We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. ~ Teilhard de Chardin 1881 – 1955

While having an amazing time in NYC mid August with my beautiful friends, it dawned on me that life is all about having experiences. Let me explain.

Weeks before this amazing weekend I had a number of challenges come into my life. All of varying degrees on the stressometer. What did I do. Why me. Why now. Where all the too common thoughts running through my mind. Maybe there is something to learn from it all. And there were, a number of learnings. Very interesting ones. But that can be left for another blog post discussion.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift that’s why they call it the present.

So then came this amazing weekend with friends in NYC celebrating my wife’s birthday. So much amazing that it allowed me to put everything that has been happening to me in the last 2 months into perspective.

Our friends Elbra & Chris whom we spent time in NYC summed up the weekend well “Five rockin parties in 4 nights, bonding after parties, NYC’s best rooftop penthouses, bottle service, best NYC restaurants, dinner at Daniel…the.entourage, the paparazzi, the sexy censored photo shoot at the most exclusive venue in all of NYC right now…the jacuzzi room…our secret…the shopping sprees, also jam sessions with wall street traders, sushi cheers and drunken convos about past lives and trying to figure out if it was all a dream because we actually never went to sleep…….INCEPTION……..is ur top still spinning cuz mine is!”

“You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You can find yourself by coming into the present.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

We did this by embracing each day as though it was our last. Living to the fullest in the present moment. Nothing else mattered around us, just that moment together experiencing everything life has to offer. We saw the beauty and life in every moment, we partied together like it was our last day on this beautiful earth, we embraced each others presence and connected on an emotional level. We opened up our hearts and found our true self.

“Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves” ~ Teilhard de Chardin

So what does all of this narrow down to? – An experience. Both events were experiences but the NYC one allowed me to see everything in clear perspective. It was like night and day. Getting this level of perspective is like waking up and saying… wow, I now understand. I gained a level of understanding why the bad and the good experiences happen in life. It’s there for us to experience, to give us perspective and to make us realise how beautiful life is once we push through a bad experience. The experience was the take away. I learnt to never lose myself in a bad experience again. I realized that life is full of amazing experiences like the ones in NYC. What we take away from each day is an amazing experience.

Never stop asking for more experience

You may be asking, but Ernest some of these experiences you mentioned require money. The answer is yes and no. Our world revolves around exchange of paper carrying a promise of value, money. Yes we need money to eat, have shelter and transport. It’s a given. However money is available to everyone & can always be made when the need is there. Some people just don’t know how to ask. Jesus once said “ask and you shall receive”. So if you ask for an experience you shall receive it. If your experience requires money to get you there a way will always be found for you to have this experience, even if it involves money. Money isn’t the key here, rather the experience.

Few years back in Sydney (Australia) while doing my undergraduate Computer Science degree I always dreamed of working in Silicon Valley (California). I wanted to work amongst the elite in my industry. I wanted to experience. Experience working in a leading edge company. Experience the culture, lifestyle, people and everything else it has to offer. Today, I live in Mountain View, the heart of Silicon Valley, working at a leading edge company with the elite in my industry. Wow! I wanted an experience and the universe found a way for me to get there. There was no talk of how much money I needed just that I wanted to experience more. The bits in between, the money and how to get there all got sorted out as the dream became a reality.

Never stop asking for more experiences. There is no such thing as greed when it comes to experiencing more and being more. Greed is just a word, nothing more. Every experience makes you grow bolder, stronger, smarter and in turn enriches your spirit. The true you. Just never get lost in a bad experience.

Be open to change

If you haven’t already read my short blog post about a short story on how obstacles are conditions to success then please take this time to do it. You will see that change is at the heart of every experience. Being open to experience is all about being open to change. Know that change is what must occur in order for new experience to come into your life.

Aha moment

Change is that thing that rocks your status quo and makes you feel uncomfortable and can be perceived as a bad event. Wow, a label! Do you understand this now? Bad sometimes is a perception of change coming into your life. For me in the 2 stories above it gave me perspective to see the world from 2 different sides and experience something wonderful. We must embrace every experience else we can get lost in the one which lays the foundation of change heading your way for deeper spiritual growth. Remember, that the only boundaries are in form.

Your human experience

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Many believe that we need to be on a path, a spiritual journey, in order to find our self. I do not believe there is a path one has to be on / follow, I believe there is just being. Experiencing your human experience. We are not a human being having a spiritual experience, we are more, a spiritual being having a human experience.

The moment we stop or resist an experience.. we are stopping ourself from being more and our true self the spiritual being from having a human experience. This is why it is so important to embrace experience whether good or bad. The words good or bad are nothing more than words with a human meaning attached to them. Look underneath and between the words and you will see the true meaning of an experience. It has the power for spiritual growth in ways you never expected!

So what does it all mean?

It means many different things to many different people. To me it means that to have an experience is part of having a human experience. Spiritually fulfilling. It has the power to fill your cup with peace & love and make you see the world differently. Trying to think about how an experience can change you is not enough. Consciously we are bad at predicting how we will feel. I will talk about this in another post. But for now remember that there is no substitute to “just being” and letting yourself be bathed in the human experience.

Ernest

Success is defined as “an event that accomplishes its intended purpose”. Especially when you set your mind and soul to it. This a beautiful short story which I heard from John C. Maxwell and had to share it with you, life explorers.

An eagle’s only obstacle to overcome for flying with greater speed and ease is the air. Yet, if the air were withdrawn and the proud bird were to fly in a vacuum, it would fall instantly to the ground, unable to fly at all. The very element that offers resistance to flying is at the same time the condition for flight.

The same law, that obstacles are conditions to success!
A life free of all obstacles and difficulties would reduce all possibilities and powers to zero.

Dolly Parton sums it all up with these words “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow you gotta put up with the rain.”

Approach every obstacle in life with this simple view “obstacles are conditions to success.” and I guarantee you that you will live a happier, successful and fulfilling life.

Ernest

Finally a reality series worth watching. It is called Breakthrough with Tony Robbins now showing on NBC (and Hulu). It follows Tony Robbins (self-help author and success coach) as he helps the show’s participants face their personal challenges.

What is a Breakthrough?

A Breakthrough is a moment in time when the impossible becomes possible. When something happens that shapes you, that moves you. Maybe you meet someone who inspires you. Maybe it’s a tool or a strategy that you learn. Maybe you finally get so fed up you won’t settle for the life that you have any more. It’s when something inside of you clicks and everything changes. You take massive action and you transform your life. More about Tony’s Breakthrough show here.

Breakthrough with Tony Robbins - new TV series

The show – Breakthrough with Tony Robbins

I just finished watching Episode 1 (hulu video below) where Tony Robbins helps married couple Frank and Kristen come back together after a tragic accident. The story show us how doing something different helps you to see & experience the world in a different light instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself & living inside false thoughts (your head). Tony is amazing at helping people realise their potential. This is a must watch!

The ONLY reason you don’t have exactly what you want is the story you keep telling yourself about why you can’t have it or don’t have it already! ~ Tony Robbins

If you want to read more about Tony Robbins and see a video recording of Tony teaching UPW (Unleash the Power Within) attendees amazing way to view life click here.

What Tony teaches us in this show (the take-away / to-go)

• There is no challenge you cannot face or overcome.
• The events of our lives do not control our lives.. our decisions do.
• Life gives us these events because we have to grow. Realise this. Welcome it.
• To feel meaningful and alive we must have progress. Progress is Growth.
• Whatever you fear today is small when compared to a bigger fear. Fear is always comparable.
• It’s not what we face rather what we do with what we face that matters. It’s the action to unleash your human spirit to change your game of life.
• The worst thing one can do is to not take control of the force that controls your life. And that force is human emotion.
• All breakthroughs start with a change in your beliefs.
• Your beliefs make you “feel certain” and no talking (lecturing) can change you like an “experience”. An experience where you realise something deep.
• You get freedom when you push through your fear.

Change your belief by changing your experience – Tony Robbins

How to apply this to our own life – steps to transform

1. 1. Identify where you live emotionally. eg. depression, anger, feeling guilty /sad etc… that should good emotional fuel to take action. One side of the paper write down what empowering emotions you experience in a week eg. love, peace. And on the other side disempowering emotions eg. fear, depressed, overwhelmed etc. Circle the top 2 on each side.
2. 2. Identify the antidote. If fear is controlling things, we need an antidote called Courage. Courage doesn’t just mean you are scared, but it means you are scared but will do it anyway. It’s an emotional muscle. You just excercise it by facing it head first.  Identify the emotional state(s) you would you like to feel (to change the game) when experiencing those disempowering states and use them as an antidotes.
3. 3. Practise that emotion. Do it enough consciously that you can go from frustrated / depressed to determined. “Emotion is created by motion.”  Notice how you motion changes when you are sad. eg. slow, body sagging (body language). Realise that this affects your “emotion”. Knowing what to change when it happens will help you practise the antidote in response to a disempowering emotion. Ask yourself “what do I do when I feel loved / happy”. What are my antidotes? – from worried to determined, from not sure to focused etc.. learn and practise that emotion.
4. 4. Condition it. Up to a point so that it becomes automatic (a habit). Figure out where you live emotionally and practise it 3/4 times a day for 7 days. If you want to learn about building habits visit my prior post here.

And remember…

New pattern = New life
Our life is a reflection of our emotional patterns.
You can face any challenge from those emotions and overcome it.

You can do this yourself right now!!

The best way to keep something in your body is to share it with someone else. It has to be about WE, not just me. Pay it forward by sharing this post with people you feel will benefits from this knowledge.

We can make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong, the amount of work to get there is the same. ~ Anthony Robbins

Enjoy!

Ernest

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When fear or anxiety consumes us we are prone to burn more energy using our Willpower. Willpower is the strength to act, or forbear from acting, in the pursuit of a goal. Burning your Willpower is a bit like pressing a gas paddle in your car really hard making the engine rev harder and burning unnecessary fuel to go a small distance. It’s not an efficient use of this amazing power you have to get things done.

Are you achieving your goals?

Look back to the start of this year, when you set your goals. How much closer are you to achieving those goals? If you are not close then maybe you are burning your Willpower on unresourceful activities. David DeAngelo taught me a very important rule about Willpower and how to use it wisely.

When we have awareness we should focus on Willpower to create routines (habits). Use Willpower to do something that will become a routine (habitual). ~ David DeAngelo

Ernest Semerda at Malibu LA Private Beach - Willpower baby!

Where is your Willpower

Willpower is with you daily. But a bigger reservoir is there with you early in the morning. This is because your Willpower is not yet sucked up by the daily disruptions, anxiety, email & internet addiction, noise pollution etc… Therefore, since your Willpower is at “maximum” early in the morning it makes perfect sense to utilise it then to make the most of it in achieving your goals.

Starting early

It’s no rocket science that most people are more productive early in the morning. You may have heard these people say things like “I’m more focused in the morning” or “the lack of morning disruptions allows me to do more”. No wonder. Their Willpower is fresh, new, full and ready to be focused on what they set their mind to. You too can tap into this limited supply of daily Willpower. Just wake up each day early and focus on your NEW will power day after day after day. After you have given focus to what you want to achieve using your new will power, your mind will take over and the power of habit pulls you to the thing you wanted to do. It becomes the thing you do automatically. If you want to understand more about quick habit building, check out my post on 21 day habit building.

Programming self thru practice

In order to make this work effectively, you have to program yourself to do it. This is done by creating a practise of it. The habit I mentioned above. Realise it will not always be in the moment. “Trying to do it” or “remember next time” never works. Practising is the only thing that works. Create a practise that you make yourself do it. Once you create a practise of it, you don’t have to remember how to do it again. The thing you practised JUST HAPPENS. It’s all automatic. In the same way great speakers can empower people naturally, and how we can drive a vehicle while listening to radio and speaking to your passengers. From practise it’s just happens, all automatically.

Awareness is the key

Awareness is the most valuable state to make this happen. ~ David DeAngelo

You need to be aware of what you are doing, how your body and mind behave and react and question everything. With questions come answers. Do the following:

1. 1. Marshal your will power on a daily basis.
2. 2. Put some accountability in place so it is something you just do.
3. 3. Make it inevitable so that you are doing this all the time.
4. 4. And it’s just what you do. So that you can free up Willpower to go and work on the next goal.

It all starts up the stream at “awareness”.

An excercise

Here’s a practical excercise you can do to understand this approach better.

1. 1. Image your specific outcomes you want & behaviour you need to change. Make sure it’s specific and measurable at specific time. For example; “I will buy a beautiful 10 bedroom waterfront property in 6 months at Carmel-by-the-sea, California.”
2. 2. Get your reason why. How will this affect your life?. For Example: “I have always wanted a waterfront property in a beautiful place surrounded by nature. My life will be more fuller, a life long goal achieved at an early age, I will have more space to spread my wings, have a large family and throw those fantastic cocktail parties for my close group of friends.”
3. 3. Visualise clearly – make it inevitable and then visualise, visualise and visualise. Imagine how you will behave when you have achieved this goal (buzzing with life and energy), how your body will look (perfect posture & glowing with energy), how you will feel different (inspired, full of life), how you will move differently (head up, chest out, relaxed), how you will breath (deep from the belly), your posture doing this new behaviour and how you will feel deep inside when you have reached this outcome. This is your new reality. Make it happen!

Your mentality creates your reality ~ Sean Stephenson

In conclusion

Once you engrave this new reality inside your mind, it becomes 2nd nature. Your map in your head changes and reality alters to meet your new map. You notice connections and become conscious of it. Your Reticular activating system fires up and starts to see things it wouldn’t see before. This is the same system which is behind your awareness when you buy a car and you notice that car everywhere. You know which one, we all had it happen to us with a car purchase. You are alert to it. You have learnt that through repeated and visual affirmations and clear specific outcome tied to motivation your mind snaps into action and pulls you towards it. This is nothing new. Napolean Hill had chronicled this over 100 years ago. But like most knowledge, if not used it gets lost. What nature gives it easily takes. “Believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.” – Bible.

As always I love questions so please ask!

Ernest

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We all want to feel good, happy and inspired with every step and breath we take in this wonderful life. Yet many fail to achieve this balance of happiness and live in misery cursing the life they have failing to see the beauty in it.

During unsettled times we are often advised by friends and family to “think positive”. But what does think positive really mean. I often wondered this myself and with time I believe I have narrowed it down to a set of 3 “key” actionable points to feeling good by thinking positively. Here are these points in more detail:

1. Become aware of your emotions

• Emotions are your “automatic” reactions to events in your life. They are as Anthony Robbins calls them “patterns” – a fight or flight response with various intensities based on the trigger. Emotions last from few seconds to couple of minutes and no longer.
• Stacked Emotions = Mood. You may have heard people say – “Leave me alone I’m in a bad mood.”. This typically happens due to “stacked” emotions. The stacking process begins when a trigger is set off (say bad breakfast) and a negative pattern is set off automatically. The response to this could leave you cursing the bad breakfast. Then another event occurs which sets off another bad pattern yielding a negative emotion. The stacking is one bad emotion after another. By the time you leave home for work / your next set of activities you may be in a “bad mood”.
• Therefore, enough of these “bad” Emotions will lead to a “bad” Mood. Bad Moods are your worst enemy. They can last for a full day! Which is why you need to learn to control your Emotions in order to have “Positive Moods” resulting in a blissful day.

2. Smile – it’s contagious

Ernest at LA's Laugh Factory

We are taught in our childhood to not show emotion because it’s a sign of weakness. Thus we wear a lifeless mask in the public, especially during business encounters. What we were not taught is that your facial expression affects how you feel (see point 3 below). Putting on a sad face or a smile directly produces the feelings that the expressions represent, according to a new theory of how emotions are produced.  For more detail on this research visit an insightful article in NY Times here. Smiling is a sign of Strength & Good Character – it should be encouraged because those individuals that smile are positive, self motivated and optimistic. Optimisim empowers problem solving. And don’t forget, happiness is contagious!

• It takes less muscles to smile then frown. Yes it’s true! This century old saying by Charles Darwin and William James still holds a lot of scientific merit. More on this topic here.
• You certainly don’t want to look grumpy in your senior age – so smile.

3. Change your physiology since it affects your psychology

“Put your head up, shoulders back and smile – the world looks better from above.” – Tony Robbins

• We all know this, but we never pay much attention to this simple habit.
• When you feel low, tired and unhappy go to the gym and get a workout. I guarantee you that you will feel better. Think of all the times when you just finished a work out and how great you felt. This is because the act of moving is beneficial to your health. Your body inside starts to feel good and thus in turn has a positive effect on your psychology.
• Tony Robbin’s quote above also hold a lot of merit. Look at those who are unhappy with life – they “droop” down, head down, shoulders in, scraping to be happy. The world looks a lot better from above. Put your head up, shoulders back and smile – you will notice a lot more around you and see the world from a better angle.

How to destroy a bad mood

Wow, some great ammo here to get you feeling good right. These steps are easy to implement, you can start doing them as of now. But there is still one more golden bullet required – how to destroy a bad mood. Since moods are harder to change, changing your “state” is required to change your mood. Here are my top 3 which work every time:

• Go for a long walk and leave the worries behind for an hour. Breath deeply during this walk and think back about the day’s good experiences (learnings) you have gained.
• Take a hot shower or bath with Epson Salt. Epsom Salt is amazing for relieving tension in your muscles and this will certain relax you. Check out my previous post on Epson Salt and it’s benefits.
• Meditate to clear your mind & give it a “reboot”. Meditation has been around for a long time as a form of relaxation and stress (anxiety) relieving tool. It’s easy to do and anyone can practise. If you want to raise it a good notch spend an hour in a Floatation (Isolation) Tank.

Here are the links to my previous posts explaining these techniques in a step by step format:

• Breathing: http://blog.ernestsemerda.com/2009/11/24/breathing-the-elixir-to-a-healthy-life/
• Meditation: http://blog.ernestsemerda.com/2009/12/04/the-monkey-mind-how-to-bring-inner-peace/ and
• Isolation Tank: http://blog.ernestsemerda.com/2009/09/03/floatation-isolation-tank-fringe-science/

Do it now!

If you feel like you are miles away from happiness realise that you are only 2mm away. I encourage you to watch this amazing YouTube video from Anthony Robbins talking about our perception of achievements in our life and how close things really are. There is also a great book on this topic on Amazon by David D. Burns called Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Revised and Updated. I recommend you read David’s book to gain more insights into feeling good.

As always, I love questions, so ask away!

Enjoy,
Ernest

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I’m not going to bore you with the same aged material about goal setting and how important it is to your success or go into detail about a long rumoured Harvard study which found “that the 3% of the population which makes the effort to write down their goals makes over ten times as much as the other 97% combined”. Or was that the Yale study which also didn’t take place.

“Change your life change your future.” – Jim Rohn

What I will talk about is changing your future with a good solid plan for the year ahead. Putting together a set of steps  which you can follow to take you to the next level. Without a direction how do you know where you are going? where are you going? maybe you are drifting by with the rest. Time to take control of your future!

“Take control of your raft and steer your way forward, don’t let the current carry you in its own direction.” – Ernest Semerda

Planning the year ahead is the same habit every successful leader / company takes time aside annually to layout the strategic direction for the new year. The aim is to re/focus efforts (both resources and financial), create a road map how to move forward to stay ahead of competition and keep the wheels moving. This IS the biggest study that this system actually works and creates long-lasting results. Planning works. It has worked for companies ranging from 1 to thousands of employees generating up to billions of dollars per year. It has been underneath our noses, you may have even played a role in it, so why shouldnt it work for you. Let’s make it work for you.

The aim is to bring focus to the year ahead. What do you want to do this year in your personal and business life in 2010?

We all want more out of life, yet how many of us are willing to change in order to make a difference. Change requires effort, sacrifice and breaking through the fear barrier. As an unknown proverb once said “fall down 7 times get up 8 times!” in order to succeed. This means moving outside your comfort zone and building new habits. It takes time and rarely yields instant gratification. But I’m sure you have heard this quote before, “all good things come to those that wait”. It’s not wait do nothing, but that gratification comes over time to those who persist, put in effort and energy into change.

“Rome was not built in one day.” John Heywood

Where to start – it’s simple

1. You have 12 months (1 year) to make a difference in your life. Need motivation? I’m sure you can recall an event, a person or something unjust which happened to you in 2009. Get Angry! Feel the Disgust – today is the day you say “enough is enough” and you make a life changing event.

2. Start with a Mind Map. It’s the closest approach to how you mind works when brainstorming. Dont bother with bulleted notations for brainstorming – your mind is not linear in thought. It’s chaos in there. Let’s get it down on paper. Click here if you want to read more about mind maps.

3. Once you have the Mind Map done, pull out “Core Project” areas you want to focus on. Make sure each Core Project area is realistic – challenges should match skills, i.e. the task should be neither too difficult, which would produce stress and anxiety, nor too easy, which would produce boredom. You may call these Core Projects “Goals” if it helps to maintain uniformity with your earlier approach.

4. Expand on each Core Project and write it’s “Milestones”. Each Milestone must have a due date and be very specific without leaving much room for interpretation. For example, writing “I want more money by July 2010″ might yield you an extra 1% raise in your financial position. But if you write “I will have an extra $20,000 by March 2010″ then this is specific and your subconscious mind has something solid to work with. Think of your subconscious mind like a Genie. You have to be very careful what you wish for, because you are damn sure going to get it.

5. Now break down each Milestone into Actionable steps (how & what you plan to do). Let’s use the $20,000 example; ask yourself how do you intend on making that additional $20,000 by the due date. Some actionable steps might be:

• Sell a product online. This may be by creating an iPhone / Android applications or through Affiliate Marketing in a niche market. If you have the skills then you might do this yourself or maybe you need to educate yourself in this area before you can begin or hire someone with the right skill set.
• Meet that sales target at work, work out a deal with your employer that for a sale of x amount by the due date you will get compensated the required money. If you can give value to your employer which is above what they are to pay you there is no reason the employer would refuse. You and they make money. It’s only fair.
• Provide a specialised service (that’s of value to your target market) and set up a subscription service ie. $9.99 for access. This means you will need 2003 subscribers to reach your target figure. What will this service be, how do you intend to make it unique, how will you build your subscribers list and why should they subscribe (give money) to you.

These are just some of the questions you need to be asking yourself and working on their solutions to meet your target.

6. Have fun. You need to enjoy what you are doing. When you are doing something you enjoy and it is realistic you will experience Flow. The pleasurable state that people experience when they are absorbed in an activity that demands their full attention, but such that they feel in control, i.e. able to effectively move towards their target, however far away this still may be.

7. Put your targets where you can see them daily. You want to be reminded constantly to generate “urgency” for completion. You want to make sure that you review the list on a daily basis and have it in sight all the time, say on the bathroom mirror (to see the list each morning), on a whiteboard, to do list etc…

8. Dont forget point 1. This is very important to keep you going (motivated). There is a reason why you must change / make a difference in your life.

“Gambaru” translated from Japanese means “Never give up! Even if there is no chance of winning!”

Feel happy

When you have achieved a goal or set a milestone it will make you feel happy. You want to be happy, right. You want a sense of accomplishment, right. When you get to your golden days you want to be able to tell your kids you made a difference not only in your life but the life of other people you connected along the way, right.

Not enough time in a day – an excuse?

The same old excuse plagues many. If I told you that I can show you how to recover 3 hours daily without sacrificing your work or personal life would you once and for all eliminate this excuse of “not enough time in a day” and get moving on making a massive change in your life? What if I explained how to get another 2 hours on top of the 3. In total around 5 hours per day to focus on your goals. That’s 25 hours extra per working week! No gimmicks, no painful sacrifices (well maybe some pending how you look at them) but in the end you will be more, have more and get more pleasure out of life. I will share these learnings in a February post (if not earlier).

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I hope this post has inspired you to start making a difference in your life today. It’s never too late and now is the best time to start making a difference. What are you waiting for – do it now!!

May the rest of your life be the best part of your life! – José Silva

Ernest

A great man has left this world yesterday (5th of December 2009). A man who made a difference in my life and in many others who had the pleasure to hear him speak. His name is Jim Rohn. Jim is considered a “Business Philosopher”. He does not claim to teach novel truths, only fundamentals.

A tribute to John & his great work has been setup on his website here.

Jim Rohn (September 17, 1930 - December 5, 2009) - A Tribute

What I will share with you are some of his amazing teachings, which if you haven’t heard / seen will hopefully change your personal philosophy.

Become more Valuable

My all time favorite and memorable message I got from Jim is:

1. To make more money you need to “Be more Valuable“.
2. To become more Valuable: “Learn to Work Harder on Yourself then you do on your job” 
– Jim Rohn

We get paid for bringing value to the market place. Market place = reality. It takes time to bring value to market place. We dont get paid for time. e.g. getting paid $30-50/hr is not true. Not per hour. You get paid for the “value” you put into time. All you have to do is become more valuable.

So how does one become more valuable?

• Change your life change your future.
• Read books! Gain wisdom of the world. “All Leaders Are Readers” – Jim Rohn
• Look within and let results teach you a great deal about your own activity, attitutde & philosophy.
• Results are the name of the Game.
• Make measurable progress in reasonable time.
• The truth is to ammend our errors & pickup our disciple.
• Welcome all experience, you never know which one will turn everything on.

The day that turns your life around

1. Disgust - The day you say “enough is enough” and you make a life changing event. This may be the day you realise that being taken for a ride is enough and you will make a stand and make a difference in your life.
2. Decision - Decision making is a life changing day. Make sure that the day you make a decision to change your life is followed with action.
3. Desire – Wanting bad enough to make a change. Sometimes desires wait for a trigger.
4. Resolve - That I “will”. ie. “I will do it or die” Promising yourself that you will never give up.

“There are a lot of speakers who have similarities to other speakers, and many times people can get them mixed up. But not Jim. There is nobody like him in the world. There is – and always will be – one Jim Rohn.” – Brian Tracy

Memorable quotes from Jim

Formula for Failure:
“Failure is a few errors in judgement, repeated every day”

Formula for Success:
“Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day”

• “Success is something you attract by the person you become”
• “You can’t change destination overnight but you can change direction overnight”
• “Make measurable progress in reasonable time”
• “Profits are better than wages”
• “Wages make you a living. Profits make you a fortune”
• “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job”
• “For things to get better, you have to get better”
• “Your personal philosophy is the greatest factor in your success”
• “Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better”
• “Don’t neglect the things that are easy to do”
• “Beware of what you become in the pursuit of your goals”
• “If you wish to be happy, study happiness” … “If you SEARCH you will FIND” – Bible
• “Life doesn’t give you what you want. It gives you what you deserve”
• “Don’t mistake movement for achievement”
• “Everything is within reach”
• “It is always 1st a study then a practice”

For more great quotes from Jim Rohn’s work read The Treasury of Quotes.

Jim’s videos – How to have Your Best Year Ever

Jim Rohn – How to have Your Best Year Ever 1 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfA-qNWLBHo

Jim Rohn – How to have Your Best Year Ever 2 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2AyudSJl_s

Jim Rohn – How to have Your Best Year Ever 3 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWOJt1kCYP0

His messages will live forever!

RIP Jim Rohn. (September 17, 1930 – December 5, 2009)

Further reading & listening material

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“Anything you do with repetition and emotion will become your reality. If you’re not satisfied with your current experience, examine your habits.” says Dr. Andrew Weil.

The Research that it takes 21 days (3 weeks) to form a habit has been around for some time now and is widely accepted part of self-help programs. Some have challenged this quick habit change, bringing to light valid points on variation among people. No doubt not everyone’s mental states are the same and it’s also unlikely everyone will follow a strict routine to change their habit thus smearing the “21 days” goal. This is why I call this the “21 day challenge” because I believe that with repetition, emotion, focus, and a plan (goals & review) one can achieve a habit change in 21 days.

Do this

Devote 30 minutes a day to the formation of your new habit, and do this faithfully for 21 days. By the end of your 21 day challenge, it should actually be harder not to engage in the new behavior than it would be to continue doing it.

Where it all began

The 21-day concept was first introduced by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, in a book titled, Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life. Dr Maxwell Maltz, noticed that it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling phantom sensations in the amputated limb. From further observations he found it took 21 days to create a new habit.

The science behind this goes like this;

“Brain circuits take engrams (memory traces), and produce neuroconnections and neuropathways only if they are bombarded for 21 days in a row. This means that our brain does not accept “new” data for a change of habit unless it is repeated each day for 21 days (without missing a day).” – Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life

Without missing a day? Yes. Because your conscious mind creates the belief and the subconscious mind then executes the belief – it is important to keep on “fueling that fire” until it is self sustaining.

Why this Knowledge is so Powerful?

We all want to change something about our self to some degree. Whether it is to give up or change something in our life we are always striving to reach that next level. What I am suggesting here is that all you have to do is give it 21 days (3 weeks) of 100% effort and it will become a new habit.

For example:

• Reduce your consumption of sugar for 21 days. You will be amazed what this will do to your taste buds and figure! Sugar, especially high fructose sugar is a major player in the increase of diabetes in our population. High fructose sugar is in most produce – see the label on your drink.
• Meditate for 21 days. Who says you can’t still your monkey mind and bring inner peace. The wonders of meditation are immense in eliminating stress & anxiety, giving you the power of clear focus & better decision making et al.
• Get up before 6am every day. This will give you plenty more hours in a day to enjoy with your family / loved ones and / or work on that business idea. Here are a number of steps I take to help me sleep less and have more energy.
• Eat greens (salads) for lunch for 21 days and feel better, stronger and fitter!

The list is endless. Find something needing change in your life and apply the 21 day challenge today.

Sustaining Motivation

This is the hardest part of any change. How to sustain motivation to continue throughout the 21 days. Here are some great points to keep you moving.

1.    Daily Review your list of reasons for quitting or changing.
2.    Create mental pictures of yourself as having already succeeded with your habit change.
3.    Make affirmations, positive self-statements about your habit change. For example, “I am filled with so much health and vitality now that I exercise four times a week.”
4.    Reward yourself. Make up a list of self-rewards. Reward yourself verbally.
5.    Remember to take one day at a time. If you do backslide, don’t label yourself as having failed. Get out your list or reasons for quitting or changing and begin again.

So, what is your 21 day challenge?

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Today I came across videos & pictures I took at the 4 day weekend at Anthony Robbin’s UPW (Unleash the Power Within) back in September 2008.

The song played in this video “Life will never be the same, Life is changing by Haddaway” is well engraved into my subconscious. And it hammers home a message and gets the heart pumping!
All this from using NLP techniques; an amazing set of tools which we can all learn very easily and apply to make good changes in our life.

Anthony Robbins UPW – Life is changing

Here is the full track of this amazing song.

Haddaway – Life

Here are the lyrics:

Life Life will never be
Life life will never be the same

Time is gettin’ cold what is going on
What is on your mind are your feelings gone

Need to see it clear where do we go
why are you doing things all the things you do yeah
yeah

Life will never be the same life is changin’ yeah yeah
life will never be the same life is changin’

Everybody needs somebody to love to love

Solo yeah
yeah oh oh

In the name of love you should draw the line
got to feel secure
that you’re still mine yeah
yeah

Life will never be the same life is changin’ yeah yeah
life will never be the same life is changin’

Everybody needs somebody to love to love

Solo yeah
yeah oh oh …

Life will never be the same Life is changin’

Solo oh oh yeah
yeah oh oh yeah
yeah
oh oh yeah yeah

Life will never be the same life is changin’ yeah
yeah
life will never be the same life is changin’

Life Life will never be
Life Life will never be the same

To make sure you dont miss any upcoming posts, I recommend you to Subscribe to my free newsletter. It’s exciting and energising! Click here to subscribe to my free newsletter.

After last week’s powerful Jairek Robbins seminar I reflected back on my 4 day immersion weekend at UPW (Unleash the Power Within) with Anthony Robbins. I attended UPW back in Sept 2008. Amazing 4 days – not only did I learn alot about life & NLP but I also learnt a lot about myself and got to experience 1st hand how to heal my body from pain.

There is a wealth of information I received from Tony and I will share this with you in future blog posts. But for now I’m going to share with you a short 10 minute video of Tony speaking at this event on how small changes in our life drive massive results and that when you think everything has gone down the drain, and the world has lost it’s color, your goals faded to gray… just remember you are only 2mm off. I’m sure you will love this short segment from Life Coaching Master - Anthony Robbins.

Enjoy!

You are only 2mm off.

Anthony Robbins UPW – Life is changing

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