Thursday, July 30, 2009

What Are You Thinking About?

It's pretty basic really.

Whatever you are focused on is what is getting the bulk of your energy and attention. And regardless on if you want to look at that in the metaphysical 'Law of Attraction' way of calling that into existence or just the purely phyiscal reality that while you are fixated on one thing you cannot be constructively doing anything else it all boils down to the same thing.

You are what you think about.

But what are you thinking about?

People, by and large, are not in the habit of monitoring their thoughts. They just let them flow wherever they want and after a time, like water running over loose soil, your thoughts start to flow into well worn tracks. You have a habituated pattern of thought whether you realize it or not.

Are those thought patterns serving you? Do they inspire you? Or merely frustrate?

For the vast majority of people, their thoughts are focused on the things they do not want. They see the world as it is, complain about it to themselves, tossing and turning it over in their minds, contemplating it's unfairness, before sharing their discontent with other likeminded people.

This is pointless and worse, distructive. It goes without saying that if the situation makes you unhappy then you should be seeking to change it but if all you are doing is looking at what you don't like, then no energy is being spend on creating or moving yourself towards what you do like. You're merely wasting your energy, time and life.

Take the 10 day challenge!

Over the next 10 days I want you to be conscious of what it is you're thinking about. If you find you're thinking in negative terms, immediately change it into the positive. So instead of complaining about how it's wrong, try to see how it could benefit you, or on what you could change to improve your situation. If nothing else, force your mind onto another, positive subject altogether.

Do not let your mind dwell in the negative for more than 1 minute. If you realize you've been dwelling negatively for more than that, restart your 10 day challenge.

Daunting isn't it? But why should it be? Really?

It takes no more energy or effort to think positive, enlifting, productive thoughts than it does negative, disempowering ones.

The purpose of this exercise isn't to make you into a polly-anna person who only sees the cup as half-full. It's to make you aware of your own habituated pattern of thoughts and how limiting they are.

Most everyone who takes this challenge seriously will be stunned by how much they dwell on what they don't want and equally surprised by how much they improve their lives, in many dozens of little ways, by focusing on solutions or what they can be grateful for instead.


I myself am taking this challenge and will report in my sister blog, Preston's Path to Prosperity, daily as to my results.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Purpose

While struggling with some feelings of loneliness I decided to utilize my spare time productively by listening to the next tape in Bob Proctor's Freedom Series - which is part of the free bonus material you receive when you sign up for the Six Minutes to Success program.

The message was very profound for me today. Very profound. In a nutshell, one of the core distinctions between successful people and everyone else, is that people who have achieved outstanding results have all habituated the act of doing those things which they don't want to do but moves them towards their goals.

Most people are not so much driven by their goals as they are by the ease and comfort of their methods used. People tend to accept the easiest path that leads to sufficient results. They would rather accept a lower standard of living than consistently do those things with which they are uncomfortable.

So how do successful people become comfortable with doing those same things? They don't. But they are driven more by end results because they have associated a powerful driving purpose with those results. So they do those things they don't like anyway and they do it as part of their regular routine.

Now, I'm not speaking of anything illegal or unethical here just simple daily things like trying to convince people, who do not want to be convinced, that they would be better off with what you're offering. Or obligating yourself to produce results that you haven't previously achieved.

Now the driving purpose needs to be practical and not visionary.

And that is the statement that gave me great pause. It seemed to run contrary to everything else I had learned as far as creating a compelling future goes. However, it immediate sense.

I had always defined my purpose as:

To be a world famous author who's work touch the lives of millions of people from all over the world, spreading the seeds of profound truth and hope while entertaining people through a variety of mediums including books, movies, tvs, video games, plays, cartoons, MMORPGs, etc. Some of my works will be past down generations, touching billions of people and being immortalized like the works of Shakespeare, Shaw, Dickens and Twain.

Which is all well and good but hasn't been driving me still and that's probably because it's too visionary and not practical enough. Not immediate or real enough.

While practical, purpose doesn't need to be logical. It should be based on wants and desires that have emotional pull for you. If based solely on need that will drive you for a while, but only until your needs are met. Whereas a purpose based on wants and desires will keep on pulling you along even if there's no logical reason for wanting that as long as there's emotional desire for it.

So my new purpose looks more like this:

I want to easily earn enough that my wife never needs to work and can merrily spend on whatever suits her without ever considering costs. I want to be able to put my children through university and help set them up in life. I want to earn all that money by writing inspirational stories for children that meets them where they are at, provides a great distraction from the real world while providing profound knowledge to help them improve their lives and using stories with compelling, morally upstanding characters.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Beware The Emotion Manipulators

There are people out there who, usually due to poor self-esteem feed off of making other people miserable. The go out of their way to either take you down a peg, show their superiority or perhaps control your actions through guilt trips or emotional threats.

Cut these people out of your life. They may be family, or loved ones but if they are uncompromising in this sort of behaviour then they are a huge liability on your life.

How hard is it to continually move towards your goals when you have someone constantly reminding you of past failures or current deficiencies?

There is a song by Casting Crowns Entitled Voice of Truth:

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

There will always be people in your life who will only want to discourage you. It is often disguised as 'help' but do not allow these people to influence your thinking. Keep your mind shut tight against negative thinking.

People who succeed in life do not think in negative terms, nor do people who do ever reach any great level of success.

Worse are those people who seek to emotionally manipulate you to controls your actions or your love. In my experience these people have all been women but certainly it's possible for a man to behave in a similar fashion.

Typically these people will say things like, "If you really love me then you'd...", "I can't stay with someone who won't...", they may also nag or badger incessantly until they break down your resolve.

They may not be hurting your ego but they are constantly causing a huge distraction in your life. Nor is it possible to stay focused on your goals when you're constantly having to do other things to prove yourself time and again to someone who will never be satisfied.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

The Power of Prose

The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword.

The written and spoken word can create and maninfast ideas and concepts that no sword or shot can ever destroy. Once an idea is created and shared until it gains some traction it takes on a life of it's own.

A few well chosen words can, and have, changed the course of nations. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandi, William Wallace, Nelson Mandala all rallied nations around their ideas - ideas which changed the course of history. They can change your course as well.

Do not underestimate the power of words on your life. Words shape your (and others) perception of life. The way you consistently describe your life is the way your subconscious will view it and therefore work to keep it that way. Another way to look at this is that you are speaking prophesy into your life.

You may be visualizing success or praying for it but if your words speaking only of lack, loneliness and loss then that is what you are sowing into your life in future. Worse, you're getting others to buy into that concept and add power to them.

Speak (and write) only of that which you want to call into existence. Have faith that they will in fact come to pass. Try not to speak of how little you have but instead of how much is eminently coming. Instead of speaking of how lonely you are or why you can't attract a partner, talk of how wonderful you are and the equally wonderful partner you're about to meet. Speak not of how poor your health is but instead on how quickly and fully you will recover.

Speaking of lack while awaiting fortune is sending mixed messages into the world. In a Christian perspective, you are not walking in faith. You cannot just pray once a week or even once a day, you have to live your life in faith that God (or the universe) will in fact deliver. If you know richness, love and health are all about to show up in abundance then why are you still talking about lack? Let lack pass and embrace your riches.

Sometimes of course it's impossible to not need to address it.

In this case Anthony Robbins has a wonderful chapter in his book Awaken the Giant Within. In it he suggests using silly phrases to de-empathize the negative and over empathize the positive. For example instead of saying 'I'm totally broke' you would say, 'I'm a trifle tight for money at the moment.'

So remember to always speak on the life you are moving into not the one your moving out of because like seeds, your words will grow into tomorrows realities.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Review - Six Minutes to Success

Having launched my first video edition of Preston's Pearls I have refreshed and revived this review for the benefit of those joining us for the first time.



Six Minutes to Success is one more tool for achieving success from the mind of Bob Proctor. While Bob Proctor has been conducting success seminars for decades he is now best know for his work in the movie 'The Secret' (He's the white haired gentlemen who initially tells you what the Secret really is).

He has a lively and infectious energy in that movie and that is what prompted me to check out his Six Minutes to Success program when I caught sight of it one day.

The program is unique - as far as my experience goes - in that instead of offering a weekend seminar or a collection of books, videos or audio recordings the Six Minutes instead sends you one video clip of Bob Proctor each and every weekday morning.

That concept certainly appealed to me personally since I've been studying personal success long enough to know that consistency is absolutely critical to success. Too many people spend $2000.00 going to a weekend seminar, to get greatly motivated - for a little while. With Six Minutes you would get a daily dose of motivation or food for thought.

The website however, to be frank, is simply not impressive. In fact, considering Bob Proctor is always quick to point out how successful he is with his many businesses, the Six Steps website comes off as embarrassingly cheap and amateurish. It also reeks of used car salesmanship which goes on extensively. Does anyone actually read all that?

I was rather dubious, despite my genuine trust in Bob Proctor's abilities. However the site did offer a free 7 day trial and since I really liked the idea of a daily message I decided to take it for a spin.

I do have a grievance with the trial offer in that it requests your credit card info in advance - meaning you need to remember to cancel or be enrolled. However, in actual practice, it was quite clear when your trial period was up and you're in no danger of getting enrolled by accident (unless possibly you're just not paying attention).

I received the first couple of free videos and then... nothing. It was as if I somehow just fell off their radar. Again, I wasn't impressed. Still, I e-mailed them to find out what happened. I received a prompt reply and resolution to the problem from a pleasant CSR. The rest of the videos flowed accordingly on a daily basis from there on. Edit: In hindsight, it's possible, although unlikely, those two days were the weekend when the videos do not run but if that was the case the fact that they are weekday only should be more clearly articulated.

One of my biggest surprises was the fact that the videos are not, in fact, six minutes long. On average they run about two. However the remaining minutes are meant to be taken up by you doing exercises which generally amounts to filling in answers to three questions. This was a little disappointing but it's still a very helpful tool as it gives you some food for thought and then forces you to think about the subject matter at hand and how it relates to your life.

Does it actually take six minutes? Rarely. Most days I fill in the answers within two to three minutes but some days I can take fifteen or twenty due to the amount of thought involved.

The videos were solid information but not Earth-shattering or life changing. Still what do you expect within such a short daily burst? It's the cumulative effect that counts here.

In the initial videos Proctor is often holding and referring to Napoleon Hill's masterpiece work of self-help Think and Grow Rich. This annoyed me somewhat as I am very well versed on Napoleon Hill's works having read many of his books and that particular one multiple times. Still, it is a classic for very good reason and serves as a very sound basis for discussion.

Satisfied that the service was as useful as I had hoped I decided to enroll in the program past the initial seven days.

Now the program is not inexpensive, or perhaps it is, depending on your point of view. You are looking at $40 a month (less if you sign up for a year, as I did) which might seem like a large chuck of change for what you're getting. However, many people spend that much to exercise their bodies so why not their minds? Also, compared to the cost of just one weekend seminar this is dirt cheap and has the additional benefit of being with you every day (Mon-Fri) all year long. It's easy to work into your routine and won't break your bank. Let us not forget the goal with a program like this is to enable you to break your own mental road blocks that are holding you back from achieving your full potential and unlimited success. Obviously if it helps you to become wealthier or otherwise significantly improve your life, it's more than worth the cost.

Finally, there is one last twist. Six Minutes to Success has an affiliate program. Meaning you can earn money by promoting it to other people. For every person you get to sign up you earn $10 per month for each month they remain enrolled. So if you get 4 friends signed up, it's free. That's enticing in one way but seems somewhat like a scam in others. I did not refer anyone to this program though, at least not until I became convinced of it's long term worth.

Aside from the daily video messages, the program does come with a large selection of 'bonus' material. Proctor's book Born Rich - which is excellent, a series of audio messages and .pdf files. Occasionally various daily videos will also have a link to more free 'bonus' content, usually either a page or chapter about the topic at hand. The bonus content is all online, useful, plentiful and much appreciated. I am still slowing making my way through all of it.

I have been using the service for about four months now and continue to be quite pleased with it. It should go without saying that some days the message will be more impactful than others, and what really clicks for you will be different than for everyone else. I have been studying motivational material for over twenty years so most of what I hear on these videos is stuff I already know but still some is fresh and even the stuff I know, I need to be reminded about and prompted to put it into action.

It's hard to really access the overall quality of an ongoing service but so far so good. There have been no repetition of ideas and every day has had a good message. One complaint I have is that Dr. Proctor needs to put more long term thought into the over arching flow of the videos as I do not feel that they really build on one another. With the exception of the odd 'series' of videos (7 positive emotions for example) they could pretty much be given in any order to the same effect. This I feel, is a bit of a lost opportunity. Of the flip-side, if someone is not routine about watching them, this may be preferable because you won't feel like you need to watch 3 days worth to enjoy the message today.

You can go back and view previous videos and if you don't get around to watching one it'll always be there to watch later. The site indicates which videos have been missed. This is of huge value because the messages that really impact you, are available to be re-watched over and over to keep yourself motivated to keep performing in that particular area.

I also have a hard time recommending this to anyone totally new to the world of modern success coaching. Largely because the videos do not build on one another so there's no real opportunity to start at the very basics and progress gradually to advanced distinctions. Instead Proctor seems to assume you've watched The Secret and goes from there. Let me note that rarely does he talk about The Law of Attraction in this series though. Since each video is self contained the info is still useful to anyone but I would think someone versed in success material would get more out of it. If you are new to motivational/success material and want to try this, I'd advise you to read Bob Proctor's book Born Rich and the audio series early on to get up to speed - all of which is free bonus material.

Is it worth it? That depends on how serious you are about making a change in your life. If you really want lasting change, then I recommend the following in this order: Buy and read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (available through the link to the right). Then read it three more times. Then buy and watch The Secret (also available through the link). I'm sure you'll watch that over and over without my telling you. Once you have thoroughly digested those works, then I would recommended enrolling in Six Minutes to Success to help maintain your newly developed good mental practices and to learn and develop more. You might also want to consider Anthony Robbin's Awaken the Giant Within which is a great exercise book which really breaks things down to the nitty gritty.

Has it helped me? Yes, immensely. It has allowed me to break away from limiting negative thought patterns and focus all my energies into new creative endeavours like this website you're viewing now. I took a leap of faith by enrolling in the program for a year but right now, I'm am very pleased with it overall and feel confident enough about it to recommend it to anyone - as long as they are serious about change and preferable if they are already familiar with many of the basics of modern self-help methodology.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Prioritize

This week I cleared my schedule of all social functions so that I could address the backlog of work and projects that I have. However on any given day I found I was at a bit of a loss as to where to start and often felt demotivated to even start since it seemed overwhelming.

It's not that they aren't important, they problem is they are all important. And that is the fundimental problem right there. I had neglected to prioritize all my various goals and tasks. So everything is more or less of equal importance and the list is truly overwhelming because no matter how much I could possibly do, it would barely make a dent in the list. It hardly seemed to matter.

Once the time is taken to prioritize, things suddenly become a lot clearer. Even if you can only get to one or two items on your list, you know that those are the items that will have the greatest positive impact on your life. Therefore your feeling of accomplishment is much greater and you're not concerning yourself with not having gotten to more trival tasks.

Now this might seem obvious, and it is but have you taken the time to prioritize your goals? Stop for a minute and think about it. If you could only accomplish one life goal which would it be? If the answer isn't immediately clear then you need to clarify that. Rank them in order from more to least important. Sometimes it may be a real toss-up between two competing interests. In this case it might be helpful to write out all the pros for each and weigh them. If your still stuck, just go with your initial gut instinct - Then stick to it. You won't do yourself any favours if you're flip-floping on priorities. If circumstances change you can reevaluate at that point.

Once your have your goals prioritized then act accordingly. Send the majority of the time and effort on your top priority, some time on your secondary priority and occasionally work on lower priorities - probably when your stuck waiting for something to happen in your higher priorities.