Are you struggling to achieve a certain goal in your life? At work, in your own business, in your relationships or health? Have you been working on that particular goal for a long while now without making any significant or tangible progress or improvement?
Only quite recently I made a profound discovery. A discovery that literally made me sit up and think differently every waking moment, a discovery that made me realise why I haven't been able to achieve one of my goals in spite of my working hard and meticulously towards it.
I understood it was present in all the other areas in my life, but not in this area, surely? Not in my financial area!
That discovery did not come about by chance. After struggling for ages, from working hard, to working smart, to being totally focused, to working meticulously for long hours towards my financial goal and not achieving it, I decided to ask myself, over and over again the question, What do I have to do to achieve my financial goal?
I suppose through the process described as the Law of Attraction, I come across the word 'financial blueprint' in a book I was reading, and those two words stuck out like a sore thumb and for some reason I was unable to get them out of my mind.
A short time later, I picked up a book about millionaire minds and it was only then that I uncovered the truth.
For me to achieve my financial goal I needed to first identify my core beliefs about that goal; identify my thoughts and beliefs about money - find out which ones are in line with my goal and which ones aren't.
If my beliefs, or my financial blueprint are in alignment with my goal, my journey will be smooth and have much less resistance. However, if my beliefs are not in alignment with my goal, it is highly unlikely, even impossible for me to achieve it.
Those beliefs that are not in alignment are my limiting beliefs, my sabotaging beliefs. These negative thoughts that had become my beliefs or my financial blueprint will stop me cold. Dead. They will not allow me to achieve my goal no matter what.
Money and our relationship to it can be good or bad depending on our beliefs about money and wealth. What you believe about money will directly correlate to how much money you make, how you make money, and how you treat money.
Your beliefs can keep you in debt, struggling to make ends meet to support yourself and your family if you have one. (I firmly believe that all of us have a family to support, even if it's a family of one.)
Your beliefs about money can determine whether or not you can experience an infinite abundance. Your beliefs can also determine whether you create money through struggle or suffering. Your beliefs can keep you in a dead end job with no way to advance. Or you believe that the only way to make more money is by working harder longer, and have more jobs.
How do you feel about money? Do you relate money with wealth? Remember our thoughts control our lives, and our thoughts about money are just as controlling as our thoughts about our weight, our jobs, or our families.
The relationship with money will determine your financial comfort zone. This comfort zone feeling comes primarily from your subconscious, the part that is the deepest emotional realm. Your past experiences with money also determine your comfort zone. You will need to scrap all those beliefs right now in order for you to create whatever money amount you desire. You will need to give yourself permission to experience financial wealth.
During certain times while on the journey, I might think I am making some headway, but in the long run, I'm not progressing as much as I want to.
It was only after I challenged and eliminated the limiting beliefs, changed my financial blueprint, do I now have them working with me. I am now making great progress in that direction.
So what does this story of mine have anything to do with you?
If you are also struggling, not progressing or progressing at a pace that is not that you want, and are slowly gaining on living the life that you want, or to manifest the goal that you want, you must first identify what is holding you back, single out all your limiting beliefs in that particular area. Challenge them, eliminate them and instil new thoughts that will become your new beliefs.
How to stop negative thoughts?
Here's one way:
Say you want to ask for an increase in your wages, but as soon as you think about it, you become aware of your, "Yeah, but..." or "No way. You won't even knock her door" or "You'll stutter all the way through and she will definitely not give you the raise" or anything like that.
These are your negative thoughts, your limiting beliefs.
Changing limiting beliefs can be done and will change completely over time.
I found laughing off any limiting beliefs or negative thoughts to be very powerful and it works every time with me.
Any time a "Yeah but..." or "I can't do that" springs to mind I immediately laugh it off. I laugh loud and hard, to really send the message through. The message that this belief is rubbish. Spend a few minutes laughing it off.
If it creeps up again, it means the belief is deeper than you realised, so, laugh it off again. Soon enough it will disappear and you can say the positive belief that you want so as to replace that limiting one.
So, identify, tackle and eliminate any limiting beliefs, then replace them with powerful, positive self enhancing beliefs. That's how to stop negative thoughts from creeping up again. Any that come up. Zap. Have a belly laugh and make things happen.
Remember you deserve to be rich, and wealthy. You deserve all the money that you desire. Money was created for everyone's use equally. You don't need to work harder to obtain more money, you need to work smarter.
That also is one of the things we do here at Every Month a Million. We will show you the smarter way to obtain all the money you deserve.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Power of Affirmations
Positive affirmations are positive sentences repeated many times in order to impress the subconscious mind and trigger it into action. These sentences describe a situation that we desire to happen, and are repeated many times, with conviction, attention and feelings.
Imagine that you are swimming with your friends in a swimming pool. They swim fifteen rounds, something you have never done before. As you desire the respect of your friends, you want to show them that you can make it too. You start swimming, and at the same time keep repeating in your mind: "I can do it, I can do it...". You keep thinking and believing that you are going to complete the fifteen rounds. What are you actually doing? You are repeating positive affirmations.
More than often people repeat negative sentences and statements, concerning diverse situations in their lives, and consequently bring upon themselves undesirable situations. Affirmations work both ways, to build and to destroy. They are a kind of a neutral power. It is the way we use them that determines whether they are going to bring good or harmful results.
Affirmations are similar to creative visualization. The repeated words build mental images and scenes in the mind. The words help to focus on the aim, object or situation one wants to achieve or create. Frequent repetitions make the subconscious mind accept them, and then it influences and affects the way one thinks, acts and behaves.
The conscious mind, the mind you think with, starts this process, and then the subconscious mind takes charge. This means that the most frequent thoughts that pass through your mind, ultimately affect your life and your destiny.
Affirmations work like commands that are given to a computer. They influence us, other people, events and circumstances. It might seem strange to you, but they do also influence the people we meet, our circumstances and the events we encounter.
Sometimes they work fast, but more often they need time. Repeating positive affirmations a few minutes, and then thinking negatively, neutralizes the effects of the positive words. You have to refuse negative thoughts, otherwise you will not attain positive results.
We often repeat affirmations, without even being aware of the process. We use them when we tell ourselves that we can't do something, that we are too lazy, or when we believe we are going to fail. The subconscious mind always accepts follows what we tell it. It is the same principle at work when we say to ourselves that we can do it, or we cannot, when say we are going to succeed and when we keep saying that we are going to fail. It is the same power working both ways. Why not choose the better way?
How to Repeat Affirmations
It is better to repeat affirmations that are not too long. A short sentence is quite enough. They can be repeated, when your mind is not engaged in something in particular, such as when traveling in a bus or a train, waiting in line, walking etc, but do not affirm while driving yourself or crossing a street. You may also repeat them in special sessions of about ten minutes each, several times a day.
There should be no physical, emotional or mental tension while repeating them. The stronger the concentration, the more faith you have in what you are doing, the more feelings you put into the act, the stronger and faster will be the results.
It is very important to choose only positive affirmations. If for example you desire to lose weight, do not say, "I am not fat, I am losing weight." By saying this sentence you are repeating to your subconscious mind that you are fat. The word "losing" also evokes negative images. It is better to say, "My body has an athletic form, and weighs the right and healthy weight". Such words evoke positive images in the mind. It is important to affirm using in the present tense, not the future tense. Saying: "I will be rich", means that you intend to be rich one day, in the indefinite future. You are actually telling yourself that some day you will be rich, never now. It is better and more effective to say, and also feel, "I am rich now", and the subconscious mind will work overtime to make this happen now, in the present.
As to results, sometimes they may come fast, and at other times may take more time to manifest. Achieving results through the power of affirmations depends on how much time, energy, faith and feelings you invest in your affirmations, on how big or small is your goal, and on how strong is your desire.
By using the power of affirmations you state what you want to be true in your life. You see reality, as you want it to be. For a while, you ignore your current circumstances and your doubts, and concentrate on a different reality.
Positive Affirmations
- I am healthy and happy.
- Wealth is pouring into my life.
- I am flowing on the river of wealth.
- I am getting wealthier each day.
- My body is healthy and functioning in a very good way.
- I have a lot of energy.
- I study and comprehend fast.
- I am getting A's in my exams.
- My mind is calm.
- I am calm and relaxed in every situation.
- My thoughts are under my control.
- I radiate love and happiness.
- I am surrounded by love.
- I have the perfect job for me.
- I am living in the house of my dreams.
- I have good and loving relations with my wife/husband.
- I have a wonderful satisfying job.
- I have the means to travel abroad whenever I want to.
- I am successful in whatever I do.
- Everything is getting better every day.
Imagine that you are swimming with your friends in a swimming pool. They swim fifteen rounds, something you have never done before. As you desire the respect of your friends, you want to show them that you can make it too. You start swimming, and at the same time keep repeating in your mind: "I can do it, I can do it...". You keep thinking and believing that you are going to complete the fifteen rounds. What are you actually doing? You are repeating positive affirmations.
More than often people repeat negative sentences and statements, concerning diverse situations in their lives, and consequently bring upon themselves undesirable situations. Affirmations work both ways, to build and to destroy. They are a kind of a neutral power. It is the way we use them that determines whether they are going to bring good or harmful results.
Affirmations are similar to creative visualization. The repeated words build mental images and scenes in the mind. The words help to focus on the aim, object or situation one wants to achieve or create. Frequent repetitions make the subconscious mind accept them, and then it influences and affects the way one thinks, acts and behaves.
The conscious mind, the mind you think with, starts this process, and then the subconscious mind takes charge. This means that the most frequent thoughts that pass through your mind, ultimately affect your life and your destiny.
Affirmations work like commands that are given to a computer. They influence us, other people, events and circumstances. It might seem strange to you, but they do also influence the people we meet, our circumstances and the events we encounter.
Sometimes they work fast, but more often they need time. Repeating positive affirmations a few minutes, and then thinking negatively, neutralizes the effects of the positive words. You have to refuse negative thoughts, otherwise you will not attain positive results.
We often repeat affirmations, without even being aware of the process. We use them when we tell ourselves that we can't do something, that we are too lazy, or when we believe we are going to fail. The subconscious mind always accepts follows what we tell it. It is the same principle at work when we say to ourselves that we can do it, or we cannot, when say we are going to succeed and when we keep saying that we are going to fail. It is the same power working both ways. Why not choose the better way?
How to Repeat Affirmations
It is better to repeat affirmations that are not too long. A short sentence is quite enough. They can be repeated, when your mind is not engaged in something in particular, such as when traveling in a bus or a train, waiting in line, walking etc, but do not affirm while driving yourself or crossing a street. You may also repeat them in special sessions of about ten minutes each, several times a day.
There should be no physical, emotional or mental tension while repeating them. The stronger the concentration, the more faith you have in what you are doing, the more feelings you put into the act, the stronger and faster will be the results.
It is very important to choose only positive affirmations. If for example you desire to lose weight, do not say, "I am not fat, I am losing weight." By saying this sentence you are repeating to your subconscious mind that you are fat. The word "losing" also evokes negative images. It is better to say, "My body has an athletic form, and weighs the right and healthy weight". Such words evoke positive images in the mind. It is important to affirm using in the present tense, not the future tense. Saying: "I will be rich", means that you intend to be rich one day, in the indefinite future. You are actually telling yourself that some day you will be rich, never now. It is better and more effective to say, and also feel, "I am rich now", and the subconscious mind will work overtime to make this happen now, in the present.
As to results, sometimes they may come fast, and at other times may take more time to manifest. Achieving results through the power of affirmations depends on how much time, energy, faith and feelings you invest in your affirmations, on how big or small is your goal, and on how strong is your desire.
By using the power of affirmations you state what you want to be true in your life. You see reality, as you want it to be. For a while, you ignore your current circumstances and your doubts, and concentrate on a different reality.
Positive Affirmations
- I am healthy and happy.
- Wealth is pouring into my life.
- I am flowing on the river of wealth.
- I am getting wealthier each day.
- My body is healthy and functioning in a very good way.
- I have a lot of energy.
- I study and comprehend fast.
- I am getting A's in my exams.
- My mind is calm.
- I am calm and relaxed in every situation.
- My thoughts are under my control.
- I radiate love and happiness.
- I am surrounded by love.
- I have the perfect job for me.
- I am living in the house of my dreams.
- I have good and loving relations with my wife/husband.
- I have a wonderful satisfying job.
- I have the means to travel abroad whenever I want to.
- I am successful in whatever I do.
- Everything is getting better every day.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Attitude Is Everything
One of the greatest powers in the universe is individual power of choice. And the most powerful choices are positive choices.
The POWER in LIFE is CHOICE.
The following story describes how powerful choosing to keep a positive attitude can impact your life.
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.
I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers.
While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied.
The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply... I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.
I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
The POWER in LIFE is CHOICE.
The following story describes how powerful choosing to keep a positive attitude can impact your life.
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.
I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers.
While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied.
The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply... I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.
I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Clean Out the Clutter and Move Forward in Your Life
When spring rolls around, we often get busy cleaning our homes and clearing out the clutter. It certainly feels good to look around your home and notice everything neat, clean, and put in its place. Cleaning out the clutter around your house is a way of cleaning out your mental clutter, or "psychic vampires" that rob you of your vitality. A cluttered home symbolizes a cluttered, blocked mind.
Mental clutter is that unfinished business in your life that gnaws at you in the background of your consciousness. Your mental clutter may include the projects you started and never finished, the stack of paperwork on your desk, unsorted photos, old clothes taking up space in your closet, junk piled in your garage, etc.
These are things we notice, and tolerate on a daily basis. When left unattended for long periods of time, this clutter robs us of our energy and vitality. Think of all the times you have walked into your garage, noticed the mess, and thought "one day, I should get this cleaned up?" all the while feeling a twinge of guilt for procrastinating. There may be certain parts of your home or workspace that you avoid, just because looking at the mess leaves you feeling overwhelmed and drained. When you have a cluttered work or living space, your creativity and energy stay bound up in the clutter.
You must clear this clutter out if you want more from life and want to move forward in exciting ways. One way to start this process is by identifying and removing the energy drainers, or psychic vampires, that have been bogging you down. Clutter and disorganization are often at the top of the list. Removing these energy drainers frees you up to think, strategize, and act in new, productive ways.
So, how do you begin to clear out the clutter when there is so much of it that you don’t even know where to start? It’s simple. Pick one small space in your home and get busy! You will be amazed at the results. Make a commitment to yourself to spend ten to fifteen minutes per day for the next week sorting, organizing, rearranging, recycling, donating, and/or disposing of items in your home or workspace. Just start small. If your desk is covered with paperwork, pick one area of your desk and start organizing. You will find you get momentum going once you realize how good it feels to have that small space cleared. You may decide to move on and tackle another cluttered space, or you may just relish the good feeling that comes from having cleared out some clutter.
Once this process is under way, you will be amazed by the renewed energy you experience and the possibilities that surface for you!
Mental clutter is that unfinished business in your life that gnaws at you in the background of your consciousness. Your mental clutter may include the projects you started and never finished, the stack of paperwork on your desk, unsorted photos, old clothes taking up space in your closet, junk piled in your garage, etc.
These are things we notice, and tolerate on a daily basis. When left unattended for long periods of time, this clutter robs us of our energy and vitality. Think of all the times you have walked into your garage, noticed the mess, and thought "one day, I should get this cleaned up?" all the while feeling a twinge of guilt for procrastinating. There may be certain parts of your home or workspace that you avoid, just because looking at the mess leaves you feeling overwhelmed and drained. When you have a cluttered work or living space, your creativity and energy stay bound up in the clutter.
You must clear this clutter out if you want more from life and want to move forward in exciting ways. One way to start this process is by identifying and removing the energy drainers, or psychic vampires, that have been bogging you down. Clutter and disorganization are often at the top of the list. Removing these energy drainers frees you up to think, strategize, and act in new, productive ways.
So, how do you begin to clear out the clutter when there is so much of it that you don’t even know where to start? It’s simple. Pick one small space in your home and get busy! You will be amazed at the results. Make a commitment to yourself to spend ten to fifteen minutes per day for the next week sorting, organizing, rearranging, recycling, donating, and/or disposing of items in your home or workspace. Just start small. If your desk is covered with paperwork, pick one area of your desk and start organizing. You will find you get momentum going once you realize how good it feels to have that small space cleared. You may decide to move on and tackle another cluttered space, or you may just relish the good feeling that comes from having cleared out some clutter.
Once this process is under way, you will be amazed by the renewed energy you experience and the possibilities that surface for you!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Creating Positive Coincidences
It is an undisputed fact that the mind can influence the physical body but can the mind influence the world beyond your body?
In other words, can the mind create coincidences and influence reality? People all around the world have experienced this in their own lives and will say that the answer is yes – your world can be shaped by your thoughts and beliefs.
The following story describes one such incident – how one man discovered the power of his mind in creating coincidences. He went on to use this ability to become so successful that his work is almost a household name in America.
For the purpose of this story, let’s call this man Scott. His full name will not be revealed until the end to make this story more intriguing. This story was told in a book Scott wrote in 1998. In the early 1980s, Scott had heard of a process called affirmations from a friend. The process he learned was simple.
Visualize what you want and write it down fifteen times in a row, once a day, until you obtain it.
Scott was told that the process did not require any faith or positive thinking for it to work. Even more interesting was the suggestion that the technique would influence the environment directly and not just make you more focused on your goals. In other words, it would spawn amazing coincidences to move you toward your goals. The coincidences could be things that were seemingly unconnected to you and beyond your control.
Scott was very left-brained and logical in his thinking. He had his doubts about the process but figured that there was no harm in trying.
“Within a few weeks, coincidences started to happen to me.” wrote Scott.
“Amazing coincidences, strings of them. I won’t mention the specific goal I was working on, as it was a private matter, but within a few months the goal was accomplished exactly as I had written it.”
But Scott was not yet convinced that affirmations helped. Coincidences do happen on their own and Scott considered the test inconclusive.
So Scott picked another goal – to make some gains in the stock market. He wrote his affirmation down every day and waited for some inspiration. It came to him in a dream. He woke up one night with the words “Buy Chrysler” repeating in his head.
He bought shares in the inspired company during one of its most bleak periods yet it began to rise soon after and he made some good returns on it. He repeated the experiment again and managed to pick another successful company, with stock symbol “Ask”.
Armed with this confidence in the power of affirmations Scott decided to apply it to a more challenging goal – getting into the highly competitive University of California at Berkeley MBA program.
The problem was that he had already taken the entrance exam, the G.M.A.T, and only hit the 77th percentile score. He knew he needed to be above the 90th percentile to at least have a chance of being accepted.
Scott picked the outlandish target of 94 as his goal and again applied the affirmation technique.
Despite not being able to go much higher than the 77th percentile in the practice exams Scott was surprised to learn that he did indeed hit the 94th percentile for the G.M.A.T – just as he had written in his affirmations. He graduated with his Berkeley MBA in 1986.
A few years later he tried pursuing a more serious goal, that of being a syndicated cartoonist. He knew the odds of his cartoon submission being accepted by a major newspaper were roughly 1 in 10,000.
He beat those odds and his cartoon was accepted. He was soon earning a decent living with his cartoon strip but he wanted to achieve something bigger.
He decided he wanted the most successful comic strip on the planet. Scott felt that the best measure of “most successful”; would be number of books sold.
In June 1996 his book The Dilbert Principle hit the number-one spot on the hardcover nonfiction list of the New York Times. It stayed in the top three all summer. In November his second book, Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook, also made the bestseller list, giving Scott the number-one and number-two positions simultaneously for one week. For that brief period of time, Scott indeed had the "most successful" comic strip on the planet.
As you may have guessed, the person I’m talking about is Scott Adams, the creator of the highly successful Dilbert comic strip. Scott writes about these experiences with affirmations in his book The Dilbert Future. He does not profess to know why it works but leaves the conclusion to the reader. When asked if I am surprised at the success of the Dilbert comic strip. I definitely would be so, if not for my bizarre experience with affirmations. As it was, I expected it.
In other words, can the mind create coincidences and influence reality? People all around the world have experienced this in their own lives and will say that the answer is yes – your world can be shaped by your thoughts and beliefs.
The following story describes one such incident – how one man discovered the power of his mind in creating coincidences. He went on to use this ability to become so successful that his work is almost a household name in America.
For the purpose of this story, let’s call this man Scott. His full name will not be revealed until the end to make this story more intriguing. This story was told in a book Scott wrote in 1998. In the early 1980s, Scott had heard of a process called affirmations from a friend. The process he learned was simple.
Visualize what you want and write it down fifteen times in a row, once a day, until you obtain it.
Scott was told that the process did not require any faith or positive thinking for it to work. Even more interesting was the suggestion that the technique would influence the environment directly and not just make you more focused on your goals. In other words, it would spawn amazing coincidences to move you toward your goals. The coincidences could be things that were seemingly unconnected to you and beyond your control.
Scott was very left-brained and logical in his thinking. He had his doubts about the process but figured that there was no harm in trying.
“Within a few weeks, coincidences started to happen to me.” wrote Scott.
“Amazing coincidences, strings of them. I won’t mention the specific goal I was working on, as it was a private matter, but within a few months the goal was accomplished exactly as I had written it.”
But Scott was not yet convinced that affirmations helped. Coincidences do happen on their own and Scott considered the test inconclusive.
So Scott picked another goal – to make some gains in the stock market. He wrote his affirmation down every day and waited for some inspiration. It came to him in a dream. He woke up one night with the words “Buy Chrysler” repeating in his head.
He bought shares in the inspired company during one of its most bleak periods yet it began to rise soon after and he made some good returns on it. He repeated the experiment again and managed to pick another successful company, with stock symbol “Ask”.
Armed with this confidence in the power of affirmations Scott decided to apply it to a more challenging goal – getting into the highly competitive University of California at Berkeley MBA program.
The problem was that he had already taken the entrance exam, the G.M.A.T, and only hit the 77th percentile score. He knew he needed to be above the 90th percentile to at least have a chance of being accepted.
Scott picked the outlandish target of 94 as his goal and again applied the affirmation technique.
Despite not being able to go much higher than the 77th percentile in the practice exams Scott was surprised to learn that he did indeed hit the 94th percentile for the G.M.A.T – just as he had written in his affirmations. He graduated with his Berkeley MBA in 1986.
A few years later he tried pursuing a more serious goal, that of being a syndicated cartoonist. He knew the odds of his cartoon submission being accepted by a major newspaper were roughly 1 in 10,000.
He beat those odds and his cartoon was accepted. He was soon earning a decent living with his cartoon strip but he wanted to achieve something bigger.
He decided he wanted the most successful comic strip on the planet. Scott felt that the best measure of “most successful”; would be number of books sold.
In June 1996 his book The Dilbert Principle hit the number-one spot on the hardcover nonfiction list of the New York Times. It stayed in the top three all summer. In November his second book, Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook, also made the bestseller list, giving Scott the number-one and number-two positions simultaneously for one week. For that brief period of time, Scott indeed had the "most successful" comic strip on the planet.
As you may have guessed, the person I’m talking about is Scott Adams, the creator of the highly successful Dilbert comic strip. Scott writes about these experiences with affirmations in his book The Dilbert Future. He does not profess to know why it works but leaves the conclusion to the reader. When asked if I am surprised at the success of the Dilbert comic strip. I definitely would be so, if not for my bizarre experience with affirmations. As it was, I expected it.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Miraculous Healing
The following story will challenge your idea of just how much your mind influences your body.
In 1950, a new drug called Krebiozen had received sensational national publicity as a “cure” for cancer and was being tested by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One of the researchers involved in this testing was a doctor named Bruno Klopfer.
One of Dr. Klopfer’s patients, Mr. Wright, was suffering from cancer of the lymph nodes. All standard treatments had been exhausted, and Wright appeared to have little time left. His neck, armpits, chest, abdomen, and groin were filled with tumors the size of oranges, and his spleen and liver were so enlarged that two quarts of milky fluid had to be drained out of his body each day.
When Wright discovered that Dr. Klopfer was involved in research on Krebiozen, he begged to be given Krebiozen treatments. At first his doctor refused because the drug was untested and only being tried on people with a life expectancy of at least three months. Wright begged so hard, however, that Klopfer decided to give him one injection on Friday, though he secretly suspected Wright would not last the weekend.
Dr. Klopfer was in for a big surprise.
On the following Monday, Klopfer found Wright out of bed and walking around. Klopfer reported that his tumors had "melted like snowballs on a hot stove" and were half their original size. This was a far more rapid decrease in size than even the strongest X-ray treatments could have accomplished.
Ten days after Wright’s first Krebiozen treatment, he left the hospital, and as far as his doctors could tell, with no signs of cancer. When he entered the hospital, he had needed an oxygen mask to breathe, but when he left he was well enough to fly his own plane at 12,000 feet with no discomfort.
Wright remained well for about two months, but then articles began to appear asserting that Krebiozen actually had no effect on cancer of the lymph nodes. Wright, who was rigidly logical and scientific in his thinking, became very depressed, suffered a relapse, and was readmitted to the hospital. This time his physician decided to try an experiment.
Dr. Klopfer told Wright that Krebiozen was every bit as effective as it had seemed, but that some of the initial supplies of the drug had deteriorated during shipping. He explained, however, that he had a new highly-concentrated version of the drug and could treat Wright with this. Of course, the physician did not have a new version of the drug and intended to inject Wright with nothing more than plain sterile water.
Again the results were dramatic. The tumor masses melted, chest fluid had vanished, and Wright was quickly back on his feet and feeling great. Yet he had been injected with nothing more than sterile water.
Wright remained symptom-free for another two months, but then the American Medical Association announced that a nationwide study of Krebiozen had found the drug worthless in the treatment of cancer. This time Wright’s faith was completely shattered. His cancer blossomed anew and he died two days later.
Wright’s story is tragic, but it contains a powerful message: When we are fortunate enough to bypass our disbelief and tap the healing forces within us, we can cause tumors to melt away overnight.
The patient’s mind alone, independent of the value of the medication, produced his recovery.
This event proves that your mind is so powerful that it can literally bring wonderful or tragic events to bear within days. Most people do not learn how to tap into and control this powerful force.
Many people do have their minds working for them, but in negative ways. Doctors call this psychosomatic illness – an illness caused by a person’s negative belief system.
In 1950, a new drug called Krebiozen had received sensational national publicity as a “cure” for cancer and was being tested by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One of the researchers involved in this testing was a doctor named Bruno Klopfer.
One of Dr. Klopfer’s patients, Mr. Wright, was suffering from cancer of the lymph nodes. All standard treatments had been exhausted, and Wright appeared to have little time left. His neck, armpits, chest, abdomen, and groin were filled with tumors the size of oranges, and his spleen and liver were so enlarged that two quarts of milky fluid had to be drained out of his body each day.
When Wright discovered that Dr. Klopfer was involved in research on Krebiozen, he begged to be given Krebiozen treatments. At first his doctor refused because the drug was untested and only being tried on people with a life expectancy of at least three months. Wright begged so hard, however, that Klopfer decided to give him one injection on Friday, though he secretly suspected Wright would not last the weekend.
Dr. Klopfer was in for a big surprise.
On the following Monday, Klopfer found Wright out of bed and walking around. Klopfer reported that his tumors had "melted like snowballs on a hot stove" and were half their original size. This was a far more rapid decrease in size than even the strongest X-ray treatments could have accomplished.
Ten days after Wright’s first Krebiozen treatment, he left the hospital, and as far as his doctors could tell, with no signs of cancer. When he entered the hospital, he had needed an oxygen mask to breathe, but when he left he was well enough to fly his own plane at 12,000 feet with no discomfort.
Wright remained well for about two months, but then articles began to appear asserting that Krebiozen actually had no effect on cancer of the lymph nodes. Wright, who was rigidly logical and scientific in his thinking, became very depressed, suffered a relapse, and was readmitted to the hospital. This time his physician decided to try an experiment.
Dr. Klopfer told Wright that Krebiozen was every bit as effective as it had seemed, but that some of the initial supplies of the drug had deteriorated during shipping. He explained, however, that he had a new highly-concentrated version of the drug and could treat Wright with this. Of course, the physician did not have a new version of the drug and intended to inject Wright with nothing more than plain sterile water.
Again the results were dramatic. The tumor masses melted, chest fluid had vanished, and Wright was quickly back on his feet and feeling great. Yet he had been injected with nothing more than sterile water.
Wright remained symptom-free for another two months, but then the American Medical Association announced that a nationwide study of Krebiozen had found the drug worthless in the treatment of cancer. This time Wright’s faith was completely shattered. His cancer blossomed anew and he died two days later.
Wright’s story is tragic, but it contains a powerful message: When we are fortunate enough to bypass our disbelief and tap the healing forces within us, we can cause tumors to melt away overnight.
The patient’s mind alone, independent of the value of the medication, produced his recovery.
This event proves that your mind is so powerful that it can literally bring wonderful or tragic events to bear within days. Most people do not learn how to tap into and control this powerful force.
Many people do have their minds working for them, but in negative ways. Doctors call this psychosomatic illness – an illness caused by a person’s negative belief system.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Using The Mind in Sports
Dr. Charles Garfield, former NASA researcher and current president of The Performance-Science Institute in Berkeley, California, talks about a startling experiment conducted by Soviet sports scientists.
The study examined the effect of mental training, including visualization, on four groups of world-class athletes just prior to the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The four groups of elite athletes were divided as follows:
Group 1: did 100% physical training.
Group 2: did 75% physical training, 25% mental training.
Group 3: did 50% physical training, 50% mental training.
Group 4: did 25% physical training, 75% mental training.
What the researchers found was that group 4 – the group with the most mental training – had shown significantly greater improvement than group 3.
Likewise, group 3 showed more improvement than group 2, and group 2 showed more improvement than group 1.
The results were astonishing. Who would expect that athletes training mentally would be able to advance further than their counterparts who were training physically?
Garfield said, “During mental rehearsal, athletes create mental images of the exact movements they want to emulate in their sport. Use of this skill substantially increases the effectiveness of goal-setting, which up until then had been little more than a dull listing procedure.”
If mental exercises and visualization could have such a profound impact on athletes, what kind of impact could it have on you?
Can you use the same principle to improve your attitudes, confidence and skills? Could it impact your learning ability; your golf swing; your ability to shed weight and stick to a diet?
The study examined the effect of mental training, including visualization, on four groups of world-class athletes just prior to the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The four groups of elite athletes were divided as follows:
Group 1: did 100% physical training.
Group 2: did 75% physical training, 25% mental training.
Group 3: did 50% physical training, 50% mental training.
Group 4: did 25% physical training, 75% mental training.
What the researchers found was that group 4 – the group with the most mental training – had shown significantly greater improvement than group 3.
Likewise, group 3 showed more improvement than group 2, and group 2 showed more improvement than group 1.
The results were astonishing. Who would expect that athletes training mentally would be able to advance further than their counterparts who were training physically?
Garfield said, “During mental rehearsal, athletes create mental images of the exact movements they want to emulate in their sport. Use of this skill substantially increases the effectiveness of goal-setting, which up until then had been little more than a dull listing procedure.”
If mental exercises and visualization could have such a profound impact on athletes, what kind of impact could it have on you?
Can you use the same principle to improve your attitudes, confidence and skills? Could it impact your learning ability; your golf swing; your ability to shed weight and stick to a diet?
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