How Relevant Are Your Self Growth Teachers?

How relevant are your self growth teachers? Do you find that many of the spiritual and self help gurus' messages ring shallow to you or are unhelpful?

One of the blogs I discovered recently and which I've really come to enjoy is the Urban Monk by Albert Foong. One of the things I most like about Albert's blog is that the articles are in depth, insightful, and truly though provoking.

His blog's most recent post was an article written by Tom Stine entitled Separating the Spiritual Wheat from the Chaff. This post and the comments it provokes are a great example of what a blog should be. So I heartily recommend you check it out.

One of the key ideas in the article is developing a basis by which to discern the quality of the teaching being offered by anyone who is positioning themselves as a teacher. This can run the gammit from your church pastor to the latest new age guru.

How do you determine who is the snake oil salesman versus the enlightened master? Particularly these days where there's something of a spiritual revolution underway? (And that's another topic in itself for another day.)

Reading the article got me to thinking about the idea that any teacher or guru tends to have a "shelf life".

Why is it that quite often we will become dismissive of teachers and their message over time?

If you're like me, over time and as part of your journey to living a life of inspired abundance, you will tend to come to a point where you stop listening to a particular teacher and begin to discount what he or she has to say.

Why is that?

For me, I've observed that most teachers I've come across have a shelf life -- for me -- of around 2 years. There are certainly exceptions, but I'd say it's generally true that after 2 years, I've learned pretty much all I'm going to learn from a particular person.

Or at least I've learned pretty much all I'm prepared to learn.

Isn't that interesting ...

As my buddy Peter at The Wealthy Attitude is prone to say, "You must first drop your 'already' listening in order to have a 'ready' listening". In other words, you need to be willing and open to listen to new ideas and concepts rather than listening for proof of what you think you already know. When you decide you already know something, you stop listening for anything new.

That's the challenge in the relationship with student and teacher. There comes a point where the student's ready listening shifts to an already listening (with that teacher).

At that point, the student's new learnings must come from a new teacher for which there's a "ready" listening. So it's now a new teacher that has the most relevance.

That strikes me as part of the cycle of personal development.

So while it's important to be aware of and able to discern the value and quality of a teacher as we learn and grow through life, it's also important to remember that the relevance of the self growth teacher is as much a reflection of our own level of growth and "ready listening" as it is the quality of the teacher's message.

Persistence And Tenacity: Top 10 Quotes

Persistence, perseverance, or tenacity; I thought I'd offer some quotes today.

You can call this trait whatever you like -- persistence, perseverance, tenacity, determination, doggedness, tenaciousness, strength, or purpose -- but regardless of what you call it, it is a common trait in every successful person.

Here are some of my favorite quotes on the subject of persistence to inspire you to persist in your own path to a life of inspired abundance:

1. "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." (Conrad Hilton)


2. "Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success." (Dale Carnegie)


3. "Get a good idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it's done right." (Walt Disney)


4. "I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards." (Abraham Lincoln)


5. "Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries." (John Albert Michener)


6. "Failure is the path of least persistence." (Anonymous)


7. "Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did." (Newt Gingrich)


8. "Nearly every man who develops an idea works at it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then gets discouraged. That's not the place to become discouraged." (Thomas Edison)


9. "When I thought I couldn't go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, not luck." (Norman Lear)


10. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Mark Twain)

What Do You Really Want: How To Persist

What do you really want that's important to you and how effectively will you persist, without exception on your path towards it?

After watching yesterday's video on persistence and perseverance, it caused me to realize how often I say I'm persisting in particular aspects of my life, but in reality -- if I examine it closely -- that's simply not true.

More typically, I will persist for a while until I'm uncomfortable, but then quit because I don't like the stretch.

I throw down the shirt in disgust and walk away.

Which I suppose ultimately means it's just not that important to me. Or, more accurately, I've failed to remind myself why it's important ot me.

Be remembering what it is I really want that's most important to me, I'm going to become much more able to persist through the tough spots. I will be more prepared to persist without exception.

Let's say I'm unhappy with my weight.

I want to lose 10 pounds so I begin a daily workout regimen. But after a few days, I feel tired and would rather not work out. So I skip the session. Which makes it easier to skip the next one. Pretty soon, I've abandoned my workout regimen altogether. And then I say I can't lose weight.

Well, at the point I am feeling too tired and don't feel like working out, what is it I really want?

Is it to skip the workout? Or maybe it's to find some energy to allow me to work out. What was it that led me to start the workout regimen in the first place? Oh yeah ... I want to lose 10 pounds. If that's still what I want that's most important to me, then what might I rather want right now. Is it to skip the workout or perhaps it's to do something that motivates me and gives me the energy to work out? Hmm ... given that, what do I want to do next ...

Perhaps I have the impulse to want to feel better, so I reach for the ice cream in the freezer. That will make me feel better ... oh, but what about the 10 pounds? What is it I really want that's important to me? Is it to lose the 10 pounds or is it to feel better right now in this moment?

And if it is to feel better right now in this moment, does it mean it has to be with the ice cream? What else might make me feel better that isn't going to conflict with what I really want, which is to lose the 10 pounds?

As I'm considering or about to make a choice or decision, when I take the time to pause and remind myself what it is I really want, it gives me the perspective to assess my choice. And in doing that, I'm more often than not going to make a better choice that allows me to persist with whatever it is I've chosen to take on.

I remember what I want, which makes it easier for me to persist.

Persistence And Perseverance

Persistence and perseverance are essential qualities to becoming successful in life.

We've talked about them a number of times in this blog. It's your willingness to persevere -- to persist without exception -- that is going to enable you to accomplish what you want to accomplish. And it's what enables you to discover your life of inspired abundance.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. I found this video clip today and it is a wonderful illustration of the concept of persistence and perseverance.

Pursue Your Dreams: Do The Impossible

Are you ready to pursue your dreams and do the impossible?

There comes a time in everyone’s life where when we have a dream to be someone “special” or to accomplish something special. It might be to hit the game-winning home run or to be the homecoming queen.

As we get older, we may dream of becoming rich and successful or to have a happy and healthy relationship.

But too often, we reach a point where we allow our dreams to become more fleeting and they begin to float away. We allow life and circumstance to get in the way and we begin to set our dreams aside, or put them on a shelf where they begin to collect dust and are then forgotten.

How many dreams have you let die in your life? At what point did you find yourself caught up in the daily monotony of life rather than experiencing the excitement of building your dreams?

We all have the inherent capacity to dream a bigger dream … to aim higher. And by doing so, life can become an exciting adventure again – like it is supposed to be.

It’s our aim that limits our results. By reaching beyond the boundaries of what we believe is possible, we begin to accomplish the impossible -- and it's then that we discover a life of inspired abundance and wonder.

That’s where all new breakthroughs in human accomplishment come from.

· The automobile
· The airplane
· The sub 4 minute mile
· The man on the moon

Limitations are perceptions you choose to believe in; they are nothing more.

Take the example of the bumblebee. Based on once known laws of aerodynamics and phsics, scientists asserted it should be able to fly. Yet, it does.

So begin to take inventory of your dreams and re-examine what you believe is impossible for you. Start to write down some dreams you’d really like to accomplish. Start out with littler dreams if you must, but begin adding to the list and once you’ve exhausted your ideas, pick the 3 to 5 that are most important to you right now.

Write them down in your journal and build a dream board. Get them in front of you and into your consciousness each day. And begin asking yourself, “what one little thing can I do today that will move me closer to my dream?”

Pretty soon, you will find you are not just ready to do the impossible, but are actually doing it.

7 Quotes about Ego: Friend or Enemy?

Is your ego your friend or your enemy?

Ego disguises itself cleverly within you and then goes about convincing you that it is you.

We invest so much effort and energy into preserving our ego, yet I'm learning that it's only by letting go of the ego that we can truly be set free to live a life of inspired abundance.

If I reflect on the teachings of Wallace Wattles in The Science of Getting Rich, I conclude ego is a vestige of the competitive plane, whereas lasting prosperity and freedom reside within the creative plane.

If you want to ponder this idea further, I recommend you watch the film Revolver, which is a very unusual and off beat reflection on the evils of the ego by Guy Ritchie.
Meanwhile, here are 7 quotes about ego as you consider whether your ego is your friend or enemy:

1. "Ego is the biggest enemy of humans" Rig Veda


2. "One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star" GK Chesterton


3. "Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called Ego" Friedrich Nietzsche


4. "It is the nature of the ego to take and the nature of the spirit to share" Proverb


5. "Today self-consciousness no longer means anything but reflection on the ego as embarrassment, as realization of impotence: knowing that one is nothing" Thedor Adorno


6. "The ultimate aim of the ego is not to see something, but to be something." Muhammed Iqbal


7. "Every normal person, in fact, is only normal on the average. His ego approximates to that of the psychotic in some part or other and to a greater or lesser extent." Sigmund Freud

3 Simple Steps To Raising Your Self Esteem

Your level of self esteem tends to drive your thoughts, feelings and actions in life and so learning how to raise your level of self esteem in a particular area or topic is a key element of overall self improvement and a key aspect of learning to live a life of inspired abundance.

If there's a particular area of your life where you feel your confidence and self esteem is low, try this simple 3 step process as a way of systematically raising your level of self esteem.



Let's use relationships as an example. Let's suppose your level of self-esteem is low when it comes to your confidence around creating new, healthy relationships.

Step 1: Your thinking habits

We often get into negative thinking habits that create a box in which we confine ourselves and our level of self confidence. Looking honestly at your tendencies, what are some of your habits that may be contributing to your lack of confidence in forming new relationships?

Write them down.

• I have the habit of worrying that everyone will laugh at me


• I have the habit of expecting people not to like me


• I always look at my feet while speaking

Step 2: Your present situation

How have those habits influenced your present results? More importantly, what are some obvious corrective steps you can focus on beginning right now, that will enable you to raise your level of confidence and self esteem?

Write them down.

• I can expect people to be interested in me


• I can expect people will like me


• I can make eye contact with people while speaking

Step 3: Your future vision

Now that you have identified some new habits you can begin to adopt, what is the result you expect in the future if you make a point of practising them every day?

Write them down.

• People find me interesting and listen intently to what I have to say


• People like me and want to spend time with me


• I am confident while speaking to new people and form new relationships easily

Now you have a set of affirmations you can use each day to reinforce the new you. As you recite these affirmations daily, you will be reminding yourself of the new habits you are focused on developing and your will be reprogramming your subconscious mind to focus on the new more confident you.

And you will gradually be raising your self esteem day by day and, with a little persistence, you will quickly achieve a substantial level of self improvement in your life. Try it.

Infinite Abundance: Our Oceans Hidden World

In order to expand and grow as individuals and as a species, we must remain open and willing to listen, willing to learn and willing to explore hidden worlds -- including our oceans.

When we're caught up in what we believe we already know, we can often find ourselves closed off to new information.

And often, we can be so locked in on what we're focusing that we're oblivious to the other things or opportunities around us. A world of inspired abundance is literally at our doorstep, yet most of us are so focused on what we see as missing that we've never taken the time to lift our gaze.

Here's a tremendous illustration of what we don't know about our own planet ... and how relatively little time and resource we've bothered to spend looking at the infinite abundance that exists in the hidden world of our oceans.

Law of Attraction: the Science of Getting Rich

Law of attraction has become all the rage the past couple of years, but the science of getting rich through deliberate use of law of attraction has been around as an idea for centuries.

In his classic 1910 book entitled The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace Wattles says the following:

"It is natural law that like causes always produce like effects; and, therefore, any man or woman who learns to do things in this Certain Way will infallibly get rich."

So what is this natural law that Wallace Wattles is referring to? What is behind this notion that like causes always produce like effects?

The answer of course is law of attraction.

When Wattles is talking about “doing things in a certain way”, he is describing a process by which to put law of attraction to deliberate use in your life -- the process by which you can live a life of inspired abundance.

The idea that there is a natural law at work has been touched upon in several classics over the past century. In his 1902 book As A Man Thinketh, James Allen wrote this:

"The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its unchastened desires - and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own."

And of course, Napoleon Hill touched upon the natural law in his classic Think and Grow Rich.

So law of attraction is not a new idea. To me, its staying power suggests it's an idea worth spending more time studying.

There is indeed a "science" of getting rich we can learn to apply deliberately in our lives. We are indeed the sum of our thoughts and, by law of attraction, we always get more of what we think about.

Ready For Wealth and Riches: A Wealthy Mindset

Are you ready for wealth and riches? Do you have a wealthy mindset?

Think about the question for a moment and whether you are really, truly ready for wealth. Do you have the mindset and attitude necessary to allow wealth to not only come to you, but to then stay with you?

In our society, we are subjected to a lot of subtle (well, actually, not so subtle) negative messages that suggest there is something inherently wrong or inappropriate with wanting to be wealthy, rich and prosperous. And because of this programming, most of us really aren't ready for wealth -- which in large part explains why 97% of us are not wealthy.

The negative programming is inescapable. Our attitudes towards wealth and money are influenced from birth by images and expressions such as "money doesn't grow on trees" or "the filthy rich". We're taught that we must "work hard" for our money if we are to deserve it at all.

Yet, it is completely normal and natural to desire to be rich or wealthy or properous. This is a normal expression of the desire for expansion, which is inherent in all things. We must grow or we must die.

As a society, we seem prepared to accept the idea of growth and expansion as noble in most areas, but not necessarily when it comes to wealth and money.

Isn't that interesting ...

We carry beliefs around with us that in fact serve to sabotage our efforts to create wealth and build a life of inspired abundance. Underneath it all, most of us feel it's wrong to want to be rich and that we don't deserve it.

For must of us then, the road to wealth and freedom begins with letting go of the notion that we're somehow unworthy or that we should feel ashamed if we desire to become rich.

That is the reason I believe that the foundation of an wealth creation plan must begin with developing a healthy wealth mindset. And it means developing an understanding of what being rich and wealthy really is ... for it's much more than simply money.

In the absence of the mindset, we will never be ready for wealth. Here's a video summary of what real riches and wealth are, as narrated by Napoleon Hill, author of the classic book Think and Grow Rich.

Competitive Mind vs. Creative Mind

Do you approach life from your competitive mind or from your creative mind?

Today, I'd like to change gears completely and share a fascinating video with you.

But before we get to the video, I've been spending a lot of time studying Wallace Wattles' 1910 classic book, The Science of Getting Rich as I'm putting the finishing touches on my new audio study program built around the book.

One of the things Wattles talks about in his book is the distinction between the competitive mind and the creative mind and how living a life of inspired abundance is predicated upon operating from the creative mind.

According to Wattles, when we operate from the competitive mind, we are focused on winning and tend to develop an us versus them mentality. There's not enough of everything to go around and so there are winners and losers. Our actions are not focused on the greater good and expansion for all.

Conversely, when we operate from the creative mind, we are focused on growth and expansion for everyone and everything. We come from a position of abundance with an aim to benefit all. There are no losers.

From which mind do we operate as a human species, particularly when it comes to coexisting with other living species on the planet?

Sadly, it's generally from the competitive mind.

However, here's an example of what's possible when we choose to leave the competitive mind behind and to operate from the creative mind instead. Meet Joshua Kelin.

Tending the Garden of Your Dreams: Persistence and Belief

What seeds are you planting in the garden of your dreams ... and better still, are you demonstrating the persistence and belief to focus your energy on tending the garden so that you are providing the best growing environment for those dreams?

Picking up our conversation about beliefs from yesterday, what are your expectations regarding goals or intentions or goals you've set in your life? Do you trust that they are coming and focus your attention on supportive activities?

Let's use the analogy of a garden.

When you prepare your planting beds and actually plant the seeds, do you then dig the seeds up in a few days to see if they have started to sprout? Or do you trust that the seeds will grow and instead focus on properly watering and feeding the soil, and keeping the beds weed free?

When planting a garden, it's so easy for us to have the trust in nature that the seeds know what to do and we understand our job is to provide a supportive growth environment for the seedlings.

It's no different when we are planting the seeds of our dreams.

Yet how often might you find yourself literally digging up the seeds to look for evidence of growth ... that the seeds of your dreams have begun to take root? And of course, everytime we do that, we're potentially killing the seeds or at the very least their growth is stymied the second we disturb the roots in the ground.

Belief is about trusting enough that the seed will know how to grow and allowing it to do so by placing our focus and attention on maintaining a healthy growth environment. And living a life of inspired abundance is about then reaping the fruits of our garden tending.

But the reaping comes well after the sowing.

In the case of our dreams ... the garden and growth environment we must tend to are in our minds.

So ... with that thought, what weeding of your thought garden are you going to do today?

My buddy Peter at The Wealthy Attitude sent me the link to this video yesterday and it struck me as a wonderful illustration of the concept of persistence and faith in our purpose as we go about tending our gardens with peristence and belief, knowing that one day our dreams will grow magnificently.

Beliefs and Believing: Empower Yourself

What are your beliefs and why do you believe what you believe? Are you holding beliefs that empower you?

So often, we allow our beliefs to stand in the way of us getting what we really want in our lives. We buy into the idea that we're not good enough, or we don't deserve it, or that we're selfish if we want more, or that we're not special enough.

Where did these beliefs come from?

Here's what dictionary.com says is the definition of belief:

1. The mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another: My belief in you is as strong as ever.


2. Mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of something: His explanation of what happened defies belief.


3. Something believed or accepted as true, especially a particular tenet or a body of tenets accepted by a group of persons.

We're told what to believe from the moment we're born. We're inundated with slogans and statements we're expected to accept as truth. We are subjected to authoritative assertions of "truth" from our parents, grand parents, teachers, clergy, government and the media.

Most of us don't have a chance of determining our own beliefs because by the time we're old enough to reason for ourselves, we've already developed the habit of not questioning statements from authoritative sources. We've been essentially socialized into blindly accepting what we're told to believe.

In my last post, I suggested that if you're choosing not to take the actions that best position yourself for success in whatever you wish to pursue, then it's an indication that you don't have the belief you can have it, do it, or deserve it.

What do you suppose would happen if you began to question those beliefs? What is it that has led you to accept those beliefs as truth? Why should you accept these beliefs if they don't serve your higher good?

Because someone else said so?

Living a life of inspired abundance includes learning to spot and question the underlying beliefs you hold that are getting in the way of your dreams. And it means having the confidence in your own ability to apply thinking and reason to develop a new set of beliefs that better serve you and your highest good.

It's about empowering yourself to make conscious decisions about what you choose to believe. And if you're not getting the results you want in your life so far, honestly examining your beliefs relative to what you want is where you must begin. Choose your own thoughts about things.

Change your thoughts and you'll change your beliefs. Change your beliefs and you change your results. Take ownership of your beliefs and empower yourself to make your dreams come true.

How To Position Yourself For Success

Do you know how to position yourself for success in reaching your goals?

This is a follow-up to my last post about the fickleness of my results working with law of attraction. In that post, I mentioned the importance of taking action to demonstrate to the universe that you are preparing to receive what you've set out as your intention.

In his power principle recording on action, Bob Proctor says that faith without action is useless. You can believe your goal will come, but in the absence of taking inspired action steps towards the goal, it's not going to come to you.

If you intend to live a life of inspired abundance, then there are action steps to be taken to attract that abundance towards you.

Bob Proctor also explains that your attitude towards your goal is the composite of your thoughts, feelings, and actions regarding it. And your attitude will either be positive or negative.

If you have a positive attitude, then you will be positioning yourself for success. If your attitude is negative, then you will be positioning yourself for failure.

Simple, isn't it?

Another thought occurs to me though -- your actions are a direct reflection of your belief.

So, if you are not taking the steps available to best position yourself for success, then you don't believe you will have the success ... or you don't believe you deserve it.

Do You Believe You Can?

Revisiting our law of attraction: are your results fickle? example of the new home business network marketing entrepreneur, if you choose not to make the investment to position yourself most favorably within the compensation plan (to maximize your profits the soonest), then your lack of action clearly reflects a lack of belief in your ability to earn those profits.

The good news is that your actions are a direct reflection of your belief.

So, if you are confused about a particular result you are getting and why it's not in alignment with your stated intention, simply examine the set of actions you have taken (or not taken) around the goal.

So here's the process:

• For the particular goal you have, identify all of the action steps you can be taking that best position you for success. This should be relatively easy to do.
  
• Now, rank the items in terms of their importance to achieving your goal. Again this should be relatively easy to do.

How many of the action steps have you not taken and how many rank near the top of the list?

Be honest.

If you find that you have not been taking the actions that best position yourself for success, then you know there is work for you to do in terms of building your belief. And that, my friend, is another conversation altogether ...

Law of attraction: are your results fickle?

As I continue to practice the deliberate use of law of attraction, I find my results are often very fickle.

Why is that?

Well, there are many nuances to sending out a consistent set of signals to the universe that represent a consistent vibration. Too often, I discover that there are subtle counter intentions at play which negate the original signal I am intending.

Let's walk through a simple example.

Let's suppose I have a strong desire to be successful with a new home business I've decided to start up. My desire is strong and I see myself earning 5 figures a month with my new enterprise. In fact I feel very excited.

The business I've chosen to begin happens to be a network marketing business (since that's one of the easiest businesses to get started with) and I know that to properly position myself for maximum success in its compensation plan requires an investment in myself and its products. (This is typically true for any any network marketing business ... really it's true for pretty much any business.)

What happens if I choose not to properly position myself until after I start making enough money with the business to cover the additional investment?

This is a very common decision people choose to make when they get started in a new business. But by law of attraction, what is the result that decision is most likely to attract?

On the one hand, I've said to the universe I expect to earn 5 figures a month with my new business.

But on the other hand, my hesitation to position myself for maximum success sends a different signal. It says, " I am not sure if I can really do this" or "I haven't decided if I'm really ready" or something like that.

So, have I positioned myself for success or "failure"?

The universe is going to mirror back to me what I am sending. And in this example, more often than not, that result is going to be far less than what I desire.

I lapse into this kind of inconsistency all the time. And I see others lapse into this all of the time.

Going back to the example above, I'm convinced it's one of the primary reasons most business start ups fail. The follow-up actions people start taking with their business are in conflict with their initial intent. They are not actions taken to position themselves for maximum success (which is what you said you want) and so the universe sees that you're not taking the subsequent steps that demonstrate you really mean it.

This inconsistency in follow-through action will for the most part negate the strength of the original intention in pretty much any example and in any aspect of your life. And sometimes the counter intention can be so subtle, it's very difficult to spot.

Yet, to live a life of inspired abundance means ensuring our actions are in full alignment with our intentions. It means taking the actions necessary to position ourselves for success -- to position ourselves to receive. When we fail to do so, when we fail to demonstrate follow through, our results are going to continue to be fickle at best.

The Perception of Truth: 10 Quotes About Truth

What is your perception of truth?

I've been reflecting on the word truth the past couple of days and have come to an interesting conclusion -- it's all a matter of perspective.

I find this interesting because I find that for the most part I've always taken to truth to be absolute. So I looked truth up in the dictionary and found these 3 definitions:

1. the true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth
2. conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement
3. a verified or indisputable fact, propostion, principle, or the like

We're taught that the "truth is out there" and we're inundated with messages that promote a particular truth, but my truth and your truth may be very different. So who's is the correct truth?

So, in the spirit of finding the truth, here are my 10 favorite quotes about the nature of truth:

1. The greatest enemy of any one of our truths may be the rest of our truths. (William James)


2. The thought that provokes thought is much more valuable than the thought that is only an echo of an accepted truth. (Thomas W. Hanford)


3. Candor is a double-edged sword; it may heal or it may separate. (Wilhelm Stekel)


4. When in doubt, tell the truth. (Mark Twain)


5. The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. (Stephen Hawking)


6. The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. (Niels Bohr)


7. The greatest friend of truth is time, her greatest enemy is prejudice, and her constant companion humility. (Chuck Colson)


8. It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. (Adrian Rodgers)


9. Truth is not determined by majority vote. (Doug Gwyn)


10. The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple. (Oscar Wilde)

What is your perception of truth? Or maybe, to quote another famous line, "you can't handle the truth!"

Do You Control Your Emotions?

Do you control your emotions or let your emotions control you?

The American Heritage Science Dictionary defines emotions as follows: A psychological state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is sometimes accompanied by physiological changes; a feeling.

I had occasion yesterday to observe what happens when we react to our emotions rather than choose how to respond to our feelings. The result was a heated exchange of emails that may have damaged or even ended a friendship.

And so it reminded me of the power of thought. Thoughts of course lead to feelings. Feelings create emotions and lead to actions. But when we react to our emotions, our thinking becomes muddled and our judgement clouded. We often say or do things we regret which begins a cycle of more unwanted thoughts and feelings. Law of attraction at work.

Becoming a victim of our emotions can quickly turn into a habit. And the path to inspired abundance is through the habit of choosing a response rather than the habit of reacting to an emotion.

That led me to find this quaint, dare I say "fun" video on controlling your emotions. It was produced by Coronet Instructional Films in 1950. I found it entertaining, yet at the same time there are still some very relevant points. What do you think? Any ideas about controlling your emotions that still hold water?

Part 2

3 Simple Steps To Overcoming Your Fears And Firewalk

Here are 3 simple steps you can take to overcome your fears. I'm going to use a firewalk as the analogy or context for these steps.

Last year, I -- make that we (since my wife Michelle and our daughter Jalyna, who just turned 12, also participated) -- participated in a firewalk while in Australia. The coals were 1200 degrees fahrenheit, glowing red and still flaring. It was an unnerving sight and it brought up more than a little bit of fear.

As I've written before, fear is for the most part all in your head. In my case, the primary fear was imagining that I'd end up with severe burns to my feet and unable to walk. Then of course that would lead me to fall down onto the hot coals, and have my clothing catch fire. Heck, perhaps I'd even spontaneously combust! (We did have to sign a waiver acknowledging death as a potential outcome.)

Of course, none of those things happened. We all successfully navigated the bed of burning coals and felt exhilarated when we got to the other side. We were able to successfully overcome our fear by following three simple steps.

Step 1: Decide

The first step is to decide you will proceed in the face of your worry, doubt, or fear. In the absence of the decision to proceed, nothing will overcome the inertia and fear will rule the day.

In the case of our fire walk, we each made the decision that it was something that was important for us to do. Why? Well, for me, it was a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate to myself that I'm able to rise above my fears and do something my mind is telling me I can't or shouldn't do. This was important to me. Besides, other people were doing it, so why couldn't I do it?

A strong desire for something that's on the other side of your fear is a prerequisite to making the decision. But the decision is the foundation.

Step 2: Keep Moving Forward

Once you've embarked upon your goal, you must keep moving forward. If you allow fear to set in, you have a tendency to freeze (like a deer in the headlights) which is when things you don't want to happen are most likely to happen.

In the case of the firewalk, if we stopped part way along the path and simply stood there, then there was a very high likelihood that we were going to start suffering burns.

Moving forward means taking the step by step actions required to maintain momentum.

Step 3: Focus On Where You're Going

You must keep your eye on your destination ... don't look behind you or off to the side to see what's happening. When you do, you will be prone to misstep.

In the case of the firewalk, if we started to look behind us or at the crowd, we would be putting our safety in peril. That is how we'd most likely trip or misstep and then really hurt ourselves. We had to keep our eye on the other side of the coal bed, which served as our "lighthouse" of sorts that served to guide our navigation.

And then, celebrate!

You can be sure there were a lot of high fives and hugs in celebration when we made it to the other side of the hot coal bed ... as there should be. Living a life of inspired abundance means deciding to go after what you desire, moving constantly forward, and keeping your eye on where your're going at all times ... and then celebrating your successes along the way.

There you have it, 3 simple steps to overcoming your fears that I believe apply to literally any situation ... including doing a firewalk.

What Do Your Really Want In Your Life?

What is it you want right now in your life?

If you're like me, you probably find that question difficult to answer. Yet it's fundamental to determining the road we wish to travel.

How fulfilled do you presently feel in your life? Are you content with things as they are? Or do you find yourself aspiring for a deeper, more meaningful sense of purpose or self expression?

We all have an inherent need for growth and expansion, but often become so caught up in past or current circumstances that we’re unable to see past the status quo. We become locked into habitual patterns and begin to feel trapped.

We feel that way because we are not longer growing or expanding … and we intuitively recognize this, hence the “feeling” of being stifled. This is actually our guidance system kicking in to let us know we’re off course.

So when we notice that our guidance system is telling us something is amiss, what can we do to correct course?

Here is a question you can ask yourself to help bring about your “course correction” to put you back on your natural path of growth and expansion, which of course leads to a life of inspired abundance.

What is it right now that I really want and that is most important to me?

This fundamental question can serve as your foundation regardless of your circumstances. Your answer will change with your circumstances, but by answering this basic question you will always be able to ground yourself in what is most important.

The key thing to remember is to focus on the "what" because we are often prone to "how" responses that masquerade as a "what".

For example, let’s suppose your first impulse to answer this question is “to pay off my credit cards”.

Paying off your credit cards is actually a “how” that solves something else. So, what is it about paying off the credit cards that is most important to you right now?

Is it that it will allow you to take a trip? Is it the sense of relief you will feel? What is it, really?

A technique you can use to help you get underneath and into your real “what” is to employ the “What Five” technique.

Beginning with your first answer, ask the “what is it I really want” question again framed around your answer. Then ask the question again framed around your new answer. Do this until you are 5 layers deep (or no longer come up with a different answer).

It’s a simple way to peel back the onion and zero in on what it is right now that you really want and is most important to you. And once you have clarity around what you really want, you can then begin to ask yourself what one thing you can do today to help you move towards what you really want.

Brian Greene The Universe On A String Theory

Super String Theory and the universe -- in this video from Ted.com, Brian Greene provides a very compelling and easy to follow explanation of string theory.

How is the universe constructed, how many dimensions might there really be, and how is it that we're all interconnected? And what, if anything does this have to do with the desire to live a life of inspired abundance?

Well, the greater understanding we can develop about how the universe is actually constructed and works, the greater the understanding we can then develop about how and why the universal laws really work.

And that greater understanding in turn better equips us to be aware of how our actions impact the "world" we create around us.

One possible explanation is string theory. Watch Brian Greene explain super string theory and the universe now.

Andy Andrews The Butterfly Effect

Have you heard or seen Andy Andrews' explanation of the butterfly effect?

I've been focused on the theme of fears and dreams all week and how, when we focus on our fears they tend to immobilize us and lead to inaction, when all it takes is an inspired action to propel us towards our dreams.

And often, it's that one inspired action which can have a ripple effect far beyond anything we might have imagined. It's what can lead to a life of inspired abundance not just for ourselves, but can impact countless others as well.

Here's Andy Andrews discussing the butterfly effect.

Let Your Fears Shape Your Dreams

Is it possible to let your fears shape your dreams?

I repeated the assertion that dreams and fears are part of the same coin in several posts this week. They're both visions of a future outcome which we can choose to focus on and believe, or dismiss.

If what we aspire towards is a life of inspired abundance, then in order to build upon our dreams we must first become clear about what we really want ... in specific terms.

Often though, I find that difficult to do ... I can't seem to find the clarity around what it is that I want. Do you find this difficult to do as well?

In that case, we you can let your fears shape your dreams because your fears can help you to gain that clarity. Behind every fear is a wanting.

So I can simply ask myself what it is that I'm afraid of. Not having enough money to retire? Getting sick and dying?

Then I can turn the statements around to gain clarity around what I do want. I want financial security. I want good health.

So if I'm stuck when it comes to clearly defining what I want, I can ask, "right now give the present circumstances of my life, what is it that I am most afraid of?"

Once I have that answer, I can then ask "right now given the present circumstances of my life and given what I fear, what is it I want that is most important to me?"

Wherever possible, I attempt to express what I want as a noun. In doing that then I know I'm being specific.

So while you want to avoid placing undue focus and expectation around your fears, understanding and examining your fears can in fact be very useful in helping you become clear about what you do want. Sometimes it's okay to let your fears shape your dreams.

Overcoming Fear By Taking Action

Do you give into your fears or take action to pursue your dreams?

If fears and dreams are simply the opposite sides of the same coin, what is the key trigger that makes one outcome more likely than the other?

I suppose there are several, but it seems to me it is the willingness to take action.

In my experience, focusing on fear leads to indecision and inaction -- we have a tendency to freeze like deer in the headlights.

But conversely, focusing on our dreams and what we want leads to inspired action. And it's inspired action taken with faith and purpose that can move mountains and alter history. It's what carries us down the road to inspired prosperity.

Don't believe me?

I invite you to watch this video clip of Andy Andrews, as he shares the story of Joshua Chamberlain, a true person of action.

Lynne McTaggart The Gap Between Science And Spirituality

Do you find yourself at times struggling to make sense of the gap between science and spirituality? If so, I'd like to introduce you to Lynne McTaggart.

Lynne McTaggart is the author of the books The Field and The Intention Experiment.

With the conversation about fears the past couple of posts, I find myself led to wanting to understand more of the "science" of thought and whether there's a scientific basis from which to explain the power of thought.

Remember, FEAR is an acronym for "false evidence appearing real".

Having saide that, I wonder what DREAM is an acronym for ... hmm ... feel free to post some suggestions.

But I digress ...

So as you ponder the idea of fear being the opposite side of the same coin as dream, if you are like me it is natural to question the "reality" of the assertion. It's all well and good to say, but it can sound like more "metaphysics mumbo jumbo".

I am on a journey where I want to live a life of inspired abundance, but can it reallly be as simple as just choosing to focus on one set of thoughts over another? How and why can this possibly work?

That brings me back to Lynne McTaggart.

I saw Lynne McTaggart speak in Sydney, Australia in June of 2007. She has done a tremendous amount of detective work and continues to study the inner workings of things in a very systematic fashion.

Lynne's work is focused on bridging the gap between science and spirituality.

I came across this video of Lynne McTaggart in which she explains some of her "scientific" findings.

Lynne provides a great contrast in approach to many of the other teachers who are more spiritual and hence may appear to be less tangible in the way in which they explain things. So let's hear Lynne McTaggart explain some of what she's discovered that can assist us in bridging that apparent gap between science and spirituality.

Conquering Fears And Pursuing Dreams

Fear is an interesting animal. Conquering our fears is something most of us have so much difficulty with (at least in certain aspects of our lives) that it's spawned its own industry of gurus teaching us not to be afraid and not to give in to our fears.

Or selling us products to protect us from the unfortunate outcomes that will befall us.

For the most part, it is all in our heads.

As I've suggested previously, fear is generally focused upon a future outcome we anticipate or imagine. The outcome is something we do not want and we're predisposed to believing it's the only possible outcome if we carry forward.

Perhaps the most insidious aspect of fear is that it often leads us to freeze ... to do nothing because there's the possibility it will turn out bad. In other words, we find ourselves playing not to get hurt rather than playing to win.

How can that lead to a fulfilling life of inspired abundance?

And there are all kinds of fears. The fear of speaking in public is a big one ... but its just a conversation.

In martial arts, we learn to break boards with our hands and feet. Yet so many beginners are afraid they will break their hand.

A year or so ago, I walked barefoot on fire and hot coals that were over 1200 degrees fahrenheit. My mind told me I would get burned (or worse) ... in fact I had to sign a release acknowledging I could die. I didn't get burned at all.

Financial fear is another big one. I believe we've been so conditioned that few of us will ever break free of our financial fears. We worry about being able to provide for our families, send the kids to college, or retire with enough money to live.

We're inundated with offers of insurance and commercials focusing on the minefield of risks before us. We are so concerned about losing money that we end up not participating in opportunities when they come along. We presuppose the outcome and so don't even try.

At what point is it where we chose to put more faith in our fears than in our dreams?

Dreams are simply the opposite side of the coin from fear. They also represent an anticipated or imagined outcome.

Why is the dream less likely to occur than the outcome we fear?

The truth is that it isn't less likely.

But we do tend to get what we focus on and what we believe. Perhaps its time to invest a little more energy in focusing upon and believing in what is possible ... that dreams do come true if we persist with faith and belief in ourselves.

By putting more focus and attention on pursuing our dreams, we end up conquering our fears.

Fears and Fire Poi

I've been focused a lot lately on life lessons, in particular how we deal with our fears.

We're so predisposed to give our fears full power, but be dismissive of our dreams. It seems to me that, if what we seek is to live a life of inspired abundance, then it's our dreams to which we must give our power. How else will we get what we want?

I came across this video today and felt compelled to share. If you're familiar with the art of Fire Poi (or even if you're not), you'll find its message very inspiring.

Free Hugs The Power of a Hug

The power of a hug, as illustrated by the free hugs campaign started with one video.

I was looking around for some inspiring videos to give me some ideas for the Inspired Abundance blog the other day, when I discovered that free hugs has become an ever growing movement. And each successive video is inspiring more people to launch their own free hugs campaigns.

Sometimes it's the simplest things in life that matter the most. The power of a simple gesture ... a touch, a smile, or even a hug ... can unite us in a truly powerful and meaningful way.

I've gathered some of the free hugs videos that inspire me into one power of a hug playlist.

Who will you hug today?

Andy Andrews The Power of Persistence

Andy Andrews discusses the power of persistence in his seventh decision for personal success. It's the most pivotal of the seven decisions because it's your willingness to persist without exception that determines whether you succeed or quit.

Today is your last chance to enter the Inspired Abundance Andy Andrews book give away contest! Complete the form at right to enter -- it's free!

To wrap up this week's profile on Andy, here's a video in which Andy Andrews interviews Erik Weihenmayer and they talk about accepting responsibility,the power of persistence and how to channel fear into actions. Erik is the only blind person to have climbed the highest peak on each of the seven contintents.

What Summits exist in your life that you can decide to persist until you've reached them?

Andy Andrews and The Power of Forgiveness

One of Andy Andrews' seven decisions that determine personal success is focused upon the power of forgiveness.

"I will treat each day with a forgiving spirit."

The words are easy to say, but how far are you prepared to truly live this decision?

Watch this interview by Andy Andrews of IRA Brighton Bomber Patrick Macgee and two of his victims, Jo Berry and Harvey Thomas. It's a clear illustration of the true power of forgiveness.