Recession Predicted. Hooray!! What a great time to expect Success!

As you may have noticed, I have not posted in a while. As it turns out I have been quite busy but I’ll touch on that in a moment.

In today’s paper, there are two inch headlines screaming that we are headed for a recession here in the U.S. in 2008. The chances are fifty/fifty according to the story, which means if enough fear is whipped up, it is almost a certainty.

So, why would a blog about success want to dwell on the chances of a major economic downturn? Well, the answer is your success has everything to do with the economy going south.

You see, this is now the best opportunity that any of us have had in a long time! And no, I’m not smoking anything and no, I haven’t lost my mind. The fact is, there is always tremendous opportunity to achieve, even excel, when economic conditions take a down turn.

For instance, there will be more layoffs if there is a recession. While I don’t seek to minimize the negative effects of someone getting laid off, it does serve as a reminder that none of us with a real J-O-B have real security. A steady paycheck is nice to have, and there have been times when I literally prayed for one. But, the reality is, it doesn’t offer security. We provide our own security here in the 21^st Century.

And we do this by creating our own sources of income that either provide a service which is valuable to the users under any condition or by providing valuable information that helps to solve a problem.

Achieving success is basically not allowing your problems to so overwhelm you that you cannot focus on providing a solution to other people’s problem. Provide a solution with real value and you have found a revenue stream that won’t ever be laid off.

In an effort to do just that, a lot of people have sought to create income from the massive numbers afforded them through the internet. Which, on the surface, makes sense. However, there are massive amounts of traffic on our highways and roads but if you place a gas station on the back side of the local landfill, you probably won’t get a lot of customers.

So, if content is king on the Internet, then like our friend with the gas station looking out on a landfill, traffic is key.

But, if you and I bump into each other at a neighborhood block party or at the produce section of the local supermarket and I tell you that I found gas at the landfill gas station for 1/3 less than anywhere else it town…..you guessed it, you’re going to be heading on over to the landfill. So, will your friends and their friends.

And that is how the Internet is working now. Back in the day, it was called word of mouth. Now, it is “Social Network Marketing”. In essence, the herd mentality is at work and people want to know who the cool guy is that told everyone about the landfill gas station. Then, they come by your website to see what all the fuss is about.

What no one tells you, is that just like the new kid in the Junior High School, it takes a while to make friends. Any friends. And, therefore, your word of mouth opinion isn’t heard by very many. Actually, by no one. So, to shorten the learning curve and increase the number of people that hear your word of mouth opinion, most of us need some help.

But, the point is, IF a recession hits and IF you are laid off from your job and IF you think the Internet might provide an opportunity to make extra or even more than extra income, then you need to know these things. Your success will depend on it.

Which brings me back to what I’ve been doing for the past few months. Basically, what I just did was identity the problem, the opportunity and the solution. Which is a perfect example of putting the formula to work. And this applies to you, even if you face a layoff now or in the future, because you can use this formula to find success in the midst of gloom and doom predictions from the talking head prognosticators.

What I did, along with my friend Paul McIntosh, was create a site, http://www.bestpageranking.com , that spreads word of mouth opinions for subscribers. And yes, it does cost something. But, it solves a problem. And, it solves the very problem the landfill gas station has (as does everyone that wants to make money on the Internet) to the extent that the owner doesn’t have to worry about a job layoff or whether or not he has any “security” in turbulent times.

And therein lies the subject of today’s post. Look around you and when you are faced with a job layoff or recession or any of the other problems that are “Recession” originated, you can use the same formula. To be successful.

How Being "Off Course" is a Beautiful Thing

“Successful personalities have some interest in and regard for other people. They have a respect for others’ problems and needs. They respect the dignity of human personality and deal with other people as if they were human beings, rather than as pawns in their own game. They recognize that every person is a child of God and is a unique individuality which deserves some dignity and respect.”

Maxwell Maltz, M.D., Author of Psycho-Cybernetics

Dr. Maltz is referring to "Charity" in this quote from his famous book. As I write this, we are entering the holidays and are often called upon to display the spirit of the season. That is, to be a bit more charitable to others.

I don't think most of us intend for anyone to be "pawns" in our own games or overtly seek to disrespect others. Nor do we wake up in the mornings with a purposeful, directed mindset to discount others problems, needs and stresses.

What we do, is find ourselves in a rather difficult struggle at times with a little thing called "life". And, even in times when for a great deal of the world, Maslow's basic hierarchy of needs have been met, life can be a struggle. And, it is with struggle that the base instincts seems to take over and every man for himself is not just a slogan.

Of course it is when we witness someone rise above the struggle and display true charity, that is respect for, dignified caring and recognition of our individual and unique God given value that we give pause. Pause to admire, reflect upon and even emulate them.

I know I certainly don't begin the day with the intent to discount those around me, to not recognize their "godness" within, their boundaries or see them as simply tools to assist in achieving some goal to the extint that they are turned into "pawns". However, I will also be the first to admit that the 'road to Hell is paved with good intentions' and all of us, no matter who, are sometimes guilty of being so caught up in daily struggles that we inadvertently don't show enough 'dignity of the human personality'.

So, if someone fails to do show dignity and respect to you, that does not mean they regard you as a pawn. You see, successful people are constantly having to make course corrections as they move toward the things they want, which means they get off course...constantly.

One important issue, is that course correction is made quickly, like with a torpedo moving toward a target, or the small almost unconscious movement of a steering wheel to keep your car on the road and out of the ditch.

It seems to me, it is imperative on each of us to understand that if you do fail at times to respect the dignity of others, it serves no one to not forgive yourself for having done so. And, it is just as imperative to do the same for others.

You see, we can choose to see a benevolent world or hostile world as the one we occupy, participate in and live our lives. And, on occasion, it is both.

But, ultimately, it is the feeling of respect, admiration and desire to emulate the ones among us that display the characteristics Dr. Maltz describes, which is the true course of action. Even if it is a constant correction, toward charity to others as well as ourselves.

Nobility, Love, Effort, Commitment, Joy and Success

My friend Paul McIntosh at, http://www.beyondalchemy.com/index.php, posted this video to my Fun Wall as one of my 'friends' at http://www.facebook.com/. The inspiration found in it moved me to tears, and I wanted to share it with everyone I could.

I have seen this father and son combination on television before as ‘they’ competed in triathlons and it had the same effect on me. I was stunned at the physical stamina of the dad, the commitment to his son, the obvious joy on his son’s face and the profound love, on display for all the world to see, that they share.

I wiped my eyes then and although I have watched this video several times, I do so every time I watch it now.

Why is that? What chord deep within us does this story strike and cause to resonate to anyone who sees it?

I think the answer is that in these two people we see the best of the human spirit as it overcomes something much more than mere adversity. It is triumph over what could have easily been a life destined to despair. It is deep appreciation of joy, love and the spiritual value resident in every human being no matter their physical condition.

In “The Step by Step Guide to Unlocking the 7 Laws of Success”, I touch on the personal values that each of us use to determine and define just what “success” means to us. And, to me the spirit we see in this video, shared between father and son is the essence of success on the most elemental and essential level.

Right there in front of everyone are the factors that define and determine success. It seems to me they are: commitment, desire, effort, love, joy, shared vision and unselfish achievement to raise, not only yourself, but those around you up to extraordinary accomplishment by the single-minded pursuit of your chosen goals.

I have heard the dad interviewed before and wept with him as he said, in effect, he got so much more back from his son by their joint participation than he ever could give to him in return.

For those of us that seek to claim success associated with financial prosperity, or maybe spiritual enlightenment, or possibly physical fitness, fulfilling personal relationships or any other measurement in which we place value, it is important that we hear the ‘chord’ in this video story. And that chord, the one that resonates in us as we watch this video is extraordinary commitment fueled by unconditional love.

Also, I guess like pornography, we know what constitutes heroic achievement when we see it and we know deeply felt passion for the immense effort required to achieve when we see it. And, when we do behold it in such purity, we weep in appreciation of it’s value.

Fill your efforts toward success with values that are lasting and timeless because they are right and good rather than to prove something to someone that wronged you in the past, or to diminish the efforts of another in comparison to your own or to be motivated by selfishness.

It is the nobility found in this father and son team that we admire, respect and love. It is the nobility exposed to our view, which we hope to possess in ourselves and long to rise to that moves us. It is the nobility of their quest that strikes a chord deep within us all as we each reach within ourselves to find our own. May all of your successes be timeless, fill you with joy and lift up those around you.

What does your mama's cooking smell like?

Yesterday some friends of ours brought their six month old and two year old over for a swim in our pool. Being beautiful doesn’t hurt their cause but aside from that, the kids have the personalities to melt your heart as well.

Afterwards, me and the other dad, were leaning back in the patio chairs talking about the American college and professional football season fast approaching. Seems their college alma mater is ranked highly and so is the price of the game tickets.

At one point the subject of lying on the coach watching a football game with the windows open, the cool air finally replacing the stifling Texas summer heat with a baby laying on your stomach, napping, came up. We both agreed that such an occurrence was one of the moments in life to cherish. As we both thought about it, we leaned back and in our minds we were both there, smelling the tops of their tiny infant heads, feeling the warmth of them as they lay on you, dozing off while the game was on T.V.; bliss.

It occurred to me that whether we live in the Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere, whether we are old or young, with children or not, there are moments that define our lives, our version of bliss and are the things that connect all of us.

It is not the DSL speed, VoIP, text messaging, Web 2.0 Social Networking sites, lap top access of internet technology in our lives that connect us all together. But rather, it is the common bond that is elicited by the emotional sharing and the feelings that create our personal bliss no matter our background or the place we call home.

For some of you, spring may be about to begin. Football may mean the World Cup and the prairie of North Texas is a indistinct, unknown and maybe even laughably ugly image.

But no matter where you live, there are things our senses take in which create a bond, an emotional connection and therefore a shared humanness that gives real value to lives, just like the other dad and I had for a few moments on my patio. We happened to be sitting by each other, but it can happen at the same instant anywhere on the planet. Distance seperating us is a human concept that applies to our physicality.

For instance, it is my guess that no matter where you live when you are reading this, you will understand what I’m saying on an emotional level when I suggest some things from my home that might be in common with yours.

Maybe it is the smell of fresh cut grass, newly split firewood, fresh laundry on a clothes line, a pine forest, salt spray or the inside of a horse barn.

Possibly it is remembering what it feels like to hold someone you care about deeply on the dance floor for the first time in your life. Possibly it is remembering the first time you were on a dance floor with someone, period. Or, watching a smile directed at you begin slowly and then take over a face with affection that is sincere, full of warmth and irreplaceable.

Maybe it is standing still to watch, admire and be moved by a hummingbird feeding, a butterfly at rest on a flower bloom, the shadow of a cloud pass over a field, the wind moving across a wheat field, the sound of a bird’s song in early morning stillness.

At my home, I remember the smell of a home cooked fried chicken Sunday lunch and the feel of family around a table. Everyone can smell the aroma of their mother’s cooking on the stove. Most all of us know the smell of freshly cut summer vegetables from the garden, ripe apples and fruit at Christmastime, new crayons in a box, new notebooks and school clothes on the first day of school, fresh bread baking or bacon frying from the kitchen while you still lay in bed.

Whatever the source, uniqueness or distinct nature of each of individual definition of bliss, it is the commonality of it, the community, the humanness on the most primal, spiritual and deepest level that really connects each of us.

And, it is that feeling of bliss we often search for elsewhere which actually resides within us that can cause us much self inflicted frustration and alienation. But, when we see within us the lives we want, when we feel, smell and taste the bliss of what we can imagine in goodness, with integrity and dignity of purpose for ourselves and our families, we have what we all want: interconnectedness with the light that is our source.

So, the next time you can think of what ever it is that is uniquely yours and causes you to lean back and visualize with a fondness of a steak lover seeing a perfect rib eye; that can create a moment of appreciation which is all yours in the vast expanse of time, and is even blissful in nature, hold on to it and remember it.

And when you want something, something that will benefit you and others, want it from the place within you which originates those feelings of bliss. Goodness begats Goodness. Want from the same continuity and community that links us all. Then, we all are with you, even the source of all of our light.

By the way, the very inexpensive 21 Day Positive Mental Habit Guidebook is coming soon. Watch for it!

The 7 Mental Laws of Success and the 7 Keys to Unlocking Them

Everybody likes free. This little book covers some pretty powerful stuff in just a few pages and it is free for providing a name and email address. It also let's you know about the book that goes with it which is full of exercises to actually take some action!

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Got to, Have to, Need to

For the last several days I have been in what we used to call, a “funk”. Overall, just kind of mad at the world, no energy, quick to blame, focusing on limitations and completely separated from the positive energy of inspiration.

I tried what I thought was “everything” to snap out of it. “What the hell is going on?”, I thought. Then was even more mad that I was not only in this awful place, but that I wasn’t moving past it quickly by using the very techniques I talk about in The Step by Step Action Guide to Unlocking the 7 Laws of Success .

And then I had a very short conversation with my two kids and the reaction to it made me have a realization that instantly changed things for me.

Here in my little world of Dallas, Texas I see a pattern with a lot of people, kids and families that may be different in other cultures, but seems to be pervasive throughout this country.

Have you noticed the frantic and frenetic parents taking their kids from soccer to baseball, from baseball to dance lessons, from dance to volleyball practice, from volleyball to football and from football to…., it just goes on and on?

The question is why are these parents rushing around filling their and their kid’s lives with so much activity, so much structure, so much to do which is contingent on performance. Not only performance which must meet the parents approval but also coaches and instructors? And what is the reaction the kid gets if the kid isn’t worth a damn at any of them? What message is sent either way? If you are good, then you must always be good at something to get positive attention and if you're bad at it, you're just pitiful.

Through no fault of anyone, I have first hand knowledge of the driving forces that cause both male and female to rush about, always in a hurry to perform at a level that earns the approval of…..whoever. Be it teacher, boss, dad or that ultimate judge of human worth in the sky. So, where does that way of thinking come from?

It stems from love withheld to control kids. Rather than unconditional love, parents sometimes seek to control the behaviors they want to extinguish or change, by in effect, threatening to withhold their love, approval and acceptance of the very essence of their kids rather than the behaviors. They are constantly running from the notion that they didn’t measure up, or didn’t measure up in their own minds, to some imaginary, unrealistic expectation in a desperate need for approval and now unknowingly, they are doing the same to and for their kids.

Pretty heavy stuff, I know. But take a look at yourself when you are hearing either directly or indirectly through your motivation for your actions any of the following, “Got to, need to, have to.” And when you do, stop yourself in your tracks because telling yourself or acting as if any of those statements should be your driving force, your motivation to move forward or your source of energy will rob your life of joy, inspiration and purpose as surely as if you laid down in a gutter and quit living at all.

It seems that I was being asked to take the kids for the day while my wife did some volunteer work at their school.

“We will get to spend time with you, daddy?”

Before I could answer as my mind raced at the unfinished business I was thinking of and as my gut reacted to being cut off from my work, I heard in a dejected, resigned voice,

“He’ll probably be on the computer all day.....as usual.”

What I became aware of was the panic inside me. You see, I had to get that chapter done before the deadline, I’ve got to get the web site up and I really, really needed to…..

I hung my head. Even though I talk about this very thing in The Step by Step Action Guide to Unlocking the 7 Laws of Success, I was so busy “doing”, I had lost myself. That is why I was angry, lethargic and could find no joy. When our activities are not manifested from inspiration, desire and great purpose but from joylessness which shuts us off from these qualities, we discover tediousness, great effort, fear and anger to be the result.

If you "got to, need to or have to", you are shutting off energy. Positive, life affirming, goal affirming, inspired energy.

To me, that is why I see so many tired, frustrated, stressed out parents taking their kids from one activity to the next, day after day after day. What a way to live.

I turned off my computer and swam, played, watched T.V. and hung out for the entire day with the young gyroscopes of my life, and was thankful and appreciative for hours at a time. I also made sure I let go of any kind of “have to, need to or got to” thinking about anything.

Take some time as soon as possible and look at your purpose in life. “Want to; be excited to and love to” is what it takes to accomplish the actions which translate into your version of “success”. You will then cease to know limitation and will be back to vibrating at the highest level of universal power.

Pat O'Bryan at Your Portable Empire sent out a quote that I love:
Promise Yourself to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear; and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

And that is the final word.

Do you know how long forever is? Are you sure?

My first job out of college was at a state psychiatric hospital. My college sweetheart had just gotten a job there on the Maximum Security Unit, or MSU as it was known and we married. While the marriage was much shorter than my college career, our time there did give me the chance to not only experience first hand the MSU ward, but also to hear stories each night about the patients.

So, it is from a perspective of a comparatively small population pool, i.e., one that has had some first hand experiential exposure to a criminal psychiatric unit that I took interest in the results Dr. Len achieved using Ho’oponopono. The description in Zero Limits by the social worker who worked on the ward could have been duplicated for any facility like it in the United States and any other hospital name could have been inserted with absolutely no differentiation.

Because of my experience, I could not and would not begin to discount the extraordinary results Dr. Len achieved. Trust me; you have to have walked onto a ward like that to really, truly understand what it was like. There was no Dr. Len at our MSU.

This morning I took a walk and repeatedly stated, “I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.” And, like a meditation exercise, the result was that I smiled deeply and felt a peace.

I guess my thoughts on Zero Limits and the message contained in it goes back to the Aboriginals I posted before this one, to the messages of Jesus and to the message even Joe Vitale presented in The Secret.

As is mentioned in Zero Limits, we only take in something like 15 bits of information while there are 15 million coming at us. In other words, we can miss a few things or get it wrong because we don’t get all the information to which we are exposed.

While I have never met Joe and never spoken to him, it is my impression that he was somewhat taken aback by what I interpreted as a widespread misconception about his comments in The Secret. Many heard him say think about what you want using the Law of Attraction, but no one seemed to hear him say, “But take action!”. Even though clearly, he said exactly that. But people heard what they wanted to hear. Their fifteen bits of information they took in missed about 14,999,985.

Books, no libraries of books have been written about how misconstrued and taken out of context are the teachings of Jesus. I am not a theologian so pardon me while I hop over that bottomless pit of debate. But, the point is, people hear what they want to hear and are all operating from their own idiosyncranicities. No matter how pure the message, it can and usually does get obscured as we filter it using our alloted 15 bits of intake through the sieve of whatever connectedness or lack thereof, we possess.

Ah, but how does this relate to the Aboriginals and what is my point? Well, first of all, I wrote The Step by Step Action Guide because I thought I saw people concentrating on attracting without the tools in place to take action. And further, without the tools to take action that was inspired, joyous, healthy and not driven. I thought I saw a need. So, I addressed it because of my own personal experience. Also, I think the Aboriginals get “it” and have gotten “it” longer than eastern, western and mid-eastern cultures have been in existence.

The Aboriginals wake up every morning, face the rising sun and give thanks. They ask, if it is in the highest and best good for all, that plants or animals or both present themselves as nourishment to them. These sources of food present themselves willingly because of their connection to the Divine Oneness, although it is not their reason for being in existence. But, they present themselves to provide for the Aboriginals because all life is connected to the loving Divine Oneness and this connection has them present themselves as sustenance. And, in respect and in appreication the Aboriginals only take and eat what is absolutely needed. They will leave water behind for other animals rather than drink more than what they think is their right to drink.

They laughed at the Missionaries that taught them to pray and give thanks before each meal because they do this all day, every day and on a deeper level! A level that is in connection to the life that acts as the food.

They cannot comprehend the concept of only dreaming at night. They “dream” all day, with their eyes open. Some might call it, “I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.”.

I think I have a tiny bit of understanding of what they meant when they looked deep into the eyes of Marlo Morgan and asked the question, “Do you really understand how long forever is?”. There is so much more to that question than an attempt at linear comprehension of time and space.

If you understand forever, you understand the Divine Oneness. You understand the Divine Oneness is in you because the Divine Oneness is in all things and therefore you are the Divine Oneness. Forever predates, from our understanding, creation and post dates everything else. And to know how long forever is, means you not only understand love, light and enlightenment, you allow yourself and others to know forever by being connected in the way of their choosing using their own free will to their understanding of Divine Oneness.

To me, Ho’oponopono is another way of connectedness to understand how long forever is. It is another form of meditation and it is opening our consciousness to the Divine that dwells within us, but is so often not only out of our awareness, but denied by us all together by our fears.

So, if it is for the highest and best good of all, I ask that the message of Ho’oponopono remain pure. If it is for the highest and best good of all, I ask that if it be misconstrued that it be minimal and that whether it is this way or other ways (because there is no single, one path) that everyone be allowed to “hear” it. And, most importantly that we all allow many paths for everyone within ourselves. To me, that will be the greatest challenge of the message presented in the book. Thank you.

Now, go take inspired, joyous, loving action using The Step by Step Action Guide.

Are We All Mutants?

I recently read a wonderful, spiritual and enlightening book by Marlo Morgan, entitled "Mutant Message Down Under".

While the story is technically classified as fiction, it was done so because she would not provide real names, locations and other information about the Aboriginals she traveled with for four months as they did a "Walkabout" in the Australian Outback.

The image you see here is, Uluru, now called Ayers Rock but was once a sacred Aboriginal site for the gathering of the nations. All the art, historical carvings and relics have been removed. The graves were robbed and the altars stripped bare.

This is a 50,000 year culture and these people have a perspective that has much to teach us "Mutants". We are called Mutants not because they believe we are mutations in the sense that we are abnormal, but because we have moved away from our connection with the Divine Oneness. They, on the other hand have retained that connection and call themselves the Real People.

Because of this connection, they understand "How long is forever" better than us. They question why we strap time to our bodies and measure it in terms of "today" without regard to tomorrow.

They see us as being attached to our possessions which cuts us off from the Divine Oneness, so the requirement for her coming on the Walkabout was to burn all of her possessions including her expensive outfit and diamond watch.

Ms Morgan, a physician, tells the story of a patient who was in her office for a nervous disorder. It seems the cause for her patient's disorder was the stress she was suffering because her insurance had been cancelled on her very, very expensive diamond necklace. The lady was having a fake made so she could wear it to a grand function in place of the uninsured real diamonds. But she was very anxious about the whole ordeal and was a nervous wreck worrying if it would be ready in time for her to wear. Her diamonds, these things of immense beauty and for which she coveted so desperately, brought her no deep and personal joy; they simply had financial value.

In contrast, once on the Walkabout a girl found a flower and wore it around her neck as a necklace of beauty. All the group made sure they came to her and told her how beautiful she looked with it on and how much they enjoyed her wearing it. She glowed with the love shown to her and with appreciation of the beauty of the flower. At the end of the day, she placed it on the sand to return to where it had come from and she was joyous in her appreciation for all the good it had brought her. When you look at these two stories, you have to ask what was and where was the real treasure? I mention this very lesson in The Step by Step Guide to Unlocking the 7 Laws of Success at http://www.sevenlawsofsuccess.com.

The Real People do not lie, steal or practice conditional love, so their connection remains intact and they are able to communicate telepathically. Mutants have used words so much to lie and deceive that we are not open to each other, so much so, that this ability has left us. The Real People don't discriminate because they believe we all started out with the same skin color and see "games" that have a winner and loser as not games. Games are to promote joy and display the love that comes from the Divine Oneness.

We Mutants have four characteristics. No longer can we live out in the open. We have forgotten what it feels like to stand naked in the rain and know that we will be provided for each day in connection to all of life.

We don't have good digestive systems because everything we eat must be pulverized and processed.

We have limited understanding because we understand time only through ourselves, not with the understanding of "Forever".

But the big difference is that we operate from a core of Fear. We threaten our children, other countries, need prisons, police and all of our security is based on the response to fear. The Real People have no fear. Fear is animalistic. But, if we really knew and understood that the universe is not a haphazard event but is an unfolding plan, then you cannot have fear. Things, they think, generate fear and the more things you have the more you have to fear. Until eventually, you are living your life for things.

We have forgotten to wake up grateful and to carry it with us all day, for the entire day?

At birth and death, each person hears the same message, "We love you and support you on the journey". And that is how they look at life and death: as a journey that starts and ends with love and is connected to love throughout.

The word "Mutant" is more of a state of heart and head, not color or a person. It is an attitude of someone that has closed off or lost ancient rememberings and universal truths.

When success is something that can only be measured in things, bank accounts and diamonds, it can be very hollow. There are keys to achieving success, and joy for doing what it is you are doing is one of them. The most important one really.

So, let us all become a little less "Mutant".