If you have been beat down long enough, believing in yourself can seem impossible. When you have had people in your life who do not lift you up, you pretty much take over for them when they are not there. You proceed to discount your skills and abilities based on what other people have said. You are doing a great disservice to yourself and giving your power to someone else. To reach your goals in this life, believing in yourself is extremely important if you want to get anywhere. Those assumptions about who you are become a way of life. You will stay stuck in these patterns until you change the way you think.
Here are some simple ways to start learning how to believe in you:
1) Try Even When You Still Think You Can't Do It
Because you have pattern of not believing in yourself, this will take a little work. Make a vow to yourself today that you will try your best at any opportunity that comes your way. It does not matter if you have fallen on your face before or whether you think it's even possible. The important thing is to pledge to yourself that you will try no matter what the outcome may be. The worst thing to do to yourself is to assume you can't do it before even trying. Tell yourself right now that any effort to do better is not a waste of your precious time.
2) Establish Evidence For The Assumptions
Get some paper and start a list. List every one of those things you really believe about yourself and your abilities or the lack of them. List them whether they are large or small. Once you have that list go through each assumption and examine it. Ask yourself, "Is this true? What is the proof?" Then go and do whatever it is you feel you cannot. It does not matter if you do it better than anyone else. It only matters that you DO.
3) Recognize The Possibilities
A constant onslaught of self-defeating assumptions obviously puts you in the place of believing you cannot succeed. This goes back to the people in your life who have impressed their own beliefs on you. A silly bunch of girls in high school told you that you were fat and no one would ever want you. Guess what you have been doing since? Saying that same self-defeating comment to yourself. It is time to push beyond what you believe are your capabilities. This is a scary thought. It also will be a step in the direction of finding the belief in you. The assumptions you have about yourself may not be true. You have simply accepted these assumptions as truth without proof. Consider all the possibilities of each situation. Challenge the assumptions and have an open mind to the possibility that you could be wrong!
With every success, whether large or small, the belief in yourself will grow. That will be the push you need to keep stepping outside your comfort zone and attain the accomplishments you truly deserve.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wherever You Are, Be There
One of the major reasons why we fail to find happiness or to create unique lifestyle is because we have not yet mastered the art of being.
While we are home our thoughts are still absorbed with solving the challenges we face at the office. And when we are at the office we find ourselves worrying about problems at home. We go through the day without really listening to what others are saying to us. We may be hearing the words, but we aren't absorbing the message. As we go through the day we find ourselves focusing on past experiences or future possibilities.
We are so involved in yesterday and tomorrow that we never even notice that today is slipping by. We go through the day rather than getting something from the day.
We are everywhere at any given moment in time except living in that moment in time.
Lifestyle is learning to be wherever you are. It is developing a unique focus on the current moment, and drawing from it all of the substance and wealth of experience and emotions that it has to offer.
Lifestyle is taking time to watch a sunset. Lifestyle is listening to silence. Lifestyle is capturing each moment so that it becomes a new part of what we are and of what we are in the process of becoming. Lifestyle is not something we do; it is something we experience. And until we learn to be there, we will never master the art of living well.
Present Moment
How can one create anew in the moment, without reference to the past or the future? In this metaphor of surfing the wave and staying over your feet, we are talking about staying rooted where you ARE -- in the present moment -- rather than in the "past" (where you have been) or the "future" (where you are going). If you think about it, all fear derives from past experience being projected onto the future. When things arise in your present moment that remind you of something from the past, you can easily project that the past experience will repeat itself in the moments that follow the time of remembering that past. This is when you feel fear. It's inner talk that says, "It was like this before, so it will be like this again." If you experienced pain in the past, you expect it will be painful again. That is where the fear comes in. You want to avoid the pain. "I'm afraid that if this moment goes the way it went before, I'll experience what I experienced before, and I don't want to do that again."
The answer to this is to cut through the cords of memory, to interrupt the inner talk by saying out loud, "That was then. This is now." Boom! You are back in the present, able to choose anew in the present moment. When you say the word "now," you bring your attention into the present. Say "NOW" out loud, right now. Feel NOW. What is really happening NOW? Not what happened before, not what MIGHT happen later. What is really happening NOW? Do you see how you are in the habit of scaring yourself? Cultivate the practice of living NOW. Live each moment as the only moment that exists. NOW is the only place you can create anything. NOW is the only place you can choose anything. NOW is all you ever really have.
When we say the word "moment," it will be useful to define what we mean. A moment is an "event" that arises from the matrix of Infinite Mind. It contains everything within it for its natural fulfillment and completion. It is not measured by minutes, seconds, or hours. It is a unit of experience that may be very short or go on for some time. You can FEEL when a moment begins. You can FEEL when it completes. Every moment has a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion, like a phrase in speech or music. Think of it entering into your field of awareness, swelling into its fullness, and then receding as it completes. There is a wavelike quality to a moment. A wave emerges from the ocean, swells, moves forward, and then resolves back into the ocean. Just so with a moment. It emerges from the ocean of consciousness that is the Mind of the Creator. It swells upward into your perceptual field, and moves forward, then ebbs from your experience as it completes. There is background and foreground, and there are different waves overlapping. In the past, you were only peripherally aware of the background, as your attention was captured by the foreground, but now your senses will be broadened and deepened until you are like a bowl containing ALL of it -- all of the ocean and all of the waves upon its surface. You will be aware of all of it simultaneously and be able to move your attention to whatever you feel called to pay attention to, at will.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good.
While we are home our thoughts are still absorbed with solving the challenges we face at the office. And when we are at the office we find ourselves worrying about problems at home. We go through the day without really listening to what others are saying to us. We may be hearing the words, but we aren't absorbing the message. As we go through the day we find ourselves focusing on past experiences or future possibilities.
We are so involved in yesterday and tomorrow that we never even notice that today is slipping by. We go through the day rather than getting something from the day.
We are everywhere at any given moment in time except living in that moment in time.
Lifestyle is learning to be wherever you are. It is developing a unique focus on the current moment, and drawing from it all of the substance and wealth of experience and emotions that it has to offer.
Lifestyle is taking time to watch a sunset. Lifestyle is listening to silence. Lifestyle is capturing each moment so that it becomes a new part of what we are and of what we are in the process of becoming. Lifestyle is not something we do; it is something we experience. And until we learn to be there, we will never master the art of living well.
Present Moment
How can one create anew in the moment, without reference to the past or the future? In this metaphor of surfing the wave and staying over your feet, we are talking about staying rooted where you ARE -- in the present moment -- rather than in the "past" (where you have been) or the "future" (where you are going). If you think about it, all fear derives from past experience being projected onto the future. When things arise in your present moment that remind you of something from the past, you can easily project that the past experience will repeat itself in the moments that follow the time of remembering that past. This is when you feel fear. It's inner talk that says, "It was like this before, so it will be like this again." If you experienced pain in the past, you expect it will be painful again. That is where the fear comes in. You want to avoid the pain. "I'm afraid that if this moment goes the way it went before, I'll experience what I experienced before, and I don't want to do that again."
The answer to this is to cut through the cords of memory, to interrupt the inner talk by saying out loud, "That was then. This is now." Boom! You are back in the present, able to choose anew in the present moment. When you say the word "now," you bring your attention into the present. Say "NOW" out loud, right now. Feel NOW. What is really happening NOW? Not what happened before, not what MIGHT happen later. What is really happening NOW? Do you see how you are in the habit of scaring yourself? Cultivate the practice of living NOW. Live each moment as the only moment that exists. NOW is the only place you can create anything. NOW is the only place you can choose anything. NOW is all you ever really have.
When we say the word "moment," it will be useful to define what we mean. A moment is an "event" that arises from the matrix of Infinite Mind. It contains everything within it for its natural fulfillment and completion. It is not measured by minutes, seconds, or hours. It is a unit of experience that may be very short or go on for some time. You can FEEL when a moment begins. You can FEEL when it completes. Every moment has a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion, like a phrase in speech or music. Think of it entering into your field of awareness, swelling into its fullness, and then receding as it completes. There is a wavelike quality to a moment. A wave emerges from the ocean, swells, moves forward, and then resolves back into the ocean. Just so with a moment. It emerges from the ocean of consciousness that is the Mind of the Creator. It swells upward into your perceptual field, and moves forward, then ebbs from your experience as it completes. There is background and foreground, and there are different waves overlapping. In the past, you were only peripherally aware of the background, as your attention was captured by the foreground, but now your senses will be broadened and deepened until you are like a bowl containing ALL of it -- all of the ocean and all of the waves upon its surface. You will be aware of all of it simultaneously and be able to move your attention to whatever you feel called to pay attention to, at will.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Get Into the Spirit of Giving!
“‘Tis better to give than to receive.” It’s a favorite refrain this time of year. Cynics might call it a clever advertising ploy cooked up by retailers to encourage consumer spending, but in general it holds true that making someone else happy makes us feel good.
When it comes to the World Wide Web, generosity can mean real benefits for your business–even better than higher levels of dopamine! The spirit of giving can lead to:
Links to your website
Higher search engine rankings
Positive associations for your company
And most importantly, more business!
It’s important to remember that quality content, and incoming links that point to that content, are the two most important components of the ranking algorithms at Google, Yahoo, and the other search engines. Many of the ideas below help with those pillars.
But the additional value of goodwill for your company in the age of social media and user reviews cannot be overstated. Traditional media outlets are increasingly known to scour social media websites like Digg, Reddit, and other locally-relevant portals, for interesting content on which to report. And word-of-mouth is every bit as important online as it is offline.
So with that in mind, here are just a few ideas to inspire your spirit of giving this holiday season (and beyond):
Help Those In Need
Look around for people with questions, and answer them. I mentioned in last month’s article that search.twitter.com was a tremendously valuable tool for getting ideas for content. It’s also a great way to find out what people are struggling with. This time of year, all kinds of “Tweeple” are bound to be asking about where to find the best deal on Tickle-Me-Elmo (or maybe this year it’s the talking Eve toy), best Christmas trees in your town, etc. Answering these questions quickly and honestly is a great way to build a base of followers that you can leverage for all kinds of future promotions.
Thinking of giving to charity this season? If so, see if that charity’s website has a sponsors page and ask to have your company’s contact information listed there. If you’re a locally-focused business, these kinds of references, even if they don’t contain a link to your website, can make a major difference in your Local rankings.
Check out Yahoo Answers, one of my favorites. There are plenty of great examples of small business owners who have figured out how to use Yahoo Answers to great effect.
Give Stuff Away
Another of My favorite secrets for small business is to give stuff away, though this same concept can be applied to Craigslist and other classifieds websites. Just by giving away your “junk” with a well-branded email address, and asking people to pick it up at your place of business, you’re going to raise community awareness of your company. You could even take it one step further and host some sort of toy drive for kids and families who can’t afford toys for the holidays-the kind of event that local media love to cover.
If you’re a retailer, think about creating a contest where the winner receives one of your products (this could work equally well with services, depending on your industry). You can ask people to submit funny pictures with your products, stories, poems, etc., and then involve your customers even more by asking them to vote on the submissions! These contests often get plenty of buzz (and links) in the blogosphere, and even if they don’t, you’ve built a little brand loyalty for your company.
And now for the easiest strategy to implement on this list – “give away” links from your blog or website: write about other businesses (though probably not competitors) or holiday events in your area. Not only will readers see you as a resource hub for your community, but the businesses you’re writing about may see your story on their own blog dashboard or in a Google Alert for their own names, and read and promote YOUR content in return.
And don’t forget the most valuable “gift” of all – great content. The possibilities for “great content” are endless, and won’t be specific to any industry or any one business. But if YOU can give the internet, and the world, a truly exceptional piece of content this holiday season, you’ll be rewarded literally a thousand times over in the form of incoming links, positive user reviews, higher search engine rankings, and recognition of your business.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
When it comes to the World Wide Web, generosity can mean real benefits for your business–even better than higher levels of dopamine! The spirit of giving can lead to:
Links to your website
Higher search engine rankings
Positive associations for your company
And most importantly, more business!
It’s important to remember that quality content, and incoming links that point to that content, are the two most important components of the ranking algorithms at Google, Yahoo, and the other search engines. Many of the ideas below help with those pillars.
But the additional value of goodwill for your company in the age of social media and user reviews cannot be overstated. Traditional media outlets are increasingly known to scour social media websites like Digg, Reddit, and other locally-relevant portals, for interesting content on which to report. And word-of-mouth is every bit as important online as it is offline.
So with that in mind, here are just a few ideas to inspire your spirit of giving this holiday season (and beyond):
Help Those In Need
Look around for people with questions, and answer them. I mentioned in last month’s article that search.twitter.com was a tremendously valuable tool for getting ideas for content. It’s also a great way to find out what people are struggling with. This time of year, all kinds of “Tweeple” are bound to be asking about where to find the best deal on Tickle-Me-Elmo (or maybe this year it’s the talking Eve toy), best Christmas trees in your town, etc. Answering these questions quickly and honestly is a great way to build a base of followers that you can leverage for all kinds of future promotions.
Thinking of giving to charity this season? If so, see if that charity’s website has a sponsors page and ask to have your company’s contact information listed there. If you’re a locally-focused business, these kinds of references, even if they don’t contain a link to your website, can make a major difference in your Local rankings.
Check out Yahoo Answers, one of my favorites. There are plenty of great examples of small business owners who have figured out how to use Yahoo Answers to great effect.
Give Stuff Away
Another of My favorite secrets for small business is to give stuff away, though this same concept can be applied to Craigslist and other classifieds websites. Just by giving away your “junk” with a well-branded email address, and asking people to pick it up at your place of business, you’re going to raise community awareness of your company. You could even take it one step further and host some sort of toy drive for kids and families who can’t afford toys for the holidays-the kind of event that local media love to cover.
If you’re a retailer, think about creating a contest where the winner receives one of your products (this could work equally well with services, depending on your industry). You can ask people to submit funny pictures with your products, stories, poems, etc., and then involve your customers even more by asking them to vote on the submissions! These contests often get plenty of buzz (and links) in the blogosphere, and even if they don’t, you’ve built a little brand loyalty for your company.
And now for the easiest strategy to implement on this list – “give away” links from your blog or website: write about other businesses (though probably not competitors) or holiday events in your area. Not only will readers see you as a resource hub for your community, but the businesses you’re writing about may see your story on their own blog dashboard or in a Google Alert for their own names, and read and promote YOUR content in return.
And don’t forget the most valuable “gift” of all – great content. The possibilities for “great content” are endless, and won’t be specific to any industry or any one business. But if YOU can give the internet, and the world, a truly exceptional piece of content this holiday season, you’ll be rewarded literally a thousand times over in the form of incoming links, positive user reviews, higher search engine rankings, and recognition of your business.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Power of Affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements that describe a desired situation, and which are repeated many times, in order to impress the subconscious mind and trigger it into positive action. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the affirmations, they have to be repeated with attention, conviction, interest and desire.
Imagine that you are swimming with your friends in a swimming pool. They swim fifteen rounds, something you have never done before, and desiring to win 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 in their minds negative words and statements concerning the situations and events in their lives, and consequently bring upon themselves undesirable situations. Words and statements work both ways, to build or destroy. It is the way we use them that determines whether they are going to bring good or harmful results.
Often, people repeat negative statements in their minds, without even being aware of what they are doing. Do you keep thinking and telling yourself that you cannot do something, that you are too lazy, lack inner strength or that you are going to fail? Your subconscious mind accepts as true what you keep saying, and eventually attracts corresponding events and situations into your life, irrespective whether they are good or bad for you, so why not choose only positive statements?
Affirmations program the mind in the same way commands and scripts program a computer. They work in the same manner as creative visualization. The repeated words help you focus your mind on your aim, and automatically build corresponding mental images in the conscious mind, which affect the subconscious mind. The conscious mind, the mind you think with, starts this process, and then the subconscious mind takes charge. By using this process consciously and intently, you can affect your subconscious mind and thereby transform your habits, behavior, mental attitude and reactions, and even reshape your external life.
Sometimes results appear quickly, but often more time is required. Depending on your goal, sometimes you might attain immediate results, and sometimes it might take days, weeks, months or more. Getting results depends on several factors, such as the time, focus, faith and feelings you invest in repeating your affirmations, on the strength of your desire, and on how big or small is your goal.
It is important to understand that repeating positive affirmations for a few minutes, and then thinking negatively the rest of the day, neutralizes the effects of the positive words. You have to refuse thinking negative thoughts, if you wish to attain positive results.
How to Repeat Affirmations
It is advisable to repeat affirmations that are not too long, as they are easier to remember. Repeat them anytime your mind is not engaged in something in particular, such as while traveling in a bus or a train, waiting in line, walking etc, but do not affirm while driving or crossing a street. You may also repeat them in special sessions of 5-10 minutes each, several times a day.
Relax any physical, emotional or mental tension while affirming. 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.
Choose only positive words, describing what you really want. If you desire to lose weight, do not tell yourself "I am not fat" or "I am losing weight." These are negative statements, bringing into the mind mental images of what you do not want. Say instead, "I am getting slim" or "I have reached my right weight". Such words evoke positive images in the mind.
Always affirm 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, but not now. It is 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.
The power of affirmations can help you to transform your life. By stating what you want to be true in your life, you mentally and emotionally see and feel it as true, irrespective of your current circumstances, and thereby attract it into your life.
Positive Affirmations
- I am healthy and happy.
- Wealth is pouring into my life.
- I am sailing 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.
- 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 and 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.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good
Imagine that you are swimming with your friends in a swimming pool. They swim fifteen rounds, something you have never done before, and desiring to win 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 in their minds negative words and statements concerning the situations and events in their lives, and consequently bring upon themselves undesirable situations. Words and statements work both ways, to build or destroy. It is the way we use them that determines whether they are going to bring good or harmful results.
Often, people repeat negative statements in their minds, without even being aware of what they are doing. Do you keep thinking and telling yourself that you cannot do something, that you are too lazy, lack inner strength or that you are going to fail? Your subconscious mind accepts as true what you keep saying, and eventually attracts corresponding events and situations into your life, irrespective whether they are good or bad for you, so why not choose only positive statements?
Affirmations program the mind in the same way commands and scripts program a computer. They work in the same manner as creative visualization. The repeated words help you focus your mind on your aim, and automatically build corresponding mental images in the conscious mind, which affect the subconscious mind. The conscious mind, the mind you think with, starts this process, and then the subconscious mind takes charge. By using this process consciously and intently, you can affect your subconscious mind and thereby transform your habits, behavior, mental attitude and reactions, and even reshape your external life.
Sometimes results appear quickly, but often more time is required. Depending on your goal, sometimes you might attain immediate results, and sometimes it might take days, weeks, months or more. Getting results depends on several factors, such as the time, focus, faith and feelings you invest in repeating your affirmations, on the strength of your desire, and on how big or small is your goal.
It is important to understand that repeating positive affirmations for a few minutes, and then thinking negatively the rest of the day, neutralizes the effects of the positive words. You have to refuse thinking negative thoughts, if you wish to attain positive results.
How to Repeat Affirmations
It is advisable to repeat affirmations that are not too long, as they are easier to remember. Repeat them anytime your mind is not engaged in something in particular, such as while traveling in a bus or a train, waiting in line, walking etc, but do not affirm while driving or crossing a street. You may also repeat them in special sessions of 5-10 minutes each, several times a day.
Relax any physical, emotional or mental tension while affirming. 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.
Choose only positive words, describing what you really want. If you desire to lose weight, do not tell yourself "I am not fat" or "I am losing weight." These are negative statements, bringing into the mind mental images of what you do not want. Say instead, "I am getting slim" or "I have reached my right weight". Such words evoke positive images in the mind.
Always affirm 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, but not now. It is 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.
The power of affirmations can help you to transform your life. By stating what you want to be true in your life, you mentally and emotionally see and feel it as true, irrespective of your current circumstances, and thereby attract it into your life.
Positive Affirmations
- I am healthy and happy.
- Wealth is pouring into my life.
- I am sailing 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.
- 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 and 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.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Want Business or Personal Growth? Challenge Your Assumptions!
Assumptions make our lives easier. That’s both good news and bad. As creatures of habit, we seek efficiency through the use of assumptions in lieu of active thought to drive most of our behaviors. With few exceptions, what we do in any given 24-hour period demands little conscious thought because we’ve developed habits that help us accomplish all sorts of things.
For instance, while driving (even if you’re doing the speed limit), it’s quite common to pull your foot off the gas pedal when you see a police car ahead on the side of the road. In that instant, it seems like your foot has a mind of its own! What really happened is that you incorporated an assumption – that getting a ticket is a bad thing — to replace the thinking component of the “stimulus-thought-response” chain of events. In this example, no doubt, the assumption — or habit of thought — serves you well (this is the good news).
Unfortunately, however, that’s often not the case (this is the bad news). In a business, assumptions might include any of the following statements or beliefs:
“That won’t work here.”
“Change is risky.”
“I’ve seen this situation before.”
“We’re better than the competition.”
While some of our assumptions are useful in preventing us from having to consciously figure out the mechanics each time we confront a familiar situation, many habits of thought keep us from stretching our capabilities and trying new, and inventive, and possibly better ideas or techniques. Just like when you see a police car, these assumptions work silently, but powerfully to impact your behaviors and the behaviors of those around you.
Welcome to the “black box” of business and the enemy of business growth. Most business leaders don’t even know that it exists; yet it contains the keys to our own potential, our organizations’ potential, and our ability to get more of what we really want. Assumptions drive thinking, thinking drives behavior, and behavior drives results.
In late 2005 FORTUNE Magazine published a cover story about Andy Grove, one of Intel’s founders and most accomplished leaders. In describing one of the key characteristics that made Grove so successful, author Richard S. Tedlow wrote “Forcibly adapting himself to a succession of new realities, [Grove] has left a trail of discarded assumptions in his wake.” Grove’s ability to challenge “conventional wisdom” (just a euphemism for assumptions) paved the way for a number of seminal decisions at Intel including their move in the mid 1980’s to exit the memory business and focus on processors, and their decision to spend millions on a ground-breaking branding campaign called “Intel Inside” to brand an internal component of a computer.
What made Grove different (and so successful at Intel) is that he actively sought ways to force himself to challenge his assumptions and beliefs – in effect continually pushing and expanding his comfort zone. It was the modus operandi of his personal growth and his ability to lead Intel so successfully for so long.
Can you identify the modus operandi for strategic growth in your organization? When is the last time you consciously pushed to expand your comfort zone – by definition making yourself and those surrounding you uncomfortable in the process? Can you find a way to regularly challenge your own assumptions and beliefs? If not, might it make sense to find someone who will?
For sure, assumptions make our lives easier and more comfortable. It’s up to you however, to decide what you’d like to do with them to drive growth, to make your organization more competitive, and to improve yourself personally.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good.
For instance, while driving (even if you’re doing the speed limit), it’s quite common to pull your foot off the gas pedal when you see a police car ahead on the side of the road. In that instant, it seems like your foot has a mind of its own! What really happened is that you incorporated an assumption – that getting a ticket is a bad thing — to replace the thinking component of the “stimulus-thought-response” chain of events. In this example, no doubt, the assumption — or habit of thought — serves you well (this is the good news).
Unfortunately, however, that’s often not the case (this is the bad news). In a business, assumptions might include any of the following statements or beliefs:
“That won’t work here.”
“Change is risky.”
“I’ve seen this situation before.”
“We’re better than the competition.”
While some of our assumptions are useful in preventing us from having to consciously figure out the mechanics each time we confront a familiar situation, many habits of thought keep us from stretching our capabilities and trying new, and inventive, and possibly better ideas or techniques. Just like when you see a police car, these assumptions work silently, but powerfully to impact your behaviors and the behaviors of those around you.
Welcome to the “black box” of business and the enemy of business growth. Most business leaders don’t even know that it exists; yet it contains the keys to our own potential, our organizations’ potential, and our ability to get more of what we really want. Assumptions drive thinking, thinking drives behavior, and behavior drives results.
In late 2005 FORTUNE Magazine published a cover story about Andy Grove, one of Intel’s founders and most accomplished leaders. In describing one of the key characteristics that made Grove so successful, author Richard S. Tedlow wrote “Forcibly adapting himself to a succession of new realities, [Grove] has left a trail of discarded assumptions in his wake.” Grove’s ability to challenge “conventional wisdom” (just a euphemism for assumptions) paved the way for a number of seminal decisions at Intel including their move in the mid 1980’s to exit the memory business and focus on processors, and their decision to spend millions on a ground-breaking branding campaign called “Intel Inside” to brand an internal component of a computer.
What made Grove different (and so successful at Intel) is that he actively sought ways to force himself to challenge his assumptions and beliefs – in effect continually pushing and expanding his comfort zone. It was the modus operandi of his personal growth and his ability to lead Intel so successfully for so long.
Can you identify the modus operandi for strategic growth in your organization? When is the last time you consciously pushed to expand your comfort zone – by definition making yourself and those surrounding you uncomfortable in the process? Can you find a way to regularly challenge your own assumptions and beliefs? If not, might it make sense to find someone who will?
For sure, assumptions make our lives easier and more comfortable. It’s up to you however, to decide what you’d like to do with them to drive growth, to make your organization more competitive, and to improve yourself personally.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
How Thought Vibration Works
Thought vibration cannot be heard, seen or smelled. However, it is as real as anything that you see around you.
This vibration is so intense that it takes shape instantly in a non-physical reality.
However, as it cannot be sensed in this physical world, you may not give much significance to it.
Thought vibration is higher than your senses can detect.
Your senses are capable to catch just a friction of the vibrations surrounding you. You miss out on most of the reality as a result.
Thought vibration is similar to radio waves. However, radio waves are within the range of your perception, therefore you are able to hear them.
You may find it hard to believe that thoughts are powerful enough to manifest themselves into your reality. Why? Because it is hard for you to perceive something that you cannot touch, hear or smell. However, thoughts create your life no matter if you believe it or not.
Thought vibration works the same way as a magnet. Magnet has the capability to attract very heavy objects to itself, yet you cannot see the force causing the attraction. However, you do not neglect the fact that magnet attracts objects.
The only difference in magnet force is that it can instantly attract objects to itself. Thought, however, takes time to manifest. Why? Because firstly you manifest goals in a non-physical reality. Then this manifestation needs your persistence to finally present itself in your reality.
You might ask at this point why your manifestation needs persistence to come. Why can't it manifest instantly? My honest answer would be that I don't know. It could be so to protect you. As if you think about something horrible, you would not want this manifestation to come instantly to your life, would you?
Most people's minds are so untrained, it is pure chaos there. It would be too much for a person to handle if he would manifest everything he is thinking of.
It might also be this way so as to reward only those who are persistent enough. It would not be fair for everyone to have what they wish because even lazy people would get all they want.
So you may notice a balance here. Those that take time to learn thought vibration will eventually apply everything they know and manifest whatever they desire. Yet lazy people will get results that resonate with their behaviour. Life is fair, isn't it?
Thought Vibration Application
As soon as you think of something, you create it in a non-physical reality. It waits for you to get it. You keep thinking of it, and it comes closer and closer to you. Everything is good so far. But here's where most people fail. They forget to take action.
You have to take some action to get what you want. If you don't move, you will not get any results.
You can act in two ways. First (my favourite one) works this way:
You think of a thought, hold it long enough and then wait. After some time (couple of days or even hours) you will get some idea. This idea comes from the unconscious, starting to guide you towards the achievement of your goal.
If the idea seems right for you, you should act on it straight away – don't forget to thank for it though.
You will know if the idea has reached you through the unconscious rather than from your own logical mind. The idea will be 'out of the blue' and uncommon to your thinking.
I will give you a personal example here. I started to invite thought into reality through positive affirmations. I kept repeating: “Every day I will receive plenty of money working from home., I acted on the idea.” Did it work? You bet!!!
Great ideas started to pour out of nowhere. I would turn on my laptop, browse through some websites, and just spot the opportunities to make money. I would also get offers straight to my email inbox.
I got so many money making ideas that I did not know where to start! I had to stop these affirmations and really make some decisions. I took one great idea that really made sence to me. It was Every Month A Million, and started to work on it.
My mind was calm as I knew that this idea came from the unconscious through the direct request of mine. I knew that it would make me money, as I asked for the money making ideas.
Another way you could act is by taking any action while thinking about your goal. Just keep the goal at the back of your mind at all times, and take any action that you think will lead to the achievement of the goal.
This way you will start the process of manifestation. You may notice that you may be corrected later on if you take the wrong action. Something may happen which will cause you to take a different action. That is okay, just go with the flow. No resistance is needed.
Thought vibration also has some obstacles to go through. These obstacles are thoughts of others.
You are not the only thinking person in this world. The ether is filled with billions of thoughts.
Some of them resonate with yours, some don't.
If your goal is very big (e.g., if you are poor and you want to become a multi-millionaire), your thought will have to travel a long way.
That's why it is important to hold your thought long enough. You have to keep refuelling this vibration, until it is strong and can travel on its own.
Not even mentioning thoughts of others, what about your own thoughts? You may have hundreds of different thoughts in your head that conflict with each other. So if you want to become very wealthy, but some of your thoughts are about impossibility of becoming wealthy, how can you manifest riches?
The way to get rid of your limiting beliefs is by using positive affirmations (to change mindset) and meditation (to get rid of negative thoughts). These two steps I highly recommend. Them alone can make you very successful.
Once you get rid of your limiting beliefs you will notice that goals manifest much quicker. It is because the vibration you send does not have as many obstacles to go through. You will spend less time visualising and refuelling your dreams. They will manifest much easier.
Thoughts also have the capability to multiply themselves. This is because of the law of increase. If you keep thinking about riches, you will be able to attract other people's thoughts about riches. It will strengthen your vibration and you will eventually become rich.
The only thing is, there are many more people who have limiting and depressed thoughts...
That's why it is much easier to become poor and a coward than to become wealthy and courageous.
If you introduce some limiting thought vibration in your head, it will waste no time inviting its friends: sad, depressing, angry and worrying thoughts.
This especially applies if you live with fearful people or have angry neighbours. As soon as you become angry, their thoughts will find you and deepen your anger.
If you want to become a successful person, you will have to be persistent in positive thinking.
Others positive thoughts will reach you, but you may feel it only slightly.
Distance plays a role here. If a very successful person is far away from you, his/her thought will reach you. However, it will not be felt as strongly as some limiting thought you might get from your neighbour.
I know that it is easy to fall into the depressing thought vibration. But you have to think only positively if you want to get out of your current reality. Only you can help yourself, no one else can.
If you find it hard to hold positive thought vibration, just think about the rewards you will get. Is living your dream worth spending time thinking positively? I'm sure it is.
Don't ever give up in whatever you do. Do not fall back where the masses are. It's too crowded there anyway.
It is so much better to live a life of your dreams. And it is achievable. You will have to pay the price, of course, but the rewards will be worth every second of your persistence.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good.
This vibration is so intense that it takes shape instantly in a non-physical reality.
However, as it cannot be sensed in this physical world, you may not give much significance to it.
Thought vibration is higher than your senses can detect.
Your senses are capable to catch just a friction of the vibrations surrounding you. You miss out on most of the reality as a result.
Thought vibration is similar to radio waves. However, radio waves are within the range of your perception, therefore you are able to hear them.
You may find it hard to believe that thoughts are powerful enough to manifest themselves into your reality. Why? Because it is hard for you to perceive something that you cannot touch, hear or smell. However, thoughts create your life no matter if you believe it or not.
Thought vibration works the same way as a magnet. Magnet has the capability to attract very heavy objects to itself, yet you cannot see the force causing the attraction. However, you do not neglect the fact that magnet attracts objects.
The only difference in magnet force is that it can instantly attract objects to itself. Thought, however, takes time to manifest. Why? Because firstly you manifest goals in a non-physical reality. Then this manifestation needs your persistence to finally present itself in your reality.
You might ask at this point why your manifestation needs persistence to come. Why can't it manifest instantly? My honest answer would be that I don't know. It could be so to protect you. As if you think about something horrible, you would not want this manifestation to come instantly to your life, would you?
Most people's minds are so untrained, it is pure chaos there. It would be too much for a person to handle if he would manifest everything he is thinking of.
It might also be this way so as to reward only those who are persistent enough. It would not be fair for everyone to have what they wish because even lazy people would get all they want.
So you may notice a balance here. Those that take time to learn thought vibration will eventually apply everything they know and manifest whatever they desire. Yet lazy people will get results that resonate with their behaviour. Life is fair, isn't it?
Thought Vibration Application
As soon as you think of something, you create it in a non-physical reality. It waits for you to get it. You keep thinking of it, and it comes closer and closer to you. Everything is good so far. But here's where most people fail. They forget to take action.
You have to take some action to get what you want. If you don't move, you will not get any results.
You can act in two ways. First (my favourite one) works this way:
You think of a thought, hold it long enough and then wait. After some time (couple of days or even hours) you will get some idea. This idea comes from the unconscious, starting to guide you towards the achievement of your goal.
If the idea seems right for you, you should act on it straight away – don't forget to thank for it though.
You will know if the idea has reached you through the unconscious rather than from your own logical mind. The idea will be 'out of the blue' and uncommon to your thinking.
I will give you a personal example here. I started to invite thought into reality through positive affirmations. I kept repeating: “Every day I will receive plenty of money working from home., I acted on the idea.” Did it work? You bet!!!
Great ideas started to pour out of nowhere. I would turn on my laptop, browse through some websites, and just spot the opportunities to make money. I would also get offers straight to my email inbox.
I got so many money making ideas that I did not know where to start! I had to stop these affirmations and really make some decisions. I took one great idea that really made sence to me. It was Every Month A Million, and started to work on it.
My mind was calm as I knew that this idea came from the unconscious through the direct request of mine. I knew that it would make me money, as I asked for the money making ideas.
Another way you could act is by taking any action while thinking about your goal. Just keep the goal at the back of your mind at all times, and take any action that you think will lead to the achievement of the goal.
This way you will start the process of manifestation. You may notice that you may be corrected later on if you take the wrong action. Something may happen which will cause you to take a different action. That is okay, just go with the flow. No resistance is needed.
Thought vibration also has some obstacles to go through. These obstacles are thoughts of others.
You are not the only thinking person in this world. The ether is filled with billions of thoughts.
Some of them resonate with yours, some don't.
If your goal is very big (e.g., if you are poor and you want to become a multi-millionaire), your thought will have to travel a long way.
That's why it is important to hold your thought long enough. You have to keep refuelling this vibration, until it is strong and can travel on its own.
Not even mentioning thoughts of others, what about your own thoughts? You may have hundreds of different thoughts in your head that conflict with each other. So if you want to become very wealthy, but some of your thoughts are about impossibility of becoming wealthy, how can you manifest riches?
The way to get rid of your limiting beliefs is by using positive affirmations (to change mindset) and meditation (to get rid of negative thoughts). These two steps I highly recommend. Them alone can make you very successful.
Once you get rid of your limiting beliefs you will notice that goals manifest much quicker. It is because the vibration you send does not have as many obstacles to go through. You will spend less time visualising and refuelling your dreams. They will manifest much easier.
Thoughts also have the capability to multiply themselves. This is because of the law of increase. If you keep thinking about riches, you will be able to attract other people's thoughts about riches. It will strengthen your vibration and you will eventually become rich.
The only thing is, there are many more people who have limiting and depressed thoughts...
That's why it is much easier to become poor and a coward than to become wealthy and courageous.
If you introduce some limiting thought vibration in your head, it will waste no time inviting its friends: sad, depressing, angry and worrying thoughts.
This especially applies if you live with fearful people or have angry neighbours. As soon as you become angry, their thoughts will find you and deepen your anger.
If you want to become a successful person, you will have to be persistent in positive thinking.
Others positive thoughts will reach you, but you may feel it only slightly.
Distance plays a role here. If a very successful person is far away from you, his/her thought will reach you. However, it will not be felt as strongly as some limiting thought you might get from your neighbour.
I know that it is easy to fall into the depressing thought vibration. But you have to think only positively if you want to get out of your current reality. Only you can help yourself, no one else can.
If you find it hard to hold positive thought vibration, just think about the rewards you will get. Is living your dream worth spending time thinking positively? I'm sure it is.
Don't ever give up in whatever you do. Do not fall back where the masses are. It's too crowded there anyway.
It is so much better to live a life of your dreams. And it is achievable. You will have to pay the price, of course, but the rewards will be worth every second of your persistence.
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Faith or Fear-Which one will you choose?
Each time in my life that I have embarked to start a new endeavor there is at some point in the beginning a moment where I feel a cold chilling sting. This sting I am referring to is the fear of failure. Perhaps some of you reading this have never had that problem, and you just go from one business to the next with your chest out conquering the world. This article is NOT for you. There are many people that experience the fear of failure at one point or another in their lives, and some people live with it indefinitely. This article IS for you.
If you do not take ownership of and conquer your fear early on it will debilitate you causing your biggest fears to become a reality. There are a few short truths that I am about to share with you to aid you in your quest of conquering fear. First, you have to accept the fact that Fear is a spirit as the Bible states in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.” The opposite of fear is faith which is also a spirit. In fact, one could define fear as the expectation of something bad whereas faith could be defined as the expectation of something good.
That is an over simplified definition of either term, but let me explain. One individual may be afraid of dogs and when meeting a new dog, is afraid because they are expecting to be bitten, whereas another individual who loves dogs, has faith that the dog will be friendly. You see? Your fear of failure isn’t that you are failing now. It is from the expectation or at least a concern that you will fail, and the fact of the matter is that fear and faith being spirits cannot coexist in the same vessel. You will be in submission to one or the other.
I realize that all of that was deep but the way to cure your fear isn’t deep at all. The thing that cures fear is simple…ACTION cures fear. Whatever you are afraid of, do that thing over and over and you will no longer be afraid of it. If you have a fear of failure then go to work and work hard until the fear goes away. In this case your success would chase fear away. Whichever spirit you submit to will determine the outcome of your expectations. Faith is God’s activator and fear is Satan’s activator. Which one will you choose?
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good
If you do not take ownership of and conquer your fear early on it will debilitate you causing your biggest fears to become a reality. There are a few short truths that I am about to share with you to aid you in your quest of conquering fear. First, you have to accept the fact that Fear is a spirit as the Bible states in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.” The opposite of fear is faith which is also a spirit. In fact, one could define fear as the expectation of something bad whereas faith could be defined as the expectation of something good.
That is an over simplified definition of either term, but let me explain. One individual may be afraid of dogs and when meeting a new dog, is afraid because they are expecting to be bitten, whereas another individual who loves dogs, has faith that the dog will be friendly. You see? Your fear of failure isn’t that you are failing now. It is from the expectation or at least a concern that you will fail, and the fact of the matter is that fear and faith being spirits cannot coexist in the same vessel. You will be in submission to one or the other.
I realize that all of that was deep but the way to cure your fear isn’t deep at all. The thing that cures fear is simple…ACTION cures fear. Whatever you are afraid of, do that thing over and over and you will no longer be afraid of it. If you have a fear of failure then go to work and work hard until the fear goes away. In this case your success would chase fear away. Whichever spirit you submit to will determine the outcome of your expectations. Faith is God’s activator and fear is Satan’s activator. Which one will you choose?
Every Month A Million and the Daily Dose Of Good
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