Obviously the very first thing to do is to see if you qualify for unemployment benefits.
If so, apply for them. This alone will help ease the blow since you know you’ve got some cash coming in.

Now what you want to do here is TAKE CONTROL.

Losing your job tends to make you feel out of control, helpless, a victim, and the less you stay in that mentality the better.

Obviously it will be hard to make the switch instantaneously so feel free to take a small amount of time to mourn your job loss but the sooner you delve into action by taking control of your situation like applying for unemployment benefits, the better.

Obviously bring out your resume, update it, let people know you’re looking for a job, contact old bosses you had good relationships with, start slimming down your budget, organize your house, clean it too with the extra time you have, etc.

This is all technical stuff but realize that the beauty in all this is that you feel in control.

Now here’s the juicy part.

Losing your job is an event that forces your hand in a way that you’ve rarely felt before.

Before it was easy to just go along with the flow.

Now there’s a big kink in the flow. It’s putting you in a position to force yourself to take new direction.

To revaluate maybe starting that business you’ve always wanted to do while working part time on the side or maybe going into an entirely new field, or maybe going back to school.

The real blessing behind losing your job is that it gives you a taste of that “do or die” attitude. It forces you into action. It gives you a pretty big kick in the butt. It gives you that burning desire to get things done. You’ll never work harder than when you’re in near survival state.

Some people are most grateful for it afterwards because it gave them the courage they were seeking to do what they wanted to do all along. They couldn’t do it themselves but when life put them in that position, it brought that courage out of them to do it.

Take it as a sign. A new beginning. A new chapter in your life.

Be grateful for the opportunity and make the most of it.

Use that extra “kick” this kind of event brings along with it to fuel your journey in the new direction you choose to go to.

If you look at it that way, you take yourself out of always reacting to life to IMPOSING YOUR WILL on life.

And when you start getting in the habit of doing just that, you will begin to see the world in a whole new light.

And I also know you might be curious about what this FANTASTIC something is.

And I’m not exaggerating here.

I’ve actually been thinking about how I can take this site to the NEXT LEVEL for the past couple of months - how I can add even MORE value to my readers.

If you take a look back at the evolution of this site, you’ll see that first came the articles, then the FREE M.I.T.’s, then the books, then the exclusive premium subscriptions, all of which added TREMENDOUS value and has changed the lives of tens of thousands of people for good.

Now is there something better that can TOP all that?

The answer is YES.

There is ALWAYS room for improvement.

This is something that I’ve been wanting to do for some time and the vision didn’t really crystallize until about two weeks ago.

It happened on one of my walks and the idea came pouring in with the pieces fitting neatly together and I KNEW it was one of those things – one of those moments of inspiration that I knew I should definitely follow.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been planning everything out, getting everything together and I am now in the “beta” stage of the project.

Some of you will be receiving EXCLUSIVE INVITES to this project to get a sneak peak at it. Only a VERY small handful of you so if you’re one of the lucky ones, you’ll know when I send out the emails in the coming weeks.

If you’re BURNING with curiosity, let me tell you this. For those of you who stuck with me from the every beginning, I actually tried to do something similar to this back then but it turned out not to be the right time. That’s a big clue there so you veterans will probably know what I’m talking about. For those of you who are new, no worries as you’ll find out what it is in the coming weeks and months ahead. I’ve closed comments on this because I don’t want any speculation and want it to be a total surprise.

I’m VERY excited about this, more so than I’ve ever been on any of the other things I’ve added on this site mostly because I know it’s something that is beyond what I can deliver alone and it’s something I know that will add EXPONENTIAL VALUE to people’s lives.

Not just add value itself, but EXPONENTIAL VALUE.

I’ll just leave it at that for now.

Now let’s talk about the special offer for October that I would’ve put up had the 31st of October been on a Monday.

There are two weeks left until the exclusive premium entrepreneurship subscription ends for the people who signed up it when it first came out and I really had a blast writing it.

For those of you unaware, all of my exclusive premium subscriptions only come out 3-4 times a year. Why?

Because I want to REWARD those who take the INITIATIVE to sign up for it when it comes out by giving them a head start to take action on the ideas in the subscription.

If I made this subscription available 24/7, that advantage wouldn’t be there. There would be a ton of potential competition so to reward those who have initiative, I only release this particular subscription a couple times a year.

This subscription will probably be only released 3 times a year and the next time it will be released will be around April/May of 2010 to give the people who sign up now a great head start.

The reason why I wrote this subscription is because first, entrepreneurship is one of my passions as I think it utilizes a lot of what you learn in self improvement (it’s a great “crucible” for self improvement) and second, I know that many people want to start their own businesses but the two biggest obstacles that stop them are – the idea and the money.

How can they think of a FREAKING business idea? And more so, how can they think of an idea with LOW start up costs?

Therefore, I wanted to create a subscription address those two issues – how they can think of a SIMPLE, LOW COST business idea that they can start from the side (because most people can’t afford to quit their jobs in the beginning) and eventually grow that SIMPLE, LOW COST business into one they can make a living off of.

This subscription covers the 4 main areas – specific strategies on how to come up with your own SIMPLE, LOW COST business idea, how to market it, sell your product/service, and GROW your business into one you can make a living off of full time.

And to give it a nice polish, it’s designed in accordance with The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich so that’s a special treat for the readers of that book.

Can you still learn even if you didn’t read the book? Yes. But some of the stuff I talk about won’t make sense so it’s best you read the book before you get the subscription.

And if you haven’t, that’s ok, because the first week of the subscription is to give time for those who haven’t read the book to read it.

And if it’s been a while since you read it, that first week is also there to give you time to brush up.

And to show you how great this subscription is, realize this:

There are two testimonials of people who after reading JUST The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich ALONE, started successful businesses.

Brent C. of Canada sold his for a generous sum and Effrain Guerroro is doing very well with his weight loss coaching business and is in the process of taking it online. You can read their full testimonials on the sales page for the book (scroll down a bit when you’re on the page to find it).

Imagine HOW MUCH MORE this subscription will help with all its’ specialized knowledge!

You also get a week to read the best bonus ever offered on BrianKim.net – How to Get Rich: The Sorely Needed Logical and Structured Essay That Won’t Be Found Anywhere Else Today, which provides a great foundation for this subscription.

You can’t find this information anywhere else. Specialized knowledge on how you can think of your very own SIMPLE, LOW COST business that you can start on the side and grow into one you can make a living off of full time along with ACTION ITEMS at the end of each issue to help you APPLY what you learned.

If you loved my stuff, you’ll love this subscription and the best bonus ever offered on BrianKim.net as well.

The sign up window for this special offer only lasts for 72 hours and will expire on Wednesday November 4, 2009 at 11:59 Pacific Time and the next time this will be released will be at the least, April of 2010.

Edit 11-4-2009: The special offer has expired. Please sign up for the newsletter to wait for the next release.

It’s as if we can’t seem to get a firm grip of the whole situation. It all seems so jumbled up that we can’t take a clear COMPLETE analytical look at it. There seems to be too many different moving parts and gears going on.

So how to we make sense of all this and make this whole process of tough decision making way less confusing?

It’s like how we make all things less confusing:

WE SYSTEMIZE.

There’s 5 steps to this process and 3 of them, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of.

The first step is to CLEARLY state the decision so that it’s a yes/no question.

Should I do x?

It shouldn’t be something like a brainstorm question.

It can’t be something like: “What’s a great career to get into?”

It should be something like: “Should I get a career in nursing?”

Then you would assume the next step is to list the pros and cons, but we have to back up here and lay down the facts of the situation FIRST.

Get some background info on your decision. Research all you can on the pertinent information relating to your decision and once you have all that info, THEN you can go to the pros and cons because having that information will come in handy in developing your pros and cons list.

Moreover, without doing your due diligence, you risk “polluting” the pros and cons list with information that isn’t even true.

Really block out everything and try to do the best you can in EACH step of the process.

Really do your due diligence.

When it comes to writing the pro list, really do your best. Think of every pro you can. Don’t hold back.

The same thing with the cons list.

The beauty in all this is SEPARATION.

Before, you’re trying to do this all at once, and that’s why it gets really confusing.

Here, you can give yourself permission to look at the decision from just ONE ANGLE AT A TIME to the fullest of your capabilities.

It’s like organizing a desk. It’s so messy that you don’t really know where to start so you keep putting off cleaning it up but once you start making neat piles – this is for faxing, this is for outgoing mail, these are notes for transcribing, these you can throw away, etc., it all becomes easier to deal with and you know EXACTLY what to do afterwards..

So once you’ve exhausted each of those steps to the best of your abilities, you come to the last part, which is arguably the most important.

After reviewing everything you’ve written down – the clear yes/no question, the background information, every pro, every con, you ask yourself this:

What are your feelings about all this?

This is key.

And note that this goes LAST.

Why?

You need to see the background information and the pros and cons list BEFORE you process your feelings because it needs that info to “process” and give back the overall vibe.

Without all that information, it’s hard for your feelings to be “right” just like it’s hard to judge something without hearing the whole story.

Go carte blanche here. Really let it loose. There’s no “wrong” feeling here. Just see what your vibe is on it. Let it out.

It’s usually comes across as a form of comfort or discomfort and it’s obvious what each of those forms mean.

What you’ll find with all this is that at the end of the day, your feelings will most likely be the deciding factor.

It’s how we usually make all our decisions, even if we are not aware of it, because it’s our intuition that’s usually right – PROVIDED it has all the right information to deal with in the first place. Your subconscious mind can process all that very quickly and give you the answer in a flash.

Once you SEPARATE each “side” of the decision making process and lay it ALL out on PAPER – there’s no more turning it over in your mind.

You’ve dumped it all and gave each “side” its place to talk so now your mind is FREE to review all the info from top to bottom in an easy, logical format and once it does all that, it can spit out the gut feeling it gets.

If you feel mostly comfortable after all that, go for it.

If you feel mostly discomfort, it’s best to avoid it.

Either way, I guarantee if you do this exercise, you’ll feel a lot clearer on where you stand and that alone will help you make your final decision way less confusing.

What I’m talking about by not fitting in is looking EXTERNALLY FIRST to find something for you to fit into when you’re pursuing something.

The classic example is looking outside to see what kind of business to start that you can fit into.

For example, you’ve probably heard that network marketing is a great way to start your own business. Whenever I hear that, I cringe inside.

First off, if you’re not at the top, it’s very unlikely you’ll make a lot of money in network marketing. You need to have a big down line because that’s where the majority of your money will be coming from. If you’re at the bottom of the down line, you’re not going to be making it.

But here’s the thing.

If you don’t really like doing small talk all the time, meeting with people, constantly socializing with a variety of people, you’re going to tank. It’s not a good fit for you.

This seems like common sense, but it’s not.

We are blinded by popularity.

We think just because a particular choice is popular, that it would be a great fit for us, but chances are it’s not.

It’s like trying to find a great shirt and then you pick one up that’s 1 foot long and 4 inches wide.

It’s not going to fit.

Work the other way around.

Don’t look outward first.

LOOK WITHIN FIRST.

See what matches with the inside.

If nothing does, then MAKE something that FITS.

The custom fit shirt always looks and feels the best doesn’t it?

The easy choice is to look outside to fit in but it rarely works because we are all different. Moreover, by choosing that route, you’re in bloody waters of competition because everyone else is there and the person who wins that competition is the one that by coincidence, is a great fit for it in the first place because it matches up with who they are and what they want.

When you look within, the competition is reduced. You create a great fit just for you.

It’s one of the strong foundations of entrepreneurship. Most entrepreneurs get frustrated because nothing outside “fits”, so they make something that “fits” and succeed.

For example, the thing for bloggers to do is to get published, go on speaking tours, promotional tours, etc.

I choose not to do that because it’s not a good fit for me.

I like writing, not speaking.

I enjoy freedom.

I have people always press me to go down that route, but I remain steadfast in my decision and I’m truly happy with it. I’ve customized my strategy according to me and it fits perfectly.

I don’t want the grueling traveling schedule, staying in hotels, going on tours, speaking engagements, etc.

My best strength is in writing and the only way I can do that is to have freedom, peace of mind, and tranquility in my life. If I’m running around the country, I won’t have any of that and I know I won’t be happy and my writing will suffer as a result.

Doing all that isn’t a good fit for me at all.

Plus, by retaining control over all my products/services, I get pretty much all the profit, rather than get a small percentage for each sale if I go down the publishing route.

And moreover, my products can sell consistently over time rather than just get a big boost and then have it fade within a matter of months like most published books do.

But by looking within to see what I want, I’ve created customized strategies that work for me, that fit me perfectly like a glove.

This is why it’s hard for people to copy exactly what others have done, to go down their route and have success with it because those people didn’t look externally first.

They looked within and built from there and because they did that, the road they built works best for THEM.

When others try to copy that, the majority inevitably fail simply because the route wasn’t built for them so it doesn’t match in the first place.

I hope this is making sense because it’s one of the easiest problems to stumble into.

Look within first.

Discern who you are and what you want.

Then look outwards to see what fits.

If you find something that reasonably fits, great! Go for it. Chances are you’ll have a much better shot than the rest of the competition in it because you looked within first and found what matched on the outside.

If you can’t find anything that fits, even better.

Custom make something that fits just right for you.

“Don’t worry about the small stuff. Just take care of the big stuff.”

“Pay attention to the details. Then everything else will be taken care of.”

Which side is “right”?

Both sides are right.

Then which side is “better’ if any?

Like all things, it’s not either/or.

The magic is in the order in which they are put to use.

When you first start off, tackle the big things - THEN take care of the details.

But it doesn’t end there.

You repeat the process and refine it every time you do so.

The classic example is the cleaning up of one’s financial situation.

The majority of advice lies in the details – clip coupons, carpool, shop at thrift stores, etc.

But look at the bigger expenses first – most likely your car and house.

You don’t have to have a huge car payment every month. Get a reliable used car to scale down that payment and choose a higher deductible on your insurance, which will be lower already because you switched cars and right then and there, you killed 2 big holes in your budget with one stone.

You can also rent out a room or your garage and you get another big whack at your housing expenses there.

Those two things will free up some nice chunks of cash for you to do as you please and then after that, then you can go into the details.

Then you can look for deals on food, clothes, maybe switch the light bulbs to save on electricity, get a better deal on your cell phone, etc.

After that, you can start the process once again by focusing on the other side of your financial situation – the money coming IN, not the money going out, which you focused on before.

Think of the major move you need to make in your career and/or business and then go on to take care of the big things you need to do to set that into motion. Maybe you need to go back to school or take classes to get certification or save up money to launch your own business.

After you take care of those big elements, then you can focus on the subsequent details to refine it.

This goes for any new venture you’re thinking of getting into. Just get it going, forget about perfecting everything, just do the major things that need to be done to get the ball rolling. Then you can focus on the details later on.

The people who stress the importance of details – they’ve already got the initial main parts down and they’ve got the ball rolling.

People who talk about the big things – they’re still in that phase where the initial momentum is carrying them.

Both pieces of advice help.

The application of them just depends on where you are right now in your own situation.

I’m talking about breaking those unwritten rules, the rules that people believe they should live by - the rules of “society”.

There’s a certain appeal to going against the grain. We have a number of clichés for it like think outside the box, be a maverick, take the road less traveled etc.

And should you get an inkling to break society’s rules of expectations, how do you know if you should do it? How do you know when to break the rules?

The answer is very simple.

You break the rules when your highest values are supported in doing so.

It’s the only thing that will make you successful in breaking the rules.

There’s absolutely no point in breaking the rules if by doing so, it doesn’t support your values.

It’s a waste of time and energy.

You’re just a rebel without a cause.

When you choose to do something aligned with your highest values - that gives you the energy to follow through on it despite all the people around you telling you not to because of the rules.

Arnold Schwarzenegger broke the rules his entire life. His parents wanted him to be a police officer. He wanted to become the greatest bodybuilder of all time instead.

After that, he wanted to act but all the agents told him it couldn’t be done. A man his size with his thick accent was not Hollywood material. They suggested he should pursue something else instead.

But because one of his highest values was to be different, he was unwilling to compromise himself in that aspect, to conform to the rules of Hollywood in what a good actor should look and sound like so as a result, everything around him had to compromise to fit HIM.

He starred in movies that suited his size and accent like Hercules and Conan the Barbarian but they didn’t turn out as great as he hoped they would.

But then Terminator came along and that fit him perfectly like a glove. He didn’t have that many lines to speak and his body suited the story line and the rest was box office history.

The same thing happened when he ran for governor.

The political rules were that you had to go through the system – become an assemblyman, councilman, mayor, etc. but he went for it all the first time.

If this seems like in direct violation of the start small -> grow -> big model, this is an exception to that model. He already had a foundation of fame, fortune and political connections built so he could run for governor without going by the rules. He didn’t necessarily break the rules – he just didn’t have to abide by them because his foundation was already built.

Moreover, he did break the rules in terms of what people expect when it comes to being a governor. Who would’ve ever thought a bodybuilder and famous actor with a weird accent would be governor of the great state of California? He certainly didn’t fit the polished, well spoken, politically correct image that most people think of when it comes to politicians. His highest value of giving back to this country that gave him so much motivated him to break these kinds of rules.

We see this all the time with people who decided their highest value was freedom and quit their high paying job to start heir own business. They went against the rules of society which dictated they should hang on to that steady paycheck for dear life in exchange for limited freedom, but they decided to break that rule in order to support their own highest personal values.

Since they’ve believed so strongly in the cause they fight for, so strongly that they refuse to quit, so strongly that they become immovable, fixed in their stance, life has no choice but to work around those people, to fit everything around that person and his/her stance.

As a result, things work out.

When you don’t have those deep roots, when you don’t believe that strongly in something, you tend to play by the rules by default, and then get tossed and turned by the winds of life. It’s easy to get uprooted and blown across way over there and way over here and feel like you’re not in control of your life.

If you ever come to the point where everything inside of you is telling you to break the rules and go for it, chances are you should go for it.

Believe in the values you are fighting for.

Draw the line in the sand.

Break the rules.

Put those roots in deep.

Refuse to quit.

Life will test you by not delivering what you seek in record time. It will drag it out to see if you really mean it and should you stick through it during that time period, you’ll have passed the test.

And joined the ranks of those who have broken the rules, succeeded in doing so, and achieved their very best.

I want to thank Mark for sending me that email and pointing that out. I really appreciate it.

By the way, the 3rd issue for that subscription just went out and I’m loving it. I think it’s the best subscription I wrote yet and for those who didn’t have a chance to sign up and get on the list, you can get in probably January of 2010 when everyone is on their New Year’s resolution high and can’t follow through because of their CMC

For the month of September, the special offer will revolve around The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich to set up the following special offer which will be only the 2nd launch of the exclusive premium entrepreneurship subscription that will help you think of a simple, low cost business idea that you can start on the side and grow into a business you can make a living off of using The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich. I know some of you have been asking about that, so please wait a bit longer as I will reopen access to it again very soon.

Now why The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich?

Because I just recently got these two testimonials regarding it and I wanted people who haven’t had a chance to read my book or (Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich for that matter) to experience the same things these two readers have:

“Thank you so much for your ebook The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich. I have always read self help books but have found them lacking in the details and you know what they say the devil is in the details.

Thanks Again.”

- Mel J

I want to thank Mel for letting me use that testimonial. I really appreciate it.

I especially like the last part of what was said, about finding the right information after digging through so much as that PERFECTLY encapsulates what The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich is all about.

You read all the self improvement/ goal achievement books out there and you get mountains and mountains of information which is all pretty much the same things, just repackaged in different formats – 10 steps to achieve your goals, 12 powerful principles to remember, focus, desire, get a team, yada yada yadya.

The real value lies in this:

What connects all those principles flawlessly and brings them out naturally so you don’t have to force each one?

That’s how my book is different.

It’s the right information after all the digging and like Mel too, you will begin to see why after you read it.

Here’s the second testimonial:

“I’ve just finish reading “The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich” and I think it’s a great book. Actually, up till now I’m struggling to motivate myself and be competent in whatever I set out to do.

Sincerely,

- Raynold John

I want to thank Raynold for allowing me to use his words. I really appreciate it!

I hate to sound like a broken record talking about all the great things about the book and letting others talk about how great the book is too but I know there are still some of you who might be skeptical and I understand.

But let me say this.

I want people to experience the same things these two readers, as well as thousands of other readers all over the world have - to FINALLY get the answer they’ve been looking for after digging through ALL The books, ALL the seminars, ALL the tapes, etc. to finally get their hands on this treasure.

It’s really the NEXT level out of anything out there. It will UNIFY everything you’ve ever read about self improvement/goal achievement to show you the NATURAL process of achieving your dreams, so you don’t have to force it.

If you’ve read my story, you know Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich was the catalyst for my journey. I read it when I was very young and it helped me down to this day. It was that powerful. It instilled the ideas of success needed after years of research and interviews with people like Edison, Ford, and Roosevelt.

But as great as the book was, I couldn’t discover the hidden secret that Napoleon Hill said could be found in his book, that natural process of goal achievement, so I went through the whole high and low phases of goal achievement.

Read a few books, got pumped up, took action, then didn’t do anything for some time, then listened to some CDs, got pumped up took action, then didn’t do anything for some time again, etc.

I was always EXTERNALLY dependent on something to motivate me but now after discovering the hidden secret, I no longer am. It’s NATURAL. I don’t have to force it or rely on anything/anyone else to do it for me.

I prove EXACTLY what the Hidden Secret beyond a shadow of a doubt using the 4 clues Hill left behind and point out EXACTLY where it is in every chapter of Think and Grow Rich which Hill said is where it can be found.

When it’s revealed to you, you’ll realize you used it too to achieve your past goals without even knowing with because the process you undertook to do it was so natural in the first place.

Don’t worry if you haven’t read Think and Grow Rich yet because you get a FREE PDF copy of it with this special offer.

- A FREE copy of Think and grow Rich

- A copy of my book The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich (the ONLY book of its kind in this world)

- A workbook bonus you can use to help apply The Hidden Secret

- A special report detailing The 3 Biggest Mistakes People Make With The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

And as promised, in the preview of the essay, the best bonus EVER offered on BrianKim.net – How to Get Rich: The Sorely Needed Logical and Structured Essay That Won’t Be Found Anywhere Else Today.

It was written out of anger from all the same old recycled jargon out there telling you to invest your latte money every year at an ASSUMED compound rate of 10% every year and you’ll be a millionaire.

I wanted something much more realistic, detailed, logical, structured, REAL WORLD process, so that’s what prompted me to write this 48 page essay and as you’ll see from the testimonials – not your typical stuff you hear about. Full of meat and golden nuggets (and please note that this bonus only goes out 12 times a year.)

This is all over $93 worth of value for only $24.95!

And on top of all this, I am SO DAMN CONFIDENT in my book that I back it with a 60 day money back guarantee. If you don’t like it within that time period, you get your money back. No questions asked.

There are multiple success stories of people who have used The Hidden Secret after reading it to lose weight – 25 pounds in one case, another person who used it to successfully start a weight loss coaching business, and another who used it to start a business which he then sold for a nice sum.

You’ve got to realize that anything I charge for – it must be that damn good because the stuff that’s available for free on this site is that damn good to begin with

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that. You can read more about the book and a ton more testimonials on the special offer page. It’s all there.

If you haven’t yet read my book or Hill’s original classic Think and Grow Rich, which has sold over 15 million copies to date (and I KNOW there are still some of you who haven’t for God knows what reason), take advantage of this special offer.

There’s no risk in it for you and you have absolutely nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain.

And you’ll finally join the ranks of thousands around the world who have discovered the TRUE PROVEN hidden secret in Napoleon Hill’s bestselling classic Think and Grow Rich, the ONLY book of it’s kind out there in the world, in the history of mankind – that treasure that becomes yours after digging so much through all these years - the treasure that unifies it all.

The special offer will only last for 72 hours and expire Wednesday, 11:59 PM Pacific Time so take advantage of it now before it expires!

Edit 10/15/2009: The special offer has expired.

There are universal truths we all can agree on – be kind and courteous to everyone you meet, save money, be punctual, etc., and things we know we shouldn’t do like lie, cheat, and steal.

But here’s the thing.

In our minds, we can’t fully process what we can miss out on by not applying what we know we should do AND not do because there are SO many possibilities that can come out from taking those actions, however small they may be.

We aren’t even aware of it. Our vision is VERY limited in this regard.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

We all know we should be punctual for our appointments but not everyone is.

I remember reading about this story of a salesman who had an appointment with a client.

He came in early and the secretary escorted him to the client’s office so he could wait for him as he would be coming in shortly. He sat in a chair, relaxed and looked around and noticed a lot of pictures of his client playing tennis.

The client comes in, sees the man waiting, feels a bit sheepish for making him wait and right from the get go, the salesman has got that something going for him.

They do some small talk and the salesman brings up the subject of tennis and how he plays too. Then they get to talking about their favorite players, who will win Wimbledon this year, how long they’ve each been playing, etc.

At the end of the meeting, they even set a date to play each other.

And of course, the salesman got the sale.

Had the opposite occurred, had the salesman come in late, he would’ve been flustered, apologetic for being late, brain scrambling, not have noticed the tennis pictures, missed out on that hook, and potentially on the sale as well.

Now that salesman will probably never have conceived that him coming early would’ve led to him seeing the pictures and finding that common ground they could bond over.

He couldn’t have seen that link coming a million miles away.

But he didn’t have to.

All he knew was that he should always be punctual for his appointments and if that means coming in a bit early to be sure, so be it.

That’s all he knew.

He did not know the benefits that would have come as a result and that’s the point I’m trying to make.

When we do things we know we should do – something great will always come out of it, even if we don’t realize it at first.

And we don’t have to know what that is or spend time trying to figure it out. It’s useless. There are a million possibilities.

But that’s the beauty and fun of it.

It’s always a nice surprise to discover what those benefits will be.

Now take the flip side to see what happens if you do what you know you shouldn’t do – like spreading gossip or sharing a secret you promised you wouldn’t to a friend.

It might seem like harmless fun at first, but I think we all know that something like that can get out of hand quick.

REAL quick.

I’m sure we have heard the stories from our own social groups or those of others where one small piece of gossip or one shared secret just lit the proverbial gas station on fire.

It’s never a pretty sight.

A lot of damaging domino effects – strained relationships, mistrust, broken social circles – the human tongue can do a lot of damage without even knowing it.

What I’m trying to say is that it’s not easy to fully appreciate the full weight of possibilities that can occur when we DO apply what we know we should do AND shouldn’t do.

The benefits are enormous when we do the things we know we should do.

And the flip side is true. The damaging effects are enormous as well for doing the things we know we shouldn’t do.

And I think the problem here in both cases is that most people think in terms of A -> B.

If I come on time, then I won’t look bad.

Or

If I tell somebody else this secret that I promised I wouldn’t, it won’t be so bad because it’s not really that big of a deal.

That’s the end of it.

A -> B.

One action leads to one effect.

But in reality, when you take action A, it leads to effect B, or C, or D, or B, C AND D, and that leads to effect E, or F, or G, and each of those possibilities splinter into H, I, or J, and then J and B interact with one another to form possibility X, which leads to outcome Q, etc.

There’s a lot that can happen from taking action A - things that we can’t even begin to fathom. It forms an intricate web of possibilities and outcomes that we are never fully aware of.

But all you have to know is this.

If you do the things you know you should do, all the time, even on the smallest scale, you know you will experience great benefits.

What they are – you won’t know until you do.

But when you do, you’ll be glad you did.

I’m sure we all know that one person in our group who is pretty much a boy/girl scout – they do the things we all know we should do and they seem to get every lucky break in the world.

But they’re not lucky.

They don’t lose out on all the benefits they receive from doing what they know they should do simply because they do what they know they should do.

And the flip side is true – by NOT doing what you know you shouldn’t do, you avoid all the collateral damage that action brings with it.

We tend to underestimate that collateral damage or isolate it as one type of event, but in reality, in runs much deeper than that and the damage can be more complex and everlasting than we can ever imagine.

So strive to avoid the human tendency to rationalize both cases of not doing what you know you should do and doing what you know you shouldn’t do.

It may seem harmless to you and the effects limited to one event, but in reality, you lose out on a lot of benefits and you experience a lot of collateral damage as well by doing so.

No matter how small the scale – do what you know you should do and don’t do what you know you shouldn’t do.

If you do that – you will experience benefit after benefit after benefit by taking every action you know you should take and avoid collateral damage after collateral damage after collateral damage for every action you don’t take that you know you shouldn’t take.

Remember, it’s not A -> B.

It’s A -> a million things.

What those will be, you’ll never know.

All you’ll know is those million things can either be things that will greatly benefit you or hurt you even more.

You can’t seem to move ahead, to get to the next level.

You feel stuck.

How do you get out of this funk?

First, realize this.

That it’s natural.

After a period of growth, you’re going to experience this leveling off period where things just seem “stuck”.

There’s nothing wrong with it so don’t beat yourself up over it. In fact, the reason why there seems to be this lull period (aside from relaxing after all your hard work) is to get you to take the necessary steps to get you to the next level in the endeavor you’re pursuing.

What are those steps?

The first involves taking in NEW information appropriate for your CURRENT level.

You see before when you first stated off, you took action based on information that was probably for beginners.

That information was readily available and easy to access.

But once you master that, the information you seek to take you to the NEXT level gets a little harder and harder. It’s more defined. You’re not looking for something broad, but something more SPECIFIC.

And when you find that information, THEN you can take action based on that and enter the next cycle of growth.

If you don’t seek out this information, you’re going to remain at your current level and never get out. You will have effectively hit a plateau.

That’s why it’s important that you continually learn.

You will NEVER know it all. There is always something more to learn.

The information you need – the category of it will need to be isolated. Then you can go on your search for it because the information IS out there – you just have to know EXACTLY what you’re looking for.

It’s like the information on my site. The articles cover a broad area of topics that will help you get started (while some of them will hone in on some specific areas), but the information that will take you to the NEXT LEVEL, that SPECIFIC information that will get you out of your funk, is found in the books and the exclusive premium subscriptions on this site.

For example, anybody can pick up a self improvement book and get pumped up after reading all the information in there and take action for a day. But then after a week, they’re back to their old self.

That is, until they get another high by reading another book or listening to a motivational CD. And that high lasts for two days. Until it goes away once more.

So here they are, chasing their own tails, needing their “motivational fixes” to get them to take action, never really getting to the NEXT level where they can rid themselves of this addiction by making their goal achievement NATURAL.

This is where The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich comes in. It KILLS addiction to self improvement and shows you how you can access your NATURAL success mechanism – that thing that’s already inside of you that you can use to naturally achieve your goals so you don’t have to pump yourself up all the time.

It’s the secret that Napoleon Hill left behind in his book Think and Grow Rich after he realized it’s the secret that all the successful people in his book that he interviewed used – people like Edison, Ford, Roosevelt, etc. He left 4 clues behind and said it could be found in every chapter and I prove EXACTLY what it is using those clues and also point out EXACTLY where it can be found in every chapter.

I prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt and you will realize it too once you come to the realization that you used it to achieve your past goals without even knowing it because it was so natural in the first place.

You can see what kind of testimonials people have left behind and clearly see that they’ve gone to the NEXT level when you look at the RESULTS they’ve had after they learned of this hidden secret.

If you haven’t yet read it, you can click the link below to learn more about it and see how it will help you get to the NEXT level that so few ever do.

Click here to read more about The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich and the testimonials it has received all around the world.

The same thing with my other book, How to FINALLY Find What You Love to Do: The DEFINITIVE Guide to Finding and Successfully Pursuing Your Passion and the exclusive premium subscriptions ranging from subjects like how to think of your own simple, low cost business you can start on the side and grow into one you can make a living off of and how you can master your circular mind chatter (access to these subscriptions are only available to subscribers). These are the types of SPECIFIC, specialized information you will find on this site.

That’s one way to get out of that funk of feeling stuck – to find SPECIALIZED information that will take you to the NEXT LEVEL.

Here’s the other.

Look at HOW you’re doing what you’re doing right now.

Maybe you can do what you’re currently doing even better.

Let me give you an example.

You feel like you’re stuck when it comes to your job.

No way up.

How about doing the 10 things you do at your job even better by let’s say 10%. That’s a 100% improvement across the board.

And who knows what that will do when the people above you see that or to the people you serve – it might open up a whole lot of doors for you.

You see, the things we currently do – we are completely blind to.

We got so used to it that they just fly under the radar.

There’s ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.

ALWAYS.

Get a FRESH perspective at what you currently do. See how you can do it better.

Those improvements along with getting specialized information will help you get unstuck and move onto the next level of growth.

It’s about something very practical you can do right now to increase your life energy and what I mean by life energy is simply that – life energy.

I don’t really have a formal definition for it but as you read on, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Realize this.

That everything in life is either giving you energy or taking it away.

How do you know if something is giving you energy or taking it away?

Simple.

Use your feelings.

You’ll know when you start developing the habit of consciously evaluating whether something is giving you energy or is taking energy away by the way you feel around it.

That being said, the easiest way to feel a boost of life energy is to make a list of ALL THE THINGS THAT ANNOY you because those comprise of the tiny life energy “leaks” we all have.

They are very subtle and sneak under the radar but they do a lot of damage.

I don’t care how strong and reinforced your ship is – if you start to have one too many leaks, it’s going to sink.

I’m talking about making a list of ALL the things that bug you.

And once you have the list, get to work on FIXING THEM.

That shirt that doesn’t fit - tailor it.

That toilet seat that’s chipped and worn – replace it with a new one.

The mess in the garage that annoys you every time you drive in – take out a day and
clean the damn thing out.

When you start taking care of all these little annoyances, not only do they cease to drain life energy from you, thereby you holding on to more of it and using it elsewhere – it reinforces the action habit in you and the belief that you are a person who does things - who’s not all talk.

I remember lugging around my big laptop all across town to do my work and I hated it.

It was really annoying because it weighed a ton and the shoulder strap from my messenger bag would dig deep into my shoulder because of the weight. I wasn’t a very happy camper every time I had to go out and lug it around. It was draining physically (I like to walk a lot) and in terms of life energy as well.

So I bought a netbook instead (it’s a very small laptop that weighs very little) and I LOVE it. I carry it around with me everywhere I go and can hardly feel that it’s there.

There’s way less of a physical drain and I just feel more “solid”, feel I have more life energy than before and that translates into better writing and better ideas as well.

So make a list of all the things that annoy you and get to work on fixing them. You’ll feel SO much better when you take care of them.

Without all those annoying things to think about, your focus and life energy will be less dissipated and you’ll be able to feel it concentrated within you.

Now let’s focus on the opposite side of the equation – doing things that GIVE you energy.

Keep a list and make note of what gives you energy because this will be different for everybody.

For me, it’s classical music and compositions by John Williams. It’s working out. Drinking an ice cold glass of water in the morning and reading. Writing. Putting golf balls in the automatic putting return machine I just bought. Walking by the beach or in the forest. Standing beside a waterfall, river or stream.

All of these things give me energy. I don’t exactly know why or how they do but that doesn’t really matter. All I know is I can FEEL the energy come into me when I engage in those activities.

Everybody’s different so just be more conscious of what gives you energy in your day to day life and keep a running list of it.

When you attack on both fronts – by plugging the energy leaks and finding out what gives you energy and you engage in those activities, you can do so much more and you become one of these people who POP as opposed to those walking zombies you see who are devoid of life energy – who just go through the motions of life.

Some might find that their biggest energy drainers is their job – and since they spend almost half their day there, it’s no wonder why they can’t muster up the energy to do something about it.

There’s just too much drain. They have nothing left in the tank after work.

If that’s the case, maybe it’s not the job itself that’s energy draining. Maybe it’s things that happen WHILE you work – like co-workers popping in randomly every now and then to engage in 10-15 minutes of small talk that ruins your flow of momentum. If that’s the case, maybe designate a 1 hour disturbance free time zone where nobody bothers you at all, under no circumstances, unless there’s a scud missile heading toward your location.

Life energy is pretty simple when you boil it down to those two fronts – knowing where the leaks are and plugging them, and doing more of the activities that give you life energy.

And it’s when you increase your life energy and put it to good FOCUSED use, that results really start to show and flow into your life.