fact, she was downright brilliant when it came to writing and condensing complex ideas into written prose. Her freshman year of college at the University of Chicago, she got all As in every writing-related class, which was simply something that very few people were able to do.

When she got into her last year of college, however, she had all sorts of friends who were getting jobs with banks like Goldman Sachs and so forth. These girls were dynamic, but had a whole different set of skills from my girlfriend. They had probably struggled to get Bs in the writing classes that my girlfriend had done so well in. In contrast, they all were very good at math, and had seemingly spent their lives preparing to interview with investment banks. They were highly professional and came across as polished, but also calculating. My girlfriend had her own skills that made her exceptional, but she was much different from those other girls. When she started interviewing with the banks she did not get callback interviews. Her friends gave her advice like this:

“You need to appear more calculating.”“You’re too nice and friendly.”“You need to show them you can be ‘bitchy’ so they know you will not be intimidated and pushed around by the ‘old boy’s network’ inside of the banks.”“You need to give ‘sharp’ and quick answers to interview questions.”

None of this advice related in the least to my girlfriend’s personality. She was not calculating, and she loved to tell people how she arrived at various conclusions. She was intellectual and her friends were not. She liked to talk a lot and analyze and help people. In contrast, her friends, frankly, were relatively uninteresting.

She was not bitchy and was very open. I hated going shopping with her because she might sit there in the grocery store and get into a 20-minute discussion with the cashier about nothing. She was not an investment banker type. But she listened to her friends’ advice (which actually came from a good place, unlike the sort of evil advice I mentioned above) and decided she needed to change her personality.

It was a disaster and ended up destroying our relationship. She lost her amazing personality and tried to overcompensate by acting in a way that was not at all like her. While her friends were naturally calculating, she tried to become this way, and it was obvious and made no sense. She also became mean. She stopped telling stories the way she used to and started trying to be like all her friends. This was completely unnecessary, and ultimately, she did not get a job with an investment bank. Years later, when I encountered her, she was still trying to act the way her close friends had acted, which was not really her personality at all. She was convinced that she did not get a high-powered job at the age of 23 because she did not act the way her friends had told her she should.

Although she never drank more than a glass of wine or beer when I knew her, I found out that she later became a serious alcoholic and had spent several years in and out of rehab facilities. None of this made any sense to me because it just did not seem like her. This woman had had so much potential.

I wonder how much of this had to do with her taking criticism the wrong way.

About a year ago, I heard she had gotten a night job as a “model on the Internet.” I am not sure what this means, but it does not sound good. It devastates me thinking about it because this woman has become so different from the person I once knew, who was so talented. I personally believe that her listening to the wrong criticism, and not pursuing what she loved caused all this. If she had not gotten so absorbed in what made her different from others, I believe she would still be the happy-go-lucky person I once knew.

Do not allow others to determine your destiny. When you hear criticism of yourself, just walk away and continue on your path. You will forever be held back if you allow others’ criticism of you to affect your happiness.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: Instead of Seeking Praise, Seek CriticismUpgrade Your Career and Life by Finding Work to Be DoneWinning in Your Job Search and Life Means Going Forward No Matter What Criticism You Think You May ReceiveTrust Your Intuition in Your Career and LifeThe Milgram Experiment, Submission to Authority, Your Life, and CareerMake Sure Your Life and Dreams Are Your OwnSummary In this article Harrison discusses criticism and explains how to handle criticism. When you are doing well in your career and life, instead of being happy for you, many people will become resentful of your success. In order to make themselves feel better, they will find fault with you and criticize you, either to your face, or behind your back. The ability to deal with criticism is one of the most important lessons you will ever learn. If you are going to improve and constantly strive towards your goals, you will need to learn how to deal with criticism. Most people stop and pull back when they are criticized, or they simply do not act at all, for fear of being criticized. If you live your life in fear of being criticized, you will never accomplish everything you are capable of accomplishing in your life.

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Do Not Be Influenced by Others’ Negative Opinions of You

2011-07-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

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I have kept a journal for years. Today I opened the journal and found a quote that I had written down on July 4, 2002. I had written this quote down because at the time I had just gotten out of a relationship in which the person I was with had decided that I could do absolutely nothing right whatsoever. At that time I was reading a self-help book about recovering from bad relationships, and this particular quote had really hit me with tremendous gusto, because I believed it really described what I had been going through. I was sitting in my backyard in the afternoon after the breakup, feeling quite depressed but still looking hard for answers. When we are in the eye of the storm, we often do not realize it until someone tells us we are.

Emotional abuse is the systematic diminishment of another. It may be intentional or subconscious–or both–but it is always a course of conduct, not a single event. It is designed to reduce a child’s self-concept to the point where the victim considers himself unworthy–unworthy of respect, friendship, and the natural right of all: love and protection.
Inevitably, victims are made to feel guilty–made to believe the abuse they suffer is their own fault.
No one ever has the right to abuse you, whether you are a child or an adult.
Everyone deserves someone to be crazy about them–to nurture them.
–Unknown

What stuck out for me so much about this quote was that I had been told how awful I was for years. In the relationship I was in, I was told I would never be a good businessperson, never be worthy of respect in the world, never be a good father, and never be a good husband. These kinds of messages have the tendency to be self-reinforcing because the more we hear negative information about ourselves, the more we tend to believe it. I can remember that when I was in this relationship, all I wanted to do was escape emotionally and physically. Were I still in this relationship, you might find me as one of those lonely men who sit on a bar stool night after night somewhere. I’ll bet many of the men who crowd bar stools all over are emotionally abused. Somewhere in the backgrounds of many unhappy and unsuccessful people is some kind of emotional abuse–and it is probably ongoing in their lives.

The reason I am sharing such deeply personal information with you is that in some respects you yourself might be emotionally abused, and I want to offer you insight and support. You might be, or you might have been emotionally abused in a relationship, by a parent or relative, or by an employer. Someone around you, or some group around you, might be telling you that you are negative and incapable. For whatever reason, you may be led to believe that you are incompetent and unworthy. When I think about emotional abuse, I also think about our jobs and what many people experience in certain jobs. Many people simply are not appreciated in their jobs. They are told that they are doing a bad job, they are threatened constantly with termination, they are made fun, of and they are systematically passed up for promotions. As a result, they feel a constant sense of inferiority in their jobs.

There is so much happiness and success available for the taking in the world that whenever I see people extraordinarily unhappy with their lives and unappreciated, I want nothing more than to intervene with knowledge and guidance. In my life, once I got out of that abusive relationship, everything miraculously changed. I started excelling in my job. I became happier. My relationships with everyone around me suddenly became fulfilling. I met a wonderful woman who became my wife, and today I am living the life of my dreams. This all came from spending the majority of my time with someone who believed in me and supported me, instead of someone who was fighting against my dreams and me.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your emotional and psychological health is quit a job. People who are abused and not valued by their employers should seek other jobs. Criticism can achieve a useful purpose and can motivate you to improve. However, there are also circumstances under which individual employees of various businesses are so severely and commonly abused that it rises to an extremely unhealthy level. In these cases, the criticism actually serves to diminish the employees and it makes them feel as if they are not worthy of their job.

When you read stories about employees going on rampages, the story is usually about an employee who was systematically abused and was made to feel inferior by the employer. One of the reasons we often hear about this in places like post offices is that the employees there feel trapped, and they feel as if they have skills that would simply not be valued elsewhere. Given the good-size pensions postal employees receive and the fact that the pay is not that bad, postal employees often feel trapped in their jobs. If you had delivered letters for the past 15 years, what else would you feel qualified to do? If you are ever in a situation in which you feel trapped or abused, the best thing you can do is look for another job. No one should remain in a job or position wherein they are demoralized and feel inferior.

Whoever you are and whatever you do, you have skills and personality traits that are in demand somewhere. You need to do everything within your power to take advantage of these skills and traits, and to put yourself in a situation wherein you will be appreciated. You have skills and abilities that merit profound appreciation. You just need to be working for an employer that realizes this. The more positive news and affirmations that you receive, the better you will typically become at your job.

About a year ago I was at a conference and spent some time with a man who had apparently lost more than 50 pounds during the previous year, had quit drinking on a daily basis, had stopped taking stimulants on a daily basis, and had gone from emotionally withdrawn to incredibly happy and motivated. Since I did not know the person as he was before I met him, I was very curious:

“How on earth did you do this?” I asked him.

“I decided whom to spend my time with and whom not to spend my time with,” he told me.

When I thought about this statement, I realized that it was no different from the experience I had years earlier. People’s negative opinions of the world and about us can have a profoundly negative influence on our lives. This is especially so when we are not appreciated and loved.

Several years ago, I was working inside of a law firm and there was another attorney who had been there for at least 10 years. I could not figure out why the law firm had kept him around so long–or why he had stayed. All anyone did was talk about how stupid this guy was and constantly make fun of him. The associates who had just gotten out of law school even talked about how stupid he was and made fun of him. The partners did the same thing. Despite the fact that the law firm was going through what seemed to be a full-time downsizing of laying people off and firing them, this guy was never let go. Incredibly, despite mergers and other events at this law firm, and countless firings, he is still there today. I figure that the law firm must just enjoy keeping him around to harass. In actuality, this attorney is not that bad at his job. He is, however, someone who has tolerated incredible abuse throughout his career.

What makes this so incredible is that this particular guy was earning (10 years ago) probably more than $250,000 a year. He has since been promoted, and despite all the abuse he has suffered, he has continued to do very well in his job. I never understood why this guy tolerated so much abuse. From what I have seen, there are people like this in most law firms and companies. I remember another law firm I worked in that had hired a similar kind of person. There are people inside nearly every organization who are systematically made fun of and abused, while others around them enjoy poking fun at them. These people become like the court jester, and it is as if the organizations pile on them all of their issues and insecurities.

In addition to people who are directly put down and made fun of inside organizations, there are also people who experience a more subtle form of abuse. They are systematically degraded and put down, their dreams crushed over and over again by their employers. In the years I have spent studying human performance and what it takes to succeed in a job, one fact that occurs to me is that there are situations in which getting out of this pattern of abuse can be extremely difficult. For example, if you are working in one of many American small towns, it is often very hard to find a job as good as the post office and with as many benefits. Despite having to endure various types of abuse (often by customers) many people stay employed in the post office year after year.

Recently I saw a special about General Motors and the problems this company has been experiencing for decades. As part of the special, they were showing the numerous suppliers and others scattered throughout the United States who were dependent upon GM for business. What made this so interesting was that the suppliers were often in small towns with no other employers, and in some cases a supplier might only employ a few people. I thought about this and what it would mean for someone who works for one of these suppliers. Some of the people that were featured on the show had worked for certain suppliers for 20 or more years. They had lived in small communities that had existed for a long time, thriving on the income solely generated by the suppliers. In addition, many of the people working in these factories only knew how to do one thing. For example, they might operate a certain machine that makes bolts.

Imagine doing something like this for 20 or more years.Imagine still if you did not like your job and did not have any other skills.Imagine if the people at work were not nice to you and you felt abused. Feeling trapped in such a position would be absolutely horrible.

You might be in a situation right now, wherein you feel as if you are being abused and not treated the way you should be treated. You might not feel appreciated in your current job. If you are being diminished and your work not taken seriously, you should probably look for a different situation. It does not do you any good to be in a work situation in which you are not appreciated and cherished for who you are. Two of the most important things you have in your life are your self-worth and your sanity. You need to realize that you are an important person worthy of immense and genuine respect.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: Concentrate on the Positive, Not the Negative Learn Something From the Upper and Lower Class: Do Not Be Paralyzed by Others’ Opinions People Around You Can Shape What Happens to You: Avoid the Negative Affirmations of Others Run Your Career Based on Facts and Statistics — Not Opinions Are You More Motivated by the Opinions of Others–or Your Own?Do Not Tell Yourself You Have Negative TraitsSummary In this article Harrison discusses why you should not be influenced by other’s negative opinions of you. You have skills and abilities which merit profound appreciation. You need to put yourself in situation wherein you will be appreciated. The more positive news and affirmations that you receive, the better you will typically become at your job. People’s negative opinions about you can have a profoundly negative influence on your life. The more we hear negative information about ourselves, the more we tend to believe it. It does not do you any good to be in a work situation in which you are not appreciated and cherished for who you are. Two of the most important things you have in your life are your self-worth and your sanity. You need to realize that you are an important person worthy of immense and genuine respect.

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Relationships are easy

2011-07-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

Relationships are easy.

You may have read or heard the opposite, that relationships are hard work. I used to believe that was true. Not anymore.

Relationships are easy.

I understand that making time for someone else or giving up some of the things you love or getting your own way create some struggles in life – but once again, relationships are easy.

Perhaps what people who believe relationships are hard work are actually referring to the difficulty of interacting and living with an immature, childish human.

Why would it be hard work to be in relationship with a mature, caring grown up?

Here’s a couple of other questions to ponder:

Why is it that we are sometimes nicer to strangers than we are to loved ones?

Shouldn’t marriage and relationships lighten our load, not add to our burden? Because if it were the latter, why in the world would any of us sign up for something like this?

Perhaps the problem is that many times we get bogged down in a lot of the unnecessary parts of relationships and lose focus on the essential parts. Or we lose sight of the fact that our significant other is a separate being who is capable of making their own decisions and charting their own path in life.

But this fact isn’t a bad thing at all as it frees you up to do the same! And it also frees you both to choose each other – not feel like you’re stuck in a monotonous existence together.

It all boils down to how you view what goes on within your relationships, specifically your significant ones.

First and foremost, marriage is designed to help you grow up. It’s not about happiness. It’s not about becoming more complete, despite what Hollywood and popular press would like you to believe. Marriage is about growing. Happiness will accompany you at times along the way, but it’s not the ultimate goal.

And second: your growth – your responsibility; your spouse’s – theirs. When you keep this in mind you realize that all you can control in a relationship is yourself.

Many times couples have sought my help in working on their marriage. They come in thinking their relationship is an outside entity that can be fixed. The problem with this is they’ve got it backwards – the relationship is working on them! That’s the way relationships are designed.

When you acknowledge this and live accordingly, relationships are easy.

Here’s how.

How many times has something about your spouse’s behavior driven you crazy? Or how many heated discussions have come from your differences in beliefs?

The best way to combat this is found in this phrase: Rather than trying to adjust the wind, adjust your sails.

Focus on what you can control – and this begins and ends with you!

Simplify things in life so you can savor more of the goodness. This same idea can be applied to relationships.

And it starts by slowing down.

Do you have trouble remembering names when meeting someone new? Do you know why? Most of the time you’re too busy talking or thinking about what to say that you don’t even hear their name.

This happens in regular conversations as well. You’re busy or rushed thinking about something else and you miss the goodness of the moment with your spouse, or kids, or friends.

Slow down. Let their be pauses in the conversation while you think and respond. There doesn’t have to be a banter or speedy exchange of ideas in conversation.

Breathe. Listen. Breathe. Connect.

This will open you both up to more with each other.

Leo’s favorite guide works for most every aspect of relationships as well: “Smile, breathe, and go slowly.”

Just think how much better everything, and I mean everything (wink wink), will be when you follow this guide in your relationship?

Read more from Corey at his blog, Simple Marriage, or subscribe to his feed.

—
Note: Zen Habits has been nominated in the 2011 Bloggies. I’d love it if you voted (scroll down the page a bit), if you’re so inclined. Once again I’m in the same category as the awesome Post Secret so I don’t stand a chance!

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9 Mindfulness Rituals to Make Your Day Better

2011-07-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.” - Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist monk

Are you simply moving through your day, without fully living?

I did this for many years. It was as if life were just passing by, and I was waiting for something to happen. I always felt like I was preparing for something later.

But today isn’t preparation for tomorrow. Today’s the main event.

Fully live today by being mindful. I realize this is easier said than done — mindfulness is a habit that’s not easily picked up. And so I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorite mindfulness rituals to help you appreciate every moment.

You don’t need to do all of these, but give a few of them a try to see if they make your day better.

Ritual isn’t about doing a routine mindlessly. It’s a way of building something good into your life, so that you don’t forget what’s important. Done mindfully, a ritual can remind you to be conscious. Done mindlessly, a ritual is meaningless.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Sit in the morning. When you wake up, in the quiet of the morning, perhaps as your coffee is brewing, get a small cushion and sit on the floor. I will often use this opportunity to stretch, as I am very inflexible. I feel every muscle in my body, and it is like I am slowly awakening to the day. I’ll also just sit, and focus on my breathing going in and out. I’m an absolute beginner when it comes to meditation, but this always starts my day right.

2. Brush your teeth. I assume we all brush our teeth, but often we do it while thinking of other things. Try fully concentrating on the action of brushing, on each stroke of each tooth, going from one side of the mouth to the other. You end up doing a better job, and it helps you realize how much we do on autopilot.

3. Eat mindfully. Turn off the TV, put away the computer and mobile devices, even put away the book or newspaper. If you eat with any of these things (most people do), eating without them will seem boring. And yet, unless you do this, you are not truly appreciating your food. I like eating my oats (with nuts and berries — see my diet) mindfully, paying attention to each bite. It makes the food taste better, and I eat slowly and with gratefulness.

4. Wash your bowl. When you’re done eating, wash your dish immediately. Do it while paying full attention to your washing, to the water and suds. Read more.

5. Drink tea. There’s something ancient about the tea ceremony — and when you drink tea as a mindfulness ritual, you’re connecting with millions of others who have done so over the centuries. Make your own tea ceremony — prepare the tea carefully and mindfully, pour it slowly, sip it with thoughtfulness. See if you can set aside one time each day to do this, and it will transform your day.

6. Walk slowly. I like to take breaks from work, and go outside for a little walk. Walk slowly, each step a practice in awareness. Pay attention to your breathing, to everything around you, to the sounds and light and texture of objects.

7. Read in silence. Find a quiet time (mornings or evenings are great for me), and a quiet spot, and read a good novel. Have no television or computers on nearby, and just immerse yourself in the world of the novel. It might seem contradictory to let your mind move from the present into the time of the novel, but it’s a great practice in focus. Also, I love a good novel more than almost anything else.

8. Look at someone gratefully. Each day, find someone you care about. Instead of just seeing what you always see, really look at the person. Try not to do it creepily. See this person for the miracle that she is, and be grateful for her existence. If you’re feeling generous, tell that person how thankful you are for her.

9. Work with focus. Start your workday by choosing one task that will make a big difference in your work, and clearing everything else away. Just do that one task, and don’t switch to other tasks. Single-tasking is a great way to find focus. Increase your Monk Mind.

These rituals aren’t the only time you should be mindful, but they’re great reminders. Today, try a few of them to fully live and fully appreciate this wonderful day.

—
Tweetness & light

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The Importance of Creating and Maintaining Value

2011-07-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

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One of the questions that has bothered me for most of my life is this: “Why don’t certain people succeed?”

The reason this question has bothered me so much is because I frequently see certain people around me who have achieved incredible successes. When I get to know many of these people, I realize that in many cases they are less talented in many respects than some of the less successful people. However, there is a very simple difference in most cases between those who succeed and those who do not:

The people who succeed at the highest levels are typically (1) contributing something of real value to the world–a service or product that people want, and (2) part of a group that is also contributing something of real value to the world.People who do not succeed are generally (1) not contributing something of real value to the world that the world wants, and (2) part of a group that is also not contributing something of real value to the world.

The equation is as simple as this. If you want to be successful in the world and in your career, you need to understand these principles. Once you understand them you can do quite well in whatever you choose to do.

To Succeed You Must Contribute Something of Value that the World Wants. Our company has been in located in Pasadena, California, for almost ten years. For about as long as I can remember, there has been a woman who has stood by the freeway exit ramp and held up a sign about how she is starving, out of work, or something of the sort. When I first noticed her at least five years ago, the woman appeared very pale and white and she always wore big sun hats. Now, after so many years of standing directly out in the sun every day she no longer looks Caucasian. The sun has changed the color of her skin permanently and she now looks all leathery. There are other beggars who are on opposite sides of the freeway exit; however, the side of the freeway exit ramp where this woman works appears to have always been hers.

My questions are this:

What is this woman contributing of value to the world? She may be allowing some people getting off of the exit ramp to feel good about themselves by giving her money–I do not know. But she has a steady job and has been doing this job for at least five or so years that I know of. She reports to work every day and is always there, throughout each day. But this woman is not contributing something of real value to people –at least not to a high enough level that will ever get her off that street corner. Whatever it is she is achieving, it is not much and will never be much. I wonder:

What if this woman got a job as a mobile billboard on the corner? She could hold signs and get paid to direct traffic to a furniture store going out of business, or a condominium having a giant sale. She could do something essentially the same, but contribute a bit more value in the process. She might make a better living doing this.Or, consider if this woman cleaned herself up a bit and decided that she would apply to work in a fast food restaurant. She could get a job serving people throughout the day. She would have the ability to get raises, be able to work indoors (shielded from the skin damaging sun), get health insurance, and contribute something that society would probably view as more valuable.Similarly, she might get a job doing telemarketing. This woman obviously developed a real skill at talking to passing cars and getting people to give her money with nothing expected in return. Imagine, if she had a real product to sell, she could make phone calls and probably sell a lot of this or that. This would be even more of a contribution to the world.

The higher you move up the food chain in the working world, the more likely it is that you are contributing something of real value to society. People who generally get paid a lot of money are paid a lot of money because they are contributing something of real value. The more value you can create, the more you will generally be paid, and the less likely it is that you will ever lose your job. The money someone earns simply represents a measurement of what the person has delivered. As soon as someone ceases to provide a valuable service, the person will start receiving less money.

If someone’s income is low, it is generally a fact that the person is not producing a very valuable service. People who are paid the most provide the most valuable services and provide the most of this valuable service. Many people inside of organizations may not understand why these people are paid so well; however, whether a person is providing a product or a service, in terms of what the person produces, their success is directly proportional to what quality and how much he or she is able to produce.

To Succeed You Must Be Part of a Group that is Contributing Something of Real Value to the World–a Service or Product that People Want. Despite your best intentions and despite how hard you may work, there is always a danger that you will be part of a group that is not contributing something of real value to the world. The combined services of everyone inside of an organization also create value. It is generally the combined services of everyone–not just one individual, which creates value and efficient production. Accordingly, the members of the group will be paid relative to their overall contributions to the group.

When you see a group of people who are failing, when the organization is failing and laying people off, when there are general problems with the people inside of the organization, typically the root of the problem lies in the organization’s failure to create something of real value to the world. When the organization as a whole is able to create something that the world wants, the organization generally succeeds.

Consider, again, the case of the woman who has been begging on the street corner in Pasadena for the past several years. As I mentioned above, there are several other beggars on the same corner who beg and ask drivers and passersby for money. If all of these beggars got together and pooled their money at the end of each day, there might be some benefit to the overall group. For example, certain intersections might be busier at different times of the week, month and year than others. There is a mall in Pasadena and the intersection going towards the mall gets really busy around Christmas and slower in other months. If the beggars all got together and divided up the money each day, it might raise the average wage of the overall group of beggars operating in this vicinity.

However, as discussed above, the product that these beggars are offering is not something that people are particularly enthusiastic about.

If they were, instead, selling cold water in the summer, they would probably all make more money.If they were organized together in a fast food restaurant selling hamburgers, they would make even more money.If they all had law degrees and decided to all get together and organize a law firm, they would probably all make more money.

The more organized and efficient this group could get, the better off they would do collectively and individually.

For the past several months I have been thinking about another particular example, and puzzling over it in many different ways. It is a very significant example and there is a lot more depth to it than it may first appear. Our company has an office in Orange County, California, and around six months ago we had two offices there. One of the offices was very small and located in an extremely expensive building in Newport Beach. Newport Beach is a very expensive area; it costs a ton of money to run a business there. It also costs a lot of money to live there. The people that live in Newport Beach typically must figure out ways to make a lot of money.

A few years ago when the real estate market was doing well, the people in our expensive office in Newport Beach all seemed to be mortgage brokers and were doing all sorts of other businesses related to the real estate industry. They were all making loads of money doing this. Then, when the real estate market crashed, almost overnight it seemed all these same people went into businesses like credit counseling, debt consolidation, buying and selling distressed debt and other services. They did so in a matter of weeks.

All of these groups of people in this ultra expensive office simply shifted gears and went into a different business where there was demand. They did not sit around trying to offer a real estate service that people were simply no longer interested in. Instead, they just all morphed into businesses where there was demand.

From the standpoint of a successful group, this to me is one of the most significant examples I can imagine. These groups of “high performance” and high earning people simply shifted gears almost instantly and went into offering the public a service that was in high demand.

Being able to offer a service where and when there is a lot of demand for it is one of the keys to having a successful group. When you are looking for a job–any job–it is important that you do and find work that is in high demand. Doing work that is in high demand and being with a group that is doing highly in demand work is a very simple way to be successful.

There is another subtle but important point I would like to make: Even if a group of people is providing a service that is in high demand there still can be numerous problems associated with the organization, namely if some person or persons within the organization are not providing a service of high value. For example, if all of the beggars were to get together and combine their efforts this might be a useful exercise. Nevertheless, there is a strong possibility that some of the beggars might not work as hard and due to this the wages of the overall group would suffer. Many of the beggars might decide that since the wages were being divided up, not all of them needed to work as hard. Consequently, the whole group would suffer. Some beggars might not work at all and still expect money from the labors of the overall group.

There is a process that is occurring in companies at all times. It is a process wherein the people who are not contributing sufficient value to the overall group are weeded out for the benefit of the overall group. People who run successful companies know that a company cannot survive if it is not ensuring that everyone is contributing. This is the essence of good management and making companies efficient.

I have done a lot I am not proud of in my life from a management standpoint. One of the worst moments of my career was when I hired a well regarded business consultant, who had a bunch of fancy degrees from good schools. He came in to examine and study one of our companies, Legal Authority. At the time, Legal Authority was practically hemorrhaging money and could not turn a profit. The main reason for this was that the costs to produce the product–in this case a service that consisted of creating and mailing résumés and introductory directly to the hiring personnel inside of various companies and organizations, was too high. It was so high, in fact that we seemed to have no choice other than to price ourselves out of the market, just to cover costs. And therein lay the problem.

“You need to close the business down,” the consultant told me. “There is no way this business can make money.”

When I heard this, it made me angry and I said something that I later came to regret:

“You are just weak and afraid to recommend the changes needed to get the business working.”

It is never a nice thing to call someone weak; however, here this person had charged us tens of thousands of dollars to study the organization, and his recommendations about improving the company were very poor indeed. He had not made any suggestions that were likely to help the company–other than to close it down.

Because I understood the company, I believed the real problem at the time was that we had incredibly high labor costs, since we had at least 20 people on staff, editing various files. In order for the business to work, we needed to lower the labor costs by paying the most productive editors more money and the least productive editors less. It was as simple as this. We could not charge more for the product because we had already tried this and it had not worked. For whatever reason, this particular consultant did not believe in lowering wages and setting up an incentive based system. Once I decided to implement such a system, Legal Authority was able to survive and eventually it started earning money.

The issue with Legal Authority was that people who were not productive were holding the company back. Once the nonproductive people were penalized and a good management system was set up for handling them, the company was able to function effectively. The sign of a good organization is that it is able to function effectively, and keep all staff working efficiently–including those who were once responsible for slowing the company down. Organizations that allow nonproductive workers to continue their mediocre contributions are never around for long, even if they have a very good product.

In your career it is important that you are always contributing something of value and that you are part of an organization that is contributing something of value. If you are not doing either of these things, you will eventually lose your job. Furthermore, it is important that the organization you are with is able to weed out those who are adding the least value, and to promote those who are adding the most value. I am a tough manager in business, but if there is a demand for the product I am selling, the business I run usually does very well. The secret to this is just to make sure that the business is managed and controlled as carefully as possible. When you see people in a business sitting around doing nothing, you need to realize that these people are affecting you negatively as well, if you work there.

Lastly, work to adapt so that you and your organization can create value in all economic climates. This will help you and your organization stay relevant and in demand–even during the lean times.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: The Importance of Fitting InThe Importance of Finding and Creating DemandSympathy, Morale, and the Importance of Being OrganizedFroth, Downward Wages, and the Importance of Repeat BusinessAvoid Creating “Fatal Friction”Cattle, the Importance of Maintaining Fences–and Your CareerSummary In this article Harrison discusses that in your career it is important that you are always contributing something of value and that you are part of an organization that is contributing something of value to the world. It is generally the combined services of everyone–not just one individual, which creates value and efficient production. The sign of a good organization is that it is able to function effectively, and keep all staff working efficiently. Furthermore, it is important that the organization you are with is able to weed out those who are adding the least value, and to promote those who are adding the most value. You need to work to adapt so that you and your organization can create value in all economic climates. This will help you and your organization stay relevant and in demand.

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People Around You Can Shape What Happens to You: Avoid the Negative Affirmations of Others

2011-07-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

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Although there is a great deal of historical debate about the specifics, legend has it Hermes Trismegistus–one of the most important sorcerers of ancient Greece– had a tablet in his tomb with the greatest secret in all of history written on it. When the tomb was opened centuries later, it was said people waited with a sense of wonder for the wisdom of the tablet to be revealed. The secret written on the tablet was:

As within, so without;
As above, so below.

This statement has been made in one form or another by others, such as Buddha, Isaiah, Jesus, and Moses. Countless books and studies have been devoted to the meaning of this statement. If you take the time to understand it, I believe it will be among the most important you ever read. As I see it, this is the significance of this statement:

Whatever we believe inside of us becomes expressed in the world around us. Your belief about what is true is reflected by the world around you, its conditions, events, and circumstances. Simply put, if you believe you are successful, the world around you will manifest in that way. You will find yourself surrounded by the accoutrements of what success means to you, whether they include a certain type of car, home, mate, or even a jet. If you believe you are a failure, the world around you will manifest that as well. This will show in the form of recurring failures, whether in the form of financial losses, divorce, substance abuse, or poverty.

Whatever exists in your mind is also what will exist in your environment, circumstances, and physical surroundings. Your mind creates its own environment.

As humans, we have the ability to imagine things that do not exist and to create the world around us the way we want. We have the ability to attract the people and experiences we want. Similarly, we have the ability to repel circumstances we don’t want. No other animal in the world has this ability. It is an ability you, too, can use.

In respect to how we influence ourselves, it is important to understand the people around us also have the ability to influence us in a way that has a great impact on who we become.

I am about to share some extremely important advice I believe could permanently alter the course of your life and that you can use to change the lives of others. The best teachers and coaches practice this idea with their students and many times it separates the successful from the unsuccessful.

Understand your role in shaping your world, the people in it, and the occurrences related to it.Strongly believe what you wish your world to become.Build the power to make your imagination attract the forces that shape your environment the way you want it to be.Placing immense faith in what your heart believes, makes a phenomenal difference in your life and career.

I at one time was a reporter for my college newspaper, the Chicago Maroon. I was assigned a story about a high school senior who’d recently won the most prestigious science prize for high school seniors in the country, the Westinghouse Science Prize. The student’s teacher taught at a private high school on the University of Chicago campus. As I interviewed the teacher, I discovered several of his students had won this prize. In fact, despite the fact that only one of these prizes was given out nationally each year, three or four of his students had won over the past several years. After speaking with the teacher at length, I realized this was no coincidence. I believe the students’ success had a lot to do with the suggestions he gave them about what they could achieve. I remember probing specifically about why so many of this man’s students had won the award. Essentially, he said the following:

“Every few years, I have an exceptional student, and I start telling him over and over he is going to win the award. When I do this, most times the student ends up winning.”

I had a teacher like this in high school as well. After we had discussed colleges, and after I had decided where I thought I would like to go, he told me, “Then that is where you will go.” Incredibly, out of all the schools I applied to, this is where I ended up going.

Great teachers, great parents, and great coaches make people believe in themselves. They also make them take on the characteristics of what they want to achieve before they even achieve it. How is this relevant to your job search?

When I was recruiting, I had an uncanny ability to place people at the firms I believed were their best fits. Keep in mind I was not the one getting my candidates jobs; they were. When each person began his or her job search, I would say something like, “I am confident you are going to get a job at this particular firm.” I would keep repeating this over and over again. Despite the fact that (1) the firm might have been out of the candidate’s league in terms of their qualifications, (2) the person might have been looking at 20-plus law firms, and (3) I might never have had a candidate interview at that particular firm before, when I did this, my candidates often got jobs at these “target firms.” What was happening here? Why was this occurring?

When people start believing they are capable of achieving something, they begin to take on the form of what they believe.

When someone believes they are going to get a job with a certain employer, and really feels it deep down, things start to fall into place. I am not sure why this is. Nevertheless, I have seen it over and over again in my work as a recruiter.

Another thing I have learned as a recruiter is the importance of sharing positive news with people, not bad news. Building up job seekers and not sharing negative information about rejections works wonders. In fact, it is largely this skill that separates good recruiters from average ones. When I work with someone, I make sure to share inspirational and motivational information because I know negative energy and information will bring the person down. This is a basic yet essential skill I learned long ago, and it works.

Remember: You control your own mind. You control what you allow in and what happens within your own mind. If you let negative information in, there is a good chance the world around you will also become negative. If you choose to let positive information in, there is a good chance your world will become positive.
Your job situation, financial condition, health, social status, and friends are all a reflection of how you feel about yourself. This is the real meaning of what is “within” and what is “without” in your life. This is why it is extremely important you control your thinking in your life.

As a recruiter I have dealt with individuals who were fired from their previous jobs. People who are fired are often difficult to work with because future employers view them suspiciously. Basically, most employers feel these candidates are likely to cause problems in their next job. While it does not always come up in interviews, if someone is not currently working, a future employer is likely to wonder why.

I always tell my candidates to write down and memorize words like the following: “I was not fired from my job. I was a huge asset to my last firm. I am going to do even better in my next job than I did in my last. My last employer loved me!” Writing down and memorizing words like these can be a real asset. In fact, when people write things like this down, the subject of their having been fired almost never comes up in interviews.

This brings me to a very important point about your job search and your current job. In every company’s social network there are people who send out negative information about you, your employer, and others. Parents, friends, and others do this to us all the time, intentionally or not. When this happens, you need to understand this will influence you in a certain way. Choose not to believe this negative information. Avoid it. It can do severe damage to you and your future.

If someone tells you you’re not capable of getting a certain type of job or doing a certain thing you want to do, tell him he is wrong. I am often forced to cut off contact with people who do this to me. People who do this to you do not have your best interest at heart. Usually they are trying to maintain some sort of control over you or the relationship they have with you.

Protect your mind and fill it with positive thoughts about yourself. In order to reach your full potential, there is really no other way.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: Do Not Be Influenced by Others’ Negative Opinions of YouConcentrate on the Positive, Not the NegativeGravitate Toward People and Organizations that Appear to Have Good LuckSurround Yourself with Positive PeopleDo Not Tell Yourself You Have Negative TraitsAvoid the Envy of OthersSummary In this article, Harrison explains the incredible connection between the mind and the environment around you. To understand your world and the people and occurrences related to it, you need to first understand your role in shaping them. What you believe is what your world becomes. The power of your imagination, faith, and trust in what your world is like, actually attracts forces which shape your environment the way you think it to be. Hence, you need to avoid negative beliefs and people with negative influence on you. Placing immense faith on what your heart believes is what makes a phenomenal difference in your life and career. Harrison advises on harboring positive thoughts so that what you desire to accomplish is what you actually accomplish.

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Never Focus on the Money: Focus on Your Higher Purpose and Contribution

2011-07-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

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People fail far too often in the working world because they focus too much on the money they earn at their jobs. The money you are paid is generally commensurate with your contribution to something more important, more meaningful, and much larger than yourself. When you focus on what you are doing for the world and the value of this contribution, you become energized. Being energized by your work brings more and better work your way and ultimately leads to greater earnings. The money is a by-product of your contribution to your job. You generally will be paid at a rate matching your contribution to the bigger picture.

What is your particular contribution to the bigger picture? Every job makes a contribution to a bigger picture.

I started delivering papers when I was 10 years old. By the time I was 13, I was getting up at 5:00 every morning to deliver more than 175 papers in a prestigious suburb of Detroit. High-ranking auto executives lived in most of the houses. When I delivered these papers, I found myself energized by the thought I was providing them information they would be using to help run companies that supported the American economy, provided millions of jobs, and gave people access to transportation. In a small way, I realized, in this job I was fulfilling a larger purpose.

Some years later, I took a second job washing dishes in a cafeteria. I motivated myself in this job by thinking if not for my work, hundreds of people each night might go hungry. I was also providing people enjoyment when they sat down for dinner, I was helping families spend more time together, and I was making the world a happier place. This motivated me to do good work, and it made me happy.

Whatever you do, there is a higher purpose to your work, and your job is fulfilling a role that is changing the world and making a contribution. Money is just money. When you focus on the money, you lose track of the importance of the contribution you make. My career advice is to find the importance in your contribution and use this to inspire your job performance.

Don’t focus on money if you want to do well in your job. In the same way a person must focus on his or her relationship in order to have a successful one, a person must focus on his or her work in order to be successful at it. Focus on your job and your performance–nothing else. If you can do this, the money will follow.

It is easy for me to spot people whose eyes are on the money and not the job. These people are in every profession and they never have long-term success. Having a larger purpose is incredibly important, and money is not a larger purpose.

The issue I see with people who always focus on the money is that they are constantly interrupting their work to consider if they are getting the short end of the stick. They are extremely concerned about their compensation relative to others. They wonder whether or not their efforts are being adequately compensated every step of the way. They are overly concerned about the accuracy of each paycheck. Their focus on their work is perpetually distracted by an interest in the money, rather than the job.

If you were an employer, who would you want to have working for you? Someone who is committed and enthusiastic about the job? Or someone who appears to be doing the work just for the money?

Several years ago, I was speaking with a young CIA agent and he told me about a meeting he was getting ready to have with a senior agent. The senior agent told him the person they were going to speak with was very dishonest, untrustworthy, and an all-around bad person. However, the agents would be nice and would treat the target nicely. They would only accomplish their assignment if the target were to see them this way. The senior agent said something to the younger agent he thought so profound he remembered it throughout his career:

“Don’t ever think something or else you will show it.”

Basically, the second you start thinking something, you will begin telegraphing your thoughts. People will begin to pick up on it through nonverbal signals, facial expressions, and body language.

Have you ever had the experience of being able to tell something about someone without speaking to the person? You just get a feeling about something. Who knows how we pick up on it, but we do.

When you are focused on the money, you put your purpose in the job on the back burner in favor of your obsession with how much you are going to make. People easily pick up on this–employers, clients, and others. This is one of the worst things you can do in any job.

At the risk of becoming overly metaphysical, I would like to share a quick side story with you. I was at a dinner once discussing this exact topic of people picking up clues about others through nonverbal communication. The person I was talking with had a background in engineering and the study of energy , and he too was interested in this subject. He told me there is a gland in the brain–the pituitary gland–that for some strange reason has almost the exact same cellular structure as our eyes. He told me he believes people pick up on information using this. He believed this has something to do with how humans pick up signals from the world around them when they are babies.

This may seem like bizarre thinking, but I do believe when people are more concerned with their salary than their work, the people around them pick up on it. You should push any concerns you have about your compensation out of your mind, and focus on your work and your work’s greater purpose. The greater purpose of your work is something that deserves your attention. Regardless of what type of work you do, it has a greater purpose. People will pick up on your passion and will want to work with you.

Every single person I’ve ever known in our company who is outstanding at what he or she does has always focused on the greater purpose of his or her work. Every single attorney I know who is outstanding at his or her job has always focused on the work and not the reward. Get into what you do and realize your higher purpose.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: Focus on Other Geographic Areas to Get Your Job Search Going Concentrate on Your Contribution You Need to Bring a Singular Focus to Everything You Do The Importance of Productivity, Focus, and Measurement The Greater Your Purpose, the Greater the Obstacles You Will Face The Focus of the Group You Are in Determines the Kind of Person You BecomeSummary In this article, Harrison explains the importance of realizing the greater purpose in the work you do. One of the greatest causes of failure in the work world is when your focus diverts from your contribution to the money you are earning. You need to understand the larger purpose for which you have been hired. The money you are paid for your job is generally commensurate with your contribution to something more important, more meaningful, and much larger than yourself. The secret to success then will be having a higher purpose to your work and being energized by your work which would ultimately bring more and better work and lead to more money.

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A Simple Guide for a Mindful Digital Life

2011-07-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

‘Two thoughts cannot coexist at once: if the clear light of mindfulness is present, there is no room for mental twilight.’ ~ Nyanaponika There

Ever feel like you’re two different people?

You get up in the morning, eat your breakfast, and go to work. You go out with your friends and hang out with your family. Maybe you read a book before going to bed. On the weekends, you try to get out of the house – go for a hike in the woods or visit some relatives. This is the physical you.

Of course, between all these experiences, you also exist online writing emails, browsing the web, updating your blog, and ordering pizza. This is the digital you. Fifteen years ago, the two almost never collided, but today, the digital world has expanded far beyond what we ever thought it would. The digital connects us instantaneously to the physical via maps, apps, and GPS devices. We even manipulate our physical world now to better interface with the digital.

Two worlds that once existed exclusively have serendipitously collided. It’s a wonderful time to be alive.

But what about the spaces and gaps? There are still plenty of opportunities online to hide who you really are in the physical world and vice versa. The two worlds are merging, but only because we’re striving to merge them.

So how do we, as mindful humans, bridge these gaps? How do we:

Connect the dots between our worlds in a way that propels us forward without overwhelming us with technology?Shine a light on who we really are, but protect our identities and right to privacy?Share with the world, but only what’s appropriate for the world to see?

I say the simplest answer is to find the bonds that already exist and focus on them until they define us, ignoring the rest. Here’s how I do that. Take what works for you and leave the rest.

In the quest to bring my own physical and digital worlds together more harmoniously, the first question I have to answer is, “Who do I want to be?”

There’s the argument that you simply are who you are, but I reject that idea. Yes, you are a product of your environment, but as a free being, you get to change your environment if you choose. In the physical world, this is often impossible to do. As a child, you don’t get a choice in where you grow up. For many, this is still the case, even as adults, due to social and economic injustice.

But, in the digital world, you get to decide exactly who to be, where to go, and how to behave. This can be problematic if you try to create an entirely new persona (it’s a dishonest and unsustainable representation of yourself), but when wielded skillfully, it can propel the real you to new heights. Rather than create a whole new you, create the best you. Choose the traits you like about yourself, and exemplify them online. Let the less attractive qualities fall by the wayside. Place yourself in a digital environment that will allow you to flourish.

When I focus on creating an improved digital version of me, I find those qualities actually start to carry over into my physical self.

This is so important for relationships, too. The people you surround yourself with online and offline are who you will end up like. Don’t leave this to chance; be mindful of the friends you keep.

When I decided that I’m going to convey my best self to the digital world, I needed a place to do it from. I needed a digital home – my own little spot on the web that I own.

There are dozens of places like Facebook, About.me, and others that offer a simple way to do this, but I don’t think they’re the best choices for a mindful digital persona because services like this come and go and often have limitations that don’t serve you well. Instead, set up your own very simple website that tells the story of you. Use your real name for the domain or a variation of it if that’s not available. Here are a few people who’ve done this well:

You wouldn’t set up your home in someone else’s space or send people to your neighbors to find out about you in the physical world, so why do it in the digital world? Part of leading a mindful life is understanding that the digital and physical worlds may be different places, but they operate the same way because they’re both run by us.

If you ask, “Why do I need a website if I have no aspirations online?,” my answer is that, if you have aspirations at all, then you have aspirations online. Even if you opt-out of participating in the digital world, your online identity still exists in parallel, you’re just not in charge of it.

Be mindful of the digital world and proactive about creating the best you possible.

The digital world is fast paced. I see new trends come, go, develop, and evolve at a frightening speed, and if I try to follow everything, I get overwhelmed. To keep up with something new, I have to clear space by eliminating something else. A good practice, but if I don’t do it intentionally, I end up abandoning great resources for sure failures. On the other hand, if I dig my heels in and refuse to develop my digital self, I’ll end up old and isolated, frightened by technology.

What we need is a mindful approach to developing our online presence. If my personal website is my digital home, then my social networking profiles on Facebook and Twitter, etc. are my embassies. Embassies exist to maintain relationships with “distant lands” and to act as an outpost for people who want to connect outside my home base, not rule my life by commanding my attention.

Focus on the essential. Cultivate your ties in social networks where it makes sense and is beneficial, but don’t let them become second homes. Having many homes adds clutter to your digital world just as it does in your physical world. Remember: it’s Facebook’s job to serve you, not the other way around.

Just like life in the physical world, digital life is a process, and it’s hard to move forward if I’m being weighed down by things from my past that no longer serve me.

If my house gets too full, I have to get rid of things in order to live comfortably again. If I make too many appointments or double-book myself (I do this more often than I like to admit), I have to kindly cancel a few. These rules are just as true online.

Delete your old social networking profiles. Set yourself free to discover new digital societies.Toss out your old work that’s still online. If you’ve created things on the web that no longer tell the story of who you are or want to be, delete them. Don’t mourn the loss of your creations; celebrate the transition to a new era.Stop visiting news sites and feeding on the latest apocalypse. I threw out my TV two years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. I let my friends tell me what’s going on. It makes them feel like an important part of my day and frees my mind to work on more creative things.Unsubscribe from newsletters. Go through your email and unsubscribe from every newsletter you get.Open your feed reader and delete every blog. If it turns out you miss something, go and add it back.

Get comfortable with shedding your past lives and evolving into new ones. Reinvent yourself on a regular basis and watch your digital and physical worlds collide in a way that only a deliberate and mindful approach could orchestrate.

If you want to go even deeper, here are a few tools I like to use to integrate my physical and digital lives in the simplest ways possible:

1Password: A quick and easy way to organize passwords that keep your physical self safe in the digital worldRescueTime: Works as training wheels to stay focused on what’s important when distractions are everywhereDropBox: One place in the digital world where I can keep everything my physical self needs, no matter where I am.Google Docs: Simplify your workspace and create from anywhereTungle.me: Easily manage appointments for your digital and physical selfGoogle Alerts: Don’t waste time searching the web; let the information come to you

Read more from Tyler at his digital home, Advanced Riskology, or have his thoughts delivered straight to your frontal lobes by subscribing to his newsletter.
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The Little Habits

2011-07-08T02:04:00.000-07:00

‘Powerful indeed is the empire of habit.’ ~Publilius Syrus

It’s amazing how big a difference a little thing can make. Starting your day mindfully with some tea, for example, can change your entire day. Clearing your desk will make your work day amazing. A smile from a loved one can mean the world.

And when these little things are repeated daily, and formed into habits, their benefits increase not just by multiples but by exponents.

The little habits can be life-changing.

Everyone’s world-changing little habits will be different, but I’ll share a few of mine, and then some tips for forming them.

I have lots of little habits, but these are a handful of my favorites:

Get-in-the-door ritual. Whenever I get home, the first thing I do is put my stuff away. I have a designated spot for my keys, cash/cards (I don’t use a wallet), phone, and coins. Everything else either gets tossed or put wherever it belongs. If we brought something home like groceries or library books, those get put away, right away. This is an important little ritual because even people who have simplified their homes notice that possessions and junk can build up over time — and that starts with what you bring in. It’s no use simplifying and organizing if it just gets cluttered and disorganized every time you come home.Put clothes away. It’s so simple, but when I take clothes off, they either go in the hamper or I fold them & put them in my drawer or hang them in the closet. Others drape them over chairs or throw them on the floor or bed, and sorting through them later becomes a major chore. By doing it right away, things stay organized and I don’t have to worry about cleaning up later.Wash my bowl. When I finish eating, I wash my dishes by hand, mindfully. No mess to clean up later. Read more.Prepare meals in advance. This is important when I’m trying to stick to an eating plan. Cooking your own meals is the healthiest (and most frugal) choice, but if you have to cook three to six times a day, it’ll get too cumbersome and you’re likely to give up. So I prepare my food in bulk (for 3-6 days in advance), and eat the same meals all week. It’s no harder than cooking smaller meals. I only make food that I adore, so I don’t get bored. It’s super easy to stay on a meal plan this way.Just step out the door. My motto for exercise. Most people have a hard time with motivation to do workouts, but not me. First of all, I only do workouts I love, so I actually look forward to them. But second, I never think about how I don’t feel like doing a workout — because I tell myself that all I have to do is get on my shoes and get out the door. The rest flows naturally.Clear distractions. When I’m ready to do a task, I clear all distractions. Small action, huge difference.Take a walk & reflect. Taking a short walk is such a simple thing to do — you can do it during your lunch break, or take a break when you’ve been working for a couple hours straight. It only needs to be 10-20 minutes. But oh boy, what a world of difference. Not only does the walk relieve stress and clear your head, it gives you an opportunity to reflect on what you’ve been doing, and reflection is one of the most important tools for changing your life.Breathe. When I get stressed, I simply breathe.

I’ve written about habits numerous times before, but here’s an easy guide to forming a little habit:

Do one habit at a time.Make it easy to do.Do it consciously, very consciously at first.Don’t allow any exceptions.Post your progress publicly.Keep doing it, every single day.Enjoy the habit.

Forming a habit can be easy, if you enjoy it, take it slowly, and do it mindfully.

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Are you Relentless in your pursuit of success?

2011-07-07T01:33:00.000-07:00

You want to be successful. But what are you prepared to do to create that success? Are you relentless? That is to say, you just keep going when times are tough? There will be difficult times, that you can be assured.

I heard a funny joke a while ago and I think it is relevant to share it with you here. It has a lot to do with the persistence. Here it is:

A duck waddled in a bar and the barman said: "do you have a wheat?"

The bartender was quite taken aback by a talking duck but said: "No."

The duck asked again: "Got a wheat?"

The bartender again replied in the negative.

So, the duck asked again: "Got a wheat?"

Now got the bartender angry. "No. We don't have a wheat and if you ask me again I'll nail your invoice to the bar.

The duck blinked then said: "you've got nails?"

The bartender rolled his eyes and cried: "No. We have not all nails! "

The duck blinked again and said: "do you have a wheat?"

I know it's a stupid joke only demonstrate my point. In many ways, you should have the persistence of the duck.

Have you ever witnessed a child want something? They ever mining waste? They are single minded in what they want and will tell you and over again. "I want ... I want to... I want ... " Often they get what they want, because it is easier to submit for a parent than the relentless requests resist. Most children are like this.

Somewhere along the way from child to adult we lose our tenacity. Maybe it's the "conditioning" we received by consistently told "no!" Maybe we just lazy.

Some people refuse to accept defeat. Maybe they are also those who refuse to give their child-like tenacity. These people are not co-incidentally, the performers in life. They will not be stopped. They find a way through, around, above and below obstacles.

Obstacles will always be presented to you, how you deal with them will determine your level of success.

Is relentless can bring you success. Only eight children.

This article comes with reprint rights no changes are made and the resource box below together.

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books on a wide range of issues such as self-esteem, confirmations, self defense, finance and many more. His articles appear on the Web. Gary's e-mail address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his Motivation & self esteem for success Web site where you are receiving can "Zenspirational Thoughts" plus an instant free copy of his critically acclaimed, life-changing e-book "The Power of Choice."

Finding a Job in a Down Market

2011-07-05T23:46:00.000-07:00

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I made a video recently called “Job Search Secrets for a Recession,” which discussed the best way to locate a position during a recession. In my experience, the best way to find a job is and always has been to approach the widest variety of employers possible.

There is another aspect to finding a job in a down economy, however, which is even more important: your own psyche. The psychological aspect of finding a job is what slows most people down in their search. People get depressed and stop taking action. This is not the right way to find a job. Finding a job requires a specific state of mind.

When you get hired, someone is spending money to give you a job. People need to be inspired to spend money. The person who gets hired is the one who is able to inspire the employer (whether it is for a government job, sales job, education job, or otherwise). To be an effective job seeker, you need to put yourself in the right state of mind to get hired. This means constantly thinking of all that is possible and, specifically, what you yourself can achieve.

You must bring a lot of enthusiasm to your work, and you should picture and present yourself as being successful.

One of the best books I’ve read on this subject is Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. This book makes very clear the true power our mind has over the circumstances of our lives. You need to think and aim high in order to rise above and overcome the obstacles in front of you.

If you are employed and are dissatisfied with your current job, giving in to negativity is one of the worst things you can do. When employers are faced with a bad job market, the first thing they do is differentiate the people who like being on the job from those who do not.

Employers tend to keep the people who have good attitudes and get rid of the people with bad ones. My career advice is that a positive attitude can be your best asset. In order to find that positivity, each day you should ask yourself what you are grateful for and concentrate on the answer.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: The Effect of a Weakening Economy on the Job Market The Job Search Market in a Bad Economy Finding Jobs Through Contacts Upgrade Your Career and Life by Finding Work to Be Done The Importance of Finding and Creating Demand The Graduate, Andrew Carnegie, and Finding Positive Economic CurrentsSummary In this article, Harrison talks about the state of mind as being one of the best methods to deal with a job search during a recession. It is important to understand that depression, anxiety, and other such states of mind slow down or curb action being taken. You need to be enthusiastic, positive, aim to rise above obstacles, and to believe that the mind has the true power to decide your future.

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Monk Mind: How to Increase Your Focus

2011-07-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

I confess to being as prone to the distractions of the Internet as anyone else: I will start reading about something that interests me and disappear down the rabbit hole for hours (even days) at a time.

But my ability to focus on a single task has dramatically improved, and that one habit has changed my life.

While a few years ago I couldn’t sit down to work on something without quickly switching to email or one of my favorite Internet forums or sites, today I can sit down and write. I can clear away distractions, when I set my mind to it, and do one thing. And that changes everything: you lose yourself in that task, become so immersed that you pour everything you have into the work, and it becomes a meditative, transformative experience. Your happiness increases, stress goes down, and work improves.

I know that lots of people have trouble focusing one one task for very long, and so I thought I’d share a few things that have worked for me.

There is no one way to find focus, but what works for me is to clear everything away and create a little space of tranquil focus. Some tips for doing that:

Close the browser and your email program. If you need to work in the browser then make sure no tabs or windows are open other than the one you absolutely need.Turn off all notifications. Trying to focus while something is notifying you of an incoming email or tweet or Facebook update is impossible.Turn off the Internet. Shut off your connection, unplug your router, or best yet, go to a place where the is no Internet (yes, those still exist). This is the absolute best way to find focus.Close all programs and windows other than what you need for this one task.Have a very important task to do. Not just “check email” but “write chapter in my novel” or “write that kick-ass blog post I’ve been planning” or “write that new Android app”.Clear your desk. No need to spend all day on this — shove everything in a drawer or put it in a box to be sorted later. Don’t fiddle with this now. In fact, don’t fiddle with anything — don’t worry about the perfect setup or perfect notebook for writing or the perfect anything.Plug in the headphones. If you have people around who might distract you, wearing headphones and playing some good, peaceful music is perfect.Use a simple program. For writing, I like plain text editors (TextEdit, TextWrangler) or writing programs that block everything out (OmmWriter, WriteRoom). No distractions.

Once you have this environment (and you shouldn’t spend more than a few minutes setting it up), get going on your task. Do nothing but that one task. Don’t switch to another task. Having trouble doing that? Read on.

If you can’t focus on one task for very long, don’t worry. That’s normal. Our brains have been trained by technology and society to switch tasks often.

One way we’ve been trained is that switching to check email or blog updates or Facebook/Twitter is rewarding — we are rewarded with a little nugget of satisfaction in that someone has sent us a message (social validation!) or we have something new and interesting to read (shiny and bright!). Switching tasks becomes a positive feedback cycle that is hard to beat by single-tasking.

The way to beat that is to set up a positive feedback cycle for focusing. Here’s how:

Start small. You only need to focus for one minute at first. Clear everything away, pick your one important task, and just do it for one minute without switching. This is hard to do in the beginning but if you consciously focus on focusing, you can do it. It’s just a minute.Reward yourself. The reward for focusing for one minute can be one minute (or 30 seconds) of checking whatever you want. Email, Facebook, whatever. Or get up and take a one-minute walk. Stretch, drink some water, massage your neck, enjoy your small victory. Empires are created with small victories.Repeat. Keep doing one minute focus, one minute reward (or 1 minute to 30 seconds if you like) for about half an hour (15 of each). You’re done. Repeat that later in the day. Rejoice in how much work you got done! And notice how you’ve set up a positive feedback cycle for focusing.Increase in small steps. Tomorrow, make it two minutes on, one minute off. Repeat that for 30 minutes, do it later in the day too. Feel free to go wild and do three focus sessions in a day if you like, but it’s not necessary.Keep taking baby steps. I think you can see the pattern by now. Make it three minutes on, one minute off on the third day, then 4:1, then 5:1. When you get to 10 minutes, be crazy and take a 2 minute break. When you get to 20 minutes, take a 3 minute break. At 30 minutes of focus, you’ve earned a 5 minute break. And once you’re at 30 minutes, you can stay there. No need to become a monk.

Set up a positive feedback cycle for single-tasking focus and you’ll reverse the years of training your mind has gotten to switch tasks. You’ll get more important work done, and it won’t seem hard. You’ll find that focus becomes a form of meditation. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing, and you can thank me by sending me a craft beer from your hometown.

Or buy my book on this topic — called focus — and I’ll use the money to buy myself a beer.

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Plan for Success–Not Failure

2011-07-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

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When I was younger, there was a restaurant on Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, that used to offer people a percentage off the price of their meals equal to a person’s age, on the person’s birthday each year. So, on your 25th birthday, for instance, you would get a 25% discount on your meal. On your 50th birthday, you would get a 50% discount on your meal.

Not surprisingly, this particular restaurant was extremely popular with older people on their birthdays. In fact, elderly people came from all over town on their birthdays each year. I don’t mean to be crass, but it sort of felt like eating in a nursing home. There would be wheelchairs, walkers, and so forth scattered all over the dining room and in line. The hostesses in the restaurant always had to speak loudly to people when they came in. Sometimes the elderly people would doze off at their tables. The place was always packed. My father used to take me to the restaurant occasionally, and every evening I was ever there, the restaurant was quite crowded with elderly people who were celebrating their birthdays.

One time we visited my grandmother the day after her birthday and she declared that she had been to this restaurant with several friends the evening before to celebrate her birthday, and that she had gotten a massive discount on her dinner, since she was so old. Because the restaurant kept giving discounts that increased the older a person got, it made getting older a little more fun.

“I wonder if they would actually give you money back when you are 101, or if the meal is just free on your 100th birthday?” I asked her.

“I will let you know when I turn 101,” she said. She was quite serious, and after making this statement, she went about her business.

While my grandmother did not live to be 101, she lived well into her 90s and I remember being very impressed with her when she said she “would let me know.” She had shown great spirit and made it clear that she was making plans to live, rather than making plans to die, as many elderly people do. She was in her late 80s when she said this to me, and I knew that she had every intention of moving forward into her 90s with ease and vigor. My grandmother was out and about every day, working outside of the house and being quite active with friends, going places, and doing things. She enjoyed life and she planned on continuing to do so.

I would like to contrast my grandmother with some other people I have known throughout the years. I have known people who retired and then died within a year or two. The husband of a woman I know had worked for General Motors in an auto plant. He retired at the age of 65. Up until the time he retired, he had been very responsible, someone most people would look up to. After he retired, though, he became very depressed and felt like he had no purpose, as if his life were over. He sat on the roof of their small house in Warren, Michigan, drinking at least a case of beer a day for around nine months, and soon he was dead. He died, I think, because he had planned to die.

I have known numerous people throughout their lives that say things like:

I’m washed up.No one likes me.I could never do that.That is not something I could do.I am not good at that sort of thing.I am going to fail.I am going to die by the time I am 35.My mother got that disease and I am probably going to get it too.

When people make statements like this, they are essentially “planning to fail” or planning for some other negative outcome. When you plan to fail, you are putting yourself in a place wherein success is unlikely, if not impossible. It is as simple as that. When you plan to succeed, your odds of succeeding are far greater.

When you are getting ready to move into a new house, you will typically make all sorts of preparations for the house before you even move in.

You may know that you are going to need a bed for an extra bedroom you now have. You may know that you are going to need sheets for the bed.You may know that you are going to need a chair in a certain area where there is empty space.You may know that rooms need to be repainted.You may know that the house needs a new dishwasher.You may know that you are going to need drapes in certain rooms.

Whenever I have seen a couple getting ready to buy a new house, most of the time they go out and start looking for all of these things weeks before they even move into the new house. Why? Because they are planning. They are not living in the house yet; however, they believe they soon will be, so they start making plans for their new life.

Have you ever gone and test-driven a car you were interested in? The only times I ever test-drove cars was before I could afford the cars I was test-driving. I went out and test-drove the most ridiculous cars I could find. Then I started planning and doing what I needed to in order to purchase one of them. Seriously planning to achieve or obtain something makes all the difference. When I was growing up, the people I primarily saw driving my dream car back then, a Porsche 911, were old men. When I was in my early 20s I went and test-drove one. The cars were around $70,000 at the time. I decided that I would own one in a few years, and within a few short years, I ended up buying the exact same model I had test-driven. I did this before I even had a full-time job. I simply planned on having the car, and then I made it happen.

A car is just a piece of metal, though, and it has little to do with who you are. A house is just a structure. Houses and cars are material things. The most important concept is your self-concept, who you are and who you are going to become. Are you planning to succeed in your life and to reach your full potential, or are you planning to fail?

You need to plan your life and your career around succeeding. Instead of making plans to fail, to be average and so forth, make plans to succeed and to be the absolute best at everything you can possibly be.

If you are not living up to your potential, start making plans to fully realize that potential.If you are having financial problems, start making plans to become rich.If you are having relationship problems, start making plans to have a great relationship.If you are sick, start making plans to be well.If you are depressed, start making plans to be happy.

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to consistently plan to be happy and not sad. Successful and not unsuccessful. Satisfied and fulfilled, not unfulfilled. Alive and not dead.

It is just as easy to make plans to succeed as it is to make plans to fail, but it is a lot more fun and rewarding. You need to do everything you can to ensure that you are planning for the best things in your life, instead of planning for the worst things.

Several years ago, I purchased a lot of very expensive exercise equipment. I was not in good shape at the time. I could not really afford the exercise equipment at the time either, and it was a bit of a financial stretch for me. Why did I buy all of this equipment? I purchased it because I was planning on becoming healthy and fit. Moreover, I knew that there was no way that I would let all of this expensive equipment sit around without being used. Because the equipment was there, I used it, and this has made a major difference in the quality of my life.

I am not saying you need to run out and purchase exercise equipment in order to be healthy or happy. This was just something that worked for me. What you should definitely do, though, is make your own plans to be healthy. Planning to be healthy and to be well is something that can make a giant difference in your life and career.

Have you had negative things happen to you? Have you heard people say negative things about you? Do not allow these things to take hold of you and determine who you are, and what you think you are capable of achieving. Instead, you need to think forward and think of positive, inspiring things. Plan for being the person you want to be, not the person others may have called you, for reasons having more to do with them than you. You should never agree with those negative voices. Only agree with positive voices. Plan for health, success, and happiness.

What would have happened to the people below if they had simply given up and had not planned for great things in their lives?

The vice president of Columbia Pictures told this actor that he was never going to make it in the business. The actor? - Harrison Ford
His first book was rejected by 12 publishing houses and 16 agents. – John Grisham
A band was turned down by a recording company that said, “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out” – The recording company was talking about The Beatles.
This person was told by his father that he would amount to nothing, and that he would be a disgrace to himself and his family. – Charles Darwin
This man was told by a music teacher, “As a composer he is hopeless.” – Beethoven
This vocalist was told that “He couldn’t sing at all.” – Enrico Caruso
This visionary was fired from a newspaper because he “lacked imagination and had no original ideas” – Walt Disney
This author was told by publishers that “anthologies don’t sell” and that the book was “too positive.” The book was rejected a total of 140 times. The book? Chicken Soup for the Soul. It now has 65 different titles and has sold more than 80 million copies all over the world.
This young man was told by a teacher he was “too stupid to learn anything.” – Thomas Edison
This man failed the sixth grade. – Winston Churchill
He wasn’t able to speak until he was almost 4 years old, and his teachers said he would “never amount to much.” – Albert Einstein
This man did poorly in school and failed at running the family farm. – Isaac Newton
This person was not allowed to wait on customers in the store where he worked, because “he didn’t have enough sense.” – F. W. Woolworth
This person was cut from the high school basketball team, went home, locked himself in his room, and cried. – Michael Jordan
Producers told her she was “unattractive” and could not act. - Marilyn Monroe
This book was rejected 18 times before it was published. It then sold more than a million copies the first year. The book was Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.
This woman auditioned for All My Children and got rejected – Julia Roberts
This author received 30 rejections and he threw this book in the trash. Luckily his wife fished it out of the refuse and encouraged her husband to resubmit the manuscript. The book was Carrie – the author was Stephen King
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1163465/inspirational_stories_of_famous_failures_pg2_pg2.html?cat=9

I have heard different versions of stories like this many, many times. These sorts of stories are inspirational because they show that success often has more to do with planning to achieve something great, than simply trying once, then giving up after listening to others’ negative opinions. Nothing is more important than having incredible faith in what we can achieve, and then preparing to do great things.

Maybe you have failed at certain things before. Plan to succeed the next time. Maybe your family members have a history of getting some horrible disease when they reach a certain age. Plan to be the one who does not get the disease.

Whatever it is, the best possible thing you can do is plan for the very best outcome.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: How You Handle Chaos Will Determine Your Success Or FailureYou Always Need a Backup PlanOnce You Achieve Success, Savor and Enjoy It to the FullestHappy Meals and BonusesPush Yourself Outside Your Comfort ZoneVitamins, Oprah, and the Importance of Taking Action Right AwaySummary In this article Harrison discusses how it is important to consistently plan to be happy and not sad. Success often has more to do with planning to achieve something great, than simply trying once, then giving up after listening to others’ negative opinions. Nothing is more important than having incredible faith in what we can achieve, and then preparing to do great things. Maybe you have failed at certain things before. Plan to succeed the next time. Maybe your family members have a history of getting some horrible disease when they reach a certain age. Plan to be the one who does not get the disease. Never agree with negative voices that come from others – focus and think about positive and inspiring things. Whatever it is, the best possible thing you can do is plan for the very best outcome.

Filed Under : Featured
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You Need to Be in Favor with the Right People

2011-07-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

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When I started my first company, back in 2000, I and the other people who were with me at the time sat down and had a three-day meeting during which we discussed what we wanted the company to be then and what we wanted it to become. It was an incredible meeting that I will remember forever. During those three days, we came up with this fundamental core value, which has since shaped the course of my life and my various companies: We Must Get People Jobs. This has driven all of our work since that time, and anytime we have seen limitations in any certain way of doing things, we have always come back to this core value and expanded upon it. Today, because of this core value, we have evolved into numerous businesses that are connected to this same ideology.

Back in 2001, I started a company called Legal Authority to help law students and attorneys get jobs. I had been a law professor, and I noticed that many people were having an extraordinarily difficult time getting jobs after graduating. The main reason they were having a difficult time was that they were “undermarketing” themselves. Most law schools at the time, including the one where I taught, had only a small list of law firms, public interest organizations, government offices, companies, and so forth that they made available to their students to apply to.

To my mind, this did not make any sense. In a city such as Los Angeles, for instance, there are more than 10,000 employers that hire attorneys. Conversely, the average law school might keep a list of only 200 employers for their students to apply to. Because everyone was applying to the same employers, it was more difficult to get jobs. Getting on the law schools’ list often was a political game whereby the law schools would steer their very best students to certain employers and not others. I figured that by creating giant lists of employers that students could apply to, I would make it much easier for them to find jobs.

As part of the service, I would put together a comprehensive list of prospective employers, rewrite their résumés and cover letters, and print all the materials that would be mailed out to employers. In some cases, people might mail out more than 500 letters; they would always be marketing themselves to a much wider variety of employers than their law schools would be providing them with. More important, they would be marketing themselves to employers that other law students were not marketing themselves to (i.e., employers not on the law school’s preferred list of employers), and since they were often the only person seeking a job at a given employer from a given law school, they would really stand out.

Just as I had anticipated, the process worked like magic. The law students we assisted ended up getting jobs–time and time again. I then opened the service to attorneys, and soon people who had been unemployed for weeks or months started getting job offers. The service grew like crazy, and within a few months, I had a crew of at least 20 people researching employers, several people writing resumes, and people printing résumés and cover letters. The operation became so big, I needed to move offices. In a short time we had become overwhelmed with job seekers using our services. It was a very funny and exciting time in the business.

Because the service did more than the law school career services offices, and was so much more effective, I started running full-page advertisements in law student magazines that said things like: “LEGAL AUTHORITY CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN YOUR LAW SCHOOL CAREER SERVICES OFFICE!” I ran these advertisements not because I had a problem with law school career services offices, but because what I was saying was simply true. The company really did do more for law students than a career services office–in fact, in terms of marketing, it did a lot more.

The service also took off when we started dealing with attorneys, because the process worked just as well for them as it had for law students. In the job search realm, there are many legal recruiters out there who track down and place attorneys in law firms and other organizations. However, legal recruiters typically only work with the largest and most prestigious law firms–perhaps the top 2%-3% from all firms. The reason for this is that recruiters usually charge a fee to the employer, which is 25% over and above the attorney’s annual salary. Only the best attorneys can work with recruiters, since law firms are only willing to pay these fees for the most extraordinary attorneys. The problem therefore is that attorneys are only able to get jobs through recruiters if they are amongst the elite of the elite; this leaves the rest of the attorneys to figure out how to get jobs on their own.

The attorneys who used Legal Authority found incredible fortune using our service. They were able to secure jobs after being unemployed, and in most cases, Legal Authority proved to be a far more effective way for them to get jobs than by using a recruiting firm. Recruiters would never openly admit this to an attorney because it would reveal their weakness–but it was true in almost every case. The reasons for this were (1) the attorney would be able to cover the entire market, and (2) there was no fee attached to their candidacy. Law firms are happy to pay fees to recruiters for the most exceptional attorneys (and, indeed, almost expect them to be using recruiter), but 95% of the attorneys out there would actually be ignored or overlooked by a firm, even if they did come by way of a recruiter.

To publicize this fact, I started running advertisements for Legal Authority in all sorts of magazines and other publications, explaining how it was more effective than using a recruiter. With these advertisements, the business continued to grow. Within a year of starting the company, the company had more than 50 employees. We have since started another company called EmploymentAuthority.com, which does the same thing for people who are in other professions outside of law.

Around the same time, I was making a name for myself as a legal recruiter. I started getting invitations to speak to the student bodies of various law schools about the job market. I was not known by law schools or anyone for my involvement with Legal Authority, but I was known as a recruiter. When I would go into the law schools, I would be introduced and would start talking about the legal job market and then segue into a talk about Legal Authority and how it was an incredibly effective way for law students to get jobs. I remember after one speech, the Career Services Dean of one law school walked up to me and said something I could not believe:

“If I had known you were behind Legal Authority, I would not have invited you to speak.”

I was puzzled by this statement, and the woman seemed very angry. I lingered at the cocktail reception afterward and then asked someone else in the career services office why the Dean disliked Legal Authority so much. She told me that my magazine ads had offended all of the career services people because the advertisements had attacked the effectiveness of career services offices. The more I tried to reach out to career services offices, the more hostile they became.

Within a year or so of this particular incident, I started getting letters and phone calls from the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC). They threatened to revoke the membership of a separate recruiting company I worked for if I did not remove from the Legal Authority website information about how Legal Authority worked as compared to recruiters. At their demands and due to their threats, we removed articles and other materials from Legal Authority, all of which explained in one way or another that recruiters could only place the best attorneys and only could place them at the select few law firms that were willing to pay 25% in fees to the recruiting firm.

My relationship with this particular group became one of never-ending troubles and aggravation, as they looked into our various companies and started objecting to one thing after another (even in businesses not involving recruiting). Their objections to Legal Authority and our other job search businesses in the legal community grew so pronounced that we eventually told the organization we wanted nothing more to do with them. Our core value of getting attorneys jobs was in direct conflict with what appeared to be their core value of protecting the legal recruiting industry from businesses that might be viewed as competitive. Apparently, several years ago one of the Founders of NALSC was kicked out of the organization for starting a job site for attorneys. Associations exist to protect the members’ interests, although in my opinion there is nothing wrong with two sides having opposing views. I have no animosity toward the organization, nor any regrets about the success of Legal Authority.

As Legal Authority continued to grow, our core value of getting attorneys jobs expanded into other businesses. The second business we started was a job site, LawCrossing.com. The way most job sites work is that they charge employers a fee, typically $350 to $500 to put a job on their websites. While this is a good business model, this also unfortunately ends up keeping lots of jobs off of the site, because not all employers are willing to pay these fees. My idea was to gather employment listings from every job site, plus the legal jobs that were available on LawCrossing.com. Also, many employers list jobs directly on their own websites. I decided that it would also be a good idea to collect the job listings from these websites and put them on LawCrossing.com as well. We launched this business and it quickly became very popular. It was based on the core value of getting people jobs. We have always looked at how people get jobs, and if there are ever deficiencies in the system, the goal has been to correct these deficiencies.

As LawCrossing’s position in the market strengthened, I was enthusiastic and wanted to reach out to law schools and tell them about it. I figured that they would be incredibly happy that such a site existed, and I wanted to give the service to law students and others for free. Several years ago, I decided that a good thing to do would be to send one of our employees on a cross-country trip to visit every US law school. I purchased a giant Dodge Sprinter van and had all sorts of graphics put on the side of it promoting the business, LawCrossing. We had a sign on the back of the van that said “WE LOVE ATTORNEYS AND LAW STUDENTS.” I was incredibly excited about the business and loved our customers.

I hired an old Mormon man in his late 60s, from rural Utah, to travel across the country in the van. He was enthusiastic about making the trip in numerous respects, and he seemed to be the perfect person for the job. However, within a few weeks of his hitting the road, when he reached states like Kentucky and others, we started to get crazy e-mails and messages from various law schools. They sent us messages stating that it was “sick” to have a man traveling across the United States in a van promoting sex with law students. I realized this is hard to believe; however, to my astonishment, many of the law schools decided to interpret the message on the truck in a negative way, rather than a positive way. The furor among the law schools about the so-called “love truck” got so out of hand that I had to pull the entire tour. Everything the tour represented had been grossly misinterpreted by the law schools. I can assure you that no “funny business” was going on in this van.

In thinking about these episodes with Legal Authority and LawCrossing, with the career services offices and with the recruiting association, a consistent theme comes to mind for me: Influencers and Opinion Leaders were not consulted and assuaged in the process of launching these businesses. Instead, both of my businesses pronounced deficiencies in the system and made those in charge of the deficiencies a marketing target. Law school career services offices were targeted because they only gave students access to a limited number of employers. Recruiters were targeted because they could only give people access to a limited number of employers. In both cases, the other parties were guilty of intentionally controlling access to information. However, for both of these groups, information was the source of their power. My targeting this power was a major threat.

In reflecting on this situation, I can definitely say that I made some big mistakes with the recruiting association and the career services offices. Despite their deficiencies, targeting them was a fundamental mistake because the public’s reaction to a business, or person, is generally shaped by opinion leaders–people who influence the opinions of the public. Recruiters influence the opinions of attorneys because they are talking to attorneys every day. Career services deans in law schools influence the opinions of law students because they are talking to law students every day. Targeting these people of leadership and authority in my marketing campaign was a massive mistake. In every business and endeavor, one of the most important things you can do is get on the good side of the people who influence others’ opinions.

Politicians typically come to power because they have gained the influence of those who influence the opinions of others. For example, presidents typically are sponsored by important influencers in business. It is no secret that Hollywood stars, for example, use their power to influence elections. Several years ago, I was in the student loan business and one day someone in power in a major bank asked me to give a decent sum of money to a United States congressman. I did it. I proceeded to have lunch with the congressman a short time later, and from then on I regularly received calls from his office asking if I needed any help on Capitol Hill with various things. I was very surprised by this, but this is how politics works. Politicians seek the favor of people willing to support them and then find themselves committed to those special interests.

One reason that politicians lose power when they are in office is their inability to gain the favor of other leaders who have the power to influence others. Watching politics is fascinating because what you generally see are politicians making crazy decisions and pushing through insane legislation; it is more due to appeasing special interests and others in power than the general populace they purport to represent. The best businesspeople, the best politicians, and the best leaders in any profession who gain and hold on to power know that they have to influence people who are in a position to control the opinions of others.

Something that really interested me was the resignation of Sarah Palin as the governor of Alaska. Here was a person who was extremely popular, at one point becoming a vice presidential candidate–and then several months later she resigns from her position, possibly dooming her political career forever. Most of the news stories I have watched and read have indicated that she may have resigned because the criticism against her became too much for her to personally handle. As she got into the public spotlight, she began to face enormous criticism for everything from how she dressed, to how her children behaved, and more. The criticism she faced became almost unrelenting. The opinion leaders and people in power attacked Palin and were able to make their opinions predominant. Without the support of the public, it became impossible for her to continue to govern.

People who control others’ opinions are everywhere. For example, they exist in families. There are people inside families who have the ability to influence everyone else’s opinions. This person could be a small child who turns against a parent, planting the seeds that empower the mother to leave the father, and causing other relatives to turn on the family. Similarly, people with strong and influential opinions exist within companies and organizations, and they are not always the people with the most money, or the best title.

What does all of this mean for your life and career? Unfortunately, it means that it is important to cater to and get the approval of people who have the ability to influence the opinions of others one way or another. These people are everywhere. Politicians rely upon them. Astute businesspeople rely upon them. Social climbers rely upon them. These people have an ability to control what happens in your career.

In my case, I have made mistakes by not catering more closely to people with the power to influence others. When you go against influential people, they can turn against you and make your career and life much more difficult. Often the person who gets fired, fails to get a promotion, and fails to ever get ahead is guilty of not impressing–or even offending–the people who have the ability to influence others. Believe it or not, this can be even more detrimental than doing poor work.

All around you there are countless political games at play, as people attempt to influence others with power and control others’ opinions. In Hollywood, for example, I have heard some incredible stories that are demonstrative of this: I know of male movie stars whom the public thinks are heterosexual, who slept their way to the top–by having sex with much older men who are producers or another position of power. There seems to be no limit to the lengths people have gone in order to get to the top in their profession–but this is all around us and it is part of the game. You do not need to sleep with people to get to the top, but you do need to be aware of the game going on and you do need to play it, or at least play along with it to get ahead. My career advice is that you need to do your best to be in favor with the right people.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: Your Job Search and Future Prospects Will Be Determined by the Company You KeepOrder and Disorder and Your CareerMove Towards the LightSurround Yourself with Positive PeopleGive People What They WantAbraham Lincoln, Bringing People Together, and Your CareerSummary In this article Harrison suggests that you need to be in favor with the right people. These people have an ability to control what happens in your career. People with strong and influential opinions exist within all companies and organizations. It is important to cater to and get the approval of people who have the ability to influence the opinions of others one way or another. When you go against people with the power to influence others they can turn against you and make your career and life much more difficult. You do need to be aware of the game going on and you do need to play it, or at least play along with it to get ahead.

Filed Under : Advancement, Featured
Tagged: career advice, career advice | a harrison barnes, how to find a job, job market, job search, job search guru, job seeker, lawfirm jobs, legal recruiter, new job opportunities, people lengths, potential employer, prospective employers, right people favor

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Improve The Quality Of Your Life With Self Esteem Activities

2011-07-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

There are many activities that can help you with building self esteem. Below you will find some of the more common ideas. These are activities than anyone can do. They are great for children and adults alike and fortunately, they will not break the bank. If practiced regularly, these activities can become a part of your weekly routine. This is similar to the “lifestyle change” concept and is quite effective at making profound positive changes in many peoples lives. If you are not able to do them every week, do them as often as you can. The repetition is a pinnacle factor in their effectiveness to improve your self-esteem.

Participate in Life

This one is simple, non-specific and easy to implement. You will find that simply getting out there and taking part in the activities of the world, can work wonders to improve your self-esteem. When we feel more connected to the world around us, we feed of the energy of society. Be sure to keep it positive. Getting into arguments or other negative social scenarios destroy our sense of social cohesion. You want to participate actively in events and organizations that appeal to you. Talk to people, learn, teach and contribute to the world. As long as you keep it positive and honest, people will want your contribution. Go to group meetings, church, school events, parties or anything else that gets you more involved that sitting home watching TV.

Set Goals

We do not seem to get very far before returning to this tried and true concept. Setting goals is one of the most effective ways to make significant and sustained progress toward any accomplishment. Think about the things that you wish to achieve. Plan them out in small achievable steps and take action. As you progress, your self-esteem will follow. Include a mix of goals that are easy to achieve and goals that push you to stretch your abilities slightly. Challenging yourself achieves growth. Growth enacts change. Every major accomplishment is achieved through challenge.

Play Games

It really is that simple. I do not mean log in to your favorite first person shooter and spend five hours racking up headshots and kills. The games that help build self esteem are games that involve being active with people. Sports are a good example. Playing hide-and-seek with the kids is another example. You can go to the park and play Frisbee, go swimming, or just throw a ball. These activities do not have to be sporty in nature but being active, helps in other ways as well. Even playing cards or board games can help your interaction skills and give you a fun outlet while building self-esteem. Some Sports also teach competitiveness which also helps to teach us how to be confident.

Physical Exercise

You knew it was coming. There is no way around it. Physical exercise has so much to offer in terms of physical, emotional, social and mental health. Rigorous physical exercise is one of those things that just magically improves our lives in many unexpected ways. It is truly a gift. The problem of course is that is takes some discipline, time and significant effort to really see the bulk of the rewards. If you get in excellent physical shape, it WILL improve the way you feel about yourself. This is almost a guarantee. It will also release endorphins that trigger a deep feeling of contentedness. It burns off negative over-active mental energy. It shows progress over time, which produces evidence of success. People will notice, and you will notice their reactions.

List Your Attributes

Sit down and take some time to list all of your accomplishments and positive traits. It may be tough at first, especially if you are feeling particularly low. As you get rolling, you will find that ideas start to pour out. Often you can think of literally hundreds of positive things about yourself and great things that you have accomplished. Include everything that you feel good about regardless of how small you think it is. Look at the list often. There is no way that the person who did all those great things or has all those positive attributes can be all-bad. Every time you start to feel low, refer to this list.

Teach Yourself Something

It does not matter what it is. Just teach yourself something new from time to time. We build our knowledge and experience in life through learning new things. Personally, I enjoy home improvement. I will take time periodically to try to learn something new that I can apply to my home. For instance, replacing fixtures, remodeling projects or learning how to build a deck or storage shed are all things that I have taught myself over time. Perhaps you would like to build a blog or a website. Take steps, do your research and put things into action.

Help Others

When you actively help other people, you feel good about yourself. There are many ways to put this into action. You can simply ask friends if they need any help with anything around the house. You can volunteer at the local church, donate items, contribute to charities, or anything else that helps someone. These selfless acts do wonders to make us feel useful and needed. Do not be afraid that you are doing it for the wrong reasons. People need help. Providing it is a good thing regardless of the reason. There is nothing wrong with benefitting from your own good deeds.

Treat Yourself

Remember to take the time to treat yourself well. You need to be able to enjoy life or it is all for nothing. Do some things that you enjoy. Go to your favorite restaurant. Read your favorite book or go for a swim. It does not matter what you do but make sure that you are periodically doing something that you enjoy. Feeling good promotes feeling good and that is a fact that proves itself.

I hope you find some of these activities useful. Remember that reading about building self-esteem alone is not likely to get you the results that you seek. You must be willing to take some action and get out there. Practice a few of these suggestions for a few weeks and ask yourself if they have had a positive impact on your life and the way you feel about it. If it works, keep it up.

In case you are searching through the web for more info about the sphere of emotional freedom technique, then make sure to visit the site that is mentioned right in this line.

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Where all successful people have started and what you can learn from the

2011-07-01T17:06:00.000-07:00

You have the desire to succeed in life? If you are reading this, then the answer is probably yes. Because you want to be successful, I am sure you have asked yourself how other successful people was that way. And, if you're like most people, you probably have analyzed to the point where you no longer remember why you analyze them more.

Of course, it's great to learn from other people who have become successful because they have the wisdom, experience and knowledge that you need to become successful as well. The great thing about looking back at these successful people is to know that when they started, they were just like you.

I think Ralph Waldo Emerson did an excellent job explaining this when he said, "every artist was first an amateur. You see, you must start somewhere, just like any other successful person. They were all amateurs at some point in their lives. The reason is that they were successful because she gained the experience and expertise of a professional.

Two things contribute to your relocation of an amateur, or a lesser place than where you want to be, to be successful. The first is consistency, and the second is time. Amateurs work consistently on their skill and then over time it develops to a point where people start to see the experience and the perfection of their skill.

If you are successful, no matter what it is or where you want to be alive, remain consistent and keep with it. These two keys will help you to go from an amateur to ever someone that is well respected in your area.

There Is greatness on the inside of you but you don't know how to achieve it? Jason has just released his new 7 part e-course, ' Find your greatness '

Get free when you subscribe to http://www.findyourgreatness.com:

Jason Osborn and Rebecca have committed to change thousands of lives by helping people find their greatness and true potential through their newsletter your greatness.

You determine your salary-life success series

2011-06-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

Something that tends to forget is that you decide how much money you earn, and you how wealthy you are planning to his decision. You determine how much money you earn an hour, and you're in control of how that money is put to use.

With the exception of certain circumstances there are very few disadvantages people have not the ability to control their income. I know teenage millionaires, billionaires and even elderly people who had their homes because of a disability leave, but they don't allow that as an excuse.

What you do with your time and how you leverage to your advantage is yours. The position you are in now is in a certain way a result of a decision that you have created or a situation which you accept.

Those who are successful do not settle for mediocrity. They have the determination and drive to push forward to do whatever it takes to reach their goals. No excuses.

Think about what it is that you want to achieve, and then do something about it. Layout a plan that will help you get there as quickly as possible. If the enter a new field, receive an education. If you want to make more money, start a part-time business. If you want to retire young, then get your multi-million dollar business plan packed. Anyway, your future in your hand, not someone else.

It's never been so easy to make more money. If it doesn't have to be exceedingly rich, then simply supplementing your income can build long-term wealth. By applying yourself and taking action, you can achieve anything that you put your mind to.

Think about this. If it is humanly possible and it has already been done, then it is entirely possible for you to achieve this objective. Don't think of yourself as inadequate and incapable. You can achieve your goals faster than you think.

The secret of the Success of the life video watch and discover how people like you this powerful concepts have used to achieve more. Watch the full video http://www.mmhabits.com/secret-to-life-success on

What you based on your success Meter?

2011-06-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Are you one of the many people who others look and think "I wish I had their self-confidence"? Too many times we stop thought process at that point, what would happen if you explored who thought more in depth?

Our self-confidence has developed and changed by many factors by means of our lifetimes. Thanks to these factors have a lot of unrealistic expectations set in itself that leads to self doubt and low self esteem. Self-doubt it can be very disempowering and lead to anxiety, frustration and self-hatred that can keep you from reaching your full potential. You can really your success meter based on what you've established society and others define so successful?

Success can look and be experienced by everyone else. So are you that honest to yourself by your success based on a snap shot of someone's life? We forgot to look at the only person, which is what our real values are know, the one that actually targets for our inner success can set. The important thing to remember is that we can learn to be at any time in our lives. So, the next time that you feel you are missing something in your life look in the mirror is the only person who has the right answers for you.

Remember, dreams and desires have no expiry date or age limits, they've just been waiting patiently for you to make it happen. It Is possible the biggest boundary between you and your dreams are you? Only through dreams change objectives please they are available and make them your reality. So dare to dream!

Jaime Bayliss is a life/Business Coach [http://www.lucrativedecisionscoaching.com] (CPCP) formally trained and graduated from the Academy everyone understands International Coach who has big dreams for their life and a desire to achieve these dreams of personal and professional fulfillment. Dreams can be as large as we desire if we can understand how these dreams create our reality, that's where Jaime.

Jaime is the CEO of lucrative Coaching decisions. Jaime truly loves is a Certified Coach [http://www.lucrativedecisionscoaching.com] and its customers help moving forward. They decided on the lucrative decisions Coaching name because she knows that the best decision you can make is to invest in yourself!

What my 11-month-old can teach you about achieving success

2011-06-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

How many times have you set out to do something, and when it doesn't matter to after the 1st or 2nd attempt work, you decide that you're not good at, you'll never learn how to do it, or it is not for you?

I often hear a story similar to this of women just before I begin coaching with them. Some examples:

-"2 Weeks ago I posted my online dating profile, and while I've emailed with a couple of guys, I still haven't met someone I want to go on a date with. The online dating thing will never work for me! "

-"I followed with this Outlook client, but they never replied. I think they are not interested in my service or product. "

-"I want to write a memoir, but have spent a month and cant get through the design of the first chapter. Maybe I'm not meant to write about my adventures! "

In each of these cases, the individual specified hope or enthusiasm for something that they really, really want, just because they did not achieve in full right away. Instead of viewing their attempt, exactly as it is: just, an attempt that didn't work out, they create a story about himself: I'll never meet someone to date; This client will never interested in my services; I will never be able to write this book.

The truth is, it's your story that will keep you from accomplishing the things that you want to achieve in life-not your skills, or even your circumstances!

I learn this and relearn every time, just by observing my 11-month-old daughter, Penina. Like most babies, Penina has a zest for life and curiosity, and want to do and everything to try. However, it is a rare case that her goal is reached at her first attempt.

I'll give you an example: last week, Penina was figuring out how to sit on himself a new crank that was given to her. I watched as she her little legs up and down, moved here the affixing of an arm or experimenting with another arm there. Just as she was about to success, Penina lost her balance, fell over and beat her chin. I drove to make sure she was okay. She was a little bleeding and called for a moment. And when she did the most amazing thing: they crawled out of my arms and straight back to her stool to complete what she had set out to do.

Penina could continue to exist and its purpose is not complete because they do not judge for yourself not the achievement of full success in her first attempt. In fact, I think the challenge is what made it more interesting for her!

Think about a baby you know-chances are they don't walk or talk or feed themselves on their first try. But they don't let that get in their way! She kept tapping into their curiosity and working at it and working at it and tweak their strategy (and perhaps got support and assistance of parents and others) until they achieved success.

And, of course, as adults, we know that every one of their efforts was part of their process of achieving success-each attempt, they learned something new about accomplishing what they wanted to achieve.

An important step on the road to success and satisfaction is to be able to let your passion, enthusiasm and interest in your project or purpose are larger and more powerful than any story that you on your small-ness or your inability to make.

How many ideas, capabilities, relationships or projects have you allowed to pass you by because you chose to use your not achieve success on your first attempt as proof that you were not able or intended to do it?

Today, I ask you to be inspired by my 11-month-old daughter and look at your goals with fresh, new eyes. Tap into your curiosity and passion and go for it!

Your soulful Coaching call to action!

Contact your passion > and your curiosity for your project or purpose

Measure your progress-even if you are not completely your goal on your first go around, take note of what you have accomplished and what you've learned for next time around to complete

Let go of your self judgement or the self-criticism when you notice that your "story" you returned from the persisting keeps

Search for support when you intuitively feel it would be easier to achieve your goal with someone else offering suggestions, accountability or just plain old business!

Joanna Lindenbaum, M.A., has 12 years of teaching and coaching experience. She invites women to think bigger, to embrace their power, engaging and exciting goals. Its customers achieve extraordinary success in business, career and life.

For receiving of Joanna's free eCourse, how to overcome the 5 obstacles to success, http://www.soulfulcoach.com visit

What's your motivation?

2011-06-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

Business always has their ups and downs. That's just the way it is. Now with all the downs that come our way, what would happen if we had no drive, no incentive or motivation to go? Well, all our activities would just fail and crumbled to the ground. Do you know what motivates you? Pushes you? Drives you do your best?

Personally, if the first thing that popped into your head was money, please let me be as real as real gets, you should more motivation. Money is great, but I think you need more than money to motivate you. Here is an excellent example of why I think it's not a good motivator.

Lets say you hit a slow couple of months, not to anything. Money is now your motivation. For a few months, there are no sales, no leads, nada! Be real with yourself, how motivated are you to continue with your company? Chances are, you'll probably think that a 9-5 sounds pretty sweet. I hope this proves my point.

For you to success in your business to reach there must be a reason why you every morning to get up and do what you do. It doesn't matter how big or small the idea of motivation is, as long as it motivates you. here are the top 3 things, that no matter how much money I lose, I don't get how many leads, or how many sales I never quit, will still keep me motivated to my business run.

1. My family-I have a loving family, nuclear were. Mother, father and brother. They are my everything. I want to make sure that I more than can offer them everything they need and want. Regardless of the cost, distance or availability. I want them to have everything. Be more than average and more than comfortable. I want my parents retire and travel the world. I would like an art gallery for my brother open, so that he could exhibit his work. I want to make their dreams a reality.

2. My dream home-I want to live in a big house. And not just a big house, my dream house! I even have a picture of what it looks like. I stop to look at the daily to remind myself why I work so hard, and what my hard work will pay off. A Visual to look at every day is a great way to bring the plant in your mind. Post it anywhere that you see it every day. It's usually a good place where you spend most of your time.

3. My vision-its not really an explanation, but more of a letter to myself. It is where I want to be of 5 years from now. I am a very detailed person, and wrote almost my entire life there, but you don't have to. I read this daily. Are similar to how I look at my dream house everyday. I read it out loud, and it helps me and reminds me of the success that I want to accomplish in my life. I highly suggest that everyone have a vision statement for themselves. You wouldn't believe how your own words can inspire you each day.

I hope that my motivation helps to give you some ideas if you don't have one, or helps to jog new ones. Always be motivated in your company. Its a determining factor. These simple things can make you stand out as leaders.

I have put together a sample that you can follow that you can use to create your own vision statement. You can find the on my personal website http://www.DanielaLalo.com/Blog.html

Why do you want to be successful?

2011-06-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

One of the most important questions that I feel should be conquered before you out on the road to success is why you want to be successful. By that I mean the motivating forces and drive that you want to actually create the success. In the next article, I will discuss why such a question is so important to successfully and to ensure that

The most common belief that people have about success is that it will make them happy. After all, are we animal as any other creature in our wish for happiness and pleasure more than anything else. But when you look at your life, to the wishes that you begin, where this assumed ultimate happiness is derived from is blurry. We find happiness in the actual event of completion, or is the source of our happiness from the results themselves.

It seems quite a confusing question, so I'll give you a demonstrating scenario-come-question. Say you vision of success is a big house with 5 bedrooms with two cars and a woman. Is the happiness of all of these things have been given, or the happiness comes directly from these things?

Or someone who wants to success because of success can ever be satisfied, is content and happy for debate. Even there may be little difference between the two in reality, and many people want to both sources of happiness at the same time. But still, I think it's still important to realize the reason for your success in the first place. If you can recognize your true motivation, you can visualize much more effectively and consider their fulfillment, and thus your own.

Jonathan Belcher is a fisherman for 10 years now, and a review site at Digital fishing Scales., which also aims at revising Digital fish scale [http://www.digitalfishingscales.net/2010/01/17/is-a-digital-fishing-scale-only-good-for-fishing/].

When The Law of Attraction?

2011-06-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

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It started with the creation of the universe and the creation of thought.

The challenging question is, when did mankind first become aware of this law?

The answer to that is unknown, although there is some evidence to suggest that people knew about universal law at least 6000 or 7000 years ago.

Research on the history of the law of attraction provides us with many inspirational quotes, which gives us plenty of evidence that the laws were truly understood.

When studying the history of the Law of Attraction we see that Buddha said,

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought."

A powerful statement, not only do we create the material things in our lives by what we think, we also create ourselves.

Further evidence in the history of the Law of Attraction can be found in the King James version of the Bible. We see that Job may not have fully understood the workings of attraction, however like many people today he suffered the consequences of the law by not using it for his good.

In Job 3: 25, it reads,

"For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me."

How many of us are creating what we do not desire in life? How many of us are setting ourselves up as victims because we do not understand or are not consciously using the law of attraction?

Without knowing when the phrase Attraction was first coined, it is difficult to document the first writings. Law of attraction awareness was certainly awakened in the last century or so, with many authors and scientists writing, perhaps controversially, at the turn of the last century.

Many of these books are now in the public domain and are available in eBook format from the Law-of-Attraction-Guide library.

James Allen is best known work As a Man Thinketh, which is one of the most powerful law of attraction books written.

The forward states,

"to stimulate men and women to the discovery and perception of the truth that - they themselves are makers of themselves by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master-weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness."

As you can see the style of writing is rather dated and needs to be read carefully.

Wallace Wattles studied the various religious beliefs and philosophies of the world including those of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Swedenborg, Emerson, and others.

He translated those studies into several books including The Science of Getting Rich. In this book he builds upon the following statement,

"There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe. A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought. I can form things in my thought, and by impressing my thoughts upon formless substance, can cause the thing I think about to be created."

In the past 30 years, this book has been used as the basis to teach many people about the law of attraction, and was the inspiration for the movie, The Secret.

Charles Haanel was a noted American author and businessman who belonged to the American Scientific League, The Author's League of America, The American Society of Psychical Research, the St. Louis Humane Society and the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce.

Haanel wrote several books that were published in St. Louis by Psychology Publishing and by his Master Key Institute in New York.

Mr. Haanel put into books the ideas and methods he used to gain his success. Besides the Master Key System, which he wrote in 1912, he also wrote Mental Chemistry and The New Psychology.

By 1933 The Master Key System had sold over 200,000 copies and then seemingly disappeared.

Studying the history of the law of attraction, The Master Key System has proved to be one of the finest studies in self-improvement and higher consciousness ever written. Covering everything from attracting abundance and prosperity, to greater health and happiness. This system teaches the principles and practise of the laws of cause and effect.

One of the most inspirational quotations written in the introduction of the book is,

"Abundance, therefore, depends upon recognition of the laws of Abundance, and the fact that Mind is not only the creator, but the only creator of all there is."

Again the writing style requires careful reading, but is well worth it.

The Master Key System was originally written as a 24 part correspondence course and therefore is far more practical as a step by step building process, with weekly law of attraction exercises and lessons.

The Master Key System is the spine of our own training program Unlock The Power of You

Napolean Hill is considered to have influenced more people into success than any other person in history. He has been perhaps the most influential man in the area of personal success development.

Napoleon Hill achieved great success as an attorney and journalist. His early career as a reporter helped finance his way through law school. He was given an assignment to write a series of success stories of famous men, and his big break came when he was asked to interview steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie.

Mr. Carnegie commissioned Hill to interview over 500 millionaires to find a success formula that could be used by the average person. These included Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Wrigley Jr, John Wanamaker, WIlliam Jennings Bryan, George Eastman, Woodrow Wilson, William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller, F. W. Woolworth, Jennings Randolph, among others. He became an advisor to Andrew Carnegie, and with Carnegie's help he formulated a philosophy of success, drawing on the thoughts and experience of a multitude of rags-to-riches tycoons.

It took Hill over 20 years to produce his book, a classic in the Personal Development field called Think and Grow Rich. This book has sold over 7 million copies and has helped thousands achieve success. The secret to success is very simple but you'll have to read the book to find out what it is!

The first copy of Think and Grow rich was sold in 1937. Eleven years later, in February 1948, Coronet magazine polled 300 successful young men and women, asking, 'What books had most influenced their lives and contributed to their success?' Think and Grow Rich was ranked fourth. Some 38 years later USA Today published a list of the top 10 selling paperbacks about investments, Think and Grow Rich ranked No.1. Incredibly in 2002, some 65 years after it was published, Think and Grow Rich was tenth in the Business Week bestsellers.

Napoleon Hills work stands as a monument to individual achievement and is the cornerstone of modern motivation. His book, Think and Grow Rich, is the all time best seller in the field.

Florence Scovel is one of the first metaphysics teachers of this past century. In her book The Game of Life and How to Play It, she states;

"Most people consider life a battle, but it is not a battle, it is a game. It is a game, however, which cannot be played successfully without the knowledge of spiritual law, and the Old and the New Testaments give the rules of the game with wonderful clearness."

Jesus Christ taught that it was a great game of Giving and Receiving. "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap"

This means that whatever man sends out in word or deed, will return to him; what he gives, he will receive. If he gives hate, he will receive hate; if he gives love, he will receive love; if he gives criticism, he will receive criticism; if he lies he will be lied to; if he cheats he will be cheated.

Florence is also quoted as saying -

"Infinite spirit opens the way for my great abundance. I am an irresistible magnet for all that belongs to me by divine right. My supply is endless, inexhaustible and immediate and comes to me under grace in perfect ways."

It is my belief, that at our very core, people want to have a peaceful and harmonious world. I also believe that as people become aware of the Law of Attraction, they will realize that they can influence the world by their belief and will be an agent for positive change for the future. It is important that more and more people become aware of and use the law of attraction daily to create tremendous lives for themselves and others.

The Complete Law-of-Attraction-Guide
Exploring the ways that you can Apply and Master the Law of Attraction. With free resources, eBooks and Conceive-Believe-Achieve Magazine. Can you really bring into your life anything you desire?
http://www.law-of-attraction-guide.com/index.html

Willpower and action lead you to success?

2011-06-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
-Vince Lombardi

Despite what you on television or a glossy magazine see may, willpower is still and will always be an important aspect of self discipline. Quit smoking campaigns that tell us we should use some gum or patches to beat the habit are right mate. If one does not have the willpower to stop, nothing will work. People take on diets, diet does not work unless they have the willpower.

To be successful, to be wealthy or to get rich also required of you, willpower and action.

I compare with willpower the suit of wands in a Tarot pack. The wands represent fire; they represent the willpower, energy, self assertion, productivity and growth. You know that the realm of the Suite of Wands our intentions and our actions includes, among other things, the Suite of Wands also relates to intuition and self confidence.

If in your quest for success you have a small bump in willpower increases there is a need for immediate actions shall be implemented in practice. Action and willpower could be compared with your heart and lungs, they need each other to survive. While will power the first requirement leads to action, action, in turn, the capacity to increase your willpower.

Time to increase your knowledge, find some quiet morning and night and do the reading with regard to making you a more valuable person, whether for your job, your career goals or that you wish to run, the knowledge is important, the willpower to knowledge is more important. Use this new knowledge to expand your thinking and improving the opportunities for success that await you.

Exercise, a healthy diet intake and an adequate intake of water are also important in the acquisition of knowledge. Exercise increases oxygen exchange, the increases of the diet the capacity of our cells to function effectively, water is necessary to maintain life. All together they make our brains more alert to keep track of what we read or listen to.

Adequate exercise need willpower, to a healthy lifestyle with adequate water intake to maintain healthy diet also requires willpower.

Action on all of the above and you will have more control over your mind develop.
Control of your thoughts and conquer the road of success.

Why success depend on your why?

2011-06-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

How MLM success depend on your why?

Historically, the survival rate in network marketing is not good! MLM Success is not a walk in the Park.

The simple and sad truth is that when it comes takes – most people stop!

The business is evolving and developing new methods to embrace the Internet. The idea of "Internetwork Marketing" is easier to succeed but there will be changes and challenges to get by.

No amount of incentive, encouragement, guidance or even bullying will help anyone who is not in itself the desire to succeed.

Motivation comes from inside, and it is your "why" that your stamina.

WHY! Not how?

The reason (why) you want to achieve something is much more important than the "how". Too often we get caught up in the details of how to achieve something instead of clear and committed to the "why".

Your "why" is the great, passionate desire that you keep going and if you can nail what your "why" is then you go through thick and thin and some sort of challenge will continue.

Motivation from the inside is long-lasting. It does not disappear the day after the motivational rally, or once you have cleared the motivational tape.

Once you've nailed it appears the "why" than the "how" later….

Identify your why!

We are not talking about money here. You authorize enough money just to your liking. It is not an end in itself, like MLM success is not the end of the method itself, but if a vehicle is, to get there you.

What you need to do is figure out what you really, really want. What your buttons is pressed and gets your juices run?

Answering a few questions, can unlock the door:
What do you do with your spare time?
If you had a 2 month holiday, and money is not a barrier was, how would you spend?
If you had an unlimited amount of money what major problem would disappear?
If you had all the time in the world to do what you wanted, what would you do?

Due to the nature of what your why that it needs is to stimulate emotions in you-excite you, you anger or even scare you.

It is important to focus on what do you want to know what not want to you can sometimes help it all the more clear for you.

Your "why" as BIG. Large enough that it's bigger than what the obstacle is that gets in your way. If it doesn't then when faced with this challenge will stop with the easy option.

So even more deep thinking and take into account a few more questions:
What do you want to accomplish in your life?
What does your family for you?
What would you people you love most?
What makes you really scared to death?
What really excites you?
What makes you really upset?
What do you like about your work.
What do you hate about your job?

These are questions that only you can answer!

If you consider these things we will help you to fine tune your motivation, clarify your vision of what you want and help you find the motivation in yourself, that will get you through the hoops and about the bumps for your MLM success ... Starting a new home business can be an important new direction for you and this website is here to help you out on MLM success.

Darrin is a successful online marketer, mentor, and consultant assisting enterprising people to find success. To learn more about Darrin's home business opportunity Then either register http://qualitylifetrading.com:

The law of success

2011-06-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

A conscious effort has to be made to provide good experiences for the mind. Nature has provided man with everything in vast abundance - sadly though human beings have not quite realized this fact.

You must make up your mind to be successful. How can you do this effectively?

How can you develop will? Success comes with planning, determination and faith no doubt. To ascertain this fact I suggest that you try the following: Choose some objective that you think you cannot accomplish, and then try with all your energy and strength to do that one thing.
This could be anything, from drawing a portrait to mastering how to use the computer. When you have achieved success, go on to something bigger and continue striving forward exercising your willpower. Despite any set backs do not be shaken at all, but derive strength from your surroundings and above all learn from like-minded people who have sought to achieve success courageously without ever losing hope.

Remind yourselves of people like Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Mother Teresa and many more who have achieved the coveted position, because of their innate power of faith and dynamic willpower. Remember, you too can achieve the same success.

This law can be applied by anybody and it does work. It is true that our thoughts and actions shape our future and destiny. You must be willing to channel your talent and innate capabilities in the right direction, so that you can soar to new heights.

To recap on what has been said thus far, allow me to remind you what it takes to be successful.

o Planning is crucial and perhaps the most important step to your success.

o Prepare yourself to change your views, habits and your thought patterns.

o Only pursue tasks that are important. You must divide your needs from your wants - there is a fine line, so exercise discrimination.

o Watch your personal financial situation. Budget well and reduce spending.

o Surround yourself with people with a positive persona and those who are successful. Read books about people who have succeeded in life.

o Do not pretend to be who you are not. Be yourself and do not show off.

o Expand your horizon and be enthusiastic and ambitious.

o It is good to increase your income but it is even better to invest in assets that will make you wealthy.

o Prepare to work hard and make sacrifices.

Right actions enrich, strengthen and motivate us fully vitalizing our inner resources.
Cultivation of such values and adhering to the right values of living will help us grow and achieve success.

Such a consistent regime and exposure can mould our character and will help redeem our lower tendencies.

Time to Learn Who You Are

I would frown upon anyone who would even think of making a comment, by saying that success is only a wishful thought.

We are not born failures - let me get this point straightened. We have all been successful in our lives at some stage or another, and this is an undeniable TRUTH.
The following points will surely enable you to understand who you really are, and that is a guarantee. Once you ascertain your own attributes, it becomes that much easier to embrace ideals that will allow you to leap to greater heights.

1. Are you generally enthusiastic and positive or the complete opposite

2. Do you like to work hard and would you put in that little bit of extra effort if you did what you love most?

3. Are you being all that you can be - you may want to analyze your strengths and weaknesses.

4. Are you content with your present situation and/or circumstances?

Upon answering these three very important issues, you can determine your future. Remind yourselves about the importance of discipline and organization mentioned earlier.

The next point I wish to highlight is simplicity. Do not unnecessarily create hardships in the way of your work and the goal to success.

By simplicity I mean, do not complicate situation, and do not let success get to your head - pompous attitude is yet another problem that may bring you down. Be humble, assertive and righteous in your endeavors to succeed.

A calm individual can achieve virtually anything simply through the power of concentration - this is a scientific based truth.

Research has clearly shown that techniques like yoga, visualization, and relaxation can bring heightened awareness, thereby allowing the individual to reach his maximum potential.
By the power of concentration and focus, a person can accomplish that which he/she has desired.

The Need for Change

We are all too aware that nothing ever remains permanent in life, despite understanding one fact that life itself is a continuum, what we have failed to realize is that our own attitudes, conditioning and propensities stops us from incorporating changes.
One of the most difficult things to change is our nature (the indelible thoughts), particularly those that have left a mark (blueprint) on our psyche.

We may be able to change a lot of things around us but the need to change our thoughts, attitudes and habits which almost certainly have become a part of our self identity becomes arduously difficult a task.

As with all things in life time can heal anything and everything - allow time to help you grow in life and without wasting time reach your individual goals.

How do we change our mental attitude? The answer is very easy - once again there is no secret as such, nor is this arduous a task to implement. The primary answer lies in the word change itself. Initiating gradual changes in your lifestyle will help you reach your goal much faster. I say that the answer is easy with respect to how we can bring about positive changes, because let us consider habits for instance.

Habits take time to take root, as we are all too aware. Just as you 'learn' your habits with time you simply begin to unlearn them. Habits are very difficult to eradicate at once, and thus you allow time to take care of your habits. What has this got to do with being happy and rich, I 'hear' you ask?

Well, my friends I would like to throw back the very same question to you! Ask yourself why you have not been able to progress?

Put into practice what you have gathered thus far. Sit in a quiet corner and open your heart out, and solve this problem - the answer to all you problems good or bad lie within you. The exactness of the problem will no doubt vary, but the reason(s) for it are self-explanatory.

They stem from experiences, environment and your thought patterns. Why is it that person Y is able to quit smoking and yet person Z has much difficulties to quit the habit, though both have been smoking for ten years, and both smoke twenty cigarettes a day? The answer lies in what I have already discussed above, and it is our THOUGHTS.

The one thing that you will have to change in your life is your current perception of who you are, what others think of you and finally who you really are?

While you can change your thoughts, your environment and your business strategies, what you will have to realize is that you will not be able to change the very Law of Nature - it is perfect. Thus, we must respect this and begin to adhere to its governing dynamics, without violating it. How can nature affect our success?

This is a valid question, but upon deep analysis you will understand that we as human beings are constantly breaking the rules, laws and life's eternal processes daily.
Without digressing from the subject matter too much, carefully watch and notice how the beautiful rhythm of nature is fulfilling its duty daily without any discordance, and interruption. Likewise we have a lot to learn from Nature. Deviation from truth leads to utter dismay and failure, and breaking the Laws of Nature will bring despair - in short the macrocosm and the microcosm are indifferent.

The decisions that you make in your life will determine the outcome of your future events. Always think first of what you are about to do or intend doing, and by undertaking this act how will it then affect you.

Do not act on impulse, but rather remain calm, quiet and try to maintain deep silence as much as you can. It is simply amazing what you can achieve through silence and introspection.
I do suggest that you undertake a form of relaxation exercise, such as meditation or even yoga to help you achieve peace and success. Good judgment is a perfect indicator of wisdom through the expression of the power of intellect via the discriminative faculty.
If you have clearly recognized your folly, then you must admit mistakes and bad habits. If it annoys others or affects your health, conscience, financial status, family, well-being and your peace of mind, then you must ask, 'How much better off would I be without it?' If you do not benefit from this - why even take it up or think about it?

Understanding Failure

'Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has.'
This is a fact because both the believer and the non-believer are quite likely to resort to this statement in support of their respective arguments.
You have already been acquainted to life's dualistic nature, and as such human reason will find both 'pros' and cons' for both good and bad action respectively.
This is when you have to learn to be guided by the inner voice of 'conscience'. The following arise from this innate powerhouse, intuition, truth, peace, righteousness, love, nonviolence (in words, deeds, actions and thoughts) and power of discrimination. These attributes have their existence in the soul.

This is the greatest truth that you cannot afford not to know. Effort is proportional to grace, but I wish to add that success is proportional to effort only when you have learned to appreciate the qualities of love.

Whatever you do put in all your effort and do whatever you do with absolute love.
Those who are willing to take risks achieve success. It is a known fact, that young people are more adaptable to changes. As we age it becomes a little tricky and tougher to bring about changes and the ability to adapt to wide ranging comfort zones. Before it becomes too late, weed out the problem early on - do not allow it gnaw into your system. Like a virus take action and remove it from your system at once.
The fact is that we are born perfect (I do not mean this in a physical sense of the word), but the rigors of time 'adulterates' this perfection, and therefore the infinite possibilities that lie lurking within us become diffused.

However, what makes us superior is that there is but one great and covetable gift which is ours all the time, and this is our extraordinary power to discover, develop and declare that we as human beings have the capacity to reach great if not greater heights - lying within us is the infinite source of energy that is distinctly ours!

"We are helpless victims of our own desires and wants."

"Simpleology: The simple science of getting what you want" is an on-line interactive training program (as seen in Wall Street Journal), that helps ordinary people achieve success, bring sanity into their daily life. http://romualdas.maciulis.name/recommends/simpleology

Bob Proctor-World world famous life coach and the creator of the 11 Forgotten laws

2011-06-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

You may remember him as the face of it, saw you on The Secret; a silver haired smiling teacher that look of joy and conviction made his seemingly impossible requirements easy to believe. As the movie progressed, you may even felt an affinity for Bob Proctor as he passionately learned the very law that has granted him all the things the film promises: luck, health and wealth.

Bob Proctor is considered to be one of the most inspiring speakers in the world on the subject of financial success and abundance.He learns that anyone can achieve in their lives, and the only limits we face as humans are self-imposed by how we think. his teachings are based on the book that changed his own life, "Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich."

Bob has been around for more than 40 years on a mission to his knowledge of the law of attraction. He believes that we all rewarding relationship, perfect health and endless plethora have been able to, all we have to do is think and act.

Bob is an authority on the rise by restrictions by the power of intention, because he himself has been successful by it.In 1960, Bob was a high school dropout by dead end jobs and a mountain of debt have struggled, it was a book given to him that his life would change forever. The book "Think and Grow Rich" and they spoke to a know in him that he could never again be ignored.Bob made over $ 100,000 in just one year after reading the book, and soon after, he cracked the one million dollar mark.

Bob and moved to Chicago to work under his mentor, Earl Nightingale, Bob helped consolidate administration who are more and more understanding of the law of attraction. After an increase to Vice President of sales, he founded his own company, which aimed to the endless possibilities of the human potential to others teach.With the future assistance of the spiritual masters and other teachers, Bob was able to consolidate his understanding of the law of attraction in a format that he later the 11 Forgotten laws, which would extend to the next item is the audience with an unprecedented success for anyone who has tried it.

Bob is of the opinion that the traditional understanding of the law of attraction is not complete; and he created the 11 Forgotten laws to help clarify the missing parts. the laws are not so many laws that one to follow, but the laws of nature that we can use to draw to us what we want.

Bob further with the sole intention of helping others to bring happiness and success. with its ground-breaking work the 11 Forgotten laws affected millions of people from all over the world, finally, the joy and abundance that they wish. If the secret is not in your life, the 11 Forgotten laws provide the solution.Click here to see what the 11 Forgotten laws can do for you.

Or, go to http://11forgottenlaws-thesecret.com

Thanks for reading!

Self Improvement Tactics: How To Use The Power Of Positive Thinking

2011-06-21T04:22:00.000-07:00

“Two men look out thru the same bars: One sees the mud, and one sees the stars.”- Frederick Langbridge, A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts

If you have placed 2nd in a writing contest, will you jump for joy and push for more satisfying results the next time or will you be deterred and find an excuse not to join again?

In life, you are always stuffed with choices. You’ll decide to have a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you will decide to take the optimist’s route and take a challenging and satisfying life.

So why think positive? And why start thinking positive now?

Well, brightness has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to academic, athletic, army, occupational and political success; to popularity; to excellent health and even to long life and liberty from stress.

On the other hand, the rates of depression and pessimism have never been higher. It is affecting middle-aged adults the same way it hits younger people. The mean age of onset has gone from 30 to fifteen. It is no longer a middle-aged housewife’s disorder but also a teen-ager’s disorder ‘ too.

Here is how optimists are in action and researches that back up why it actually pays to be an optimist:

Optimists expect the best.

The definitive characteristic of pessimists is they have a tendency to believe bad events, which will last a long while and enfeeble everything they do, are their own fault.

The truth is optimists are faced up to with the same hard knocks of this world. What differs is how they explain their misfortune—it’s the opposite way. They have a tendency to believe defeat is just a brief problem, that its causes are restricted to this one case.

Optimists tend to focus on and plan for the ‘problem ‘ to hand. They use ‘positive reinterpretation. ‘ In other words, they most likely reinterpret a negative experience in a way that helps them learn and grow. Such folk are unfazed by bad situation, they perceive it is a challenge and try harder.

They will not say ‘things will never get better, ‘ ‘If I failed once, it will occur again ‘ and ‘If I experience misfortune in one part of my life, then it will happen in my whole life. ‘

Positive expectancies of optimists also envision better reactions during transitions to new environments, sudden tragedies and not likely turn of events. If they fall, they will stand up. They see opportunities rather than obstacles.

People respond certainly to optimists

Optimists are proactive and less conditional on others for their contentment. They find no need to control or control other people. They generally draw people towards them. Their optimistic view of the planet can be infective and influence those they’re with.

Optimism appears a socially fascinating characteristic in all communities. Those that share brightness are sometimes accepted while those that spread gloom, panic and hysteria are treated unfavorably.

In life, these folks often win elections ; get voted most good-natured and sought for advice.

When things get tough, optimists get harder

Optimists typically maintain higher degrees of subjective contentment in periods of stress than do people who are less optimistic. By contrast, pessimists are probably going to react to stressful events by denying that they exist or by avoiding dealing with issues. Pessimists are much more likely to give up trying when problems arise .

They persevere. They just don’t give up easily, they’re also famous for their patience. Inching their way a step closer to that goal or elusive dream.

Optimists are healthier and live for longer

Medical research has justified that simple pleasures and a positive outlook could cause a measurable increase in the body’s ability to fight illness.

Optimists’ health is abnormally good. They age well, much freer than most of the people from the common physical difficulties of middle age. And they get to outlive those susceptible to self-destructive thoughts.

So why not be an optimist today? And think positively towards a satisfied life.

Why not look forward to pre-eminence in all your endeavors? Why not be resilient? Like everyone else you are sure to hit lows often but don’t just stay there. Carry yourself out of the mud and improve your odds of getting back on the right track. And why not inspire others to get rid of their dark-colored glasses and see life in the brighter side?

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The ladder to success

2011-06-20T00:58:00.000-07:00

It is the privilege of man to achieve all round greatness, and in reality success should be one's habit. Man is essentially perfect, and therefore infinite are the possibilities that lie dormant in him.

In order to bring out the very best from within, a life organized and perfectly disciplined for the discovery of the potentialities that lie lurking within us, is a life well spent.

The vital point is not how many talents each on of us has, but the importance should be focused on how much of our existing talents, attributes and capabilities are we prepared to develop, exploit, explore and implement in our daily lives.

The question you must ask, is whether you are making a practical use of at least one great talent lying inherent within you? The one supreme fundamental principal is to understand that all our success entirely depends upon ourselves.

The best way to be happy is to do the things that you naturally love and enjoy doing - something that you are absolutely passionate about! Likewise the best way to succeed and become wealthy is to see to it that you achieve the things you have earnestly desired to seek in life. This will require that you implement your efforts in to activities that will allow you to measure success.

For instance the simple way to explain this is to take into consideration the following example: if you take a liking for art, painting, and drawing then the way to proceed is to seek guidance on ways to enter competitions, and ways to submit your artwork via galleries (approach galleries directly and leave work on a sale or return basis) or fine art publishers' or even exposing your talent by entering seasonal fairs where you will find a large gathering of all kinds of retailers.

You may want to add various different types of themes to your art portfolio in order to maximize your capabilities to reach an audience far and wide with interests in different themes/subjects.

Contact groups, forums and even Internet newsgroups and explore various other avenues (such as photographers, photo and framing galleries, arts councils and government organizations that provide help including loans etc.) that will allow you to step up your enquiry - the idea is to pursue the goal relentlessly and with a positive attitude.

As far as your theme/subject matter is concerned post questions, polls, surveys, and determines what people are looking for, and then simply find the need and fill it.

Every little will help, but it is the force required to get the momentum going and that is the key point. Another useful point is not to just try, try and to continue trying - instead develop an attitude whereby you DO the thing you have decided to pursue, implement and apply the strategies shown here.

Finally do not just stop at that - keep faith and do not yield to any defeat. Once you have decided to put the 'plan' into action, make sure that it is kept ignited and glowing...rejections and disappointments should in no way curtail your hope, progress and your desire to success. People who have succeeded despite all the hardship, pain and struggle have inspired countless millions around the world - it is time you too set an example for others to follow in your footsteps.

You must remember that the methods employed by different individuals in procuring wealth may be distinct, but the goal is common to all, and the steps spoken of earlier are in effect your tools to your overall success.

Very strong willpower is needed in order to develop internally, and the need for two most important attributes, namely courage and confidence are essential ingredients. Thus poverty and prosperity does not necessarily depend on knowledge wholly (e.g. business acumen, marketing strategies and so on) but it certainly depends on the three C's and they are character, creativity and your innate capabilities.

Courage and confidence alone can bring about unique transformation while the opposite will only bring much sorrow and despair in times of distress and crisis. However, despite life's problems we should resist obstacles and hindrances and as such constantly remind ourselves of the supreme inherent or innate power which we all posses and which we can all successfully develop through spiritual insight. Thus ignoring our abilities and potential for developing the personal power that we need for going through ego-breaking experiences requires immense fortitude and discipline, and I explain to you in this article on how you could achieve all this here and now.

Without these qualities you are destined to fail, and that is the reason why a large portion of people feel despondent because they got into competition or they simply gave up under pressure, through lack of self-courage and dynamic willpower.

When our fantasies and expectations are not fulfilled, there is a tendency for us to revert to our old ways - the hollowness we experience can be most annoying and we cannot ignore it forever. A lot of the time what exactly happens is that whatever good we undertake in life, it does not mean we will continue. This is not because an impossible discipline is required but because we lack courage and confidence we are overwhelmed with negative attitude - this is what stops everything in its tracks!

The initial burst of enthusiasm begins to fade, and what seemed so wonderful becomes a peril a dilemma and a problem. The mind takes over and questions surmount raising doubts after doubts whether the whole idea or concept is worthwhile - a conflict ensues, the mind says the one thing and the intellect and our intuition urges us to follow the path to 'success'.

Even before we begin the journey the end is imminent, because we are undecided what true path to follow. Success lies in what you make of it not what you 'think' it ought to be (do not fantasize success).

So how can we get started?

Formula to Success

What you think and how you then act is the deciding factor that will help you discover the goal of success. These two attributes are important together with a set of consistent principles, which you follow through. Thoughts based on reason are a powerful catalyst to start any reaction, and once you set off, you will soon realize that courage is the simple virtue needed for a human being to traverse the rocky road.

Obstacles are natural, and they are a means to the source of acquiring wealth, as I am sure you will agree. Persistence, patience and perseverance will have to be practiced religiously to reach the goal and to overcome the obstacles. Of course that said, I would now like to point out the P's that you should frown upon.

Do not procrastinate, do not pretend that you know it all and finally do not prolong your 'venture(s)'. Be prepared to fight the stumbling blocks that may confront you, but pursue your goal and allow your potential willpower to predominate.

In any situation in life, it is unequivocally important to remain level headed, despite all the 'ups and the downs' that we are likely to face. Remember life is dualistic by nature - the obverse and the reverse sides of the same coin to put it simply. I am compelled to add that though we know that the past is the cause and the present is the effect, it is self evident that with time the present itself becomes the cause with reference to the future.

There is a very deep meaning embroiled in this syntax, and if you can relate this to success, then it can be said that if we intelligently live in the scientific self-discipline, we can become the architects of our own future.

The Basic Steps

The following guidelines will help you pave a wonderful path to your ultimate success.

The steps are very simple to implement in your daily life.

1. Do what you love and what you are good at.

2. Be prepared to learn and to be positive (motivation and enthusiasm).

3. Be an innovative individual.

4. Be prepared to invest not just money but your time, effort and resources, too.

I mentioned money - this does not mean that you have to invest a large sum to become a millionaire or wealthy.

5. You must be disciplined in having set goals and targets. Remember that persistence is the key to success.

6. You must be prepared to manage your time effectively.

7. As you evolve, learn to give back what you amass to the society. I call this philanthropy.

You must have a solid vision - one in which you 'see' yourself having attained success. Great people of the past and present see to it that they reach this coveted position, by employing these basic steps.

However, notice in step 2 I deliberately used the word 'learn', and that too for a very good reason. Life is the greatest teacher, thus you must be willing to accept challenges all the time (using the power of discrimination) and thus as a result you must learn via its eternal principles the magnificent doctrine it has revealed with the passing of time. This means that you must act when the time is right.

Action is incredibly important and highlights success - the two are synonymous to be quite honest. To succeed action is needed but the essential ingredient is how serious you are. Being too serious can ruin your business venture, so the point is to have FUN.

Any discipline will require organization and orderliness. You must as I mentioned in the introduction be prepared to listen to your inner voice as much as you possibly can. This means that rather than being too dependent on your family, friends and so on (not that this is bad) begin to have faith in your own capabilities.

Stand-alone and strive to learn and succeed. Often, failures may just result from instances where we have stopped exercising our own views, or we have become too dependent on others'.

Success is not some secret that you have to search for or unearth in order to reach your destination; it is rather the understanding or the recognition factor that you develop with respect to what you really want in life. Intuition, courage, skills, knowledge, challenges and opportunities are some of the concepts that determine the traits of people who enjoy wealth. Any task performed with the right spirit will give you victory. Mental attitude is what will give you success, but negative attitude, laziness and working unwillingly will result in failure.

Do not expect too much in too short a time, but your approach should be positive and execute your task with absolute perfection, paying particular attention to your long-term goal(s). This means that you approach your duty with concentrated energy and you execute your plans righteously. This should be your philosophy of life.

To begin a new venture, it vitally important that you realize the following, which I have to say is crucial. You have to appreciate the fact that to start a business you need to acquaint yourself with the term cash flow. Investment in the form of a capital is a requirement, but more importantly it is the concept of viability of the business venture that matters most.

Steps to Personal Wealth

Decision-making is perhaps the hardest step to get over with in your quest to begin the journey to wealth. The problem is until you do not delve deep within yourself to unlock your innate qualities chances are that you will be indecisive and hesitant. This is not wrong as such, but more often than not this 'feeling' may not allow you to maximize your full potential.

There is no secret to unleashing your full-blown potential - the 'secret' lies in your willingness to listen to your inner voice. The initiative to seize a good opportunity that comes your way is by undertaking the task in a methodical way.

Sit quietly, calm your senses and thoughts, and meditate deeply on the subject matter in question. Do not jump into anything at once just because the idea seems favorable. Most things appear very 'good' in the initial phase, but thinking, planning and time are a prerequisite. Often it is something within that will tell you what to do. The secret is not necessarily from without, but can be acquired from within.

Striving to do your very best at all times is the little secret that will help you amass wealth. Imagination (I mean constructive imagination) which is the power to visualize is an important factor in creative thought - but as you will appreciate you will not be able to do this without a strong will, and above all this faculty of visualization has to be ripened into firm belief and conviction.

1. You must have the desire to achieve your goal of fame - this is rule number one.

2. Be prepared to handle money efficiently with respect to budget, expenditure and responsibility and/or accountability.

3. Do not spend more than you are required to and spend less than you make.

4. Personal problems, including addiction not only to drugs etc., can be ruinous. This is something that must be taken care of from the very onset.

5. Figure out ways to invest and above all begin to save money. You will have to play smart and get your priorities absolutely right.

In any venture, it is likely that you may face a lot of antagonism, a far cry from an idealistic situation. Over expectations, over optimism and the tendency to 'wish' that things run as planned, can and often may lead to failure.

Thus as mentioned earlier planning is very important to your success. Of course the other factors that one needs to consider also are over work and exhaustion. In the hope to make your millions, the probability is that you will become a frustrated wreck and become quite despondent - this will not be helpful in your progress or pursuit to wealth.

Achieving Your Goal

When you persist refusing to accept failure, know that the object you have set out to achieve will materialize through the dynamic willpower.

Thoughts can be incredibly powerful tools, and if you are willing to implement this divine gift then you are sure to attain your goal. If you cling to a certain thought with dynamic willpower, it assumes a tangible outward form.

Now is the time to cauterize the negative characteristics inherent in the form of habits, lack of strong willpower, lack of confidence, hesitance and wrong attitude towards life in general. You have within you the power to accomplish everything you want, that power lies in the will. The root cause of failure in life is lack of concentration - do not hoard yourself with ideas, concepts and strategies all at once in the very hope to succeed. Begin slowly and be consistent in your goal setting scheme.

Focus your attention on one thing at a time, and do not allow your MIND to go in a state of 'over drive'. There is a scientific way of utilizing concentration, and the magic word is to keep calm, while you perform all your duties with the correct speed.

Do NOT rush and create chaos, but rather methodically and meticulously focus and centre your whole mind on whatever you undertake, and the important thing is to keep your mind flexible.

Once you know that you are genuinely on the right tracks and on the path to achieving your goal, do exercise care as far as time management is concerned. It is often very easy to get involved with a project so much so that you can get carried away in perfecting whatever it is that you are doing.

You must prioritize your work and above all respect and honor the value of time - do not waste your time and your life!

The Keys to Success

As I have mentioned the environment plays a huge role as it is quite inevitable - particularly our inner environment.

A calm relaxed individual is far more likely to come out a winner in a trying situation than his/her counterpart - a person who his nervous frustrated and erratic. The former has his senses fully identified with the environment in which he places himself.

However, the restless individual does not understand the environment and consequently gets into trouble. The keywords are focus, concentration and care in whatever you do in life.

1. Develop a definite and a clear-cut goal/aim.

2. Draw up a wise workable plan/program.

3. Guard your health. Without health there is no real wealth.

4. You must conserve your energy.

5. Be honest in your life (in words, deeds, thoughts and actions).

6. Stick to virtues and adopt good principles.

7. Reflect upon ideal personalities and seek strength from their philosophy.

8. Seek divine guidance and be truthful.

9. Endeavor to help and serve others with gratitude.

10. Always think positive and believe in the power of God.

Transformative thinking is indeed the way to success. Set out a plan to achieve your goal and deliberately ruminate over the meaning of this plan and make it happen.

From time immemorial great people from all walks of life have emerged as true victors and the reason behind this is training the mind for happiness. Ethical discipline is essential, particularly self-discipline.

Each individual is unique. What is good for person A may not be suitable for person B. However, it has to be emphasized that all can enjoy quietude, solitude and silence, and to be honest every individual irrespective of age, caste, creed, color, sex has at some stage or another experienced peace.

After discovering through trial and error method, you can determine the precise way to compose your mind body complex and thus attain great heights.

Meditation may not be effective for all, but that does not mean that you do not improvise such methods as and when required.

Be systematic, and your only goal should be to employ methods that bring you success and happiness.

Our mental faculties determine our actions, and it is quite obvious that the mind should be tamed and subdued. Constant vigilance is necessary and continuous training of the mind will pave the path to ultimate success.

Do not fall prey to the dictates of your mind!

Optimistic, heroic and noble ideals have a powerful and uplifting effect upon the body. Enthusiasm with deliberate well-orchestrated self-application in joyous mood and absolute optimism is the secret path to wealth for all great men.

"Simpleology: The simple science of getting what you want" is an on-line interactive training program (as seen in Wall Street Journal), that helps ordinary people achieve success, bring sanity into their daily life.
http://romualdas.maciulis.name/recommends/simpleology

Vitamins, Oprah, and the Importance of Taking Action Right Away

2011-06-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

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For some reason, I have started getting calls from India around 11:00 each morning from a company trying to sell me mail-order drugs. They always lead off with telling me that they have Viagra, Cialis, and related stuff. I have never ordered drugs from India—and have not had the pleasure of trying Viagra or Cialis—but have started to enjoy the phone calls.

A few days ago, I asked the caller if they could send me some morphine.

“Yes, we can. Would you like it in 15, 20, 30, 60, 100, 120, or 200 mg tablets?” the caller asked.

I was amazed. I never knew it was so easy to get hard drugs like this. I did not order the morphine; however, each day a call comes through—like clockwork—offering me prescription drugs. Each day it is a different caller.

I have no idea how I got on a Viagra-oriented phone spam list. Nevertheless, I have my suspicions. I am pretty confident that I got on this list because of a recent order I placed for $200 in vitamins from an American company. I read in a health book that green tea extract, garlic, and alpha-lipoic acid are good for your health and ordered a six months’ supply. Within a week the calls from India offering me drugs started coming.

The problem with the vitamins I ordered is that I simply cannot remember to take the vitamins. Thus, the vitamins sit in my kitchen cupboard—with scores of other vitamins ordered after reading similar health books in past years—just wasting away. About five years ago, I read some book called something like the Kimchee Miracle about fermented Korean cabbage, and I purchased numerous plastic tubs of the stuff. For a few days, I ate this Kimchee; however, eventually I could no longer stand the taste. Approximately one year later, the fermentation of the cabbage reached a breaking point and one of the tubs exploded like a bomb in our refrigerator. The smell was still there two years later.

I am not sure, really, how many books I purchase each year. I probably purchase on average at least three books per week—sometimes more. I go to bookstores. I order them online. More recently, I have started doing digital downloads of these books. (Not too long ago I purchased a e-book over the Internet while flying between Los Angeles and New York.) In my office, there are thousands of books that have been partially to fully read and digested. It has gotten so bad that I have started storing many of my books in storage sheds I purchased at Costco and put up around my property at home.

With only a few notable exceptions, every single one of the books I have purchased in the past several years deals with business, management, marketing, exercise, yoga, religion, diet, motivation, time management, self-improvement, and similar topics. There is not a lot of fiction among the books I have purchased—in fact, I only read a few fiction books per year.

I have always been interested in improving myself and have been drawn to books like this since I was in elementary school. Who knows why I am so interested in this stuff—it does not matter, I suppose. What does matter is what I have done with this information.

Most business, diet, exercise, and self-improvement books recommend that you make some sort of radical change in your life. They will start out talking about how following a given program results in personal, business, and other improvements. A course of action will be recommended and the person will be encouraged to follow this course of action religiously.

The problem is very few people ever follow the course of action. I certainly have not consistently followed the recommendations of most of the books I have read. Most people I know certainly have not followed the recommendations of most of the books they have read.

One of the most popular television shows in the history of television is Oprah. I have seen this show probably ten times in my life—while sitting in airport lounges, visiting elderly relatives in nursing homes, and the like. While I certainly do not remember the majority of episodes I have watched, what I have noticed is that several of the episodes dealt with how to lose weight. Oprah has also written a book about how to lose weight, for which she received one of the highest advance fees in publishing history.

Despite all of the interest and attention on losing weight, something I cannot help but notice is that Oprah has never managed to keep her own weight down for a significant length of time. Since Oprah has set herself up as an authority on weight loss, you need to wonder how closely she is able to follow the advice she listens to and the advice she gives.

This brings me to my own predicament. I have read so many books and taken in so much information that you might ask: Why haven’t I followed all the advice of everything I have read?

For example, I might read a book about something relevant to working in a business. I’d read the stuff and say to myself: “This person’s brilliant. What a great idea. I need to do this!”

What ends up happening, though, is that I generally fail to follow through. A few weeks later, the book is filed into a bookshelf and nothing ends up happening. Or, I tell myself I am going to start doing something new, and then some event comes up and interferes—so it never happens. The book is forgotten and my life stays the way it is.

Come to think of it, I spend more time reading about improving than I spend improving.

At the same time, there are certain rituals that I have developed that I would not have done, were it not for my reading and studying.

I incorporate spirituality into my life.I exercise at least twice per day.I meditate and do self-hypnosis often.I avoid carbohydrates the best I can.I plan each day.I practice gratitude each day.I plan each week.I spend the majority of my time doing the things I am best at.I sleep a certain number of hours per night.I make sure I incorporate greens into my diet each day.I eat protein within fifteen minutes of getting up.I write down my goals.I have dinner with my family each night.I make sure that various business routines repeat themselves each week.

Each of these “rituals” that I follow are what I personally have distilled to be the “best practices” for my life and are the result of reading and studying literally thousands of books. It does not sound like much, but having these routines has made an incredible difference in the quality of my life and the lives of the people I serve and am close to.

The problem with my routines, though–and the knowledge I have absorbed–is that I am not really doing everything I could. When I look around my library and the things I have learned, I know there is far, far more I could be doing to have a better life. I could incorporate more routine into my life. I could incorporate more difficult routines into my life. I could be more focused.

The reason I have not advanced farther in my life is that I have linked more pain to doing the things I need to improve than I have linked to not doing these things. It is much more fun and interesting to sit around and dream and think about how we are going to improve, than it is to actually go out and make major improvements in our lives.

It is like this for a great many of us. We would rather think and dream than act.

Imagine what your life would be like if you acted instead of dreaming about what you were going to do.

The key to making the most of your career and life is making sure you act on what you are learning. Anyone can talk about, read about, or dream about doing something. The key is being able to take action and do it.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: My Trip to the Playboy Mansion: The Importance of Challenging Convention The Importance of Your Brand The Importance of Productivity, Focus, and Measurement The Greater Your Purpose, the Greater the Obstacles You Will Face Change Your Thermostat Push Yourself Outside Your Comfort ZoneSummary In this article Harrison discusses why it is important to take action right away. For most people it is much more fun and interesting to sit around and dream and think about how they are going to improve, than it is to actually go out and make major improvements in their lives. The problem is very few people ever follow the course of action. It is like this for a great many of us. We would rather think and dream than act. The key to making the most of your career and life is making sure you act on what you are learning. Anyone can talk about, read about, or dream about doing something. The key is being able to take action and do it.

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Einstein, Visualization, and Your Career

2011-06-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

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One of the little-known facts about Albert Einstein is that he attended a school that followed the teaching methods of the Swiss educator Johann Pestalozzi. Pestalozzi schools taught children in what was known as the Pestalozzi Method (the “Method”). Under the Method, it was believed that instead of dealing with words, children should learn through activity and objects. They should be free to pursue their own interests and reach their own conclusions. Much of Pestalozzi’s teaching methods can be found in a book he published in 1801 called How Gertrude Teaches Her Children. In this book, he discusses the importance of spontaneity and allowing children to arrive at answers themselves. Visualization was a major component in this method. Pestalozzi believed that visualization was among the mind’s most powerful features and that imagery was where all knowledge started.

The school environment created by Pestalozzi’s method of eduction created the perfect environment for Einstein to develop as he did. According to a biography of Einstein, Einstein: His Life and Universe:

It [Aarau] was a perfect school for Einstein. The teaching was based on the philosophy of a Swiss educational reformer of the early nineteenth century, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who believed in encouraging students to visualize images. . . . The visual understanding of concepts, as stressed by Pestalozzi and his followers in Aarau, became a significant aspect of Einstein’s genius. “Visual understanding is the essential and only true means of teaching how to judge things correctly,” Pestalozzi wrote, and “the learning of numbers and language must be definitely subordinated.”

Given his early learning, it is no surprise that Einstein used visualization throughout his life. At age 16, Einstein used visualization when he discovered that the speed of light was always constant. Einstein believed that visual understanding was the most important form of education and more important than knowledge. Later in life Einstein would write:

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world.

Arguably the most important skill any of us can master is creative visualization. Visualizing events and outcomes before they occur is an incredibly valuable skill. Consider this quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger:

When I was very young, I visualized myself being and having what it was I wanted. Mentally I never had any doubts about it. The mind is really so incredible. Before I won my first Mr. Universe, I walked around the tournament like I owned it. The title was already mine. I had won it so many times in my mind that there was no doubt I would win it. Then, when I moved on to the movies, the same thing. I visualized myself being a successful actor and earning big money. I could feel and taste success. I just knew it would all happen.

Creative visualization is the art of creating pictures in your mind of something you would like to happen in the future. This is not a special skill that needs to be developed by people; it is just something that we need to use. What you need to be able to do is to visualize positive events and outcomes.

Instead of visualizing negative outcomes and approaching life from a position of negativity, there is a tremendous amount of strength and power you can get from visualizing positive as opposed to negative results. The thoughts you have, create the reality that you experience. An incredible number of studies have confirmed the power of positive thoughts and visualization to create unbelievable results for people.

In the late 1960s research by radiation oncologist O. Carl Simton and his wife, psychologist Stephanie Simton, discovered that cancer patients who used imagery and visualization to stimulate an immune response lived longer than those who did not.In the August 2002 issue of the Journal of Psychology and Social Psychology, it was reported that older people who viewed aging as a positive asset lived seven and a half years longer than those who had a negative view of aging.

The idea that someone can live longer by simply viewing aging in a positive way is astonishing to me. I am surprised that this is not spoken about more. For example, we all know that people who quit smoking can live a few years longer; we also know that eating a certain way can enhance our life span. Why is it that no one speaks of the value of our state of mind in influencing our life span?

How we feel is based on what we focus on. When you focus on the negative, you are likely to feel negative. When you focus on the positive, you are likely to feel positive. We do not experience reality–we experience our representation of reality. How we feel is based on what we focus on.

Your success in your current job, your success in your job search, and more will be determined by the things you focus on. Focus on the positive and the results you want to achieve.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: Your Brain and Your Career The Focus of the Group You Are in Determines the Kind of Person You BecomeSummary In this article Harrison discusses the importance of imagination and visualization. Harrison believes that the most important skill any of us can master is creative visualization. Creative visualization is the art of creating pictures in your mind of something you would like to happen in the future. There have been an incredible number of studies that have confirmed the power of positive thoughts. You can get tremendous amount of strength and power from visualizing positive as opposed to negative results. Therefore it is crucial that you are able to visualize positive events and outcomes. Focus on the results you want to achieve.

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Be Committed to What You Do

2011-06-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

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I am about to provide you some of the strangest job search and career advice you will ever receive from someone who’s in the recruiting industry. One thing you should know about me is that I’m a straight shooter. If I see a pattern repeat itself enough times, I know it’s something that must be true. The pattern I’m about to explain to you is so powerful it could change your career forever. I know it has changed mine.

The secret is commitment.

When I was in my 20s, I had a girlfriend who watched soap operas. She was committed to those shows. She would watch them every single day, and if she could not watch them, she would record them. I’m ashamed to admit that I would sometimes watch the soaps with her when she would catch up on the missed episodes. The one thing I quickly realized about soap operas was that they were all about commitment, in that none of the characters could commit. Each person on every one of the shows would get into a series of relationships, be tempted by others, get out of relationships, get married, cheat, and so forth. This was all the soap operas were ever about. The characters would inevitably suffer hospitalizations for nervous breakdowns or horrible accidents (caused by their distractions). Then there would be horrible, drunken, public confessions and all sorts of other malfeasance. Moreover, the people on these shows would always be led to believe that, no matter how good their situation was, the grass was greener elsewhere.

Several years later, when I got into the employment market and started recruiting, I began noticing this same soap opera pattern with clients and coworkers. People would leave a job for any lapse, no matter how small. If they were criticized by an employer, I would see them start looking for another job. If someone heard another employer was paying more, they would send a résumé. If their current company or firm were getting bad press, they would start looking for another job. The reasons were innumerable. Some might seem proactive, while others were purely reactionary. One thing seemed clear to me: There was a major lack of commitment in the marketplace. People could not or would not commit themselves to a single employer–or to anything for that matter.

Commitment is key in order to experience any form of success. You should not do any sort of job if your heart isn’t in it and you can’t commit. If you are a public relations intern, you need to be committed to that job. If you are the president of a corporation, you need to be committed to that as well. Not being committed to your career will only have negative consequences.

Several months ago, I was speaking with a proofreader in my company who resigned because she had found a better job across the street, one that paid more. The amount of the pay increase was minimal. I was actually prepared to give the woman a raise, a higher amount than her new job. In our meeting, the young woman explained she liked working for our company, but she needed to make more money because her husband had been unemployed for some time.

I told her I was very sorry about this and asked how she became aware of the new job. She was a nice girl and I was interested in talking to her about this. The job she was doing at our company was very demanding and had required her to take work home at night and to work very hard for the most part. In response, she told me she’d been freelancing for the other company for some time, and this was how she came to entertain a new full-time job offer.

Once she told me this, I was no longer interested in trying to keep this person at our company. I knew immediately she was not committed to our company to the degree I wanted her to be. She was not someone I wanted on my team.

Your boss (and we all have bosses) wants employees who are committed to what they do.

Whenever I hear people tell me they are just doing something until they can find something better, I know they will never really succeed. When I see people leave a job for trivial reasons, I also know that they will probably not reach the success for which they’re striving. When I see people watch the clock and leave at 5 p.m. every day because they are not really interested in what they are doing, I know those people will probably have mediocre careers. Commitment shines through, and it is easy to see when it’s not there.

Each morning, I read the Wall Street Journal. I spend at least forty-five minutes reading it cover to cover. Most of the stories in this publication are about Fortune 500 companies and other such organizations. At least once a week, I see something along these lines:

John Smith started out as a repairman for a local office of X company in 1977. Today, he is CEO of the same company, with 18,000 employees in 26 countries and revenues of $4.2 billion last year…

It’s not coincidental I keep seeing stories like this in the paper. Without a doubt, the people who are rising up in these situations are those who are the most committed. When they join a company, they join and remain in a committed fashion. They show up to work. These are the kinds of people who grow within corporations. They usually keep their jobs, but if they ever lose a job they will find another job quickly. Their commitment attracts success.

Being committed also has financial rewards. I have several people working for me on salary, whose incomes have consistently risen (more than tripled) in the past three to four years alone, because I know they are committed. I know their hearts and souls are in the job. I have recruiters working for our company who make two to three times the money of the average recruiter because of their level of commitment to the job.

It’s very common for people who’ve held too many jobs within a short span of time to never find a job in their industry again. This happens to lawyers all the time. It is well known in the recruiting community that if you have had more than two jobs in five years (or even five to six jobs over a twenty-plus-year career), it demonstrates a lack of commitment. Even if you can account for the problems you might have had with those employers, it would seem clear that the problem is not your employer–the problem is almost certainly you.

Prospective employers will want to avoid you because they know you will leave them, too. You will find fault with them just as you have found fault with all of your other employers. You will tell the people you work with why you do not like the company. You will tell other potential employers you are interviewing with why you do not like the company. Who needs that? Most employers avoid these sorts of people like the plague.

It pays to be committed not only to your employer but also to your career. Your commitment will come out in everything you do, and you will shine. There are countless stories of the secretary who becomes the president of the company, the guy in the mail room who ends up buying the corporation and becoming a billionaire, the worker who sweeps up at the auto dealership, who becomes a salesman, then the top salesman, and eventually buys the auto dealership and another, and another, and so on.

All of that comes through the power of commitment.

I am in the employment industry. I love what I do. I want you to succeed. I want to coach you. I am committed to what I am doing.

Are you?

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: Are You Here? The Importance of Being Present in Your Job and Job Search How to Choose a Recruiter Based on Recruiting Style Watching for Waste in Your Job Don’t Be Persuaded by Others Who Tell You How to Do Your Job Search Play Each Day Like it is Your Most Important Your Life Is Controlled by Your Decisions and Your Commitment to ThemSummary In this article Harrison discusses the power of commitment. It is important to commit to your career, to a single employer or to anything for that matter. Not being committed to your career can have enormous ramifications. Commitment is key to any form of success. You should not do any sort of job that your heart is not in and that you cannot be committed to. Without a strong commitment you will not have the success you desire.

Filed Under : Employment Do’s and Don’ts
Tagged: auto dealership, career advice, career blog | a harrison barnes, CEO, commitment, employment industry, find a job, job search, job search advice, legal job, potential employers, power of commitment, public relations intern, recruiter job, recruiting, recruiting industry

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The Way to Power

2011-06-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

Loading ...L. W. Rogers’s Self-Development and the Way to Power is a marvelously inspiring book that speaks of happiness as a product of wisdom. Rogers states that a person is either a slave of nature or a master of its law. He believes that suffering is unnatural and an imposed negativity. Everyone is supposed to be happy and hence we must discover our innermost powers and develop them in order to live a healthier, wealthier, and happier life. This book contains a strong message and can benefit you immensely. It is my pleasure to be sharing it with you.

–Harrison

SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND THE WAY TO POWER

By L. W. ROGERS

“We may be either the suffering slaves of nature or the happy masters of her laws.”

SELF DEVELOPMENT AND THE WAY TO POWER

It is the natural right of every human being to be happy–to escape all the miseries of life. Happiness is the normal condition, as natural as the landscapes and the seasons. It is unnatural to suffer and it is only because of our ignorance that we do suffer. Happiness is the product of wisdom. To attain perfect wisdom, to comprehend fully the purpose of life, to realize completely the relationship of human beings to each other, is to put an end to all suffering, to escape every ill and evil that afflicts us. Perfect wisdom is unshadowed joy.

Why do we suffer in life? Because in the scheme of nature we are being forced forward in evolution and we lack the spiritual illumination that alone can light the way and enable us to move safely among the obstacles that lie before us. Usually we do not even see or suspect the presence of trouble until it suddenly leaps upon us like a concealed tiger. One day our family circle is complete and happy. A week later death has come and gone and joy is replaced with agony. Today we have a friend. Tomorrow he will be an enemy and we do not know why. A little while ago we had wealth and all material luxuries. There was a sudden change and now we have only poverty and misery and yet we seek in vain for a reason why this should be. There was a time when we had health and strength; but they have both departed and no trace of a reason appears. Aside from these greater tragedies of life innumerable things of lesser consequence continually bring to us little miseries and minor heartaches. We most earnestly desire to avoid them but we never see them until they strike us, until in the darkness of our ignorance we blunder upon them. The thing we lack is the spiritual illumination that will enable us to look far and wide, finding the hidden causes of human suffering and revealing the method by which they may be avoided; and if we can but reach illumination the evolutionary journey can be made both comfortably and swiftly. It is as though we must pass through a long, dark room filled with furniture promiscuously scattered about. In the darkness our progress would be slow and painful and our bruises many. But if we could press a button that would turn on the electric light we could then make the same journey quickly and with perfect safety and comfort.

The old method of education was to store the mind with as many facts, or supposed facts, as could be accumulated and to give a certain exterior polish to the personality. The theory was that when a man was born he was a completed human being and that all that could be done for him was to load him up with information that would be used with more or less skill, according to the native ability he happened to be born with. The theosophical idea is that the physical man, and all that constitutes his life in the physical world, is but a very partial expression of the self; that in the ego of each there is practically unlimited power and wisdom; that these may be brought through into expression in the physical world as the physical body and its invisible counterparts, which together constitute the complex vehicle of the ego’s manifestation, are evolved and adapted to the purpose; and that in exact proportion that conscious effort is given to such self-development will spiritual illumination be achieved and wisdom attained. Thus the light that leads to happiness is kindled from within and the evolutionary journey that all are making may be robbed of its suffering.

Why does death bring misery? Chiefly because it separates us from those we love. But when we have evolved the faculty of clairvoyance, in our work of self-development, the separation vanishes and our “dead” friends are as much with us as the living. The only other reason why death brings grief or fear is because we do not understand it and comprehend the part it plays in human evolution. But the moment our ignorance gives way to comprehension such fear vanishes and a serene happiness takes its place.

Why do we have enemies from whose words or acts we suffer? Because in our limited physical consciousness we do not perceive the unity of all life and realize that our wrong thinking and doing must react upon us through other people–a situation from which there is no possible escape except through ceasing to think evil and then patiently awaiting the time when the causes we have already generated are fully exhausted. When spiritual illumination comes, and we no longer stumble in the night of ignorance, the last enemy will disappear and we shall make no more forever.

Why do people suffer from poverty and disease? Only because of our blundering ignorance that makes their existence possible for us, and because we do not comprehend their meaning and their lessons, nor know the attitude to assume toward them. Had we but the wisdom to understand why they come to people, why they are necessary factors in their evolution, they would trouble us no longer. When nature’s lesson is fully learned these mute teachers will vanish.

And so it is with all forms of suffering we experience. They are at once reactions from our ignorant blunderings and instructors that point out the better way. When we have comprehended the lessons they teach they are no longer necessary and disappear.

Thus our evolution is going forward and has gone forward in the past. We know that the human race has passed through a long evolution during which it has acquired five senses by which knowledge is gained. Nobody who has given thought to the subject will make the mistake of supposing that this evolution is completed and that the five senses are all we shall ever possess.

In this long evolutionary journey the next thing we shall do is to develop the sixth sense. Some people have already done so and all are approaching it. This dawning sense is called clairvoyance. Fair investigation will show that the clairvoyant possesses certain powers not common to the majority of people. This is merely the beginning of the development of the sixth sense, and probably with the majority of clairvoyants it goes no further than etheric and lower astral sight. In other words, they are able to raise the consciousness only to a grade of matter a little beyond the grasp of ordinary vision, while the properly developed, trained clairvoyant raises his consciousness two full planes beyond.

The higher the consciousness is raised the further the horizon of knowledge extends and the clairvoyant is able to hand down information that appears quite miraculous; but it is perfectly natural. If a certain person were born blind and had never understood any more about eyesight than most people understand about clairvoyance; if this person could know how many doorways were in a large building only by groping along with his hands and thus acquiring the knowledge by touch, and another person who could see should glance along the block and instantly tell the blind man the correct number, that would be to the blind man a miracle. Now, when a clairvoyant sees things at a distance where the physical eye cannot reach he really does nothing more remarkable. When we see a thing we receive the vibrations caused by light. That gives the information. When the clairvoyant “sees” at a distance through what we mistakenly call solid substances he receives vibrations of matter so fine that it interpenetrates solids as the ether does.

Every human being must make, and is making, this long evolutionary journey from spiritual infancy to godlike power and perfection, but there are two ways in which it may be done. We may, as the vast majority do, accept the process of unconscious evolution and submit to nature’s whip and spur that continuously urge the thoughtless and indifferent forward until they finally reach the goal. Or, we may choose conscious evolution and work intelligently with nature, thus making progress that is comparatively of enormous rapidity and at the same time avoid much of what Hamlet called the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”

The degree to which mind can control circumstances and dominate matter is far greater than is generally believed. Our impressions about matter are very illusory. No form of matter is permanent. Change goes on everywhere at every instant, by physical laws in the physical body and by astral and mental laws in our invisible bodies. We are not the same being, physically, mentally or spiritually, any two days in succession. The very soul itself is subject to this law of change. It may expand and shine out through the physical organism resplendent, or it may only faintly glimmer through a constantly coarsening body.

What is the law of soul growth? Through adherence to what principle may we reach spiritual illumination? There are certain well established facts about the laws of growth that we should not overlook when seeking the way forward. Nothing whatever can grow without use, without activity. Inaction causes atrophy. Physiologists tell us that if the arm be tied to the body so that it cannot be used it will in time become so enfeebled, that it is of no further service. It will wither away. That is nature’s law of economy. She never gives life where it is useless, where it can not, or will not, be utilized. On the other hand, exercise increases power. To increase the size and strength of muscles we must use them. This is just as true of mental and moral faculties as it is of the physical body. The only way to make the brain keen and powerful is to exercise it by original thinking. One way to gain soul powers is to give free play to the loftiest aspirations of which we are capable, and to do it systematically instead of at random. We grow to be like the things we think about. Now, the reverse of all this must be equally true. To give no thought to higher things, to become completely absorbed in material affairs, is to stifle the soul, to invite spiritual atrophy.

Turning our attention to nature we shall find in the parasite convincing proof of all this. The parasite, whether plant or animal, is living evidence that to refuse or neglect to use an organ or faculty results in being deprived of it. The dodder, says Drummond, has roots like other plants, but when it fixes sucker discs on the branches of neighboring plants and begins to get its food through them, its roots perish. When it fails to use them it loses them. He also points to the hermit-crab as an illustration of this great fact in nature, that disuse means loss, and that to shirk responsibility is the road to degeneration. The hermit-crab was once equipped with a hard shell and with as good means of locomotion as other crabs. But instead of courageously following the hardy life of other crustaceans it formed the bad habit of taking up its residence in the cast-off shells of mollusks. This made life easy and indolent. But it paid the price of all shirking. In time it lost four legs, while the shell over the vital portion of its body degenerated to a thin membrane which leaves it practically helpless when it is out of its captured home. And this is the certain result of all shirking of responsibility. There may be an apparent temporary gain, but it always means greater loss, either immediate or remote. So nature punishes inaction with atrophy. Whatever is not used finally ceases to be. In plain language, apathy, inaction, idleness, uselessness, is the road to degeneration. On the other hand, aspiration and activity mean growth, development, power.

So we grow, physically, mentally and morally, by activity, by exercise of the organs or the faculties we desire to possess. It is only by the constant exercise of these things that we can grow at all. When this great law of nature is understood we see at once how it is that life is full of trouble; why it is that the whole visible world seems to be designed to keep us constantly at work physically and mentally, to challenge our resourcefulness in improving our physical, social and political conditions, to continually try our patience and to forever test our courage. It is the way of development. It is the price of progress.

The universe is a training school for evolving intelligence–a vast gymnasium for the development of moral fibre. We become mentally clever by playing at the game of life. We match our courage against its adversities and acquire fearlessness. We try our optimism against its disappointments and learn cheerfulness. We pit our patience against its failures and gain persistence. We are torn from the pinnacle of ambition by opponents and learn toleration of others. We fall from the heights of vanity and pride, and learn to be modest and humble. We encounter pain and sorrow and learn sympathy with suffering. It is only by such experiences that we can grow to rounded measure. It is only in an environment thus adapted to our spiritual development that we can evolve the latent powers within us.

Such is the universe in which we find ourselves and from it there is no escape. No man can avoid life–not even the foolish one who, when the difficulties before him appear for the moment overwhelming, tries to escape them by suicide. A man cannot die. He can only choose how he will live. He may either helplessly drift through the world suffering from all the ills and evils that make so many unhappy or he may choose the method of conscious evolution that alone makes life truly successful. We may be either the suffering slaves of nature or the happy masters of her laws.

Now, all powers possessed by any human being, no matter how exalted his position in evolution, or how sublime his spiritual power, are latent in all human beings and can, in time, be developed and brought into action. Of course there is no magic rule by which the ignoramus can instantly become wise or by which a brutal man can be at once transformed into a saint. It may require scores of incarnations to accomplish a work so great, but when a man reaches the point in his evolution where he begins to comprehend the purpose of life, and to evolve the will to put forth his energies in co-operation with nature, his rise to wisdom and power may be swift indeed. But this transformation from the darkness of ignorance to spiritual illumination, from helplessness “in the fell clutch of circumstance” to power over nature, must be brought about by his own efforts, for it is a process of evolution–of forcing the latent to become the active. Therefore one must resolve to take oneself in hand for definite and systematic self-development. Nobody else can do the work for us. Certain moral qualities must be gained before there can be spiritual illumination and genuine wisdom and such qualities, or virtues, have to be evolved by the laws under which all growth occurs. It is just as impossible to acquire a moral quality by reading about its desirability as to evolve muscular strength by watching the performance of a group of athletes. To gain muscular strength one must take part in the physical activities that produce it. He must live the athletic life. To win spiritual strength and supremacy he must live the spiritual life. There is no other way. He must first learn what mental and moral qualities are essential, and how to gain them, and then set earnestly about the work of acquiring them.

The first thing necessary is to get a clear understanding of the fact that the physical body is not the self but only a vehicle or instrument through which the self is being manifested in the visible world. The body is as much your instrument as the hand is, or as your pen is. It is a thing which you, the self, use and a clear conception of this fact–a feeling that this is the fact–is the first step toward that absolute control of the physical body that lays the foundation for success in conscious evolution. When we feel that in managing the physical body we are controlling something that is not yourself we are fairly started on the right road.

Now, there are three things that a person must possess to be successful in self-development. If he has not these three qualifications he will make but little progress; but, fortunately, any lacking quality can be evolved and if one does not possess these three necessities his first work is to create them. These three things are an ardent desire, an iron will and an alert intelligence. Why are these three qualifications essential to success and what purpose do they serve?

Desire is nature’s motor power–the propulsive force that pushes everything forward in its evolution. It is desire that stimulates to action. Desire drives the animal into the activities that evolve its physical body and sharpen its intelligence. If it had no desire it would lie inert and perish. But the desire for food, for drink, for association with its kind, impel it to action, and the result is the evolution of strength, skill and intelligence in proportion to the intensity of its desires. To gratify these desires it will accept battle no matter how great may be the odds against it and will unhesitatingly risk life itself in the combat. Desire not only induces the activity that develops physical strength and beauty, but also has its finer effects. Hunger compels the animal not only to seek food, but to pit its cunning against that of its prey. Driven forward by desire it develops, among other qualities, strength, courage, patience, endurance, intelligence.

Desire plays the same role with man at his higher stage of evolution. It stimulates him to action; and always as his activity satisfies his original desire a new one replaces the old and lures him on to renewed exertion. The average young man beginning his business career, desires only a comfortable cottage. But when that is attained he wants a mansion. He soon tires of the mansion and wants a palace. Then he wants several–at the seaside, in the city, and on the mountains. At first he is satisfied with a horse; then he demands an automobile, and finally a steam yacht. He sets out as a youth to earn a livelihood and welcomes a small salary. But the desire for money pushes him into business for himself and he works tirelessly for a competence. He feels that a small fortune should satisfy anybody but when he gets it he wants to be a millionaire. If he succeeds in that he then desires to become a multi-millionaire.

Whether the desire is for wealth, or for fame, or for power, the same result follows–when the desire is satisfied a greater one takes its place and spurs the ambitious one to still further exertion. He grasps the prize he believes to contain complete satisfaction only to discover that while he was pursuing it desire had grown beyond it, and so the goal he would attain is always far ahead of him. Thus are we tricked and apparently mocked by nature until we finally awake to the fact that all the objects of desire–the fine raiment, the jewels, the palaces, the wealth, the power, are but vain and empty things; and that the real reward for all our efforts to secure them is not these objects at all _but the new powers we have evolved in getting them;_ powers that we did not before possess and which we should not have evolved but for nature’s great propulsive force–desire. The man who accumulates a fortune by many years of persistent effort in organizing and developing a business enterprise, by careful planning and deep thinking, may naturally enough look upon the fortune he will possess for a few years before it passes on to others, as his reward. But the truth is that it is a very transient and perishable and worthless thing compared to the new powers that were unconsciously evolved in getting it–powers that will be retained by the man and be brought into use in future incarnations.

Desire, then, plays a most important role in human evolution. It awakens, stimulates, propels. What wind is to the ship, what steam is to the locomotive, desire is to the human being.

It has been written in a great book, “Kill out desire,” and elsewhere it is written, “Resist not evil.” We may find, in similar exalted pronouncements, truths that are very useful to disciples but which might be confusing and misleading to the man of the world if he attempted to literally apply them. Perhaps for the average mortal “kill out desire” might be interpreted “transmute desire.” Without desire man would be in a deathlike and dangerous condition–a condition in which further progress would be impossible. But by transmuting the lower desires into the higher he moves steadily forward and upward without losing the motive power that urges him forever onward.

To transmute desire, to continually replace the lower with the higher, really is killing desire out but it is doing it by the slow and safe evolutionary process. As to crushing it suddenly, that is simply impossible; but substitution may work wonders. Suppose, for example, that a young man is a gambler and his parents are much distressed about it. The common and foolish course is to lecture him on the sin of gambling and to tearfully urge him to associate only with very proper young men. But the young gambler is not in the least interested in that sort of a life, which appears to him to be a kind of living death, and such entreaty does not move him. His parents would do better by looking more closely into the case. Why is he a gambler? He desires money. He seeks excitement. He wants to live in an atmosphere of intense life and activity. Very well. These desires are quite right in themselves. It is useless to try to crush them. It is nonsense to argue that he does not want these things. Clearly enough he does want them and that is precisely why he gambles. Then do not attempt the impossibility of killing the desire but change the objects of his desires. Say to him: “You desire money and a life full of turbulence and excitement. Well, you can get all that in a better and a legitimate way and have the respect of your friends besides. You can go into politics. That is a field within the pale of the law and in it you can have scope for all the energy and activity and intensity of life you long for, with all the element of chance which you find so attractive.” And when the young man has had his fling there and tires of it then something else can be attempted. But to try to crush desire and curb the outrushing life is both foolish and impossible. We can only direct it.

There are, of course, certain gross desires that must be gotten rid of by the most direct and least objectionable method, and when one really desires to be free from a given vice or moral weakness and sets earnestly and intelligently about it his release is not so difficult as the complete tyranny of most vices would lead one to suppose. There is a process by which any of us may be free if we will take the trouble to patiently put it into practice. This method will apply to any desire from which we wish to be released. For example, let us take the person who has a settled desire for alcoholic stimulants but really wishes to be rid of it forever. Many people who are thus afflicted to the point where they occasionally become intoxicated feel, when they recover their normal condition, that no price would be too great to pay for freedom from this humiliating habit. As a rule such a man tries to close his eyes to his shame and forget it, promising himself that he will be stronger when the temptation again assails him. But it is just this putting it aside, this casting it out of his mind, that perpetuates his weakness. He instinctively shrinks from dwelling upon the thought of whither he is drifting. So he puts the unpleasant subject aside altogether and when the inner desire asserts itself again he finds himself precisely as helpless as before.

Now, his certain method of escape from this tyranny of desire is to turn his mind resolutely to an examination of the whole question. Let him look the facts in the face, however humiliating they may be. He should call his imagination to his assistance. It should be used to picture to himself his future if he does not succeed in breaking up the unfortunate slavery of the desire nature. He should think of the fact that as he grows older the situation grows worse. He should picture himself as the helpless, repulsive sot, with feeble body and weakening mind, and reflect upon the humiliation he must endure, the poverty he must face, and the physical and mental pain he must bear in the future if he now fails to break the desire ties that bind him. This creates in him a feeling of repulsion toward the cause of it all; and if he continues to think daily upon this hideous picture of what he is slowly drifting toward–if he daily regards it all with a feeling of slight repulsion–then even within a month or two he will find that his desire for drink is slowly fading out.

This is as true of all other desires that enslave us. The desire for alcoholic stimulants merely illustrates the principle involved. Any desire from which one wishes to be free may be escaped by the same method. But one who would free himself from the desire-nature should not make the mistake of creating a feeling of intense hostility toward the thing he seeks to escape; for hatred is also a tie. He should merely reach a position of complete indifference. He should think of it not with settled hostility, but with slight repulsion; and if he does that daily, mentally dwelling upon the pain and humiliation it causes, he will find the ties loosening, the desire weakening.

Desire is a force that may be beneficial or detrimental, according to its use. As we may eradicate a desire so may we create a desire. How, then, may one who seeks the highest self-development use desire, this propulsive force of nature, to help himself forward? He should desire spiritual progress most earnestly, for without such desire he cannot succeed. Therefore if the aspirant does not have the ardent desire for spiritual illumination he must create it. To accomplish this let him again call imagination to his assistance. Let him picture himself as having his power for usefulness many times multiplied by occult development. He should think of himself as possessing the inner sight that enables him to understand the difficulties of others and to comprehend their sorrows. He should daily think of the fact that this would so broaden and quicken his sympathies that he would be enormously more useful in the world than he can now possibly be and that he could become a source of happiness to thousands. Let him reflect that as he gets farther along in occult development and in unselfishness and spirituality he may have the inestimable privilege of coming into contact with some of the exalted intelligences that watch over and assist the struggling aspirants on their upward way. He should daily recall the fact that he is now moving forward toward a freer, richer, more joyous life than he has yet known and that every effort brings him nearer to its realization. Thus dwelling on the subject in its various aspects he creates the ardent desire that serves to propel him forward.

If he feels that these things make an ideal a little too high for him at present he may reach that point by degrees. He may at first dwell in thought upon the personal satisfaction that would come from the possession of astral sight. Let him reflect upon what it would mean to be conscious of the invisible world; to have all its wonders laid open before him; to be able to consciously meet the so-called dead, including his own friends and relatives; to be able to have the positive personal proof that we survive the death of the physical body; to be able to become one of the “invisible helpers” of the world; to have available the priceless advantages of the astral region and to bring the consciousness of all this into the physical life. That is certainly something worth all the time and effort required to attain it. Thus thinking constantly of the widened life and added powers it would confer, the desire to move forward in self-development will be greatly stimulated. But the student should always keep it in mind that the real purpose of acquiring new powers is to increase his capacity for service to the race, and that he who falls short of that ideal walks upon dangerous ground.

The second requisite is a firm will. It should not be forgotten that an unusual and difficult thing is being attempted in which a person of weak will cannot possibly hope to succeed. Even in the ordinary life of the world considerable will power is essential to success. To succeed in business, to become expert in a profession, or to completely master an art, requires strong will, determination, perseverance. The difficulties in occult development are still greater and, while it is true that any degree of effort is well worth while, the weaklings will not go far. Only those with the indomitable will that knows neither surrender nor compromise may hope for a large measure of success. Once the will is thoroughly aroused and brought into action every hindrance in the way will be swept aside.

“The human will, that force unseen,

The offspring of a deathless soul,

Can hew a way to any goal

Tho’ walls of granite intervene.

* * * * *

“Be not impatient of delay,

But wait as one who understands.

When spirit rises and commands

The gods are ready to obey.”

Mighty, indeed, is this force when aroused. But a person may be easily deceived about his will. He is likely to think that his will is much stronger than it really is. He may say to himself, “Oh, yes, I would go through anything for the sake of the higher life and spiritual illumination.” But that is no guarantee that after a few months of monotonous work he may not abandon it unless he adopts the wise plan of strengthening his will as he moves forward. Let him begin this by testing his present strength of will, but let him not be discouraged by the result. He should remember that whatever he lacks in will power he can evolve by proper effort.

To find out whether he really has much strength of will a person may begin to observe to what extent he permits his daily plans to be modified, or entirely changed, by the things that run counter to his will. Does he hold steadfastly to his purpose or does he weakly surrender to small obstacles? Has he the will power to even begin the day as he has planned it? The evening before he decides that he will rise at six o’clock the next morning. He knows there are certain excellent reasons why he should do so and he retires with the matter fully decided. It is positively settled that at exactly six o’clock the day’s program shall begin. But when the clock strikes that hour the next morning he feels strongly disinclined to obey the summons. It involves some bodily discomfort to rise at that moment and he concludes that, after all, perhaps he was a bit hasty the evening before in fixing upon that hour! Whereupon he reconsiders the matter and makes it seven; and when that time arrives he generously extends it to eight o’clock. The hour, of course, is unimportant. But whatever may have been the hour that was previously determined upon the keeping of that determination is of the greatest importance and the failure to put the resolution into effect is evidence of the possession of a weak will.

Now all this proves that such persons have very little real will power, for they permit the desire for trifling bodily comfort to set their plans aside. Such persons are still slaves to the physical body and weakly permit it to upset carefully outlined programs. They are not yet ready for good work in occult development, where real success can come only to those who have steadfast strength of purpose.

People who fail to assert the will and bring the body into complete subjection probably little realize what a price they pay for a trifling physical pleasure; for until we voluntarily take the right course we have not escaped the evolutionary necessity of compulsion and may reasonably expect sooner or later to be thrown into an environment that will apply the stimulus we still need to arouse the will. It may be unpleasant while it is occurring, but what better fortune could befall an indolent man than to find himself in circumstances where his poverty or other necessity compels him to subordinate bodily comfort to the reign of the will? Nature provides the lessons we require. We may wisely co-operate with her and thus escape the sting. But so long as we need the lesson we may be quite sure that it awaits us.

All the business activities of the world are developing the will. Through them will and desire work together in evolving latent powers. Desire arouses will power. A man desires wealth and the desire plunges him into business activities and stimulates the will by which he overcomes all the difficulties that lie in his way. Ardent desire for an education arouses the will of the student and the awakened will triumphs over poverty and all other barriers between him and the coveted diploma. If a man stands at a lower point in evolution where he has not the ambition for intellectual culture nor for fame nor for wealth, but only the desire for shelter and food, still that primitive desire forces him into action; and while his will power will be evolved only in proportion to the strength of the desire that prompts him, it must nevertheless grow. Instead of rising at a certain hour because the will decrees it he may rise only because he knows his livelihood depends upon it. But he is learning the same lesson–the overcoming of the inertia of the physical body–albeit it is compulsory instead of voluntary. But all this is unconscious evolution. It is the long, slow, painful process. It is the only way possible for those who are not wise enough to co-operate with nature in her evolutionary work and thus rise above the necessity of compulsion.

How, then, may we develop the will when it is so weak that we are still the slaves of nature instead of the masters of destiny? Will power, like any other faculty, may be cultivated and made strong. To do this one may plan in advance what he will do under certain circumstances and then carry out the program without evasion or hesitation when the time arrives. His forethought will enable him to do this if he does not undertake things too difficult at first. Let him resolve to do at a certain hour some small thing which, in the ordinary course of his duties, he sees is necessary but unpleasant; and then firmly resolve in advance that exactly at the appointed time he will do it. Thus fortified before the trial comes he will probably go successfully through with it. After once deciding upon the time there should be no postponement and not an instant’s delay when the moment arrives.

One of the things we have to learn is to overcome the inertia of the physical body and many people are not really awake on the physical plane because they have not done so. To a certain extent they are “dead” within the physical body for it is a condition much nearer death than that supposed death of one who no longer has the physical body. The inert mass of physical matter in which such people are functioning leaves them only half alive until they have aroused themselves from its domination. They remind one of the lines:

“Life is a mystery, death is a doubt,

And some folks are dead

While they’re walking about!”

This inertia of the physical body that so often renders people nearly useless is very largely a matter of habit and can be overcome to a surprising degree by simply using a little will-power. Everybody is familiar with the fact that it is sometimes much easier to think and act than at other times. But perhaps it is not so well known that the dull periods can invariably be overcome by an effort of the will and the physical body be made to do its proper work. An actor or lecturer after months of continuous work may find the brain and body growing tired and dull. He may feel when going before his audience that he has not an idea nor the wit to express it were someone else to furnish it. Yet by an effort of the will he can quickly overcome the condition and change from stupidity to mental alertness and intensity of thought. The self is never tired. It is only the physical body that grows weary. It is true that it has its limitations and must not be overtaxed and driven beyond endurance as a tired horse is sometimes cruelly urged forward with whip and spur. Judgment must always be used in determining one’s capacity for work. But that which is to be done should never be done draggingly, with the inertia of the physical body marring the work. We should be fully awake instead of “dead” while we “are walking about.” If a person resolves to be the master of the body he may soon acquire the power to arouse it to activity and alertness during all his waking hours, very much as one may acquire the habit of keen observation and be conscious of what is occurring in his vicinity instead of being carelessly unconscious of the major portion of what is going on immediately about him.

This matter of giving attention to the things that may properly engage the mind, and of using the will to arouse and control it, is of very great importance. Is it not what we call “paying attention” that makes the connection between the ego and the objective world? Giving attention is a process of consciousness. The person who fails in attention misses the purpose of life and throws away valuable time and opportunity. To give attention is to be alive and awake and in a condition to make the most of limited physical life. Yet many people cannot give sustained attention to an ordinary conversation nor direct the mind with sufficient precision to state a simple fact without wandering aimlessly about in the effort, bringing in various incidental matters until the original subject, instead of being made clear, is obscured in a maze of unimportant details or lost sight of altogether.

Such habits of mind should be put resolutely aside by one who would hasten self-development. The attention should be fixed deliberately upon the subject in hand, whatever it may be, and nothing should be permitted to break the connection between that and the mind. Whether it is a conversation or a book, or a manual task, or a problem being silently worked out intellectually, it should have undivided attention until the mind is ready for something else.

Perhaps few of us give to any subject the close attention which alone can prove its own effectiveness and demonstrate the fact that there goes with such steadily sustained attention a subtle power of extended, or accentuated, consciousness. When ten minutes is given to a certain subject and other thoughts are constantly intruding, so that when the ten minutes have passed only five minutes have actually been devoted to the subject, the result is by no means a half of what would have been accomplished had the whole of the ten minutes been given to uninterrupted attention. The time thus spent in wavering attention is practically without effect. The connection between mind and subject has not been complete. Mind and subject were, so to say, out of focus. Attention must be sustained to the point where it becomes concentration. The mind must be used as a sun-glass can be used. Hold the glass between sun and paper, out of focus, for an hour and nothing will happen. A yellow circle of light falls on the paper and that is all. But bring it into perfect focus, concentrating the rays to the finest possible point, and the paper turns brown and finally bursts into the fire that will consume it. They are the same rays that were previously ineffective. Concentration produced results.

The mind must be brought under such complete control of the will that it can be manipulated like a search-light, turned in this direction or that, or flung full upon some obscure subject and held steadily there till it illuminates every detail of it, as the search-light sends a dazzling ray through space and shows every rock and tree on a hillside far away through the darkness of the night.

The third necessity is keen intelligence. The force of desire, directed by the will, must be supplemented by an alert mind. There is a popular notion that good motives are sufficient in themselves and that when one has the desire to attain spiritual illumination, plus the will to achieve, nothing more is needed but purity of purpose. But this is a misconception. It is true that the mystic makes devotion the vital thing in his spiritual growth; and it is also true that the three paths of action, knowledge and devotion blend and become one at a higher stage. But while there are methods of development in which intellect is not at first made a chief factor it can by no means be ignored in the long-run; nor are we now considering those methods. A good intellect, therefore, is a necessary part of the equipment.

Good motives play a most important part, indeed, in occult progress. They safeguard the aspirant on his upward way. Without pure motives, without a large measure of unselfishness, the greatest dangers would encompass him. But good motives cannot take the place of good sense and relieve him of the necessity of thinking. He must develop judgment and discrimination. There are things he must know, and he must use his knowledge, or difficulties will follow no matter how noble may be his intentions. Suppose, for illustration, that two men set out upon a dark might to cross a wild and rugged piece of ground–one with bad motives and the other with good. One is going out to rob a house and if need be, to kill anybody who might try to interfere with his plans. His motives are very bad but he has perfect knowledge of the dangerous ground he is to cross and he will therefore travel over it in safety. The other man has the best of motives. He is going to spend the night with a sick and helpless neighbor. But he has no knowledge of the rough and treacherous ground he must cross in the darkness and his good motives will not insure him against stumbling over the stones or falling into a ditch and breaking his arm. Good motives are not enough. We must know! Progress in occultism is impossible without knowledge.

But how is a keen, alert intelligence to be acquired if we do not possess it? Like any other latent faculty or power it may be evolved. As the physical strength may be steadily increased by constant exercise of the muscles, so mind may increase in power by systematic work. It should be exercised in original thinking. A stated period, if only a quarter of an hour daily, can be set aside for the purpose. A book on a serious subject will furnish material but the too common method of reading, of following the author lazily and accepting whatever he sets forth as a matter of course, is of little value. One must read with discrimination, receiving the ideas offered as a juryman would receive testimony from a witness, considering it from every possible viewpoint, examining it in the light of known facts, turning it over in the mind, weighing it thoughtfully, and accepting or rejecting according to its reasonableness or its lack of reason. In such mental work for intellectual growth each paragraph can be considered by itself and only a small portion of the time should be given to the reading while the remainder is devoted to pondering over what has been read. Of course a specific study is an advantage and perhaps nothing is better than to study occultism, thinking deeply upon the problems of human evolution.

Another method that goes admirably with such work is the close observation and study of all the life in manifestation about us. We should try to comprehend people, to observe and understand them. Every word, act and facial expression has its meaning to be caught and interpreted. All this will not only sharpen the wits but also strengthen human sympathy for it enables us the better to know the difficulties and sorrows of others. If such practices are followed faithfully day by day the growth will be steady.

Still another useful practice is to exercise the imagination, the art of creating mental pictures with no physical object present. The face of an absent friend can be called up in the mind and reproduced in every detail–the color of the eyes and hair, the various moods and expressions. Or one’s childhood home can be recalled and the imagination made to reconstruct it. The house being complete the landscape can be reproduced, with the hills, trees and roads. Repeated practice at “seeing mentally” is of the greatest value in occult development.

While the aspirant is thus working to improve the three essential qualifications of desire, will and intelligence–to intensify his desire to possess powers for the helping of others, to strengthen the will to get such powers, and to steadily improve the intellect–he should also be giving most earnest attention to meditation, for it is through this practice that the most remarkable results may be produced in the transformation of his bodies, visible and invisible, through which the ego manifests itself in the physical world. In the degree that these are organized and made sensitive and responsive they cease to be limitations of consciousness. Such sensitiveness and responsiveness may be brought about by meditation, together with proper attention to the purification of the physical and astral bodies; for purity and sensitiveness go together.

Meditation is a subject so very important to the aspirant that specific instructions should guide him. The average person, used to the turbulent life of occidental civilization, will find it a sufficiently difficult matter to control the mind, and to finally acquire the power to direct it as he desires, even with all the conditions in his favor. The serene hours of morning are the most favorable of the twenty-four for meditation. Regularity has a magic of its own and the hour should be the same each morning. To be alone in surroundings as quiet as possible is another essential. The most desirable time for meditation is soon after awakening in the morning. Before turning the mind to any of the business affairs of the day let the aspirant sit calmly down and mediate upon any wholesome thought, like patience, courage or compassion, keeping the mind steadily upon the subject for five minutes.

Two very important things are being accomplished by such meditation. First, we are getting control of the mind and learning to direct it where and how we choose; and, second, we are attracting and building into the bodies we possess certain grades of imponderable matter that will make thinking and acting along these lines easier and easier for us until they are established habits and we actually become in daily life patient, courageous and compassionate. Whatever qualities or virtues we desire to possess may be gained through the art of meditation and the effort to live up to the ideal dwelt upon daily by the mind.

While it is absolutely true that any human being can make of himself that which he desires to be–can literally raise himself to any ideal he is capable of conceiving–it must not be supposed that it can be done in a short time and by intermittent effort. We sometimes hear it said that all we need do is to realize that all power is within us, when, presto! we are the thing we would be! It is quite true that we must realize their existence before we can call the latent powers into expression; but the work of arousing the latent into the active is a process of growth, of actual evolutionary change. The physical body as it is now is not sensitive enough to respond to subtle vibrations. Its brain is not capable of receiving and registering the delicate vibrations sent outward by the ego, and the task of changing it so that it can do so is not a trifling or easy one. But every effort produces its effect and to the persistent and patient devotee of self-development the final result is certain. But it is not a matter of miraculous accomplishment. It is a process of inner growth. There are, it is quite true, cases in which people who have entered upon this method of self-development have, in a short time, attained spiritual illumination, becoming fully conscious of the invisible world and its inhabitants while awake in the physical body; extending the horizon of consciousness to include both worlds, and coming into possession of the higher clairvoyance that enables one to trace past causes and modify impending effects. But such people are those who have given so much attention to self-development in past lives that they have now but little more to do in order to come into full possession of occult powers. Sometimes it requires little more than the turning of their attention to the matter. Becoming a member of the Theosophical Society or seriously taking up theosophical studies is sometimes the final step that leads to the opening of the inner sight.

But how can one know to what point he may have advanced in the past and where he now stands? How may we know whether there is but a little work ahead or a great deal? We cannot know; nor is it important to know. The person who should take up the task merely because he thinks there is little to do would certainly fail. The very fact that he would not venture upon the undertaking if he thought the task a difficult one is evidence that he has not the qualifications necessary for the success of the occult student. Unless he is filled with a longing to possess greater power to be used in the service of humanity, and fired with an enthusiasm that would hesitate at no difficulties, he has not yet reached the point in his evolution where he awaits only the final steps that will make him a disciple. But even the absence of the keen desire for spiritual progress, which is the best evidence of the probability of success, should not deter anybody from entering upon the systematic study of theosophy and devoting to it all the time and energy he can; nor should the thought that many years might pass without producing any very remarkable results lead him to conclude that the undertaking would not be a profitable one. The time will come with each human being when he will step out of the great throng that drifts with the tide and enter upon the course of conscious evolution, assisting nature instead of ignoring her beneficent plan; and since it is but a question of time the sooner a beginning is made the better, for the sooner will suffering cease.

There should be a word of warning about the folly of trying to reach spiritual illumination by artificial methods. Astral sight is sometimes quickly developed by crystal gazing and also by a certain regulation of the breathing. For two reasons such methods should be avoided. One is that any powers thus gained can not be permanent, and the other is that they may be more or less dangerous. Many people have made physical wrecks of themselves or have become insane by some of these methods.

There are those who advertise to quickly teach clairvoyance, for a consideration, as though spiritual powers could really be conferred instead of evolved! It is true that efforts toward the evolution of such powers may be enormously aided by teachers, but such instruction can not be bought, and the offer to furnish it for money is the best evidence of its worthlessness. Those who teach this ancient wisdom select their own pupils from the morally fit, and tuition can be paid only in devotion to truth and service to humanity. That is the only road that leads to instruction worth having, and until the aspirant is firmly upon that sound moral ground he is much better off without powers, the selfish use of which would lead to certain disaster.

But how shall the pupil find the teacher? He need not find him, at first, so far as the limited consciousness is concerned. Long before he knows anything of it in his waking hours he may be receiving instruction while he is out of the physical body during the hours of sleep. The teacher finds the pupil long before the pupil suspects that the teacher exists; and since it is the pupil who has the limited consciousness it is quite natural that it should be so. Thus it is inevitable that all who enter upon the way that leads to spiritual illumination must long remain ignorant of the fact that any teachers are interested in them or that anybody is giving the slightest attention to them. Naturally enough one cannot know until the moment arrives when his brain has become sufficiently sensitive to retain a memory of at least a fragment of his super physical experiences.

But what leads to the selection of the pupil? His earnestness, his unselfishness, his devotion, his spiritual aspirations. There is an old occult maxim to the effect that when the pupil is ready the Master is waiting. They have need of many more than are ready to be taught. Those who lead and enlighten watch eagerly for all who will qualify themselves to enter upon the upward way. Every human being gets exactly what he fits himself to receive. He cannot possibly be overlooked. By his spiritual aspiration each lights the lamp in the window of his soul and to the watchers from the heights that light against the background of the overwhelming materiality of our times must be as the sun in a cloudless sky. Other things come later but these simpler things, to realize the necessity for conscious evolution, to comprehend the method of soul development, to take full control of the mind and the physical body, to resolutely curb the grosser desires and to give free rein to the higher aspirations are the first infant steps in the self-development that leads to illumination. Then we begin to discover that this very desire for greater spiritual power is generating a force that carries us forward and upward. We soon begin to observe actual progress. The brain becomes clearer, the intellect keener. Our sphere of influence grows wider, our friendships become warmer. Aspiration lifts us into a new and radiant life, and the wondrous powers of the soul begin to become a conscious possession. And to this soul growth there is no limit. The aspirant will go on and on in this life and others with an ever-extending horizon of consciousness until he has the mental grasp of a Plato, the vivid imagination of a Dante, the intuitive perception of a Shakespeare. It is not by the outward acquirement of facts that such men become wise and great. It is by developing the soul from within until it illuminates the brain with that flood of light called genius.

And when, through the strife and storm, we finally reach the tranquility of the inner peace we shall comprehend the great fact that life really is joy when lived in the possession of spiritual power and in perfect harmony with the laws of the universe. With even these first steps in occult achievement the aspirant enters upon a higher and more satisfactory life than he has ever known. Literally he becomes a new man. Gradually the old desires and impulses fade away and new and nobler aspirations take their place. He has learned obedience to law only to find that obedience was the road to conquest. He has risen above the gross and sensuous by the power of conscious evolution; and, looking back upon what he has been with neither regret nor apology, he comprehends that significant thought of Tennyson: On stepping stones of their dead selves men rise to higher things.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: The Power of the Positive The Power of Resistance in Your Career and Life Plant Yourself in Good Soil Your Invisible Power The Madman Within You is the PowerSummary L. W. Rogers’s Self-Development and the Way to Power is a marvelously inspiring book that speaks of happiness as a product of wisdom. Rogers states that a person is either a slave of nature or a master of its law. He believes that suffering is unnatural and an imposed negativity. Everyone is supposed to be [...]

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A Few Words That Will Change Your Life

2011-06-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Have you ever come across anyone who is 100% happy with their lot in life to the extent that they don’t want to change a single thing. Of course, there’s loads of surveys and research that confirm that most people express unhappiness in their work, their money situation, their weight problem, their fitness or the quality of their personal lives – or every single one of the above!! Basically, normal people are normally dissatisfied. Little wonder that most people find my self help website by Googling Change Your Life.

But it’s not that easy to change your life – is it? Because most of us, whilst being dissatisfied are also afraid of change. So, if this sounds like you, you’re kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place! The problem is, first of all, that people are afraid of the unknown – even if it’s the great unknown that they dream of! And, through painful experience, they also know that, when they’ve attempted major changes in the past, they’ve failed to stick to their guns.

I’m sitting writing this post on February 15th – and by now, research confirms, over 90% of people will have given up on their New Year’s Resolutions! And there’s just so many studies that prove just how hard we normal people find it to change. Did you know, for example, that the average membership of a gym is three months – and in those three months the average new recruit visits, on average twice! Not going to get fit that way!

Now, I haven’t set out to make you even more disillusioned or to tell you that you cannot change your life. I make my living from helping my clients change their lives. They all ask me how I took such a huge risk when I moved from my native Ireland – with my wife and three teenage children – to the French Alps. They always get the same response – it was the obvious move to make because so many small things had changed in the lead up to what other people perceive as a major change. It wasn’t, it was simply the logical next step.

You see, you change your life by changing little things. That way, your fearful mind – and the normal mind simply loves things to stay the way they were when you were a child – becomes familiar with change. Little by little you completely deconstruct all the things that you want to change about your life and you become so used to change that the things that you want to happen simply happen as that logical next step.

OK, that sounds all very well but how will you start? Start really small – like eat something different for breakfast this morning – or actually have breakfast! Take a different train or bus. Talk to a stranger. Swap the knife and fork in your hands at your next meal. Mix it up – because your mind’s mixed up already – and out of that mix up will come the clarity of purpose you’ve always been looking for.

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Only You Can Change Your Life

2011-06-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

It’s within your power change your life – and only you can do it. It’s not important what’s taking place day to day, what obstacles you meet in life, what problems you think you have. All the ups and downs of life are simply that – everything that goes up must come down and vice versa. And all our highs and lows pass – one way or another. There is but one constant in life. And that is who we can be – not who we think we are, which is an entirely different and misconceived thing altogether.

But the average mind doesn’t know who they really are or the heights to which they could rise. And if I told you to focus your mind, you wouldn’t know how. The average mind is weighed down by its own destructive thoughts and the synchronized thoughts of herd-like behaviour. But even the whole herd can break free – look at how normal people in countries with oppressive regimes like Tunisia, Jordan and Egypt are rewriting the political map of the Middle East. Again, remember the way ordinary people dismantled the Berlin Wall. If the apparently immovable objects of entrenched regimes can collapse so easily, then how much more easy can it be for your own misconceptions about yourself and about your life to evaporate into thin air.

After all, the only place that your misconceptions about your capabilities and the type of life you could have are in your own mind. Sure, they appear to be real enough, they may create concrete results, for the worse, in your everyday life – but they are, nevertheless, the creation of your own conditioned mind. Psychology confirms that we are conditioned during our childhood by the people and events that make the biggest impression upon us. It is a psychological fact that you and I are predisposed to thinking the worst about ourselves. All this conditioning or programming, which swirls in our subconscious, creates our behaviour, how we react and, consequently, what others think of us, do for us or to us. Our thoughts create our lives.

With that in mind, isn’t it obvious that, if you could change your thoughts, you would change your life? The whole structure of your apparent life would collapse as surely and convincingly as the Berlin Wall. And a new life would begin. But – and it’s a big but – it’s not as easy as it sounds. The Berlin Wall was only sitting on concrete foundations – the foundations of your life are far more subtly set in your subconscious. So, rather than trying to dismantle the web of thoughts that ties you down, it is far better, far more effective, if you simply ignore their unreality by tuning your focus to real reality – the reality of the present moment.

Freedom from all your fears, doubts and worries is discovered by focusing your mind on what you are truly seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting in the present moment. Understand that, learn how to do it and your life will changed beyond all recognition.

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The Madman

2011-06-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Loading ...The Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer Kahlil Gibran, in his book The Madman, presents a thought-provoking collection of short parables and poems ranging in length from a single paragraph to a few pages. With a touch of class that is unique to Gibran and that is visible in all his works, an ironic light is cast on the beliefs, aspirations, and vanities of humankind. The unrivaled scriptures in the emotions that Gibran’s writings invoke are truly amazing and I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy and gain immensely from this book.

–Harrison

The Madman

By Kahlil Gibran

How I Became A Madman

You ask me how I became a madman. It happened thus: One day, long before many gods were born, I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen,-;the seven masks I have fashioned an worn in seven lives,-;I ran maskless through the crowded streets shouting, ”Thieves, thieves, the cursed thieves.”

Men and women laughed at me and some ran to their houses in fear of me.

And when I reached the market place, a youth standing on a house-top cried, ”He is a madman.” I looked up to behold him; the sun kissed my own naked face for the first time. For the first time the sun kissed my own naked face and my soul was inflamed with love for the sun, and I wanted my masks no more. And as if in a trance I cried, ”Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my masks.”

Thus I became a madman.

And I have found both freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us.

But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief.

God

In the ancient days, when the first quiver of speech came to my lips, I ascended the holy mountain and spoke unto God, saying, ”Master, I am thy slave. Thy hidden will is my law and I shall obey thee for ever more.”

But God made no answer, and like a mighty tempest passed away.

And after a thousand years I ascended the holy mountain and again spoke unto God, saying, ”Creator, I am thy creation. Out of clay hast thou fashioned me and to thee I owe mine all.”

And God made no answer, but like a thousand swift wings passed away.

And after a thousand years I climbed the holy mountain and spoke unto God again, saying, ”Father, I am thy son. In pity and love thou hast given me birth, and through love and worship I shall inherit thy kingdom.”

And God made no answer, and like the mist that veils the distant hills he passed away.

And after a thousand years I climbed the sacred mountain and gain spoke unto God, saying, ”My God, my aim and my fulfillment; I am thy yesterday and thou are my tomorrow. I am thy root in the earth and thou art my flower in the sky, and together we grow before the face of the sun.”

Then God leaned over me, and in my ears whispered words of sweetness, and even as the sea that enfoldeth a brook that runneth down to her, he enfolded me.

And when I descended to the valleys and the plains God was there also.

My Friend

My friend, I am not what I seem. Seeming is but a garment I wear-;a care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee from my negligence.

The ”I” in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence, and therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.

I would not have thee believe in what I say nor trust in what I do-;for my words are naught but thy own thoughts in sound and my deeds thy own hopes in action.

When thou sayest, ”The wind bloweth eastward,” I say, ”Aye it doth blow eastward”; for I would not have thee know that my mind doth not dwell upon the wind but upon the sea.

Thou canst not understand my seafaring thoughts, nor would I have thee understand. I would be at sea alone.

When it is day with thee, my friend, it is night with me; yet even then I speak of the noontide that dances upon the hills and of the purple shadow that steals its way across the valley; for thou canst not hear the songs of my darkness nor see my wings beating against the stars-;and I fain would not have thee hear or see. I would be with night alone.

When thou ascendest to thy Heaven I descend to my Hell-;even then thou callest to me across the unbridgeable gulf, ”My companion, my comrade,” and I call back to thee, ”My comrade, my companion”-;for I would not have thee see my Hell. The flame would burn thy eyesight and the smoke would crowd thy nostrils. And I love my Hell too well to have thee visit it. I would be in Hell alone.

Thou lovest Truth and Beauty and Righteousness; and I for thy sake say it is well and seemly to love these things. But in my heart I laught at thy love. Yet I would not have thee see my laughter. I would laugh alone.

My friend, thou art good and cautious and wise; nay, thou art perfect-;and I, too, speak with thee wisely and cautiously. And yet I am mad. But I mask my madness. I would be mad alone.

My friend, thou art not my friend, but how shall I make thee understand? My path is not thy path, yet together we walk, hand in hand.

The Scarecrow

Once I said to a scarecrow, ”You must be tired of standing in this lonely field.”

And he said, ”The joy of scaring is a deep and lasting one, and I never tire of it.”

Said I, after a minute of thought, ”It is true; for I too have known that joy.”

Said he, ”Only those who are stuffed with straw can know it.”

Then I left him, not knowing whether he had complimented or belittled me.

A year passed, during which the scarecrow turned philosopher.

And when I passed by him again I saw two crows building a nest under his hat.

The Sleep-Walkers

In the town where I was born lived a woman and her daughter, who walked in their sleep.

One night, while silence enfolded the world, the woman and her daughter, walking, yet asleep, met in their mist-veiled garden.

And the mother spoke, and she said: ”At last, at last, my enemy! You by whom my youth was destroyed-;who have built up your life upon the ruins of mine! Would I could kill you!”

And the daughter spoke, and she said: ”O hateful woman, selfish and old! Who stand between my freer self and me! Who would have my life an echo of your own faded life! Would you were dead!”

At that moment a cock crew, and both women awoke. The mother said gently, ”Is that you, darling?” And the daughter answered gently, ”Yes, dear.”

The Wise Dog

One day there passed by a company of cats a wise dog.

And as he came near and saw that they were very intent and heeded him not, he stopped.

Then there arose in the midst of the company a large, grave cat and looked upon them and said, ”Brethren, pray ye; and when ye have prayed again and yet again, nothing doubting, verily then it shall rain mice.”

And when the dog heard this he laughed in his heart and turned from them saying, ”O blind and foolish cats, has it not been written and have I not known and my fathers before me, that that which raineth for prayer and faith and supplication is not mice but bones.”

The Two Hermits

Upon a lonely mountain, there lived two hermits who worshipped God and loved one another.

Now these two hermits had one earthen bowl, and this was their only possession.

One day an evil spirit entered into the heart of the older hermit and he came to the younger and said, ”It is long that we have lived together. The time has come for us to part. Let us divide our possessions.”

Then the younger hermit was saddened and he said, ”It grieves me, Brother, that thou shouldst leave me. But if thou must needs go, so be it,” and he brought the earthen bowl and gave it to him saying, ”We cannot divide it, Brother, let it be thine.”

Then the older hermit said, ”Charity I will not accept. I will take nothing but mine own. It must be divided.”

And the younger one said, ”If the bowl be broken, of what use would it be to thee or to me? If it be thy pleasure let us rather cast a lot.”

But the older hermit said again, ”I will have but justice and mine own, and I will not trust justice and mine own to vain chance. The bowl must be divided.”

Then the younger hermit could reason no further and he said, ”If it be indeed thy will, and if even so thou wouldst have it let us now break the bowl.”

But the face of the older hermit grew exceedingly dark, and he cried, ”O thou cursed coward, thou wouldst not fight.”

On Giving and Taking

Once there lived a man who had a valley-full of needles. And one day the mother of Jesus came to him and said: ”Friend, my son’s garment is torn and I must needs mend it before he goeth to the temple. Wouldst thou not give me a needle?”

And he gave her not a needle, but he gave her a learned discourse on Giving and Taking to carry to her son before he should go to the temple.

The Seven Selves

In the stillest hour of the night, as I lay half asleep, my seven selves sat together and thus conversed in whisper:

First Self: Here, in this madman, I have dwelt all these years, with naught to do but renew his pain by day and recreate his sorrow by night. I can bear my fate no longer, and now I rebel.

Second Self: Yours is a better lot than mine, brother, for it is given to me to be this madman’s joyous self. I laugh his laughter and sing his happy hours, and with thrice winged feet I dance his brighter thoughts. It is I that would rebel against my weary existence.

Third Self: And what of me, the love-ridden self, the flaming brand of wild passion and fantastic desires? It is I the love-sick self who would rebel against this madman.

Fourth Self: I, amongst you all, am the most miserable, for naught was given me but odious hatred and destructive loathing. It is I, the tempest-like self, the one born in the black caves of Hell, who would protest against serving this madman.

Fifth Self: Nay, it is I, the thinking self, the fanciful self, the self of hunger and thirst, the one doomed to wander without rest in search of unknown things and things not yet created; it is I, not you, who would rebel.

Sixth Self: And I, the working self, the pitiful labourer, who, with patient hands, and longing eyes, fashion the days into images and give the formless elements new and eternal forms-;it is I, the solitary one, who would rebel against this restless madman.

Seventh Self: How strange that you all would rebel against this man, because each and every one of you has a preordained fate to fulfill. Ah! could I but be like one of you, a self with a determined lot! But I have none, I am the do-nothing self, the one who sits in the dumb, empty nowhere and nowhen, while you are busy re-creating life. Is it you or I, neighbours, who should rebel?

When the seventh self thus spake the other six selves looked with pity upon him but said nothing more; and as the night grew deeper one after the other went to sleep enfolded with a new and happy submission.

But the seventh self remained watching and gazing at nothingness, which is behind all things.

War

One night a feast was held in the palace, and there came a man and prostrated himself before the prince, and all the feasters looked upon him; and they saw that one of his eyes was out and that the empty socket bled. And the prince inquired of him, ”What has befallen you?” And the man replied, ”O prince, I am by profession a thief, and this night, because there was no moon, I went to rob the money-changer’s shop, and as I climbed in through the window I made a mistake and entered the weaver’s shop, and in the dark I ran into the weaver’s loom and my eye was plucked out. And now, O prince, I ask for justice upon the weaver.”

Then the prince sent for the weaver and he came, and it was decreed that one of his eyes should be plucked out.

”O prince,” said the weaver, ”the decree is just. It is right that one of my eyes be taken. And yet, alas! both are necessary to me in order that I may see the two sides of the cloth that I weave. But I have a neighbour, a cobbler, who has also two eyes, and in his trade both eyes are not necessary.”

Then the prince sent for the cobbler. And he came. And they took out one of the cobbler’s two eyes.

And justice was satisfied.

The Fox

A fox looked at his shadow at sunrise and said, ”I will have a camel for lunch today.” And all morning he went about looking for camels. But at noon he saw his shadow again-;and he said, ”A mouse will do.”

The Wise King

Once there ruled in the distant city of Wirani a king who was both mighty and wise. And he was feared for his might and loved for his wisdom.

Now, in the heart of that city was a well, whose water was cool and crystalline, from which all the inhabitants drank, even the king and his courtiers; for there was no other well.

One night when all were asleep, a witch entered the city, and poured seven drops of strange liquid into the well, and said, ”From this hour he who drinks this water shall become mad.”

Next morning all the inhabitants, save the king and his lord chamberlain, drank from the well and became mad, even as the witch had foretold.

And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the market places did naught but whisper to one another, ”The king is mad. Our king and his lord chamberlain have lost their reason. Surely we cannot be ruled by a mad king. We must dethrone him.”

That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the well. And when it was brought to him he drank deeply, and gave it to his lord chamberlain to drink.

And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Wirani, because its king and its lord chamberlain had regained their reason.

Ambition

Three men met at a tavern table. One was a weaver, another a carpenter and the third a ploughman.

Said the weaver, ”I sold a fine linen shroud today for two pieces of gold. Let us have all the wine we want.”

”And I,” said the carpenter, ”I sold my best coffin. We will have a great roast with the wine.”

”I only dug a grave,” said the ploughman, ”but my patron paid me double. Let us have honey cakes too.”

And all that evening the tavern was busy, for they called often for wine and meat and cakes. And they were merry.

And the host rubbed his hands and smiled at his wife; for his guests were spending freely.

When they left the moon was high, and they walked along the road singing and shouting together.

The host and his wife stood in the tavern door and looked after them.

”Ah!” said the wife, ”these gentlemen! So freehanded and so gay! If only they could bring us such luck every day! Then our son need not be a tavern-keeper and work so hard. We could educate him, and he could become a priest.”

The New Pleasure

Last night I invented a new pleasure, and as I was giving it the first trial an angel and a devil came rushing toward my house. They met at my door and fought with each other over my newly created pleasure; the one crying, ”It is a sin!”-;the other, ”It is a virtue!”

The Other Language

Three days after I was born, as I lay in my silken cradle, gazing with astonished dismay on the new world round about me, my mother spoke to the wet-nurse, saying, ”How does my child?”

And the wet-nurse answered, ”He does well, Madame, I have fed him three times; and never before have I seen a babe so young yet so gay.”

And I was indignant; and I cried, ”It is not true, mother; for my bed is hard, and the milk I have sucked is bitter to my mouth, and the odour of the breast is foul in my nostrils, and I am most miserable.”

But my mother did not understand, nor did the nurse; for the language I spoke was that of the world from which I came.

And on the twenty-first day of my life, as I was being christened, the priest said to my mother, ”You should indeed by happy, Madame, that your son was born a Christian.”

And I was surprised,-;and I said to the priest, ”Then your mother in Heaven should be unhappy, for you were not born a Christian.”

But the priest too did not understand my language.

And after seven moons, one day a soothsayer looked at me, and he said to my mother, ”Your son will be a statesman and a great leader of men.”

But I cried out,-;”That is a false prophet; for I shall be a musician, and naught but a musician shall I be.”

But even at that age my language was not understood-;and great was my astonishment.

And after three and thirty years, during which my mother, and the nurse, and the priest have all died, (the shadow of God be upon their spirits) the soothsayer still lives. And yesterday I met him near the gates of the temple; and while we were talking together he said, ”I have always known you would become a great musician. Even in your infancy I prophesied and foretold your future.”

And I believed him-;for now I too have forgotten the language of that other world.

The Pomegranate

Once when I was living in the heart of a pomegranate, I heard a seed saying, ”Someday I shall become a tree, and the wind will sing in my branches, and the sun will dance on my leaves, and I shall be strong and beautiful through all the seasons.”

Then another seed spoke and said, ”When I was as young as you, I too held such views; but now that I can weigh and measure things, I see that my hopes were vain.”

And a third seed spoke also, ”I see in us nothing that promises so great a future.”

And a fourth said, ”But what a mockery our life would be, without a greater future!”

Said a fifth, ”Why dispute what we shall be, when we know not even what we are.”

But a sixth replied, ”Whatever we are, that we shall continue to be.”

And a seventh said, ”I have such a clear idea how everything will be, but I cannot put it into words.”

Then an eight spoke-;and a ninth-;and a tenth-;and then many-;until all were speaking, and I could distinguish nothing for the many voices.

And so I moved that very day into the heart of a quince, where the seeds are few and almost silent.

The Two Cages

In my father’s garden there are two cages. In one is a lion, which my father’s slaves brought from the desert of Ninavah; in the other is a songless sparrow.

Every day at dawn the sparrow calls to the lion, ”Good morrow to thee, brother prisoner.”

The Three Ants

Three ants met on the nose of a man who was asleep in the sun. And after they had saluted one another, each according to the custom of his tribe, they stood there conversing.

The first ant said, ”These hills and plains are the most barren I have known. I have searched all day for a grain of some sort, and there is none to be found.”

Said the second ant, ”I too have found nothing, though I have visited every nook and glade. This is, I believe, what my people call the soft, moving land where nothing grows.”

Then the third ant raised his head and said, ”My friends, we are standing now on the nose of the Supreme Ant, the mighty and infinite Ant, whose body is so great that we cannot see it, whose shadow is so vast that we cannot trace it, whose voice is so loud that we cannot hear it; and He is omnipresent.”

When the third ant spoke thus the other ants looked at each other and laughed.

At that moment the man moved and in his sleep raised his hand and scratched his nose, and the three ants were crushed.

The Grave-Digger

Once, as I was burying one of my dead selves, the grave-digger came by and said to me, ”Of all those who come here to bury, you alone I like.”

Said I, ”You please me exceedingly, but why do you like me?”

”Because,” said he, ”They come weeping and go weeping-;you only come laughing and go laughing.”

On the Steps of the Temple

Yestereve, on the marble steps of the Temple, I saw a woman sitting between two men. One side of her face was pale, the other was blushing.

The Blessed City

In my youth I was told that in a certain city every one lived according to the Scriptures.

And I said, ”I will seek that city and the blessedness thereof.” And it was far. And I made great provision for my journey. And after forty days I beheld the city and on the forty-first day I entered into it.

And lo! the whole company of the inhabitants had each but a single eye and but one hand. And I was astonished and said to myself, ”Shall they of this so holy city have but one eye and one hand?”

then I saw that they too were astonished, for they were marveling greatly at my two hands and my two eyes. And as they were speaking together I inquired of them saying, ”Is this indeed the Blessed City, where each man lives according to the Scriptures?” And they said, ”Yes, this is that city.”

”And what,” said I, ”hath befallen you, and where are your right eyes and your right hands?”

And all the people were moved. And they said, ”Come thou and see.”

And they took me to the temple in the midst of the city. and in the temple I saw a heap of hands and eyes. All withered. Then said I, ”Alas! what conqueror hath committed this cruelty upon you?”

And there went a murmur amongst them. And one of their elders stood forth and said, ”This doing is of ourselves. God hath made us conquerors over the evil that was in us.”

And he led me to a high altar, and all the people followed. And he showed me above the altar an inscription graven, and I read:

”If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that the whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

Then I understood. And I turned about to all the people and cried, ”Hath no man or woman among you two eyes or two hands?”

And they answered me saying, ”No, not one. There is none whole save such as are yet too young to read the Scripture and to understand its commandment.”

And when we had come out of the temple, I straightway left that Blessed City; for I was not too young, and I could read the scripture.

The Good God and the Evil God

The Good God and the Evil God met on the mountain top.

The Good God said, ”Good day to you, brother.”

The Evil God did not answer.

And the Good God said, ”You are in a bad humour today.”

”Yes,” said the Evil God, ”for of late I have been often mistaken for you, called by your name, and treated as if I were you, and it ill-pleases me.”

And the Good God said, ”But I too have been mistaken for you and called by your name.”

The Evil God walked away curing the stupidity of man.

”Defeat”

Defeat, my Defeat, my solitude and my aloofness;

You are dearer to me than a thousand triumphs,

And sweeter to my heart than all world-glory.

Defeat, my Defeat, my self-knowledge and my defiance,

Through you I know that I am yet young and swift of foot

And not to be trapped by withering laurels.

And in you I have found aloneness

And the joy of being shunned and scorned.

Defeat, my Defeat, my shining sword and shield,

In your eyes I have read

That to be enthroned is to be enslaved,

and to be understood is to be leveled down,

And to be grasped is but to reach one’s fullness

and like a ripe fruit to fall and be consumed.

Defeat, my Defeat, my bold companion,

You shall hear my songs and my cries an my silences,

And none but you shall speak to me of the beating of wings,

And urging of seas,

And of mountains that burn in the night,

And you alone shall climb my steep and rocky soul.

Defeat, my Defeat, my deathless courage,

You and I shall laugh together with the storm,

And together we shall dig graves for all that die in us,

And we shall stand in the sun with a will,

And we shall be dangerous.

Night and the Madman

”I am like thee, O, Night, dark and naked; I walk on the flaming path which is above my day-dreams, and whenever my foot touches earth a giant oak tree comes forth.”

”Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thou still lookest backward to see how large a foot-print thou leavest on the sand.”

”I am like thee, O, Night, silent and deep; and in the heart of my loneliness lies a Goddess in child-bed; and in him who is being born Heaven touches Hell.”

”Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thou shudderest yet before pain, and the song of the abyss terrifies thee.”

”I am like thee, O, Night, wild and terrible; for my ears are crowded with cries of conquered nations and sighs for forgotten lands.”

”Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thou still takest thy little-self for a comrade, and with thy monster-self thou canst not be friend.”

”I am like thee, O, Night, cruel and awful; for my bosom is lit by burning ships at sea, and my lips are wet with blood of slain warriors.”

”Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman; for the desire for a sister-spirit is yet upon thee, and thou has not become a low unto thyself.”

”I am like thee, O, Night, joyous and glad; for he who dwells in my shadow is now drunk with virgin wine, and she who follows me is sinning mirthfully.”

”Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thy soul is wrapped in the veil of seven folds and thou holdest not they heart in thine hand.”

”I am like thee, O, Night, patient and passionate; for in my breast a thousand dead lovers are buried in shrouds of withered kisses.”

”Yea, Madman, art thou like me? Art thou like me? And canst thou ride the tempest as a steed, and grasp the lightning as a sword?”

”Like thee, O, Night, like thee, mighty and high, and my throne is built upon heaps of fallen Gods; and before me too pass the days to kiss the hem of my garment but never to gaze at my face.”

”Art thou like me, child of my darkest heart? And dost thou think my untamed thoughts and speak my vast language?”

”Yea, we are twin brothers, O, Night; for thou revealest space and I reveal my soul.”

Faces

I have seen a face with a thousand countenances, and a face that was but a single countenance as if held in a mould.

I have seen a face whose sheen I could look through to the ugliness beneath, and a face whose sheen I had to lift to see how beautiful it was.

I have seen an old face much lined with nothing, and a smooth face in which all things were graven.

I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves, and behold the reality beneath.

The Greater Sea

My soul and I went to the great sea to bathe. And when we reached the shore, we went about looking for a hidden and lonely place.

But as we walked, we saw a man sitting on a grey rock taking pinches of salt from a bag and throwing them into the sea.

”This is the pessimist,” said my soul, ”Let us leave this place. We cannot bathe here.”

We walked on until we reached an inlet. There we saw, standing on a white rock, a man holding a bejeweled box, from which he took sugar and threw it into the sea.

”And this is the optimist,” said my soul, ”And he too must not see our naked bodies.

Further on we walked. And on a beach we saw a man picking up dead fish and tenderly putting them back into the water.

”And we cannot bathe before him,” said my soul. ”He is the humane philanthropist.”

And we passed on.

Then we came where we saw a man tracing his shadow on the sand. Great waves came and erased it. But he went on tracing it again and again.

”He is the mystic,” said my soul, ”Let us leave him.”

And we walked on, till in a quiet cover we saw a man scooping up the foam and putting it into an alabaster bowl.

”He is the idealist,” said my soul, ”Surely he must not see our nudity.”

And on we walked. Suddenly we heard a voice crying, ”This is the sea. This is the deep sea. This is the vast and mighty sea.” And when we reached the voice it was a man whose back was turned to the sea, and at his ear he held a shell, listening to its murmur.

And my soul said, ”Let us pass on. He is the realist, who turns his back on the whole he cannot grasp, and busies himself with a fragment.”

So we passed on. And in a weedy place among the rocks was a man with his head buried in the sand. And I said to my soul, ”We can bath here, for he cannot see us.”

”Nay,” said my soul, ”For he is the most deadly of them all. He is the puritan.”

Then a great sadness came over the face of my soul, and into her voice.

”Let us go hence,” she said, ”For there is no lonely, hidden place where we can bathe. I would not have this wind lift my golden hair, or bare my white bosom in this air, or let the light disclose my sacred nakedness.”

Then we left that sea to seek the Greater Sea.

Crucified

I cried to men, ”I would be crucified!”

And they said, ”Why should your blood be upon our heads?”

And I answered, ”How else shall you be exalted except by crucifying madmen?”

And they heeded and I was crucified. And the crucifixion appeased me.

And when I was hanged between earth and heaven they lifted up their heads to see me. And they were exalted, for their heads had never before been lifted.

But as they stood looking up at me one called out, ”For what art thou seeking to atone?”

And another cried, ”In what cause dost thou sacrifice thyself?”

And a third said, ”Thinkest thou with this price to buy world glory?”

Then said a fourth, ”Behold, how he smiles! Can such pain be forgiven?”

And I answered them all, and said:

”Remember only that I smiled. I do not atone-;nor sacrifice-;nor wish for glory; and I have nothing to forgive. I thirsted-;and I besought you to give me my blood to drink. For what is there can quench a madman’s thirst but his own blood? I was dumb-;and I asked wounds of you for mouths. I was imprisoned in your days and nights-;and I sought a door into larger days and nights.

And now I go-;as others already crucified have gone. And think not we are weary of crucifixion. For we must be crucified by larger and yet larger men, between greater earths and greater heavens.”

The Astronomer

In the shadow of the temple my friend and I saw a blind man sitting alone. And my friend said, ”Behold the wisest man of our land.”

Then I left my friend and approached the blind man and greeted him. And we conversed.

After a while I said, ”Forgive my question; but since when has thou been blind?”

”From my birth,” he answered.

Said I, ”And what path of wisdom followest thou?”

Said he, ”I am an astronomer.”

Then he placed his hand upon his breast saying, ”I watch all these suns and moons and stars.”

The Great Longing

Here I sit between my brother the mountain and my sister the sea.

We three are one in loneliness, and the love that binds us together is deep and strong and strange. Nay, it is deeper than my sister’s depth and stronger than my brother’s strength, and stranger than the strangeness of my madness.

Aeons upon aeons have passed since the first grey dawn made us visible to one another; and though we have seen the birth and the fullness and the death of many worlds, we are still eager and young.

We are young and eager and yet we are mateless and unvisited, and though we lie in unbroken half embrace, we are uncomforted. And what comfort is there for controlled desire and unspent passion? Whence shall come the flaming god to warm my sister’s bed? And what she-torrent shall quench my brother’s fire? And who is the woman that shall command my heart?

In the stillness of the night my sister murmurs in her sleep the fire-god’s unknown name, and my brother calls afar upon the cool and distant goddess. But upon whom I call in my sleep I know not.

Here I sit between my brother the mountain and my sister the sea. We three are one in loneliness, and the love that binds us together is deep and strong and strange.

Said a Blade of Grass

Said a blade of grass to an autumn leaf, ”You make such a noise falling! You scatter all my winter dreams.”

Said the leaf indignant, ”Low-born and low-dwelling! Songless, peevish thing! You live not in the upper air and you cannot tell the sound of singing.”

Then the autumn leaf lay down upon the earth and slept. And when spring came she waked again-;and she was a blade of grass.

And when it was autumn and her winter sleep was upon her, and above her through all the air the leaves were falling, she muttered to herself, ”O these autumn leaves! They make such noise! They scatter all my winter dreams.”

The Eye

Said the Eye one day, ”I see beyond these valleys a mountain veiled with blue mist. Is it not beautiful?”

The Ear listened, and after listening intently awhile, said, ”But where is any mountain? I do not hear it.”

Then the Hand spoke and said, ”I am trying in vain to feel it or touch it, and I can find no mountain.”

And the Nose said, ”There is no mountain, I cannot smell it.”

Then the Eye turned the other way, and they all began to talk together about the Eye’s strange delusion. And they said, ”Something must be the matter with the Eye.”

The Two Learned Men

Once there lived in the ancient city of Afkar two learned men who hated and belittled each other’s learning. For one of them denied the existence of the gods and the other was a believer.

One day the two met in the marketplace, and amidst their followers they began to dispute and to argue about the existence or the non-existence of the gods. And after hours of contention they parted.

That evening the unbeliever went to the temple and prostrated himself before the altar and prayed the gods to forgive his wayward past.

And the same hour the other learned man, he who had upheld the gods, burned his sacred books. For he had become an unbeliever.

When My Sorrow Was Born

When my Sorrow was born I nursed it with care, and watched over it with loving tenderness.

And my Sorrow grew like all living things, strong and beautiful and full of wondrous delights.

And we loved one another, my Sorrow and I, and we loved the world about us; for Sorrow had a kindly heart and mine was kindly with Sorrow.

And when we conversed, my Sorrow and I, our days were winged and our nights were girdled with dreams; for Sorrow had an eloquent tongue, and mine was eloquent with Sorrow.

And when we sang together, my Sorrow and I, our neighbors sat at their windows and listened; for our songs were deep as the sea and our melodies were full of strange memories.

And when we walked together, my Sorrow and I, people gazed at us with gentle eyes and whispered in words of exceeding sweetness. And there were those who looked with envy upon us, for Sorrow was a noble thing and I was proud with Sorrow.

But my Sorrow died, like all living things, and alone I am left to muse and ponder.

And now when I speak my words fall heavily upon my ears.

And when I sing my songs my neighbours come not to listen.

And when I walk the streets no one looks at me.

Only in my sleep I hear voices saying in pity, ”See, there lies the man whose Sorrow is dead.”

And When my Joy was Born

And when my Joy was born, I held it in my arms and stood on the house-top shouting, ”Come ye, my neighbours, come and see, for Joy this day is born unto me. Come and behold this gladsome thing that laugheth in the sun.”

But none of my neighbours came to look upon my Joy, and great was my astonishment.

And every day for seven moons I proclaimed my Joy from the house-top-;and yet no one heeded me. And my Joy and I were alone, unsought and unvisited.

Then my Joy grew pale and weary because no other heart but mine held its loveliness and no other lips kissed its lips.

Then my Joy died of isolation.

And now I only remember my dead Joy in remembering my dead Sorrow. But memory is an autumn leaf that murmurs a while in the wind and then is heard no more.

”The Perfect World”

God of lost souls, thou who are lost amongst the gods, hear me:

Gentle Destiny that watchest over us, mad, wandering spirits, hear me:

I dwell in the midst of a perfect race, I the most imperfect.

I, a human chaos, a nebula of confused elements, I move amongst finished worlds-;peoples of complete laws and pure order, whose thoughts are assorted, whose dreams are arranged, and whose visions are enrolled and registered.

Their virtues, O God, are measured, their sins are weighed, and even the countless things that pass in the dim twilight of neither sin nor virtue are recorded and catalogued.

Here days and night are divided into seasons of conduct and governed by rules of blameless accuracy.

To eat, to drink, to sleep, to cover one’s nudity, and then to be weary in due time.

To work, to play, to sing, to dance, and then to lie still when the clock strikes the hour.

To think thus, to feel thus much, and then to cease thinking and feeling when a certain star rises above yonder horizon.

To rob a neighbour with a smile, to bestow gifts with a graceful wave of the hand, to praise prudently, to blame cautiously, to destroy a sound with a word, to burn a body with a breath, and then to wash the hands when the day’s work is done.

To love according to an established order, to entertain one’s best self in a preconceived manner, to worship the gods becomingly, to intrigue the devils artfully-;and then to forget all as though memory were dead.

To fancy with a motive, to contemplate with consideration, to be happy sweetly, to suffer nobly-;and then to empty the cup so that tomorrow may fill it again.

All these things, O God, are conceived with forethought, born with determination, nursed with exactness, governed by rules, directed by reason, and then slain and buried after a prescribed method. And even their silent graves that lie within the human soul are marked and numbered.

It is a perfect world, a world of consummate excellence, a world of supreme wonders, the ripest fruit in God’s garden, the master-thought of the universe.

But why should I be here, O God, I a green seed of unfulfilled passion, a mad tempest that seeketh neither east nor west, a bewildered fragment from a burnt planet?

Why am I here, O God of lost souls, thou who art lost amongst the gods?

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Summary The Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer Kahlil Gibran, in his book The Madman, presents a thought-provoking collection of short parables and poems ranging in length from a single paragraph to a few pages. With a touch of class that is unique to Gibran and that is visible in all his works, an ironic light [...]

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You Need to Offer Hope

2011-06-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

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When I was about 12 years old my stepfather was dying of cancer. The cancer had spread so far in his body there was nothing the doctors could really do anymore. They had already completed several operations, which had removed a lot of the cancer, but this didn’t seem to matter. My stepfather had undergone chemotherapy, and although he was just in his early 40s he no longer had any hair. Every few hours he would have a bout of throwing up, which would last several minutes. He was doing the best he could to make the most of his remaining days on earth.

Because he was so sick, I was spending most of my time with him and my mother. One evening we drove an hour outside of Detroit to see a doctor who was going to sell my stepfather a potion, which he represented would cure the cancer. I remember that the potion was a few thousand dollars at the time, and my parents had to scrape for several days to get the money; however, the potion offered hope. We went out to a farmhouse in the middle of a large field, and inside, a doctor had set up all sorts of test tubes. He seemed to be in the midst of a giant medical experiment that went from his garage to his kitchen to his living room. Whatever he was doing, he seemed very serious about it.

Before the purchase was completed, my parents sat down with the doctor and his wife, and the doctor told various stories about the miracles that the potion had produced, how it turned around the cancer of various individuals. I was enthusiastic that the potion might do something for my stepfather; however, at the same time I was old enough to understand that this probably would not do the trick. Something about it just did not seem right. After some time my parents gave the man their money. He went into the kitchen and took out several glass jars of the material that he had made, put it into a grocery bag, and sent us on our way.

Within a few months my stepfather was in the hospital for the last time, where he would ultimately succumb to the cancer. The potion obviously did not work. A few weeks before he finally died my mom came home one evening and told me that the most miraculous thing had happened. She said some people from the church had brought over a small piece of the cross that Jesus died on–it was no larger than a sliver of wood–and that this might cure my stepfather. She told me very briefly that this piece of the cross had apparently cured many people and that we were incredibly lucky to have been allowed to use it until my stepfather got well.

My stepfather never got better. A few weeks later he died.

In thinking back on this episode, what occurs to me is that everywhere around us, no matter what the situation, we are all looking for hope. The man who sold my parents the potion was offering hope. We need never look far to find someone who is offering us hope–hope that our future can look and be different from the way it is now.

A couple of months ago I was in the airport and I could not find anything to read. I was preparing for a fairly long flight and the only book I could find that looked half interesting was Kevin Trudeau’s Natural Cures They Do Not Want You to Know About. I have been around the block quite a bit and even I was astonished about a particular topic covered by the book, which “they” understandably do not want you to know about: energetic rebalancing. Trudeau writes:

Frequency generators have been around for decades. Royal Rife was using frequencies in the 1920s and 1930s to cure cancer. Today there are several machines using frequencies to balance out a person’s energy, thus eliminating the energetic frequency of the imbalance or disease. When the frequency of the disease you have has been neutralized, the disease goes away. These machines include the Intero, Vegatest, Dermatron, and others. The most advanced technology that I know of is used by a man who treats many well-known celebrities. His technology is so advanced that, no matter where you are in the world, he can have his computerized frequency machine monitoring you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, constantly balancing the energetic frequencies in your body. I personally have been using the technology for the last seven years, and I have never in that time been sick. When everyone around me had a serious cold, I got the sniffles for about two hours. When all my friends got the flu, I never experienced a single symptom. I highly recommend you read the book Sanctuary to get the full story on this revolutionary technology. Here’s what some others have to say about this program.
Dr. Wayne Dyer, bestselling author of Wisdom of the Ages; lecturer; spiritual teacher:
“In regard to Stephen Lewis, EMC², and the AIM Program: Everything is energy. Everything and everyone has a frequency. Those frequencies that are out of balance with our natural harmony can be identified and removed. I know this to be true. I have seen the Sanctuary process at work. I practice it daily. My entire family participates in the AIM Program, and I have seen wonderful results. This is real, it is transforming, it is true healing, and it is a giant step into the inevitable future where each of us is our own personal, transcendental, and totally enlightened healer. I have found that in my higher self, and so can you. It is available now.”
Linda Gray, actress, Goodwill Ambassador on Women’s Issues to the United Nations:
“I have used this technology for years. It is the most glorious gift that anyone could receive.”
Courteney Cox Arquette, actress:
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have participated in Energetic Balancing for over three years. I don’t know what I would do without it. I don’t believe anyone can afford not to be part of it.”

Now, when I initially read this my thought was that there was probably nothing wrong with this concept of “energetic rebalancing,” and that there is potentially a lot of truth to the practice. For example, I have been in yoga classes before wherein the instructor spoke about “energy,” and I certainly have felt a lot of energy after a yoga class. Moreover, I believe that energy is all around us and in this respect what I was reading sounded perfectly sensible. I have no idea who this Kevin Trudeau guy is; however, if energetic rebalancing is getting the thumbs-up from the likes of Courteney Cox I figured there must be some truth to it.

I did further research on the practice and tracked down the AIM program on the Web. In order to learn more about how to participate in the practice, the website required that I fill out a form online and sign up to receive more information. I was perfectly fine with the concept of energetic rebalancing and was very eager to learn more about it. When the material arrived in the mail I could scarcely believe what I was reading. Apparently the program involves sending the company a copy of your photograph and $1,000. Your picture is then placed on a tray that is connected to a computer somewhere, which sends out frequencies to your picture, supposedly creating all sorts of incredible life improvements for you.

Here is some information from the literature I received:

EMC² performs an initial life force check from your photo. Your facilitator will inform you of the results of the life force check. We place your pictures on the trays which deliver the balancing frequencies.
You immediately begin receiving balancing frequencies which assist in your self-healing.

A letter I received with the material reads:

EMC² does not diagnose, treat, prevent or cure disease. Instead, we provide balancing energies which help to remove your energetic imbalances. Energetic imbalances cause blockages in the flow of “life force.” Blocking the flow of “life force” manifests as difficulties. When you remove your energetic imbalances, you can use your “life force” to create well-being in every area of your life.
More than 40,000 people around the world have personally experienced the extraordinary benefits of the AIM Program of Energetic Balancing. Many have reported amazing changes in their sense of well-being, their ability to enjoy life more fully, to adapt to change, to think more clearly, love more deeply and release unproductive and uncomfortable patterns in their lives. Enroll today to begin your own success story!
Thank you for the opportunity to minister to your energetic needs.

Whether or not this is true is not my interest to discover; however, what I do know is that there are an incredible number of people out there to whom others will gladly give money in exchange for a promise of hope. Note in the disclaimer offered above by EMC², there is no promise of results; there is only a promise of hope to obtain the desired results. All around us there are various people offering hope in one form or another. Some may be honest and some may be deceitful. Some salespeople will say practically anything to offer us hope, and this is indicative of how important hope is to us.

I had another run-in with “energetic balancing” at a seminar a couple of months ago. A man with a giant watch that must have cost him $40,000 was selling something called the QLink for hundreds of dollars. The QLink is a copper wire surrounding a metallic wafer. According to the company website:

In 1994, the National Institutes of Health in the United States adopted a new term – biofield – to describe a growing body of research showing a subtle field that permeates and extends beyond the physical body. The biofield is something you’ve probably already noticed: a vital force that animates our bodies and powers our daily lives. When our biofield is out of balance, we’re out of balance. Disease, fatigue, and apathy all reflect a compromised biofield. When something improves our biofield, such as the Q-Link, it can increase our mental and physical performance, reinforce our natural immunity to stress and enhance our sense of well-being.
Every day, our biofields are negatively impacted by flickering computer monitors, irate bosses, cell phones, emotional stress, tabloid television, and traffic jams. We are literally bombarded with frequencies that wear us down. That’s why it is essential to recharge.

Each of us wants hope–whether it is for the curing of a disease or for a better life or something else. The most successful promoters out there in every field are those who offer hope in some form. People imply that using a product or service will provide a future benefit. In most cases, the benefit that people are going to receive is not something that is 100% assured–it is only a possibility or a hope. For example, when you purchase a car or an oven, you know exactly what you are getting. For products or services offering hope, however, you are generally only receiving an implied benefit, and the promise that the product or service will, in conjunction with some applied effort on your part, make you a different person tomorrow from who you are today.

Several years ago a coworker and I went to see a fortune-teller in Washington, DC. The most interesting part of seeing the fortune-teller was that she offered to burn incense and all sorts of things for me after I left, in order to help me. She stated that this would really change my life. This was the fortune-teller’s way of offering hope. People go for this sort of thing all the time and they have probably have been giving fortune-tellers money for thousands of years, all because a fortune-teller gives hope that something in a person’s life will change.

What does this have to do with your career? One of the most important things you can understand when you are interviewing with a prospective employer and looking for a job in general is that you need to give your employer hope. You also should do this with your employer while you are employed. The offer to an employer of hope is a very powerful commodity, and it can make a gigantic impact on your success or failure.

When I am interviewing people I am always interested in what happened with their last job and the job before that. There are a lot of people who have been in the working world for 30 years or more, who have had multiple jobs, and seemingly every company they ever worked for went out of business. It is a common story that I have come across numerous times in interviews. While it may be a mere string of coincidences that the past ten companies where the person worked went out of business, for me I generally do not need to hear any more. Frankly, it scares the heck out of me. Whatever it is that is happening with such persons, they do not come prepackaged with hope. There is something different that they are bringing to the table, in my opinion. These persons may scare away potential employers because there is an unwritten assumption that they may have done something to cause the issues at their previous companies.

Conversely, there are people who have had several jobs where, each time they joined a company, the company thrived. This is an example of a person who offers a tremendous amount of hope to new employers because there is another unwritten assumption that this person may have done something to assist with the massive growth and success of his or her previous companies.

Your job is to offer hope to any employer or prospective employer–hope that by hiring you their company will improve, that you will make their job much easier, and that you will bring them good luck and success. People who purchase energetic rebalancing, wear QLinks, buy miracle potions for cancer, and so forth are all looking for hope and a bit of good luck. So create a perception of yourself as someone who brings good luck and hope. You want it to be implied that good things will come to the employer who hires you. Your presence should mean something to your employer, which will distinguish you from all other employees or prospective hires.

I have often thought about Barbara Bush from the perspective that I wonder what difference the influence of a woman like her made on her family. Her husband became the president of the United States, her son became president of the United States, and another son of hers became governor of Florida. Now, if she were much younger and let’s say hypothetically you were interviewing her to be a mother or wife, wouldn’t you think that she offered hope? And wouldn’t she be a top candidate based on the successes of the people she has been previously associated with? Of course she would. She would offer a lot of hope.

In Los Angeles there is a huge industry of assistants and others who work for stars doing various tasks. They also typically change jobs between stars. The pecking order among assistants typically involves working for the most successful stars and being with them while they are having successful careers. If the star starts to have problems that are high profile, these assistants often start looking for new jobs. They want to be associated with the star’s success–not failure.

When you walk into any health-food store, you will see a variety of ways that hope is bottled and sold. All sorts of roots and other concoctions are promoted as being able to help you change your life. Tim Ferriss, the author of the bestselling book The Four-Hour Workweek, basically sold a vitamin he claimed would speed up your brain (the product is called “Brain Quicker”), which is how he was able to ostensibly work four hours a week. You too might be able to work four hours a week if you sold hope.

Your candidacy, in the eyes of employers, needs to allude to the fact that you will bring great things to the employer, without actually overtly stating this. Whatever you say you did for your previous employers and however you helped them will be taken as a possibility for your future employer as well.

One of the most fascinating things for me when I go to New York is watching people on the street. All of them are always rushing, usually with a look of pain or fear on their faces as they rush about. Where are all these people going? They are rushing toward another moment: the future. In fact, most people are constantly rushing toward the future and never slow down or stop. They are more concerned with being somewhere besides where they are. They have hope of arriving at a future that is different from and in some ways better than where they are right now.

You need to offer hope to your employer, potential employer, and all those around you. Then watch the future unfold.

Agree? Disagree? I don’t care, please tell me what you think by commenting below. I give free stuff away every week to the most thoughtful commenters on my site!

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Related posts: The Better Your Product, the Better Your Life Once You Achieve Success, Savor and Enjoy It to the Fullest Helpers and Non-Helpers Happy Meals and Bonuses Expose Yourself to Pain in Your Job Search Never Try to Be Someone Different from Who You AreSummary In his article, Harrison talks about how hope is the element central to most of our circumstances. We may buy medicines to heal a particular physical problem, but what we are actually buying is hope; the hope that we will get better after using that medicine. It works in much the same way for job seekers and recruiters as well. When you present your credentials to a prospective employer, you offer hope in the form of your qualifications and experience. Harrison says it is important to convey hope in a job interview, because eventually it is only hope that the recruiter will use as a benchmark when choosing one candidate over another. Depending on how you see it, you as a job seeker can offer the recruiter a definite hope to improve his or her situation.

Filed Under : Advancement
Tagged: apply for a job, career advice, employer hope, energetic balancing, job search, job search guru | a harrison barnes, job search industry, legal jobs, legal profession, potential employer, unwritten assumption

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Can’t Find a Dream Job? Create Your Own

2011-06-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

I was once unemployed, and I know the debilitating depression and the feelings of frustration and helplessness that can come with that. I’ve been stuck in a job I hate, and I felt imprisoned, trapped doing work that bored me while following orders of others and helping them achieve their goals.

Those times were … less than ideal. In fact, those were some of the worst periods in the story of my life.

Luckily I rose above those traps, but I have to admit it wasn’t easy. The solution has been one of the most liberating, empowering, joyous things in my life.

I wanted to share that little secret with those of you who are having a hard time finding a job, or who feel trapped in a job you hate:

Create your own dream job. Don’t wait for someone to hand it to you. Don’t hope that you’ll win the lottery. Don’t give up and consign yourself to a fate of misery and (worse) dullness.

Create your job! It might sound far-fetched for some of you (while others have already done it) but it’s very possible. Not easy, mind you: it takes hard work and smarts and passion and a crap-ton of learning and a willingness to take risks and make mistakes. If that sounds like you, read on. If not, stop reading.

You might already know this but if you haven’t given it much thought, start to consider: what do you truly love doing? What are you passionate about? If you’re lucky you’ll have multiple answers. If you have no answers, it’s time to start finding things to be passionate about. Read more: The Short But Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion.

If you have multiple answers, just choose one. Or find ways to combine two of them (if you love sewing and Star Wars, sew Star Wars costumes and put them on Etsy). Don’t be paralyzed by this choice: if it turns out this isn’t what you want then you can always start another business later. You learn by doing and making mistakes, not by analyzing every possible outcome and factor.

This passion will become your dream job.

This is how I did it. I love writing and I love taking steps to change my habits and my life. I started Zen Habits just for fun and it turned into my dream job.

You need a lot of money to get started, right? No. I explicitly reject the idea that “you have to spend money to make money”. Sure, that can work, or it can lead to a mountain of debt and monthly expenses that greatly exceed your income and possibly failure before you’ve had the chance to succeed.

I started my business with nothing. Zero dollars. In fact I had less than nothing: I was highly in debt and broke. I started with free online services (there are plenty — I used Blogger.com and Google Adsense and Google Analytics, but those are just a few examples). I refused to even buy my own domain until I made more money from my business than the cost of that purchase. I refused to pay for my site design or to use a paid host until I was making much more money than those purchases required.

My rule: spend much less than you make. It works for personal finances too.

Actually I didn’t start with nothing. While I had no money, I had some pretty big assets: my mind and talents and hard work and life experience. Those translated into a strong business, it turned out.

How can you start your business with nothing? I won’t create an exhaustive list but here are some examples:

Someone I know wanted to start a marketing business. She didn’t need an office and staff and stationary — all she needed was her laptop (she had one), her skills (she had the experience), her contacts (she had a lot of them), and for people to know she was out there. And for that last bit, it just takes some … marketing skills. Hit businesses up and offer her services. Network online and gain clients that way. If she has expenses for a job she can charge those to the client.My sister wanted to start a ballet school. I suggested instead of building a studio and being hugely in debt, she start by going to private schools and offering to create an after-school ballet program at the schools. Parents would love it, the schools would benefit because parents want services like that, and she has practically no expenses.My other sister wanted to become a personal trainer. I encouraged her to start in her home, with minimal equipment, or go to her clients’ homes and businesses, or do outdoor bootcamps. She did and is amazing at it.Love to play video games? Start a site where you show people how to become elite players. Offer coaching.Start an online store where you sell stuff you make.Teach people how to do whatever you’re good at. They’ll pay you.Want to be a chef? Host dinner parties with gourmet cuisine, and charge $50 a head. Sell tickets in advance and use some of that money to buy the food and some dishes.

Again, these are just a few ideas. Sure, there are some businesses that require an initial investment but I suggest you find ones that don’t. Start free or cheap, borrow space from friends if necessary, and get started.

If you want to make a living at what you love doing, you need to get good at it. Some of you are already good at what you love — you’ve been doing it for years, either on the job or as a personal passion. Others are just starting out, but that’s not a barrier — you just have to put in more time and effort.

I was already an experienced writer when I started Zen Habits (I’d been a journalist for about 18 years), but I didn’t know a thing about blogging or teaching people to simplify, improve their lives, change their habits. I knew about how to do that myself (though I was still learning) but I’d never taught anyone. So I learned: I read other blogs, read personal development sites and books, read blogs about blogging, studied the best, figured out what they did that made them successful. It takes a lot of study, a lot of analysis, a lot of trying and doing and seeing what works and what doesn’t.

I made a ton of mistakes. That’s a good thing. You can’t get good at anything without making a huge amount of mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes — they’re stepping stones to greatness. Try everything, see what works, see what doesn’t. Stick with the things that work.

Put in a lot of hours of practice and doing. The more, the better. Reflect on what you’ve done and what you’ve learned, write it down. Put it in your blog so you can help others learn, but more importantly you’ll force yourself to learn from your own experience.

Get good. Others will gladly pay you if you’re good.

Any business, big or small, benefits from an audience. That’s different than a customer base — an audience is a group of people who you help and who love you. They might not pay you. Some will want to pay you for more of what you offer, but many will just love you, and that’s a great thing.

Building an audience is tough. It takes time, it takes a lot of giving, it takes a willingness to wither criticism and to learn from that criticism (though ignore the idiots).

I highly recommend you check out Traffic School by my friend Corbett Barr. He’s built an amazing online business and has helped others do the same. This new course will show you how to grow an online audience, attract more visitors and increase sales. It’s very effective, and I’ve contributed to the course myself. Read more: Traffic School (this is an affiliate link that will help support Zen Habits).

OK, you’re pursuing your passion, you’ve developed your skills, you’ve built an audience. Now what? How does that pay your bills?

You build income streams. There are many, many ways to do that, including:

Give away free articles but charge for ebooks or other digital products (that’s what I do).Create a subscription or membership service for powerful content.Create online courses.Sell ads or run ads from ad networks.Do consulting or freelancing.Do speaking engagements or training seminars.Sell physical stuff online or on a site such as Etsy.Create an app and sell it on the Apple or Android platforms.Build a web app and charge for the premium version.Provide a service where you go to people’s houses and do something for them (yardwork, massage, fitness training, houspainting, etc.).Sell T-shirts or coffee mugs or stickers with your slogan or logo.Sell other people’s stuff as an affiliate and get commissions.

Which of these should you do? Try one, see how that works, then try another, then another. See what works best and be willing to build multiple income streams.

I’ve only given you a rough outline but if I gave away every step that would be taking away all the fun. The fun is learning how to do it yourself!

There is something incredibly empowering about seizing control of your life and creating the job you want, rather than waiting for it to happen or waiting for someone to give it to you. You are no longer a passive viewer of the world, but someone actively changing it. You become your own boss, pursuing your own goals. That’s incredible.

If you’re out of a job or stuck in a lousy job, I feel for you. But look at your horrible situation as a wonderful opportunity to change your life and do something great. It could be the best thing you’ve ever done.
—
Twitter.

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