4 LESSONS IN CREATIVITY FROM JOHN CLEESE

4 LESSONS IN CREATIVITY FROM JOHN CLEESE

BY: RAE ANN FERA

The legendary writer and actor has also become a well-known student of and speaker on creativity and how to cultivate it. He recently enlightened a group of ad types about the best ways to put yourself in a creative state of mind.

There's a certain generation (or two) that owes its twisted, awkward, scorchingly black sense humor to John Cleese. Famous for his work with the Monty Python films and television series, the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers, as well as feature films like A Fish Called Wanda, the writer, actor, comedian and film producer knows from funny.

But he also knows a thing or two about wrestling the creative beast, which is the topic Cleese was invited to speak about at last week's Cannes International Festival of Creativity. Addressing a group of attendees from the Havas Media group, Cleese brought a storytelling flair to the topic of the creative process, something he's been discussing for decades through his educational video company Video Arts, sharing tales of writing mishaps and lessons learned from leading creative and scientific minds.

Through a series of stories, Cleese spoke of the importance of succumbing to the unconscious mind, two key traits possessed by highly successful creative people, the necessity of allowing for contemplative thinking, and why all of these together result in creative breakthroughs. He touched on the points raised in his much-discussed 1991 lecture, but rounded them out and introduced new ones (plus, this piece won't take you 36 minutes to read). Here are those stories.

A STORY ABOUT YOUR UNCONSCIOUS SAVING YOUR ASS; OR LETTING YOUR IDEAS BAKE

Image: Flickr user Liliana Fuchs

Cleese began his talk recounting one of his epic writing sessions with longtime writing partner Graham Chapman. While the two wrote arguably some of the most seminal comedic sketches of their generation, the partnership was not without its glitches. Like the time Cleese wrote and then lost a piece of work--and how that turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.

"I was embarrassed that I lost our work, so I rewrote it from memory, straight off in a hurry. Then I discovered the original and the one I'd done very quickly was better than the original. I didn't spend any time thinking about it, so how could it be better than the original?"

"The only thing I could think was that my unconscious had been working on the sketch and improving it ever since I wrote it. I began to see a lot of my best work seemed to come as a result of my unconscious working on things when I wasn't really attending to them."

"I'm not talking about the Freudian unconscious but the intelligent unconscious. We can't control our unconscious but we can look to how we can create the circumstance in which it becomes easier for us to work with our unconscious."

A STORY ABOUT THE HABITS OF HIGHLY CREATIVE PEOPLE; OR HOW TO PLAY AND DEFER

Image: Flickr user Ben Bunch

As well as identifying that ideas and breakthroughs percolate in the deep recesses of our brain, Cleese talked about some of the key, practical traits of truly creative people. In doing so he told a story of Brian Bates, a psychology professor at Sussex University. Intrigued by how the creative mind works, Bates chose to study the work practices of architects, because the profession required the combination of two brains in the creation of beautifully groundbreaking yet structurally sound building.

"He did a very simple test. He asked various architects to name who, in their opinion, were the most creative architects in the field. He then asked those creative architects to tell him what they do from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed. He then went to the uncreative architects--without perhaps explaining that's why he was talking to them--and asked them the same thing. Then he compared the two. He discovered two differences, and neither was to do with intelligence."

"The first thing he discovered is that the creative architects knew how to play. They could get immersed in a problem. It was almost childlike, like when a child gets utterly absorbed in a problem. The second thing was that they deferred making decisions as long as they could. This is surprising."

"If you have a decisions to make, what is the single most important question to ask yourself? I believe it's 'when does this decision have to be made'? When most of us have a problem that's a little bit unresolved, we're a little bit uncomfortable. We want to resolve it. The creative architects had this tolerance for this discomfort we all feel when we leave things unresolved."

"Why would those two things be importance? The playfulness is because in that moment of childlike play, you're much more in touch with your unconscious. The second is that when you defer decisions as long as possible, it's giving your unconscious the maximum amount of time to come up with something."

A STORY ABOUT HOW TO ACHIEVE PRODUCTIVE THOUGHT; OR HOW TO THINK LIKE EINSTEIN

As is the trend with talks about creative thinking, Cleese made a point of illustrating that creativity is not the domain of the "creative class." He told the story of how Einstein and other lauded scientists and Nobel laureates describe their breakthroughs as visions.

"Now I want to read you two things. We tend to think of physics as being the hardest of sciences, and I want to read what one or two people say about their creative process. Consider this passage from Einstein: 'The words of the language as they are originally spoken don't seem to play any role at all in my mechanism of thought. The elements of my thought are certain signs, or more or less clear images, which in my case are of a visual and sometimes of a muscular type. The combination of these different images in productive thought is what enables me to make progress before there is any connection with logical construction in words or any other sign that could be communicated to others.'"

"When Einstein is thinking he could not describe to anyone in words what's going on in his mind. And if you press too hard, nothing comes of it."

"Guy Claxton, the author of Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind, says there are two kinds of thinking: one dependent on reason and logic, and one that's less purposeful, it's more playful, leisurely, and dreamy. In this mode, we are mulling things over, almost meditative, pondering a problem versus earnestly trying to solve it. He says allowing the mind time to meander is not a luxury. You need the tortoise mind, such as Einstein described, as much as you need the hare brain."

"The hare brain loves clarity; it wants everything to be expressed in a very simple, straightforward clear way. Tortoise mind doesn't expect clarity; it doesn't know where the illumination is going to come from. The language of the unconscious is images. That also means a lot of times when you're being very creative you can feel very confused. You don't know where you are or where you're going. And you can tolerate that and continue to defer the decision. Because you're taking your time in tortoise mind, if you have a question, you're much more likely to get interested in the question."

"One other important distinction between the two is that hare brain always treats perception as not being important, when in fact how you perceive things is enormously dependent on your emotional state. And when you're more relaxed and focused, you're much more likely to be more aware."

A STORY ABOUT ANXIETIES AND INTERRUPTIONS; OR HOW TO REMEMBER CHINESE IDEOGRAMS

Means "Sincerity"

The tension between impulsive action and contemplative thinking is a very real one, particularly in this real time, over connected world. But, says Cleese, don't let that get in the way of giving yourself time for deeper, unconscious thought.

"Now I want to explain about getting into tortoise mind. The enemies of tortoise mind are anxiety and interruptions. The moment you get anxious or interrupted you go back into hare brain. What you have to do is give yourself a place where you're not going to be interrupted for about an hour, because it takes time for your thoughts to settle. You have to create boundaries of space and then you have to create boundaries of time. You need to give yourself the time to let these ideas come up because it deals in the confusion and images and very subtle things."

"This is how extraordinary the unconscious is. A researcher once got a bunch of people and showed them a bunch of Chinese ideograms. He asked them back a week later and said he was going to show them some they saw the week before and some they didn't see. They were hopeless at identifying the ones from the week before. He tried it again but this time asked them to tell him the ones they liked best. When they picked the ones they liked, they were the ones they'd seen the week before. So the unconscious has this extraordinary knowledge; the trouble is it doesn't come up very clearly. That's why you have to give it time. That's why when you start on something that's fundamentally creative, don't bring the old critical mind in too quickly. Let the thing fall, find out when it is. And then, by all means, bring hare brain in to evaluate them, because you'll get ideas, but not all of them will be good."

RAE ANN FERA

Rae Ann Fera is a contributor for Co.Create. She is also curator of Packaged Goods, a regular screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox featuring excellence in ads.

You Can’t Travel Back in Time, Scientists Say

You Can't Travel Back in Time, Scientists Say

   

By: Sara Goudarzi / Source: Live Science

The urge to hug a departed loved one again or prevent atrocities are among the compelling reasons that keep the notion of time travel alive in the minds of many.

While the idea makes for great fiction, some scientists now say traveling to the past is impossible.

There are a handful of scenarios that theorists have suggested for how one might travel to the past, said Brian Greene, author of the bestseller, "The Elegant Universe" and a physicist at Columbia University."And almost all of them, if you look at them closely, brush up right at the edge of physics as we understand it. Most of us think that almost all of them can be ruled out."

Vote for Your Favorite Time Travel Tale

The fourth dimension

In physics, time is described as a dimension much like length, width, and height. When you travel from your house to the grocery store, you're traveling through a direction in space, making headway in all the spatial dimensions—length, width and height. But you're also traveling forward in time, the fourth dimension.

"Space and time are tangled together in a sort of a four-dimensional fabric calledspace-time," said Charles Liu, an astrophysicist with the City University of New York, College of Staten Island and co-author of the book "One Universe: At Home In The Cosmos."

Space-time, Liu explains, can be thought of as a piece of spandex with four dimensions. "When something that has mass—you and I, an object, a planet, or any star—sits in that piece of four-dimensional spandex, it causes it to create a dimple," he said. "That dimple is a manifestation of space-time bending to accommodate this mass."

The bending of space-time causes objects to move on a curved path and that curvature of space is what we know as gravity.

Mathematically one can go backwards or forwards in the three spatial dimensions. But time doesn't share this multi-directional freedom.

"In this four-dimensional space-time, you're only able to move forward in time," Liu told LiveScience.Cosmic strings

Another popular theory for potential time travelers involves something called cosmic strings—narrow tubes of energy stretched across the entire length of the ever-expanding universe. These skinny regions, leftover from the early cosmos, are predicted to contain huge amounts of mass and therefore could warp the space-time around them.

Cosmic strings are either infinite or they're in loops, with no ends, said J. Richard Gott, author of "Time Travel in Einstein's Universe" and an astrophysicist at Princeton University. "So they are either like spaghetti or SpaghettiO's."

The approach of two such strings parallel to each other, said Gott, will bend space-time so vigorously and in such a particular configuration that might make time travel possible, in theory.

"This is a project that a super civilization might attempt," Gott told LiveScience. "It's far beyond what we can do. We're a civilization that's not even controlling the energy resources of our planet."

Impossible, for now Mathematically, you can certainly say something is traveling to the past, Liu said. "But it is not possible for you and me to travel backward in time," he said.

However, some scientists believe that traveling to the past is, in fact, theoretically possible, though impractical.

Maybe if there were a theory of everything, one could solve all of Einstein's equations through a wormhole, and see whether time travel is really possible, Kaku said. "But that would require a technology far more advanced than anything we can muster," he said. "Don't expect any young inventor to announce tomorrow in a press release that he or she has invented a time machine in their basement."

For now, the only definitive part of travel in the fourth dimension is that we're stepping further into the future with each passing moment. So for those hoping to see Earth a million years from now, scientists have good news.

"If you want to know what the Earth is like one million years from now, I'll tell you how to do that," said Greene, a consultant for "Déjà Vu," a recent movie that dealt with time travel. "Build a spaceship. Go near the speed of light for a length of time—that I could calculate. Come back to Earth, and when you step out of your ship you will have aged perhaps one year while the Earth would have aged one million years. You would have traveled to Earth's future."

 

 Edited by: Lawyer Asad

Real Change Takes Time

Real Change Takes Time

Did you hear the one about the country bumpkin who took his family to the big city for the first time? Lost in a strange place, he stopped in front of a multi-story hotel building. Father and son went inside to get some directions.

Standing in the lobby, they were looking around for someone to ask. They spied a kind-looking old man with a cane and started toward him. They drew back, though, when the wall opened up for him! They watched in amazement as the wall closed, numbers above the opening grew larger then smaller, and the doors opened again. Out came a young man in confident stride and business suit. "Son, wait right here," said the farmer. "I'm going to get in that thing!"      

All of us could wish change came so quickly and so painlessly. I'd rather lose 20 pounds with a pill than deny myself extra helpings or desserts and begin to exercise. Some people prefer to saddle themselves with debt to buy a house full of furniture rather than buy furniture as they can afford it or to buy a new car they could easily do without. And so the stories go. We want what we want - now.           

I even think I see a lot of anger in today's world that is tied to the same thing. Petty people get mad at the good fortune of others. They want immediately what someone else attained over time. Immature people want the recognition and life status other people earned over years, but they want it on a silver platter - today.           

We laugh at the bumpkin who thought an elevator was a magic box that made old into young, stooped into sprightly, and plain into stylish. Maybe we should be laughing at ourselves. Going to college doesn't make one wise. Driving an expensive car doesn't confer refinement or personality. Living in an exclusive part of town says nothing about the happiness of the people who live in its newest and nicest house. And going to church doesn't confer spirituality.           

Authentic change in looks, lifestyle, and personality takes place over time. If there is an outcome you'd like, the surest way to achieve it is not to waste your money on dangerous pills or to squander it on lottery tickets. Set a worthy goal, identify the incremental steps necessary to get there, and begin your journey. Know in advance that the wisdom, discipline, and understanding that come from the journey are equally as valuable as anything at its end.

Rubel Shelly

Rubel Shelly is a Preacher and Professor of Religion and Philosophy located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. In addition to church and academic responsibilities, he has worked actively with such community projects as Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, From Nashville With Love, Metro (Nashville) Public Schools, Faith Family Medical Clinic, and Operation Andrew Ministries. To learn more about Rubel please go to: www.RubelShelly.com

Courtesy: Bob Proctor

The Magic Power of Switchwords

The Magic Power of Switchwords

 

By Shunyam Nirav, Author of Switchwords

Wouldn't it be great to have a magic wand that you could just wave at any situation or creative project, and have it turn out beneficially just as you wish? 

Actually, we all have such a wand! However, most of us have not been aware of it, and have never received an instruction manual for its use. (So I wrote one!)

Your Word is Your Magic Wand

Your word is your wand — and if you're reading this e-zine, you likely have become aware that thought is creative. Intentional creative thoughts bring about intentional desired results.

Intentional creative thoughts can take the form of images or words, or both. We can envision an image and be grateful like it's really already so (for example, a trip to Hawaii or making a million dollars). Or we can declare or affirm a beneficial condition or state of affairs, in words (for example, "My connection to infinite being and infinite intelligence is always sufficient to yield me a huge financial fortune") and be grateful also for that being so. Or we can do both image and text together.

The affirmations or declarations that most people use are complete sentences, but a pioneer named James Mangan in the past century identified about a hundred certain single words that are extraordinarily effective when used as a intentional creative thought, to bring about a specific desired result.

Using a single word to create with, instead of a long sentence (as in conventional affirmations or creative declarations), brings a greatly increased laser-like focus of your creative energy in this single moment of now.

Introducing "Switchwords"

James Mangan called these special words "switchwords." A "switchword" is the essence of an experience, condition, or desired result, expressed as a single word. Declare, affirm, chant, sing, or even just mentally "intend" the switchword, and like turning on an electric lamp with a switch, the desired result reliably appears.

For example: one of the most practically useful ones is: REACH. — to find anything you're looking for, such as:

*misplaced items in the physical world (keys, papers, tools, etc.);

*forgotten ideas or information in your mind or memory (names, numbers, etc);

*solutions to problems.

Whenever you misplace something, or are searching for something, or want to solve a problem, just persistently declare or chant, silently or aloud, "REACH." Then let yourself go wherever you feel to, and watch yourself go directly to what you are looking for! Some aspect of your being knows where it is, and "REACH" reliably makes the connection! Try it ... it really works! Very useful in everyday life!

Similarly...

*whenever you want to sell something, say: GIVE.

*whenever you want to make money: COUNT.

*or whenever you want to make something beautiful: CURVE.

*for good health, and/or for peace: BE.

*to work miracles, or for extraordinary accomplishment: DIVINE.

And about 90 more for other specific purposes! plus one master-key switchword to do anything with mastery: TOGETHER.

Using switchwords, you can easily enjoy increased creative power, effectiveness, accomplishment, fun, prosperity, aliveness, togetherness, life mastery, and life satisfaction.

Edited by: Lawyer Asad

The Most Powerful Words in the Universe

The Most Powerful Words in the Universe

 

By Jason Mangrum, 

Co-Author of Uberman! Almost Super Human

Spiritual masters say that enlightenment can happen in an instant or like the blooming of a lotus flower. The same can be said of realizations, and learning.

As you read a book on any subject you will have moments that you stop reading just long enough to say "Ah ha!" or "Wow, that's how that works" or "that's why that happens!"

When you first look at a new math equation and it makes no sense, then later after you learn the process, you can look at the same equation again and you not only understand it you can solve it.

The point I am trying to make is this: There is a point where something is gained from any knowledge. First you are ignorant, and then you inquire, next you realize, now you have the power of that knowledge and can apply it to your world.

People will sell you courses and charge you thousands of dollars to beat around the bush and flush out the truth I am about to tell you.

I have used this method that consists of only 2 words to create anything I want usually within 24 hours if not instantly.

I have told these words to very few close friends, accompanied with the warning "Be careful what you wish for…"

There is only one guideline when using these key words and I will get to that immediately after I tell you what these words are.

All you have to do is know what you want to make this work. 

I Command!

Then put it in this sentence: I Command – (Then just state whatever you want)

I know it sounds too simple. Your disbelief in this might actually aid in its power. 

You remain detached from the outcome because it just sounds too easy "This couldn't possibly work, I've tried everything" – your mind will say.

Good. What can it hurt to seriously give this a try?

"I Command" all day, everyday and I have come to realize the power I have over the outcome of my life. So have those I have told these words to through their own experiences with it.

Of course your mind may just dismiss the acquisition of your desires as coincidental. But does it really matter? After all you got what you wanted and never worried about how.

If you honestly begin to use this take into consideration that this command once made is not concerned about the how it will happen. The power will just take the shortest possible path to accomplishment.

All things great and small are possible when you use the words "I Command", but whatever they are be prepared. Of course you can always change what you want if you realize it's not what you thought it would be. It is never too late in this world and nothing is final.

The only thing constant in this world is change. You can either be conscious of your creating or dragged along oblivious to it.

There is only one rule.

One limitation and this is important if you truly want to apply this knowledge. "You cannot command something for or concerning someone else."

Such as: "I command so-and-so to fall in love with me" instead use- "I command my true love to make himself known to me"

That's it. These words are yet to fail and you can command anything within the realm of your imagination – nothing is impossible. All you have to do is command, and then look for the command to be fulfilled.

Now with everything I have noticed there is an evolution that happens after the "I Command" has proven itself to you. More and more all you have to do is clearly know what you want. Soon the verbal commands aren't even nessesary. I hope you have read something here that helps you. If you apply it be prepared to get what you want. Just be ready for the change.

Jason & Skye Mangrum are authors of the new book "Uberman: Almost Super Human". Download two free chapters here for more secrets, tips and techniques to unlock the power of your mind. 

Edited by: Lawyer Asad

Do You Procrastinate?

Did you know that the tendency to procrastinate is the primary reason many people live lives of desperation and frustration? Have you made time to watch my free videos "Psychology of Time Management" and "Developing Habits That Get Things Done" yet? If not, is it because you've been procrastinating? Here's the link so you can watch them now. Here's the thing: humans often procrastinate on large, important tasks with considerable future value. Naturally, this adds more stress and creates further hardship. What have you procrastinated on lately? To aid you in ditching this detrimental behavior and trading it in on excellent time management and better overall success, I've created a brand new video, "Overcoming Procrastination." Watch it here: When you watch "Overcoming Procrastination," you learn: 2 areas in which it's crucial that you develop an excellent reputation – when you do, people perceive you as smarter A 2-part tip for overcoming procrastination – and why it's important to be accountable to yourself as well as to someone else What you can give yourself each time you complete a task – and why this aids in ditching procrastination How rationalizing can damage your ability to get things done Why creating – and adhering to – a schedule is key in getting over procrastination   It takes a great deal of courage and discipline to break the habit of procrastination, but once you do, it will pay off for the rest of your life. Watch "Overcoming Procrastination," and beat this dangerous characteristic, forever! Here's to getting things done, NOW, Brian Tracy Circulated by: Lawyer Asad

Are money issues driving you crazy?

Are money issues driving you crazy?

In turbulent times like these, financial stress, procrastination, and frustration are at all time highs. More and more people are working harder and longer than ever, just to keep their heads above water.

Recently, I sat down with my good friend, John Assaraf, where we discuss how the latest scientific research can actually help you win the game of money -- with less work, less stress, and less worry.

Watch the incredible interview now.

Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results."

And the truth is, simply working harder isn't the answer to money issues -- in fact, the harder you try, the more your brain works against your success.

Watch the interview now to learn more.

At the end of this powerful interview, John agreed to GIVE away his $397 ENTIRE video series, including his 2012 Financial Workbook--completely free!

Take it and use it to change your finances and your lifestyle from today forward.

Get the free video series here.

Maybe you've seen John Assaraf in the movie "The Secret," or on National TV with one of his international bestselling books.

This powerful interview actually talks about the newest scientific evidence on the brain, and how it can help YOU dramatically change the course of your income and life!

To your success,

Brian Tracy

P.S. This interview will only be available for a few more days, before we take it down. So watch it now!

 Circulated by: Lawyer Asad

What Happens After 'Death'?

What Happens After 'Death'?  
 
By Adrian Cooper
Excerpt from Our Ultimate Reality

I would like to commence this section by emphatically stating an extremely
important truth which everyone should know and understand beyond any
possible doubt: There really is no such state as "death".

What many people believe to be the finality of "death" is in fact no more
and no less than the transition from one state of life and reality, that of
the physical matter, to a state of life of a vastly finer density of the
Universe, often known as the "Astral planes", sometimes referred to as "the
beyond", the "fourth dimension" or the "afterlife".

What they are called is of no consequence however, the fact is they do exist
and for a time becomes the new home for people departing physical life,
before either returning for another life on earth or progressing to the
inner spheres of reality, the Mental planes, the Spirit worlds.

We will discuss the nature of the Astral planes later in this book<http://www.mindpowernews.com/UltimateReality.htm>,
but first we will look at the process erroneously known as "death".

We are all multi-dimensional beings, each of us having numerous "bodies"
corresponding to our many states of "being" within the multi-dimensional
Universe. These very broadly consist of the physical body, the Etheric or
Energy Body, the Astral Body and the Mental bodies. We have numerous Mental
or Spirit bodies, all relating to the infinite degrees and states of
vibration, density and being, ranging from the very lowest to the very
highest. The Astral Body is often referred to as the "Soul" and the Mental
Body the immortal "Spirit". It is the Mental Body, the immortal Spirit that
is "made in the true image of God", not the physical body as many suppose.

God is pure Spirit, and ultimately every single person exists as pure Spirit
beyond all concept of form. The seat of our very "being" or Consciousness is
within the Mental Body, the immortal Spirit. The Astral Body, the Soul,
actually consists of both the conjoined Astral and Mental bodies, and is
therefore can be more accurately referred to as the Astra-Mental Body. These
subtle bodies are composed of Energy, vibrations, the nature of which is
completely unique for everyone, each individual possessing a unique Energy
signature by means of which they can be uniquely identified.

Within the inner spheres of reality, the Astral and Mental planes, people
exist at the level of vibration of the Ether that is exactly equivalent to
the level of vibration of their Astral and Mental bodies respectively. The
level of vibration of the Astral and Mental Body depends in turn upon many
factors, including but not limited to individual degree of ennoblement or
perfection, degree to which the ego has been transcended, realisation of
Spirit or "God" within, degree of unresolved karma, and most importantly the
realisation of the most powerful force in the Universe; Unconditional Love.

*So what actually happens when people experience physical "death"? *

The circumstances upon which people arrive at the end of their current
physical existence obviously varies very widely, and can range from very
sudden death, for example resulting from an accident or sudden illness,
through death as a result of a long illness, to natural death as a result of
old age; and of course there are numerous possibilities in between.

Regardless of the precise circumstances prevailing at the end of physical
life, what follows is substantially the same in all cases. At the instant
where the physical body ceases to function, a large amount of Vital Energy
is transferred to the Etheric Body, also known as the Energy Body. The
Etheric, or Energy Body also includes the Astral and Mental bodies. The
Etheric Body will then, in many cases become the new "temporary" body of the
recently "deceased" person. Sometimes however the recently deceased person
will transition directly to the Astral worlds.

What happens next again varies from person to person and circumstance to
circumstance, but is usually in the range of the following possibilities.
Those who do not transition directly to the Astral worlds will, immediately
after physical death, find themselves very much "alive" in their Etheric
Body. A person after "death" can often fully observe everything happening
around them, including all people present.

In fact what the person is "seeing" is not their actual physical
surroundings, no longer having any physical senses and existing a a much
higher rate of vibration and lower density as compared to the actual
physical world, but is rather a very close Etheric "reflection" of those
surroundings; but to all intents and purposes they seem identical.

If other people are present, for example doctors, the person might well see
and hear himself or herself being pronounced "dead". The "deceased" person
can then, if desired, stay and watch what happens to their "old body",
observe the actions of the people present for example doctors, nurses and
relatives, or may decide to immediately go elsewhere.

It should be noted that in this much finer state of existence as pure
Energy, it is quite possible to travel anywhere in the world or indeed the
entire Universe in an instant, literally at the speed of thought. The
Etheric plane is a Mind world, an extension of the Astral planes and the
Universe as a whole, and therefore existing beyond the boundaries and
restrictions of physical space and time.

The "deceased" person often remains very close to the physical world while
the level of Etheric Energy in their Etheric Body remains sufficiently high.
They will very often make the most of this opportunity to visit and say
goodbye to family and friends, and perhaps to visit their old home and
favourite places they particularly enjoyed in physical life. Of course,
living people cannot, with the exception of psychics and clairvoyants,
usually "see" the "deceased" person, and usually any attempt by the deceased
person to communicate with living people will fail. Very often the
"deceased" person will also attend their own funeral, not only to see all
family, friends and other people they knew in physical life gatherer to pay
their respects, but also to realise the finality of the end of that
particular physical life on Earth.

The deceased person can make the decision to transition to the Astral worlds
at any time simply by desiring and willing it to happen, and by thinking of
being there, but only if they realise the possibility exists. Otherwise the
transition will usually take place naturally once the supply of Etheric
Energy is depleted, and the dense Etheric Body will dissipate, giving way to
the finer vibrations of the Astral Body, naturally enabling a transition to
the appropriate level of the Astral planes in accordance with the level of
perfection of the Soul, and the level of vibrations of the person generally.
This will determine which part of the Astral planes they will naturally
migrate to, most decent people transitioning to the mid-Astral worlds which,
as well will see later in this book, are remarkably similar to the physical
world that has been left behind.

The other extreme occurs when a newly deceased person transitions directly
to the Astral world almost immediately after physical "death". Sometimes
they will be aware of their physical death, but very often the first thing a
deceased person will be aware of is a "tunnel of light" into which they are
pulled at great speed. In other cases the scenery will simply fade away from
the physical world and "melt" into the Astral world almost seamlessly.

Irrespective of how the deceased person arrives in the Astral world, they
will never be alone. Other Astral residents, frequently previously deceased
relatives and friends, will often be there to greet them and to help them to
settle into their new home. Very often the newly deceased person will arrive
at, or be taken to a place in the Astral world which is effectively a
"reception area" for newly arrived Souls. There they will be met by a host
of helpers with the task of assisting new arrivals to settle in to their new
Astral home. Such helpers specialise in all manner of cases, and are able to
assist with the transition process regardless of the circumstances
surrounding physical death. There are billions of people living within the
Astral world, having previously experienced life from the past, present and
future of Earth.

Every eventuality is fully accounted for, and no person is ever left alone
in the Astral worlds after physical death. For most decent people arriving
at the mid-levels of the Astral worlds, those who have led a "normal" life
and had no strongly held beliefs, in particular religious beliefs, the
environment is always extremely peaceful and harmonious but otherwise quite
similar in many respects to the Earth environment from whence they just
arrived. If the physical death was sudden, violent or due to some
self-inflicted disorder such as alcoholism, or the person was ill for some
time before physical death occurred, there will be the Astral equivalent of
hospitals with doctors and nurses, people who might well have been doctors
and nurses in a previous life on hand to assist.

Very often, because the Astral worlds can appear to be almost identical to
the physical world in appearance, some people simply do not believe they
have actually "died", and therefore cannot understand what has happened.
Such people can become most bewildered and confused and might require
attention by specialist helpers until they can come to terms with their new
state of existence in the "afterlife" of the Astral worlds.
   
Another situation requiring a great deal of care from Astral specialists are
the cases of children, infants and babies who leave the physical world
before their time. In these situations there are the equivalent of
specialist nurses and carers on hand who will look after the child until he
or she is old enough to join a family in the Astral worlds. There are many
such families who will gladly take on the responsibility of looking after
children who arrived before their own parents. Older children will usually
join a family as soon as they have come to terms with their new reality and
home in the Astral worlds.

Children can usually adapt to their new life in the Astral worlds much more
quickly than adults, largely because they had not yet been fully
indoctrinated into the ways of the physical world. Younger children might
well feel at home in the Astral worlds almost immediately as it has not been
very long since they originally left the Astral or Spirit worlds to be born
into the physical life which they have recently departed. Such children will
therefore still be of an age where they can still vividly remember their
previous life in the Astral or Spirit worlds. To such infants their stay on
Earth was nothing more than a very short adventure, often with a specific
purpose in their own individual evolution and progress on the path.

Upon arriving in the Astral worlds most people settle in to their new home
very quickly indeed, and soon create a new "life" for themselves. They will,
sooner or later, completely lose interest in the physical world and their
previous life associated with it. However, people living in the Astral
worlds can, and very often do "visit" the physical world whenever they feel
the need to, often to visit loved ones left behind. There are numerous cases
of bereaved family and friends suddenly feeling the "presence" of their
loved one, and in these cases it very often really is their loved one
visiting for a time from the Astral worlds.

It should be mentioned that "deceased" people living in the Astral worlds
will often watch over their loved ones still living in the physical world,
guiding them by means of inspiration, and protecting them from inner dangers
whenever possible. Because the Universe is infinite living Mind, thought is
a very powerful primary Energy, and it is therefore relatively easy for
people in the Astral worlds to influence the Minds of people still living in
the physical world. Such influence can suddenly arrive in the Minds of
people on Earth as intuition, inspiration or ideas, the recipient of such
thoughts believing them to be their own thoughts and ideas. Pets, such as
cats and dogs, can very often sense the presence of their deceased owners in
a very powerful way.

It is also possible for people living in the Astral worlds to visit family
and others in their dreams. This happens much more often than most people
realise. Dreams of meeting deceased people are often very real indeed, and
such contacts should always be noted, taken very seriously and any messages
remembered. Everyone in the physical world leaves their body at night while
in deep sleep, and Astral residents sometimes take this opportunity to meet
with their loved ones "face to face" in the Astral worlds, such meetings
often being remembered in the morning as a vivid lifelike dream. Again,
these meetings are often very real indeed and should always be remembered
and all messages received well and truly noted. Sometimes important
information is passed on this way, as well as reassurances that the
"deceased" person is very well, happy and content in their new Astral home.

Although it is perfectly natural, and to a reasonable extent healthy to
grieve for a deceased loved one, it is most important to realise these
people are not really "dead", and have not therefore in any way ceased to
exist. The loved one is now living in what is actually a truer reality than
the physical world. Assuming they are living in the mid to high Astral
worlds, or within the Spirit worlds, they will be experiencing an existence
of pure love, light, bliss, peace and happiness on a level beyond the
comprehension of most people still living on Earth.

*Cure the Fear of Death with Astral Projection*

One of the *benefits of Astral Projection<http://www.mindpowernews.com/AstralProjectNow.htm>
*, which will be discussed in detail later in this book, is the ability to
visit and explore the Astral worlds and to meet deceased loved ones and
friends. To Astral projectors death holds no absolutely fears whatsoever,
with the absolute knowing, beyond any doubts whatsoever the glorious life
waiting after the final release from the confines of physical life on the
physical plane in the restrictions of a physical body.

As we will also see later in this book, everyone in the Astral worlds lives
at the same level, the same realm, sphere or plane as people who were of a
similar nature in the physical world; similar characters, beliefs and in
particular level of Spiritual development. In the mid-Astral worlds where
most decent people, probably around fifty percent or more transition after
physical death, there is no work, no money, no unhappiness, but rather
complete peace and happiness, everyone living together in perfect harmony.
People, who in the physical world were disruptive in any way, will be living
in the lower Astral worlds with like Minded, similarly disruptive people,
thus always preserving the complete peace and harmony of the inner Astral
worlds. Of course everyone always has the opportunity to evolve from the
lower Astral worlds to the inner Astral worlds once they have learned their
lessons, and have attained a vibration that will enable them to co-exist
with others at the same higher level of vibration.

People who have left the physical world of matter have been liberated once
again, and will live and rest for a time in the Astral and Mental worlds
before returning to Earth once again if necessary to begin a new physical
life. Friends, relatives and loved ones should celebrate this joyfully!
Death, however sad, tragic or unexpected means the liberation of a Soul from
their physical body to the inner worlds of existence where they will be with
like-Minded people.

Although people still living in the physical world regard those living in
the Astral and Spirit worlds as "dead", to those people who passed on to and
our now living in the Astral and Spirit worlds it is the people still living
in the density of the physical world, with all of the trials it brings who
actually appear to be "dead" by comparison, dead to the splendours, glories,
peace, harmony and liberation of the inner worlds, to which every single
person will transition sooner or later.
"Death" should never be feared. It is something to anticipate when the time
comes as a completely natural aspect of individual evolution, and a
transition to glorious worlds of pure harmony, bliss and beauty, inhabited
by like-Minded people, where none of the hardships, trials and misery that
is so prevalent on Earth exists. The transition of passing to the inner,
Astral worlds is a joyous time, a time for celebration.

Edited by: Lawyer Asad

Phenomenal Wonders Of The Natural World

Phenomenal wonders of the natural world  web-ecoist and environmental oddities.

Sailing Stones The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades. Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements. However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions. Moreover, the physics calculations do not fully support this theory as wind speeds of hundreds of miles per hour would be needed to move some of the stones. Columnar Basalt When a thick lava flow cools, it contracts vertically but cracks perpendicular to its directional flow with remarkable geometric regularity - in most cases forming a regular grid of remarkable hexagonal extrusions that almost appear to be made by man. One of the most famous such examples is the Giant's Causeway on the coast of Ireland (shown above), though the largest and most widely recognized would be Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Basalt also forms different but equally fascinating ways when eruptions are exposed to air or water. Blue Holes Blue holes are giant and sudden drops in underwater elevation that get their name from the dark and foreboding blue tone they exhibit when viewed from above in relationship to surrounding waters. They can be hundreds of feet deep and while divers are able to explore some of them they are largely devoid of oxygen that would support sea life due to poor water circulation - leaving them eerily empty. Some blue holes, however, contain ancient fossil remains that have been discovered, preserved in their depths. Red Tides Red tides are also known as algal blooms - sudden influxes of massive amounts of colored single-cell algae that can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red color. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals. In some cases, even humans have been harmed by red tides though no human exposure are known to have been fatal. While they can be fatal, the constituent phytoplankton in ride tides are not harmful in small numbers. Ice Circles While many see these apparently perfect ice circles as worthy of conspiracy theorizing, scientists generally accept that they are formed by eddies in the water that spin a sizable piece of ice in a circular motion. As a result of this rotation, other pieces of ice and flotsam wear relatively evenly at the edges of the ice until it slowly forms into an essentially ideal circle. Ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet and can also at times be found in clusters and groups of different sizes as shown above. Mammatus Clouds True to their ominous appearance, mammatus clouds are often harbingers of a coming storm or other extreme weather system. Typically composed primarily of ice, they can extend for hundreds of miles in each direction and individual formations can remain visibly static for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. While they may appear foreboding they are merely the messengers - appearing around, before or even after severe weather. Fire Rainbows A circumhorizontal fire rainbow arc occurs at a rare confluence of right time and right place for the sun and certain clouds. Crystals within the clouds refract light into the various visible waves of the spectrum but only if they are arrayed correctly relative to the ground below. Due to the rarity with which all of these events happen in conjunction with one another, there are relatively few remarkable photos of this phenomena. Sinkholes Sinkholes are one of the world's scariest natural phenomena. Over time, water erodes the soil under the planet's surface until in some cases, quite suddenly, the land above gives way and collapses into the earth. Many sinkholes occur naturally while others are the result of human intervention. Displacing groundwater can open cavities while broken pipes can erode otherwise stable subterranean sediments. Urban sinkholes, up to hundreds of feet deep have formed and consumed parts of city blocks, sidewalks and even entire buildings. Penitentes Named after peak-hooded New Mexican monks (lower right above), penitentes are dazzling naturally-forming ice blades that stick up at sharp angles toward the sun. Rarely found except at high altitudes, they can grow up taller than a human and form in vast fields. As ice melts in particular patterns, 'valleys' formed by initial melts leave 'mountains' in their wake. Strangely, these formations ultimately slow the melting process as the peaks cast shadows on the deeper surfaces below and allow for winds to blow over the peaks, cooling them. Lenticular Clouds Ever wonder the truth about UFOs? Avoided by traditional pilots but loved by sailplane aviators, lenticular clouds are masses of cloud with strong internal uplift that can drive a motorless flyer to high elevations. Their shape is quite often mistaken for a mysterious flying object or the artificial cover for one. Generally, lenticular clouds are formed as wind speeds up while moving around a large land object such as a mountain. Light Pillars Light pillars appear as eerily upright luminous columns in the sky, beacons cast into the air above without an apparent source.. These are visible when light reflects just right off of ice crystals from either the sun (as in the two top images above) or from artificial ground sources such as street or park lights. Despite their appearance as near-solid columns of light, the effect is entirely created by our own relative viewpoint. Sundogs Like light pillars, sundogs are the product of light passing through crystals. The particular shape and orientation of the crystals can have a drastic visual impact for the viewer, producing a longer tail and changing the range of colors one sees. The relative height of the sun in the sky shifts the distance the sundogs appear to be on either side of the sun. Varying climactic conditions on other planets in our solar system produce halos with up to four sundogs from those planets' perspectives. Sundogs have been speculated about and discussed since ancient times and written records describing the various attributes of our sun date back the Egyptians and Greeks. Fire Whirls Fire whirls (also known as fire devils or tornadoes) appear in or around raging fires when the right combination of climactic conditions is present. Fire whirls can be spawned by other natural events such as earthquakes and thunderstorms, and can be incredibly dangerous, in some cases spinning well out of the zone of a fire itself to cause devastation and death in a radius not even reached by heat or flame. Fire whirls have been known to be nearly a mile high, have wind speeds of over 100 miles per hour and to last for 20 or more minutes. Orange Moons This last phenomena is something most people have seen before - beautiful orange moon hanging low in the sky. But what causes this phenomena- and, for that matter, does the moon have a color at all? When the moon appears lower on the horizon, rays of light bouncing off it have to pass through a great deal more of our atmosphere which slowly strips away everything but yellows, oranges and reds. The bottommost image above is true to the hues of the moon but has enhanced colors to more clearly show the differences in shade that illustrate the mixed topography and minerology that tell the story of the moon's surface. Looking at the colors in combination with the craters one can start to trace the history of impacts and consequent material movements across the face of our mysterious moon.      Courtesy:

Arjun Bhattacharyya

 

 

Why Optimists Usually Win: How to 'Hypnotize' Yourself for Success

Why Optimists Usually Win: How to 'Hypnotize' Yourself for Success

 

People who look on the bright side can 'hypnotise themselves' to overcome challenges

By Rob Waugh / Source: Daily Mail UK

Thinking positively about something really might make it happen, psychologists say.

Simply anticipating something good can gear up hidden circuits in the brain to drive you towards it.

  

Thinking about a happy outcome plants a 'suggestion' in the mind, in a similar way to a hypnotist. 

Two psychologists at the University of Victoria, New Zeland said: 'Once we anticipate a specific outcome will occur, our subsequent thoughts and behaviors will actually help to bring that outcome to fruition.'

It can't work magic, obviously, but researchers say effects of suggestion are more powerful than people think and can change behaviours and even outcomes.

Thinking positively plants a powerful suggestion in the mind

If someone shy expects that a glass of wine will help him loosen up at a cocktail party, he will probably feel less inhibited, approach more people, and get involved in more conversations over the course of the evening.

And although he may give credit to the wine, his expectations of how the wine would make him feel played a major role, the researchers say.

Psychologists Maryanne Garry and Robert Michael of Victoria University in New Zealand met with Irving Kirsch of Harvard, and the three pooled their research into the effects of suggestion.

'Once we anticipate a specific outcome will occur, our subsequent thoughts and behaviors will actually help to bring that outcome to fruition.'

Dr Garry said: 'We realized that the effects of suggestion are wider and often more surprising than many people might otherwise think.'

Many studies have shown that deliberate suggestion can influence how people perform in tasks, which products they prefer and even how they respond to medicines - the placebo effect.

Suggestion is much more powerful than thought

Dr Garry says the reason for this lies in our 'response expectancies', the ways in which we anticipate our responses in various situations.

The expectancies led to automatic responses which can lead to the outcome we were expecting all along.

And non-deliberate suggestions can have the same effect, said Dr Garry.

She said: 'Simply observing people or otherwise making them feel special can be suggestive.'

But this can be worrying 'because although we might then give credit to some new drug or treatment, we don't realize that we are the ones who are actually wielding the influence.'

The team say that unintentional suggestions have important implications for academic research.

Dr Garry said: 'In the scientific community, we need to be aware of - and control for - the suggestions we communicate to subjects.

'Recent research suggests that some of psychological science's most intriguing findings may be driven, at least in part, by suggestion and expectancies.

'For example, a scientist who knows what the hypothesis of an experiment is might unwittingly lead subjects to produce the hypothesized effect-for reasons that have nothing to do with the experiment itself.'

Outside the realm of the laboratory the effect can also be seen - for example in eyewitness identification, when the number of false identifications increase when the person organising the line-up knows who the suspect is.

The authors say it is still not clear where the boundary between suggestion and reality lies.

Dr Garry said: 'And, if a 'real' treatment and a 'suggestion' lead to a similar outcome, what differentiates between the two? 

'If we can harness the power of suggestion, we can improve people's lives.'

Edited by: Lawyer Asad

Develop habits to get things done [new video]

I hope you've had a chance to watch my complimentary "Psychology of Time Management" video. If not, watch it here. If you enjoyed the video – and have started using my 7-step goal setting process to implement your time management goals, you may be wondering how you can take things one step further. Find out by watching my second free video, "Developing Habits That Get Things Done." Watch it here. Remember, what you do with the time you have is exponentially more important than how much time you have. I created "Developing Habits That Get Things Done" to explain exactly how to get more done, in less time. This is one of the most important techniques you can practice to develop strong work habits; and in turn, a pattern for success in every aspect of your life. When you watch "Developing Habits That Get Things Done," you learn: One of the most important techniques you can practice to develop strong work habits (it's easier than you might think!) What you should do before you ever begin working, to ensure better efficiency once you start The type of approach you can take each time you work, to get your work done better, faster A question you can ask yourself each time you sit down to work, to make yourself highly effective in everything you do The attitude with which you must approach every task or project if you want to master it and achieve the best time management possible If you've ever thought, "I wish I could get more done," then this is your solution. Developing habits that get things done is one of the essential components of mastering time management. Watch "Developing Habits That Get Things Done," and get on your way to getting more done – in everything you do! Watch it here. Here's to getting it ALL done, faster, Brian Tracy Circulated by: Lawyer Asad

The Best Dad

The Best Dad

Years ago I heard a story of a dad named Paul who gave his young son a small chalkboard to practice writing on. One evening his son called out from the bedroom, "Dad, how do you spell best?"

Paul answered him. Moments later, the boy hollered, "How do you spell kid?"

Finally he asked, "How do you spell ever?"

When the boy showed him what he'd written on the chalkboard, Paul expected to see "I'm the best kid ever." Instead, the boy beamed as Paul read the message: "You're the best dad a kid can ever have."

Paul recalled that it was one of the best days of his life. In fact, he had to buy his son another chalkboard because he wanted to save this message forever and hang it on his wall. It's still there.

Feeling appreciated is enormously important to adults as well as children. So much so that we often don't think enough about what we'd most like to be appreciated for.

Being appreciated at work is a big deal. Who doesn't want approval and respect from one's boss and coworkers? Beyond the economic value of raises, promotions, and commendations, praise can be gratifying and motivating. That's why good employers look for opportunities to acknowledge and thank employees for their contributions.

Yet as meaningful as work recognition is, if you could choose between winning your child's "Best Mom/Dad a Kid Can Ever Have" award and being named "Best Employee," which would you choose?

The point is not to belittle the pursuit of approval in your business life but to remind you how much more meaningful it is to know you're important to and appreciated by the people who love and need you the most. Your most important job in life is to be worthy of that appreciation.

Being the "best ever" mom or dad, husband or wife, or friend – it doesn't get any better than that.

Michael Josephson

www.charactercounts.org 

Courtesy: Bob Proctor

Brought to you by: Lawyer Asad

Six Power Steps to Your Success

Six Power Steps to Your Success

By Stuart Goldsmith

Creator of The Inner Circle Mentoring Program

The following power steps structure your thinking to make sure the actions you take will drive you towards success.

Power Step #1: Be In Charge Of Your Life

Caring what other people think of you puts them in charge of your life, instead of you.

'What will other people think of me?' slavery is extremely common. Most of us are brought up (rightfully so) to consider others. But, unless we are discerning, we soon find ourselves caught up in a job we can't stand, or living in a relationship which makes us unhappy, or getting caught up in the spiral of poverty.

'Trying to please other people all the time' syndrome begins in childhood. It stems from a desire to be liked and admired. Let's look at a fairly typical scenario: three boys, Fred, Joe, and Matthew, all five years old, are best pals. They fight to sit together at school and spend their breaks in a group. Fred comes to school one day with a stack of pokemon cards to show his friends. Joe is envious of Fred's collection and a fight breaks out when Fred refuses to give a prized card to Joe.

There are several resulting scenarios, all with serious implications for Fred's future. A teacher could break up the fight and make Fred feel guilty for not parting with the prized card. Joe could refuse to talk to Fred even ending the friendship, unless Fred relented. Matthew would side with either Joe or Fred, or be a peacemaker and force the other two to discuss the problem and sort it out amicably.

The biggest danger to Fred, is if the solution entails his giving the card away, when he really doesn't want to. In other words, if the only reason he gives in, is because he desperately wants to be liked and it really matters what his friends think of him. If they were real friends, of course, Joe would understand Fred's view and Matthew would not criticise. Fred might even willingly offer Joe another not so valuable card out of his collection.

Over the years thousands of small incidents build up, until by the time we are adults, most of us make a habit of putting what other people think of us before our own personal needs and desires.

The Right Reasons

Before you cut the grass, decorate the house, start a business, go on holiday, always ask yourself, 'am I doing this for the right reasons?' Yes, the gardening has to be done, but not if you're in the middle of crucial market research and if you don't cut the grass today you're worried that the neighbour's will think you're lazy. Yes, a house has to be decorated, but not if it's at the expense of your health through shooting your stress level through the roof trying to fit it in between a busy advertising campaign, and it's only because your partner insists you do it now.

'Other people' slavery kills your creativity, your energy and drive towards your own goals and fulfilling your dreams. It stops you from going to places you want to visit and enjoying the kind of entertainment that you enjoy. So, make certain you're not always driven to do things, merely because you're worried about what other people think of you. Be confident in who you are!

Power Step #2: Strive to be Different

Nearly everyone you know will strive to be normal - because it's socially acceptable. But the normal person goes nowhere special and achieves the mundane.

Using a fictitious character called Norman, here's an example of his normal expectations of life and mediocre results:

'I live in a pleasant neighbourhood in an average house (translated as meaning: all the houses and gardens along the street look exactly alike, apart from the odd differences in plants). I own an average car (just another standard box on wheels, which apart from minor differences looks like nearly every other car on the road).'

Norman's other goals and ambitions: 'I save up all year round to take my wife and children on holiday, somewhere nice where it's safe. We usually book a package holiday, so everything is taken care of and we know exactly what to expect. Even the entertainment is all planned for us.

My job is boring, but it pays the bills and the pension is good. It'll never make me rich, but then I don't want to be rich (but he wouldn't give away a lottery win!). Anyone who's rich has had to lie and cheat their way to the top. I like to sleep at night with a clear conscience. I may not have much but at least it's honest toil.

I don't have much to do with the neighbours; I don't really like them. But, to keep the peace I mow my lawn once a week and keep the garden weeded and tidy, and do the odd job for them. I like to think they view me as a nice guy.

Every other weekend we visit our best friends, Alice and Paul, and they visit us alternate weekends. Like us, they're your average typical family. Most nights after work I shower, change and after dinner, put my feet up and watch television until bedtime. Every Sunday, we have a roast dinner and every Friday we treat ourselves to a fry up. Am I happy, well, it's life isn't it?'

That's how Norman thinks and lives his life and that's how many people live their life. The Normans spend their days, grumbling about how they hate their job, get fed up with their bosses and partners, but that's all they do. The same gripes day in and day out - but taking no action to change their situation, simply because they are slaves to being normal (and 'what will other people think of me, if I do something unusual?').

Living in the Fast Lane of the Elite

Let's compare Norman's goals and ambitions with another invented character, David. He's one of the smaller group of people who move forward and live the life of the elite and privileged.

'My philosophy on life is simple. Life is too short to be little.

I'm not concerned with what other people think of me. If all my neighbours want to cut down their hedges and build short brick walls and block pave their drives, that's their choice, but I'm not going to have it done just to please them. I like the trees so they're staying and I prefer to have a shingle drive. I've done everything possible to make our house individual.

Often, I ring Sarah from the office and ask her to forget about cooking dinner for that night and how about going out for a meal? We've tried all the restaurants within a twenty km radius.

We both love holidays, and I take the family as often as possible. We spend most weekends, exploring new places and trying out different activities.

I love my job, it's very challenging being a manager. I get to meet and work with people of many different personality traits, from varied backgrounds. Every now and then a junior is obviously aiming to take my job. I don't find it threatening, I like the challenge. I enjoy working with intelligent people who stretch my potential.

I work hard and I am paid well. Do I feel guilty? No, I expect to be paid handsomely for my efforts, I wouldn't have it any other way. We live in a large house in an exclusive area and that's my reward for going the extra mile at work. I don't automatically go home at the end of the working day. And sometimes I arrive at the office as early as 6am, just to prepare for a meeting with my team.

I want to be rich and I am prepared to plan and work towards my goals. I look forward to the future. I don't know what's around the corner and I don't care, because whatever happens I will handle the situation. I know I can solve problems - my strength lies within, it does not come from any outside forces. I couldn't care less whether other people approve of me or not, I know I'm okay and that's all that matters.'

Two Opposing Philosophies

Norman's slavery to acting normal (and slavery to what other people think), creates poverty and unhappiness. While David's striving to be different (and refusal to be a slave to other people's expectations of him) creates wealth and happiness.

If you are ever tempted to query if David's attitude is not a tad selfish, then just ask yourself this question, 'who would you prefer to have as a friend? Norman, who's bored and unhappy or David who's exciting and happy?' Easy isn't it.

Power Step #3: Look to the Future

If you dwell on your past mistakes your creativity can crash to a grinding halt and you will be unable to move forward. Losing is good if you interpret it correctly.

Demonstration Example: A friend of mine told me how a number of years ago, an acquaintance of his, approached him with a spectacular lead about a stock that was certain to triple in price in the next few weeks. The price was $7.45 a share. So, despite his misgivings he bought 200 shares. From that day the stock dropped. Finally eighteen months later he decided to cut his losses and sell.

He sold the stock for a huge loss at a grand total of $413. He could have let this one bad experience drive him from ever investing in the stock market again. However, this wise man explained, he was glad to have learned such valuable lessons.

It taught him:

1. Ignore the guy who wants to give a hot tip.

2. Check into a company carefully before buying.

3. Sell if it starts dropping too much.

Education of the Highest Merit

Don't regard mistakes as mistakes. It ceases to be a mistake and loses its power to hold you back if you can learn to be glad that you've not failed but learned valuable lessons in life. That attitude will help you to build future successes.

Lost a job? You probably weren't suited, so take the time out to decide what you really want to do. Built a business and then it crashed? Perhaps you don't like running your own business. Can't sell a product? Look for the reason and then act. Either try out other ways to sell it or scrap the product and sell a different one.

Blessed is he who is not discouraged by mistakes. Blessed is he who is glad he makes mistakes. Winning - or losing - is a state of mind.

Power Step #4: It's Never Too Late

Sadly, the following story is all too common: Bill spent years training to be an engineer, although he never really liked engineering. But he thought it was worth the sacrifice because it was a highly paid skill.

After college, he started a job with an engineering company. Years later he was still working at the same company and still hating it. His excuse was with a mortgage and family ties he was scared to leave the engineering firm and go into a job with lower wages.

After twenty years he was still afraid to correct a mistake made all those years ago. He was now too scared to change jobs, simply because he'd left it too late. He didn't want to compete with younger men experienced at their job.

If you have a goal and you find yourself saying 'it's too late', the only way to conquer that fear is to ignore it and go ahead and do the thing you fear. It's NEVER too late if you have the courage and the passion to follow your dream.

Power Step #5: Don't Crave Security

In ages past we accepted that life was full of hardships. They grappled with huge animals in a desperate bid to kill them for food. The odds were simple; either succeed or starve, kill or be killed.

As civilisations discovered fire and then electricity and gas to keep warm, bought food from markets and built houses of stone, people became less willing to deal with any unexpected events that threatened to turn their cosy life upside down. So, insurance was invented.

The idea of insurance is to cushion the impact of the unexpected. In theory it's a good idea, but it has turned our society into a population of security seekers. It has weakened our strength as individuals who know we can surmount any problem or situation that life throws our way.

The stifling extent of this slavery is enormous. The more security we have the less psychological freedom we can enjoy and the less our chances are of success and abundance.

Dare to Take a Chance

The only places to find security are a prison or mental hospital. Inmates are assured a roof over their heads, food and warmth and no responsibilities. The price tag for this security? No freedom.

Unfortunately, it's all too easy to reel off a list of bad things that could happen to us. For most people it's easier than thinking of the good things that could happen. People who crave security are slaves to a vivid imagination that conjures up bad news items that could happen to them, and they allow these images to cripple their actions. Too afraid to start that great business idea because of all the things they imagine that could go wrong. Too frightened to sell up and buy a larger house in another area because the house prices could drop or the children won't like the new schools, or... and so it goes on for an endless list.

Every child loves surprises and life is fun and exciting because of this. As we grow up and we fight for security, we eliminate the risks but in doing so we eliminate the surprises and limit our chances to achieve more than a humdrum life.

If you want to make sure you don't stifle your need for excitement:

1. Dare to be individual.

2. Dare to develop your own style - instead of following fashion.

3. Dare to study and work to improve yourself in your profession.

4. Dare to have a positive mental attitude and the courage to try.

In other words: Dare to take a chance.

Power Step #6: I Am Certain to Win

Our minds drive us to achieve exactly what we believe we're capable of achieving. This is good news because once we understand this and master the art of controlled thinking, then we can guide our destinies towards success.

Controlled experiments over many years have proved that children who are considered by their teachers, friends and families to be 'troublesome or terrors' actually end up getting into trouble with a high percentage becoming juvenile delinquents. However, the 'good' group of boys (in the same age group at the beginning of a study) believed by teachers, friends and families to stay out of trouble and succeed in school, go on to do so. Each group of children achieve in accordance with what people around them believe them capable of doing.

The conclusion of many similar studies is this: thinking does make it so. Only a miracle can make the football team win who starts a game with the 'we know they'll beat us,' attitude.

If you need to break the bonds of 'I'm certain to fail' slavery:

1. Hold positive chats with yourself.

2. Surround yourself with positive people.

3. Think, 'I'm going to succeed'.

4. Think, 'I'm a winner'.

The only person you will have to convince is yourself. Other people are automatically convinced you're great and a success, after you have convinced yourself.

Stuart Goldsmith is a British multimillionaire author and entrepreneur. He created a 16 million fortune starting from a position of heavy debt, and has taught thousands of others how to get wealthy. Learn more at Stuart Goldsmith's private member site.

Edited by: Lawyer Asad