The Evolutionary Life Project

Potentially The Best Blog About Potential There Is, Who Would Know If I Didn't Write It?

2012-01-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

I may be a little bit narcissistic, delusional, or grandiose with the title of this blog, but I wouldn’t know unless I wrote it and published it. Those who read it will have to be the judge of that and please feel free to comment. If I thought it wasn’t going to be good and that stopped me from trying, you wouldn’t be reading it and you wouldn’t be able to judge it. The great potential inside us will never be realized to the truest extent by others unless you push to realize it yourself. This is a constant struggle. I know right now I can’t become a professional basketball player, but at one time when I was a teenager that may have been a possibility. From outsiders looking in, it may not have seemed so then, but if I had thought I could do it back then and exhausted every possibility to help me to achieve that goal, who knows, what might have been. Unfortunately, as a teenager I was unaware of my potential and how to cultivate it or maybe I just didn’t have the ambition or belief that I could cultivate that potential. I think there are many people who don’t do themselves justice in exploring and finding what they like and push to become the best at it. I am not sure which is worse, a teenager who doesn’t think they have an opportunity to pursue their dreams or one who has chosen not to allow their creativity and passion come out in a way that affords the possibilities that are available in the world.

Young people do not yet know the power of their own mind, their thoughts, and actions, and often times they follow the lead of the adults around them, which may not be in their own best interests. Distractions in this world are constant and may stand in the way of actualizing potential. Distractions are not going away and you can’t live in a cave, what must be built to combat distractions to success are desire, discipline, and persistence. These characteristics, traits, values or skills, whatever you want to call them are not necessarily taught in schools or by those around you when you are young. They may be learned, but where do you learn them? The people around you may have been teachers or models for these skills or traits and just like any teacher of any subject; they could be terrible or fantastic. If you didn’t learn the skills well enough, don’t blame the teacher and make excuses, get a new teacher, study more; try new ways of doing things. These characteristics and skills turn potential into actualization of dreams.

When it comes to potential there is a nasty unspoken work that looms deep in a person’s psyche. That word is failure or it could come in the form of a question like, what if I fail? Those words keep more people from taking action than anything else and that is scary because they are just words, yet powerful words that trigger your mind into catastrophic ways of thinking. When you ask yourself the question, what if I fail and that fear of failure keeps you from acting, then you are feeding a negative mindset, an illusion, thoughts that are not yet reality, but will soon become reality. If you can ask yourself that question and you answer with a resounding “so what” I will try again. Then you know you are on the right track toward achieving your potential. If you don’t move on and work through that fear you will be stuck in the trap of mediocrity. Po Bronson in his book “What Should I Do With My Life, called these people the ‘Brilliant Masses.” “The Brilliant Masses are composed of nothing less than the many great people of our generation, the bright, the talented, the intelligent, the resourceful, and the creative- far too many of whom are operating at quarter speed, unsure of their place in the world, contributing far too little to the productive engine of modern civilization, still feeling like observers, all feeling like they haven’t come close to living up to their potential.” When I first read that I felt an array of intense emotions, from sadness to excitement. The sadness from the realization that I had been operating on less than full speed myself and the excitement about the possibility of what life can be like if I went full speed ahead. It’s difficult to operate at full speed ahead all the time, but unless you make that effort you will never reap the rewards of success and knowing what it feels like to live up to or surpass your potential.

Live With a Sense of Urgency

2011-11-26T15:12:00.002-08:00

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow what would you do today? Would you have any regrets about how you lived your life? How many people live today for today, with an urgency like there might not be a tomorrow. Procrastination can be an epidemic, as it is easy to take for granted the fact that we may be gone and never get to what it was we were putting off for tomorrow. I can’t imagine the feeling one might have lying on their death bed thinking about things they wish they had done.

When I get to the point of my last breaths, I think I would prefer to focus on what I have accomplished and the times that I enjoyed, and I know that between now and hopefully that time period far down the road, I hope there will be a long list of things that I will look back at with pride, joy, and laughter. I learned a valuable lesson from a man that I shared a ride with, when I was in my early twenties. I can’t remember the name of this man whom I met while traveling on a golf trip with my grandfather and some of his friends. We were traveling a couple of hours from where we lived near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to go play a course in some small town in the middle of Pennsylvania. One of my grandfather’s friends asked if he could car pool. I agreed, however at that time, I was hesitant because I had no idea how I was going to fill three hours of time conversing with someone nearly fifty years older than me. I was a little worried, but to his credit, he was very skilled at starting and keeping a conversation going, probably all of those years of life experience. We talked about life, mostly his, because I had not had much life to talk about up to that point. Listening to him tell his story about how he worked through the business world and developed ideas that eventually led to his own successful business and financial success along with his stories about his family and raising kids, made me realize that he had a direction, and purpose and lived with an urgency, that I had never seen. Hearing this man speak about how he lived each day with a purpose and how he was grateful for the opportunities, enlightened me, as I had never heard anyone share these views yet in my young life. I was actually embarrassed because I realized that I had not lived with any type of purpose or urgency yet.

At a loss for words and wanting to hear more from him, I asked if he had any regrets. He promptly and firmly stated, no not one. He talked about making mistakes, but always keeping the mindset of learning from those mistakes and not making them again. This man spoke of the importance of gratitude and being thankful for what he had and how that made it easier to live through tough times. This man was a World War II Veteran and experienced some tough times that many of my generation may never experience, but does that mean I can’t have the same type of gratitude and sense of urgency? Maybe his experience brought this purpose, urgency and gratitude to the forefront of his life quicker.

When I speak of urgency, it is not just an urgency to accomplish tasks and goals or make a lot of money. It is an urgency to get the most out of the time you have. It could be an urgency to stop and smell the roses, to hike to the top of a mountain and look at the grand view, or just feel the wind in your face while you walk your dog. I don’t know what your urgency might be, but I believe that there is a purpose for all of us and we need to work to find that purpose. I speak about this not as an expert in religion or philosophy, but as a person who is consciously trying to continue to evolve. This takes effort, as it is difficult in this day and age to get distracted and forget that there may be a bigger purpose for us all and we need to consciously seek that out.

“Life is borrowed time; we live on A loan day to day.”

~Brian Souza

A Conversation with My Ideal Self

2011-11-18T20:52:00.001-08:00

I was reading an excerpt the other day about how to use visualization to learn more about a character, when writing about a character you might be struggling to define or identify in the writing of a novel or story. The point is to be able to get into that character’s head to experience how they think and feel and what possesses them to do what they do. It is a melding of minds so to speak, so that you can become more in tune with the character, to be able to describe that character better in your writing.

While reading the exercise portion of this article, of course I improvised to visualize a meeting with my own ideal self. What I mean by that is that I visualized my current self meeting with my ideal self or the person that I want to be. To be more clear, my ideal self is the person who has achieved most of my dreams and goals and continues to evolve with new and more fascinating goals and experiences. At first, I thought it might be difficult to visualize this person and what he might be like. Shortly after I closed my eyes and began to visualize him, he (or my ideal twin) began speaking to me, and he wasn’t very nice! Either I didn’t focus enough on his personality or he felt he had the liberty to harass me because we are so close, haha! Anyway he used sarcasm to light into me about a few things. I guess because he had achieved what I have been working towards, he felt like he could arrogantly rip me about it. What impressed upon me most was not so much the attitude with which he presented, but the emotion and urgency with which he spoke about how I should increase the intensity of my effort in going after what I want. I guess it is easy for a fictional character to make things sound easy, but when thinking about it, it is just as easy to do something as it is not to do something.

I first heard that statement in the audio book, People are Idiots and I can Prove It, by Larry Winget. The first time I heard that I had to think about it for a while, because it didn’t seem to make sense. However, if I apply that thought to an action like writing this blog post, I think about how easy it was to open the computer and to start writing in comparison to how easy it would have been to skip it and take a nap, watch tv, drink a beer, or goof off in so many other ways. The reason that I or anyone else might think that a task is not easy, is because we may have developed preconceived notions about what is easy and what is not. This can come from years of practicing those other things or just the mere fact that we have learned to enjoy certain tasks over others. I think most people may have a bit of anxiety when starting a new a task and if it doesn’t go well, there is a greater chance of labeling that task as difficult instead of rationalizing that it was the first time and it will get easier. I think a quote from Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, sums it up pretty well, “Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitudes. Its having the right attitudes that’s hard.”

Earlier today I was debating about skipping my workout. I had to get into my rational mind and ask myself, what would I do instead? I had no good answer and knew that I would feel better once I got there and started moving. To me it was just as easy to go workout as it was to not workout. In fact, it would have been harder not to because I would’ve had to find something to do with that time if I didn’t. Of course, I did and I am glad I went. I think that rational part of my mind is shared with that ideal me that I talked to in my visualization exercise, because he was in great shape!

That’s enough talk about what is easy and what is not, now back to the visualization exercise. Once, I was able to stop my ideal self from verbally berating me, I was able to follow through with the full exercise, which entailed getting into his head, thinking what he thought, and feeling what he felt. I couldn’t help but notice there was more optimism, less limits, and more possibility. This conversation with my ideal self was entertaining and encouraging to say the least. It was an exercise that allowed me to challenge my thoughts and beliefs and look at myself and my dreams and goals from a different perspective. I began to think to myself, I have flashes of these feelings and emotions and accomplishing what the vision of my ideal self accomplished, is possible. The challenge is to be able to initiate those optimistic thoughts and feelings when times are tough and on a more consistent basis. I believe that initiating this mindset of optimism and limitless possibilities is what makes people able to perform at higher levels. Is this possible to do on a consistent basis? It has to be, as evidenced by the successful people and the great minds that have graced this planet.

“In the high country of the mind one has to become adjusted to the thinner air of uncertainty...”
~Robert Pirsig

Snowboarding and the Art of Manifesting

2011-10-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

In Colorado, the start of ski and snowboard season is upon us. As I took my snowboard in to get it waxed and tuned up for the season, I began to think about how snowboarding can be a metaphor for life. I learned to snowboard from an instructor and I remember very clearly some of the tips that were provided. The most important tip to me is to look and point in the direction that I want to go. It sounds like common sense and it seems like it should be pretty easy. Sometimes it is, which leads to great fun and a magnificent rush. However if you tend to look at the trees and aim toward the trees you are going to end up in the trees and maybe some deep trouble. Some people like that, not me, I am not good enough to navigate trees, nor do I want to.

Another thing that is very relevant when snowboarding, is your focus and how you think. I have come to realize, much through experience, that if I focus on having a good run and what I need to do to have a good run, I usually have a good run. After many runs and a lot of practice, the right mindset tends to come more easily and muscle memory sinks in, leading to better performance and the likelihood of having more good runs than bad. However, because I am no expert, there are times that my mind drifts and I begin to focus on what could happen, like hitting an edge on a patch of ice, flying up into the air, landing on my bottom, and having my head ricochet off the hard ice pack. That is a truly scary thought, especially since I have experienced it before. After an experience like that I have found myself focusing more on the negative and it tends to make it more difficult to have good runs, because my mind becomes my worst enemy and fear starts to take over. If I don’t change my thought, I stay tense and worried, and I will be more likely to take another bad fall. However, if I can shake off the first fall and focus on what I want, without letting the negative in, I can have several more magnificent runs. In a lot of ways snowboarding is more mental than physical.

Our minds are wonderful tools, but only if we use and expand on the capacity of what we use. I have been reading and listening to a lot of books lately on the power of manifesting. My first thought regarding manifesting was somewhat skeptical, as when some people discuss manifesting, they do so in such a way to make it sound simple and easy. Oh, I want a new car and poof there it is! Sorry, that is not what it is about, and those who fall for that are truly mistaken.

After exploring a little further, I have begun to understand that manifesting is a disciplined act of thought. It takes a great deal of metacognition (thinking about your thinking) and then still, things just don’t appear. I don’t see manifesting as this powerful magic trick where you think about something and it appears. I see it as utilizing your mind to create a vision of what you really want and then using guided discipline to follow through on what needs to be done to get it. It involves a continued sense of optimism and the fortitude to overcome obstacles and work through setbacks, a lot like snowboarding. It is difficult for some to understand how optimism and pessimism play a role in outcomes and some believe it all to be a bunch of crap. Is it really crap, or is it that fear and ignorance might control the minds of the many who don’t believe it. Is it that people may be afraid of the possibility that they have more control over their lives than what they currently believe?

Napoleon Hill said, “Man alone has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man alone can dream and make his dreams come true.” I believe people forget that we have this capacity to make our dreams reality. You have to have a dream or a vision to make it real. Who are you not to dream and visualize the best for your life? Many people have become pessimistic in nature and that pessimism keeps people stuck.

If you allow your mind to head down the path of negative thought you will be more prone to negativity and learned helplessness. You are also more likely to hit a tree or an ice patch and land on your head! It’s easy to allow those negative thoughts to creep in. Have you ever kept track of how many negative thoughts cross your mind throughout the day? What do you do with those thoughts? Hopefully, you let them pass and don’t ruminate. Try consciously thinking thoughts that will benefit you and visualize yourself having what you want. When you can visualize and get a feeling of what it might be like to have what you want, that will generally lead to more motivation for you to take the steps necessary to get there. If you think about what it is like to be fit and healthy and being able to finish a half marathon, you will likely get a nice tingling feeling as you visualize yourself crossing that finish line. That will lead you to the gym faster than the thought of how tough it will be to finish your workout after you spent the whole day at work. When you have these negative thoughts, you have to be aware and police them. Kick them out!

Once you begin to be more cognizant of your thoughts and direct your focus on what you want, you begin to start taking more action towards getting what you want. If you want a good snowboarding run, don’t focus on the trees or the ice, focus on each move and where you want to go. Manifesting and being more optimistic takes work. If you want a fit body you have to exercise it, if you want a fit mind you also have to exercise it. Your mind tends to become lazy just like your body when you don’t use it. That is where manifesting begins; changing your thought, to change your action, and change your life.

Write Your Story

2011-09-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Every time I sit down to write, I struggle in thinking about what to write, how to write, and I question the quality. What I know for me is that it is a process, just like any other task. Writing takes practice and work just like any other craft. It also requires something that many people forget they have, that is the ability to control your mind and your thoughts. If I am performing other work or tasks throughout the day and I have a thought cross my mind about writing my next blog, I immediately get a sense of anxiousness, as another thought pops into my head questioning whether I can find something to write about. Well of course at that point in time I am not thinking about writing or about the topics that I like to write about. I have to feed my mind with the inspirational material that opens the floodgates of thought. I prepare myself and my mind through reading, quieting my mind from frivolous thought, and looking over notes I have scribbled during the week when I hear or see something that turns the light on in my head. Writing for me is a mental workout that exercises the most important muscle we have, because it involves actual concentrated focus and creating something that was literally not there before.

Writing can be a metaphor for life as well. What we think about as writers we put down on paper, we make it real. Life is similar, we have to think about something to do it or make it happen. I can go all week and not take the time to think about what I want to write and if I do not force myself to sit down to begin exploring my thoughts, it will not lead me to a finished product. It is the same thing in life, you go all week thinking about the mundane tasks and daily chores without allowing your mind to take off to that place where a new thought or idea can be created. A thought or idea that when put into action can pull you away from the mundane and make something fabulous happen. When I take time to write, I also take time to let my brain enter into a creative state that also helps me to come up with ideas for many things outside of my writing. It is a rejuvenation period that allows me to see through the mental walls that get built up, it shows me windows of opportunity. When you start there is a blank paper or screen waiting there for you. Anything can be put to that screen or paper. The same goes with life, there is only time, this moment, the rest is waiting there for you, take the time to make it a classical piece of work that everybody wants to read about.

Knee Deep In Opportunity

2011-08-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of my inspiration and thoughts for my writing from books and music. I heard a song about a month ago called Knee Deep, by The Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffet. The opening line made me think about how we could all get a different perspective on life; where we are, what we are doing, and why we are doing it. And, no this blog is not going to be about sitting on the beach, drinking margaritas, eating cheeseburgers in paradise, running out of whiskey, or getting drunk and screwing. Although it might make you think more about how you can change your thinking about life, which might make more time for those previously mentioned activities. The line from the song goes like this, “Going to put the world away for a minute, pretend I don’t live in it.” I pondered that line for a while and thought about what it would be like if I was new to this world, how would I think about it, and how would I act? One thing came from those thoughts, the idea that I would do things a little differently. You see it is easy to get caught up in old ways that imply that we go to work, work hard, and our hard work will pay off in the form of loyalty from our company, increased pay, security, promotions, and a healthy retirement package. While we are toiling away at securing our future, what might we have missed? Have you ever felt too tired after a day of work to do anything but sit back and watch tv. You let your mind go into sleep mode and decompress. Push replay over and over and over again. Our minds then begin atrophy when this occurs. The creativity, the dreams, the ideas that might set you free, then become buried and become memories with the question, what if?

It is human nature to seek out security and to avoid danger and risk to prolong survival. But with little or no risk, there is usually little or no reward. We evolved from prehistoric man when we lived in caves, walked hunched over, and carried a club, it is possible to evolve our minds to lead us to another evolutionary shift in how we live.

By stepping back from your world for a minute and looking at things differently with the question of what would I do if I could not fail, you begin to see things differently. If you really want something you have to act as though you will not fail and continue to work until you succeed. I am not delusional, I know there are always setbacks, but there are always going to be setbacks. The key is to never quit. It is said that many people quit when success is just around the corner. Napoleon Hill stated, “every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.” Hill also stated, “the world is filled with an abundance of opportunity which the dreamers of the past never knew and the turning point in the lives of those who succeed usually comes at the moment of some crisis, through which they are introduced to their other selves.” Can you believe that was said in the early 1900’s? If the world was filled with an abundance of opportunity in the early 1900’s, than think about the abundance and possibility now. To provide an example, this blog can be read by people all over the world, as soon as I post it. It could hit the computers of thousands to millions of people. It would have to be a pretty good blog to do that, but it is possible. That was not possible then.

When Napoleon Hill mentioned “other selves,” I believe he was referring to the part of us that is creative, that views the world differently, and takes the risks necessary to bring great success. That “other self” that can step away from how we view the world and view it as a place of opportunity waiting to be harvested. What would you need to do, to help you to view the world differently, to see the opportunities, and to lose that old self and find the “other self.”

“When you lose yourself, you find the key to paradise.”

~The Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett

Is The Key To Creativity Boiling In A Large Vat Of Oil?

2011-05-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading the book Living Your Unlived Life; Coping with Unrealized Dreams and Fulfilling Your Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl, Ph.D. I enjoy reading books like this mostly to help me in my search for answers about life and it satisfies the existential curiosity in me. I always find something interesting and worth the time spent to finish a book like this. The description of this book on the front sleeve describes it as, “a blueprint for transforming regret into greater consciousness and integrating the hidden parts of our psyches into our outer lives. The book describes examples and exercises grounded in Jungian theory and practice, which also draws from a wide range of spiritual and ethical traditions.” I am about midway through the book and came upon a section that discusses active imagination and how we can use our self talk and imagination to assist with creativity and finding answers. The author discusses how Carl Jung credited the doctrine of his psychological theories to his active imagination and dialogue with his inner spirit guide Philemon, who was an early Christian martyr. While the author was attempting to access his own inner imagination through the use of dialogue with himself, he also utilized his own patron saint to conduct this dialogue.

In reading about this I became curious, not so much about having conversations with dead people in our own minds, but because I think that what the author and Carl Jung were attempting to explain is that we have abilities in our minds to access information and creativity that is usually not right on the surface ready to come out. This theory has been discussed by many and I have read information in the past that kind of described it as there being a great universal database that each of us can access. Now I am sure some reading this are thinking, what type of stuff is this guy on, because I would love to have some of it. I am not so sure myself that there is some great universal database that we can access through inner dialogue with ourselves, however what I do know, is that there are certain mental states that we can access that can assist with creativity. It is a known fact that through meditation you can clear the mind of its clutter and access more creative states. During the course of meditation, if done properly, what happens is that a person is increasing the amount of a certain brain wave frequency called an alpha wave. This brain wave frequency is associated with relaxed alert states. There are many different exercises one can participate in to increase this alpha state.

I decided to do a little experimentation with this myself. I did some research and found that my patron saint is St. Saturninus of Corfu. In reading about this saint he is considered to be one of the seven holy thieves or seven saintly robbers. This man was imprisoned on the island of Corfu and converted to Christianity while in prison by St. Jason and St. Sosipater. St. Jason and St. Sosipater were former bishops and were imprisoned for preaching about Christianity on the island of Corfu. Apparently, the Roman Governor of the island did not like the fact that these men converted Saturninus and his gang of thieves to Christianity, as he had expected that Saturninus and his gang would intimidate or maybe eliminate the bishops. The Roman Governor had insisted that Saturninus and his gang recant their conversion. When the gang did not, the governor punished them by boiling them in a vat of oil. What a way to die!

In attempting to have a dialogue with my patron saint, I started, as the book had stated by asking questions and having an inner dialogue with myself and writing about what was coming to me. Unfortunately, I did not feel like I was getting very far. I was asking questions and getting impatient, however what I did realize was that this exercise was giving me something to write about, as I previously had no clear idea of what I wanted to write about to post to my blog today. I asked my patron saint to send me a sign to provide me with something, anything! I didn’t receive any signs, premonitions or immediate enlightenment at that time; accept for the idea behind this blog post.

Approximately an hour later while I was writing this blog, my wife called me and what she began to tell me gave me tingle and gave me goosebumps. She had stated that something weird had happened to her as she had attempted to call me about an hour ago. She told me that at first she thought that I had answered the phone and she was beginning to have a normal conversation with who she thought was me. She began to realize that it was not me because when she asked what I was doing, the person on the other end of the line stated that he was working and she knew that I was not at work. However what she didn’t know was that I was at the library working on my blog. She became perplexed and thought maybe I was with a friend and my friend had answered, so she asked if it was him. The other man said no it wasn’t and then hung up. She looked at her phone to look to see if she called the correct number. She did in fact call my number, but who was it that answered? She attempted to call again and there was no answer. In fact during the time that I had been participating in my experiment, I had my phone in my pocket and it was on silent. I couldn’t have answered nor could anyone else pickup my phone and answer it. Maybe the lines got crossed, whatever that may mean, or maybe, just maybe that was the sign I had asked for. Was it St. Saturninus of Corfu? Maybe or maybe not, but it was definitely a synchronistic event.

Overall, I would say my experiment was a success. I was able to be creative enough today to write this blog. St. Saturninus of Corfu may not have spoken to me directly, but I don’t believe that phone call was some freak coincidence or crossing of the lines. Call me crazy, but I believe that was a sign and the key to my creativity today came from the man who boiled in a vat of oil.

Sometimes You Don’t Pick The Book, The Book Picks You

2011-05-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

I started my informal education approximately a year after I graduated from college. At the time, I was jobless and had just lost my television to an electrical storm. My television was blown out by an electrical surge caused by a lightening strike that also blew out the electrical box in my apartment complex. The lightening actually struck a tree less than five feet from my front window. I was at the window at the time the lightening struck. I went to the window because seconds prior, a loud roar of thunder and another stroke of lightening had hit and I was curious and wanted to take a look. The lightening that hit the tree was so powerful that it knocked me to the floor. In addition to that, the electrical surge from the lightening ran down the tree, whose roots had been wrapped around the main electrical wires that ran to the main electrical box in the complex. I apologize as I don’t know the technical jargon for all of this, I am summarizing what the fire chief, who arrived on the scene had explained to me. The lightening caused electrical box to blow up, which started a fire in the apartment above me. At first I did not realize that the lightening had caused such chaos. After I got myself off of the floor and reoriented myself to what had happened, I realized that I lost power, as all of the lights were out. I began flicking switches to see if any lights had worked and weirdly enough some lights did work and others didn’t. Obviously the television didn’t work, so I decided that it was time to go to bed. While preparing for bed I heard an annoying beeping noise, which I first thought might have been a car alarm. I decided that I would walk out onto my back patio to take a look into the parking lot to see if I could find that annoying car alarm. As soon as I walked out that sliding glass door I saw the black smoke pouring out of the window above my apartment. I ran so fast to the phone to call 911 that I slipped several times on the carpet before I got to the phone. Thinking back, it would have been a hilarious sight to see me running in my underwear slipping, sliding, and falling on the floor. Luckily that beeping noise was a smoke detector that eventually woke up the person in that apartment, who was able to get out of the apartment. The fire department arrived and put out the fire. In the coming days, people moved out of that complex due to the damage that was created by the fire and the smoke. I was given a choice to stay in that apartment, and I decided to stay since there was no damage to my apartment and I did not want to move at that time since I had just moved into that building less than two months prior to the fire. So there I was with no TV, no job, a very quiet apartment complex and a lot of time on my hands. I had not been much of a reader throughout school and read mostly when I had to for school. In hindsight, I wish I had started reading for my own knowledge at a younger age, but all things happen at a certain time for a certain reason. I believe that lightening strike couldn’t have happened at a better time.

It was during an afternoon venture to the local mall, where I had spent some time goofing off that I walked past a bookstore and decided to enter. I don’t recall the exact reason why I entered the store; I only vaguely remember that something in the front of the store piqued my curiosity. I had not intended to enter the store to buy a book, but once I entered I was sucked in and the first of several books called out to me. I think I purchased two books that day. Up to that point in time I had only read, what others had told me to read. This was first my venture into unchartered territory for me and I enjoyed every bit and wanted more.

Over the next couple of years I read voraciously and spent much of my spare time in book stores letting the books pick me. I only read non-fiction and wanted to learn more about people, cultures, psychology, philosophy, spirituality and religion, and the mind. I was in my early twenties at that time and I hadn’t learned this stuff in high school and college. I often pondered how I could miss such important material while I was in school. Then I would always remind myself of how I was such a well rounded individual in college and didn’t spend all of my time studying and learning.

Once I started reading for my own purpose, it was like the universe had let me in on the secrets to the world, and the more I read, the more I learned about what I should read next. It was like each book summoned me and provided information and a roadmap of what to read next. Each book provided me what I needed in that moment and what I might need for the future. It is said, when you start seeking answers, that the universe begins providing those answers. How serendipitous it is, as I not only felt that then, but continued to feel that way about books and reading. In fact the day prior to writing this blog, I entered the library and I was not ten feet into the library when a book grabbed my attention. I have had this occur many times, so when it does, I grab the book immediately. I had not intended to take out a book on that day, but the fact that it was there, the first thing in my sight as I entered the library, was a message from the universe saying, hey, here are your answers! Obviously that book is one I need to read to take me where I want to go, and I was not about to ignore the message.

The day I picked up those books was the first day I picked up a book since I attended college. It was the first of many and a start down the road of my own path of discovery and development. Have you ever heard people say that they have not read a book since college or high school? I have heard it a couple of times and I am always amazed at the degree of pride that is expressed by the people who say it. I actually feel bad for those people because they are missing out on so much. My reading led me to learning about how to learn more in less time as one of the books that I read from Zig Ziglar introduced me to what he called, “Automobile University.” In his book See You At The Top, Zig Ziglar spent a whole chapter discussing how you can feed your mind. In this chapter Zig discusses how the average American spends over four hundred hours a year in a car. During that time if you were to listen to audio books, the amount of knowledge you can obtain is amazing. Zig spoke about a University of California study that indicated that a person could gain the equivalent of two years of college education if they listened to audio books during their normal driving time for a three year period. This requires no more investment in time and besides, what else would you be doing in your car. I have heard many other motivational authors discuss the importance of reading as well. Jim Rohn, the author of The Art of Exceptional Living, states that you should spend thirty minutes to an hour a day reading. He stressed how important it is, as he stated, “you can miss a meal, but don’t miss your thirty minutes of reading.” Mr. Rohn encourages people to “skip the trash, you can’t just read the easy stuff, you won’t grow, you won’t develop.” I enjoy audio books in the car and have compiled many throughout the last several years. I even joined an audio book club, Talking Books Plus. This is just like a library or Netflix, it depends on what I choose to do. I enjoy going into the store to not only look at the variety of selections, but to see their monster size cat. They also offer a mail service like Netflix. I can go online at www.talkingbooksplus.com, select the books I want and they will send me the audio books with return shipping. You can also find audio books at your local library.

Within the past year I have ventured into the blogosphere. There are so many good blogs out there and the nice thing is that it doesn’t take long to read one. It is like a quick fix and satisfies the need for immediate gratification when it comes to learning about something. The opportunities and availability of good reading material is astounding. So don’t wait until lightening strikes to pick up your next book.

Are You Making The World Your Playground?

2011-04-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

In my work I have had the pleasure of talking with many people who have reached a point where they want to change their life. These people are usually tired of the life they are living and want to be more deliberate in obtaining what they want in life. During these conversations, the discussion comes up about how easy it is to fall into the trap of going through the same old routines and mundane patterns, day in and day out. Before you know it days, weeks, months, years, and decades may have passed, and maybe you are doing the same thing, not because you like it, but because it is easier to give in to the routine and walk through life like a drone, rather than take the risk to try something different. There is always risk in trying something different, because it may be scary experiencing the pain of sacrificing more work, time, and the emotional ups and downs of wondering whether you will reach your goal and become successful. Why would you want to go through the uncertainty of all of that mess? I wonder how many people say that to themselves? I think the answer to that question can be summed up in the following quote from the Jim Carrey movie, Yes Man: “The world's a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way everyone forgets it.”

Life is to live, not to be a slave to the grind with little to no chance of your situation improving. Why would you not want to go through the pain to make the world your playground? Somewhere along the way, the pain from the extra work and perseverance pays off, and the results from all of your effort are like compounding interest on money in the bank.

My friend told me about a statement she had read from actor, screenwriter, and singer/songwriter, Billy Bob Thornton, which was very similar. She stated that he was describing how he can write a screenplay in a couple of weeks because he gets up in the morning and can spend all day on it, because he has made that his life. She went on to describe how he described his life and the same theme came up, “The world is my playground.” To some, that may sound like a lot of fun and to others that may sound like a lot of pain. However to him it is pleasure and the results of that effort have brought him more pleasure. There are things he is able to do that others are not able to, because he put in the hard work to make the world his playground. That is why when I mention his name, people recognize it. Some people out there would minimize his success by saying; well maybe he had an easy life. However that is not the case, as he was born and raised in Arkansas, in a cabin with no electricity or running water, and at times lived with up to fifteen family members in that cabin. He also dropped out of college after two semesters and worked paving asphalt roads. After moving to Hollywood to become an actor, he supported himself by selling pens over the phone, working for an answering service, and working in restaurants. His lack of early success with his acting career caused struggles with finances to such a point that he suffered from malnutrition because he could only afford to buy potatoes to feed himself. This subsequently led to him being admitted to the hospital. There are many other well known stories of famous people who have also overcome many difficulties and struggles to make the world their playground.

In thinking about this story and other stories like this, I think of the risks that were taken and the courage it takes to persevere through the tough times. We are not taught this courage and perseverance in school and many don’t have the role models or mentors around them from whom they can learn these traits. That does not necessarily mean that you can’t develop them or find people to help you find your way. Sometimes you have to go off the beaten path to find the way to your playground, but once you find it, you will always know the way to get there.

A Drunken Monkey And A Bowling Alley

2011-03-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

I have recently been reading a book titled Life! By Design, by Tom Ferry. In his book he lists four addictions that lead people to living life by default rather than living by design. The fourth addiction he lists is the addiction to worry or what he calls “living with the drunken monkey.” The author then goes on to describe how he first heard that description from an audio program by Dr. Jose Silva in which he stated “negative self talk is the equivalent of letting a drunken monkey loose in your kitchen. In the end, all you’re left with is one big mess.” In thinking about these statements I couldn’t help but laugh at the truth in those words. You see as ridiculous as it sounds to have a drunken monkey in your kitchen, it is just as ridiculous to worry about things. Worry is one way our minds deceive us and take us off the path of manifesting what we want, and puts us on a path of negative thought that subsequently may manifest just what we don’t want! I have encountered this in the simplest form during sporting activities like basketball and bowling. While shooting foul shots if you are constantly focusing on missing instead of making them, your body tenses up, your muscles don’t respond the way you would like and you end up missing. The same with bowling, if you are thinking about the gutters, you are bound to end up there. Can you imagine what it would be like to have a drunken monkey in a bowling alley? I thought I saw one once, but then I realized it was just one of my bowling team members.

It’s easy to let that drunken monkey into your kitchen now a days, as I encountered that evil bastard the other day while reading the news headlines on yahoo. I think the first five headlines were about war and rebellion in 4 different countries along with earthquakes, tsunamis, and radiation! I immediately started to think the end of the world was on its way. I was amazed at the furious pace that thoughts started racing through my head. Most of them began with what if…

What if it is coming, what if I don’t get to see my wife or family again, what if looters begin pillaging my neighborhood, what if spaceships and aliens arrive out of the sky to take over the planet, what if the aliens use anal probes, what if the planet explodes, what if there is no heaven, what if there is only hell, what if the devil is there to meet me personally and tells me how he has been waiting a very long time to meet me and is so excited about the things he is going to do to my soul! Wow, that drunken monkey can really be creative!

If you think about the amount of time that was just wasted thinking about all of these terrible things. There was some creative thinking that went into that, but imagine if I would have harnessed my brain and thoughts during that mind rant to focus and create something productive and good. You don’t have to imagine, because you can control your thoughts and switch them like you do the television channel when those annoying nightly news anchors come on and start opening the window for that drunken monkey to enter into your consciousness.

How many times have you worried about washing the dishes, vacuuming, or some project and while you are worrying you missed out on being there in the moment with a friend, family member, or just the beauty of living. While you were worrying you could have taken action or completed some tasks that needed to be accomplished. While you were worrying you could have been relaxing or sleeping. How many people have had sleepless nights worrying about something or know somebody that has had sleepless nights because they were worrying and couldn’t quiet their mind. Just like training your body you can train your brain. Negative self-talk, anxiety, worry, fear, can all be decreased with some discipline and hard work. What if you focused your thoughts on what you wanted in your life and all of the limitless amazing possibilities and potential you have and began to harvest those possibilities and potential.

Be aware of your thoughts, quiet your mind from all that negative noise, and take that drunken monkey to detox.

Entelechy

2011-03-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

I don’t like to watch a lot of television, I especially dislike the nightly news, most prime time television shows, and the commercials that try to convince us what we need to have and how it will make our lives better. Occasionally, I watch when I need a good laugh, find a nice educational program, or want to follow an interesting real life story. Oh and I forgot, I am a sports nut, so when one of my favorite teams are playing I tend to watch. Not long ago, I was flipping through the channels and saw a Walton’s reunion special and was drawn in by the nostalgia of yesteryear. How serendipitous it was that the show was on the Inspiration Channel. I remember watching the Walton’s as young child, when television shows seemed to have themes about values and often the characters in shows were learning about and expressing their morals and values. The episode I caught reflected on many different life dilemmas, as it followed the Walton’s into the deep Virginia Mountains, as they were attempting to help part of their extended family, which were served with eviction papers from the government. Their extended family had staked claim to their homestead after the end of the Civil War and they were now being forced to move to make way for a road that was being made in the mountains, which had just been deemed a national park. The show followed the story of three generations of family members, yet there was a common theme that rang true throughout the show. Each generation faced trials and tribulations of life and had been challenged to work through it. The eldest Walton shared her story of how she and her husband had built their home and made a life from the land they had settled, after his return from the Civil War. Sculpturing their land and sowing the seeds they reaped. They had children, one of them stayed on the mountain continuing to develop and build on what his parents had gave him. This character, in discussing his possible move from the mountain, spoke of the happiness of waking up every day to choose what he wanted to do. If he wanted to fish, he would fish for a while, if he felt like hunting, he would hunt for a while. Then if he wanted to make some moonshine he would make moonshine and sip on it for a while. The youngest member of the family had returned from the Navy, was married, and expecting his first child. He had plotted out a piece of land close to his family’s homestead and was looking forward to building his own house and living as his predecessors had lived. The youngest was enraged and in fear of the thought of someone taking away his dream for his family, to the point that he was willing to bear arms and kill.

While this younger Walton was in the Navy he had learned how to carve wood and had become very good at it, as several of his carvings graced the home. The main character of the show, Johnboy Walton, asked about his carvings, which led to a conversation about people being born with certain talents. It is in the blood, is what they said. Johnboy was a writer and his cousin was a woodcarver, neither could describe what made them good at it, it was just in their blood. There were many storylines in this episode and a lot of drama, as Johnboy gets shot in this episode. What stood out to me, was the young Walton overcoming his fear of leaving the mountain and making a different life for himself. He had not even thought about using his talent as a woodcarver to make a living. He was focused on how his other family members had lived and thought that was how his life should be too. His tunnel vision had led him to the brink of killing others, which would have also killed any dream for him and his family. It wasn’t until he was faced with this inevitable fact, brought to light by Johnboy, that there was another way and that he could use his talent to build his dream for his family. He had realized that he could use his potential to help him reach an actuality. It was this realization that his talent could bring him and his family fulfillment that led to dropping the guns and moving forward despite his fear.

After I watched this episode I took some notes, but wasn’t sure how I was going to use the thoughts that came to mind. I sat on it for a while, until this past week, when I came upon a quote in a book that I was looking through. The quote focused on the word entelechy. According to Thefreedictionary.com; the definition of entelechy: 1. in the philosophy of Aristotle, the condition of a thing whose essence is fully realized; actuality. 2. In some philosophical systems, a vital force that directs an organism toward self-fulfillment.

I couldn’t help but think about that Walton’s episode and how sometimes sadly, it might take our world being turned upside down before we realize our entelechy. Fortunately, we have a choice, what are you doing with that choice to realize your entelechy?

“Each of us bears in life what I call an entelechy. It’s the entelechy of the acorn to become an oak tree, the entelechy of a baby to be a grown-up in the world. The entelechy of you or me is to be—God only knows what! Sometimes, we get glimpses of entelechy. Part of our purpose is to track into the entelechy of maturation.” ~Jean Houston

Bold Is Beautiful

2011-02-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

I was listening to an audio book recently, titled Manifesting Change; It Couldn’t Be Easier, by Mike Dooley, when the author spoke four words that inspired this blog. “Fortune Favors The Bold.”

I was driving at the time but made a point to write down the disc number and track number so that I could listen to that section again at a later time. When I listened to that section of audio book later, I thought about the truth to this statement and I was inclined to look up the meaning of the word bold in the dictionary. Dictionary.com has several definitions for the word bold including; beyond the usual limits of conventional thought or action; imaginative; not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring.

I began to think about the definitions and how being bold has contributed to many successful and happy moments in my life. My thoughts of being bold may not live up to the boldness described as heroic or facing danger, however being bold led to my first date, my first job, my first promotion, jumping off a 30 foot bridge into the Rio Grande, walking on fire, and meeting the woman that I eventually married in Beirut, Lebanon. Now traveling to the Middle East as an American is considered a bold move by many people here in the states. When I told people in the U.S. that I was going to Lebanon, the most common response was why? However, it was one of the most memorable times of my life, as I was graciously treated by her family to tours of many famous and beautiful sites throughout that country. The people were wonderful and I felt welcomed wherever I went. If I would have listened to the naysayers and play it safers, I would have missed the experience of a lifetime.

I know people are probably thinking, jumping off a bridge, walking on fire, what the hell? Is this guy crazy? To explain, both were calculated, well planned moves, with the assistance and oversight of well trained professionals. The next question, why would you do that and is that bold or crazy? It may be a little of both. Part of making bold moves requires a person to overcome fear or act despite fear. Honestly, I was afraid to do both, but I faced the fear and after I completed both, I felt a renewed sense of self-confidence and success. If I had watched others complete these tasks and gave into my fear, I would have regretted it the rest of my life. Now I look back and have amazing memories and stories to tell. When I have a tough task that I need to accomplish and think about giving in, I remind myself of these two events and it gives me the will and confidence to move forward.

Being bold brought up a memory of a Seinfeld episode where the character George Costanza realizes that most of the decisions he has made in life have not led to happiness or success. George decides that his own thinking has led him to this point and that he will begin to do the opposite of what he thinks. In the episode, George makes the bold decision to talk to a woman in the coffee shop, which he admitted is something he never does. George vented about the regret he usually would feel when thinking about how he just lets beautiful women walk in and out of his life without even saying hello. George decided that he was going to take action and talk to the next woman, which leads to a date and a networking opportunity that scores him an interview with the New York Yankees. During the interview, George decides against his own good judgment and boldly berates George Steinbrenner about his decision-making in trading players. This leads to Georg getting hired!

I know this is just a TV show, but it was a good example of how making bold decisions and statements can bring about fortune. Historically, if you think about people like George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr., what would this world be like if they were not bold? George Washington’s boldness led to independence and the formation of The United States of America. Martin Luther King Jr.’s boldness brought to the forefront the civil rights movement. These men and their boldness led to major changes in this world.

Many people don’t act in a bold manner out of fear of negative consequences, fear of failure, or maybe even fear of what will happen if it leads to getting what they want. The last scenario believe it or not, may be the scariest for some, as well as the most pleasing. It has been said that many people set their sights low and unfortunately meet them, instead of setting the bar higher and fortunately achieving those results. Playing it safe all the time and not being bold may keep you safe, but you may miss out on extraordinary results. How are you to get what you want in life, if you are not bold enough to ask for it or bold enough to go out and take the steps to get it?

Have You Been Struck By The Law Of Diminishing Intent?

2011-01-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

As we live life every day, people tend to get stuck in the grind of day to day living. We live for the weekend; we come home from work, eat, watch TV, and go to bed. Just to get up and start it all over again. Is that how you imagined your life to be? Most people intend to live a better life and accomplish more. However, with many people, the law of diminishing intent took over. The law of diminishing intent is what Jim Rohn described as having the intention of doing something, but not acting, and as days, weeks, and months go by, that intention weakens and can disappear.

Since the release of the book, The Secret, the theory of the law of attraction has become popular and more mainstream. I have heard many people question this law of attraction, wondering how you can just think about something and manifest it. That is a very pertinent question, and what the people who ask that question have missed is that thinking about and identifying what you want is only the first step toward getting it. The next step is taking action. “Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.” ~Jim Rohn

Have you ever had a thought or idea while driving or doing something else and didn’t act on it, only to forget what that idea was by the time you reached your destination? I know it is hard to act on an idea while you are driving, but you could pull over and write it down. My point is to start taking action immediately, before the law of diminishing intent takes over. The action may be as small as writing down an idea to review and expand on when you get to your destination. If you have a thought, a vision, or a goal, start acting. Strike while the fire is hot and your emotion is intense. Taking action brings you one step closer to the results you want to achieve. Life is short, so whatever it is that you want to achieve, get at it, and act now!

“Life is fragile, life is a gift, our lives are on loan and we are living day by day on borrowed time.”
~Brian Souza

Double Your Rate of Failure to Increase the Probability of Success

2011-01-23T14:15:00.000-08:00

Many people may start out reading this thinking, what? Why would I want to fail, let alone double my rate of failure? Unless you’re perfect, most people don’t achieve the results they want in their first attempts at doing something. Some people tend to misinterpret what it means to fail at a task. Some tend to think that if you fail, that is it, that is the end, and everything is finished. If you live by that approach, it would seem that everyone should have a healthy fear of failure. However, another way to reframe failure, to overcome the fear, is to remind yourself that every time you fail, you are going to learn something that you didn’t know about before you undertook the task. If you learn from your experience and your mistakes, then each time you are going to get closer to the results you are looking to achieve.

It is said that when Thomas Edison was attempting to invent the light bulb that he had failed several thousand times. During one of his failures he blew up part of his lab and his assistant was so upset that he questioned Edison’s sanity and implored him to give up because he had failed so many times. Edison responded by informing him that he had not failed, he had only figured out several thousands of ways of how not to make a light bulb. We all know how this story turned out, as eventually he got it right, and now we have light!

When you think about the fear and risk involved in starting something and failing. Remember, if everything was easy, we would all have what we wanted. The biggest risk involved, is not taking the risk to start and stopping before you achieve your results.

“There is no such thing as a failure who keeps trying. Coasting to the bottom is the only disgrace.”
~Blues Traveler

Reflecting on the writings of a Sun Dance Chief

2010-09-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

I recently finished the book Ehanamani “Walks Among, ” The Story of a Sun Dance Chief, an autobiography of Dr. A.C. Ross a member of the D/Lakota Sioux. I came upon this book and another one of his books, Mitakuye Oyasin, “We Are All Related,” when I attended a metaphysical fair in Denver this past March. I had high expectations for this fair, prior to attending, but as I roamed through the large conference rooms I was somewhat disappointed. It seemed to be endless tables and booths of so called psychics providing readings and other similar services at astronomical prices. I had even spent some money on a reading at the fair and was embarrassed for the lady who provided the reading. I am a trained therapist and was appalled at her inability to get me to provide her enough information to try and put together a reading that would at least be somewhat related to my life or at least entertaining. She had no clue! I was more disheartened when about a week later I learned that the debit card I used to pay the entrance fee had been fraudulently charged by one of the businesses at the fair.

There was a purpose in attending that fair that did not become clear until a couple of months later. While at the fair I browsed through two big conference rooms despairingly until I reached the end of one of the conference rooms. I finally found a booth that caught my interest, the booth where I picked up these books. Dr. Ross had a nephew running his booth. His nephew summoned my attention when I looked at him and he called me over to speak with him. He shared with me the topics of the books that were there.

I have always been interested in Native American culture and philosophy. I grew up approximately thirty minutes from a reservation, spent some time visiting Wounded Knee, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and I lived in Nebraska for a couple of years where I spent a lot of time driving out on the plains. Upon each visit to these lands I felt a sense of enchantment that brought thoughts of what these lands were like before westward expansion. I couldn’t resist when I saw the books, as I knew they were a must read. Once I started reading the books I began to find many topics that piqued my curiosity. In one of Dr. Ross’s books he talked about Carl Jung’s concept of synchronicity. Jung said, “Everything that happens has a purpose, a reason, and a plan. There is no such thing as chance.” Thinking back on that night I believe I was meant to attend that fair to get those books. There were many common themes among the books and reading them reiterated my beliefs that we are all here for a reason and we must continue to evolve. Dr. Ross called that reason the soul’s evolutionary journey.

In reading about the Native American Heritage I am constantly amazed at how advanced their culture seemed to be in comparison to present day society. In speaking of advancement I am referring to spiritual advancement. In looking at today’s major religions it seems that most of the major religions in the world focus too much on dogma and take the teachings of religions and prophets too literally. This has led to radicalism and hatred between people, where the purpose of religion should be focused on love and care for not only people of their own religion but other religions, as well as love and care for our planet and all of the inhabitants of the planet. Native American religions focus on the big picture, the earth, the animals, and people and how we are all related in a symbiotic circle. In reading about some of the beliefs such as; existing as one with nature, earth, and the universe; I couldn’t help but feel saddened by how our present day society seems so disconnected with our role on the planet and how our sacred relationship is taken for granted. We need only to turn on CNN and see the problems like the recent oil spill in the gulf to see the evidence. It is also apparent that today there is a focus on individual needs and a lack of community. Greed, materialism, and self-indulgent behaviors are constantly being paraded in the media. Constant reporting on the activities of people like Bernie Madoff, The Gosselin’s, and Lebron James are dominating airtime. The constant messages of what you need are conveyed through advertising, the egomaniacal reality shows, and spoiled mega millionaire athletes. It seems that the message is; you should be like them, and to be like them you need to spend your money on this, and do that! It is difficult to evolve in any way; whether it is spiritually, physically, mentally, or financially; if you become caught up in these media showers. Many people get stuck and use this crap as a way of escaping their mundane lives. The barrage of all of this information can push down your own thoughts, morals, and values and lead you to just existing instead of focusing on more important things in life.

In Dr. Ross’s book, Walks Among, he talks about the belief that we as humans have an evolutionary journey that we must carry out. If we are unable to do so in one lifespan, we are sent back to try again before our souls our released to the universe. In thinking about Dr. Ross’s statement I can only shake my head and laugh at myself when I think about some of the things I have done or currently do on a daily basis that seem so meaningless and are nothing but a waist of time. Dr. Ross discusses how each person’s journey is different, and we all have strengths and weaknesses which play into what we need to do. In Christianity, there is the concept of heaven and it is taught that we need to act a certain way and follow certain rules (Commandments) in order to get there. The messages are very similar, in fact Dr. Ross discusses the many commonalities among world religions in his book We Are All Related. Has it ever made you wonder why there is so much fighting based on religious beliefs? It seems to me that there is too much focus on dogma and entities like “the church,” instead of the core messages within each religion. Somewhere along the line people have not been able to read between the lines. Why can’t people focus on the similarities and leave the dogma and the radicalism behind? A question to ponder; does anyone really know the truth about any of these things? Is there anybody that can tell me how it is going to end? I am sure there are many people that claim to have the answers to these questions.

In Dr. Ross’s discussion about the soul’s evolutionary journey, he references Edgar Cayce’s writings about Karma and how it affects the evolutionary journey. Dr. Ross describes Cayce’s definition of karma as what drives the circumstances that each soul experiences on the return to earth. The circumstances that result from Karma occur to develop the soul, live out the karma, and fulfill the soul’s evolutionary journey. Dr. Ross stated that Edgar Cayce had prophesized that there were five things a person must experience in order to finish their evolutionary journey on earth and those five components were identical to concepts in Native American Philosophy. The five components are peace, patience, brotherly love, endurance of suffering, and balance and harmony. If you look at these components on paper it may seem they are easily obtainable, however how many people can say that they are mindful of aspiring to obtain peace, patience, brotherly love, and balance and harmony in their daily lives? I am sure that those who do can boast of a more satisfying and fulfilling life. Of course, I don’t believe that anyone wants to endure suffering, but the measure of a person’s character can truly be revealed in how they deal with tough times. In looking at those concepts there is a striking familiarity between these and what Jesus taught and how he lived. To go back to a question I posed earlier, does anyone really know the truth about these things? I would say, maybe we don’t know the entire truth, but I don’t think that it is a coincidence that these five components have been concepts that have endured many cultures and religions throughout the duration of time.

Expand Your Self-Image

2010-08-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

"Expand the self-image and you expand the area of the possible."

~Maxwell Maltz

While browsing for quotes to add to my "quote of the day" on my Facebook page for Evolutionary Life Design, I realized how true the aforementioned quote is. We tend to act out how we think about ourselves. If we expand our self-image to include success, wealth, health, or beauty, we are going to be more likely to attract those things into our lives. We will be more likely to act in ways that nurture that self-image. This works both ways. If you see your self as a lazy bum, you will have more of a tendency to act like a lazy bum! So start expanding your self-image in a positive way!

What have you done to improve your self-image today? Take a couple of minutes to think about it and make a committment to yourself to improve.

If you don't invest in yourself, who will?

Tikkun Olam

2010-05-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

I happened to catch a CCN interview the other day that was quite inspiring. The young lady being interviewed was a fifteen year old named Rachel Lester. In case you have not heard, she recently was voted onto the city council in the city of Los Angeles. What an accomplishment at such a young age. In her interview she attributed her campaign and motivation to become a council member to the Jewish term “Tikkun Olam.” This means; to heal, repair, and transform the world. She described going door to door and enlisting the help of her friends and community to get the message out to vote. This is a refreshing platform for any politician to run on, especially a fifteen year old! In an age when many politicians are swayed by lobbyist groups and the almighty dollar, one is looking for real transformation and change.

Wikipeida describes the term Critical mass as a sociodynamic term to describe the existence of sufficient momentum in a social system such that the momentum becomes self-sustaining and fuels further growth. Ms. Lester’s work has already fueled growth in the minds of many and is what I consider to be an evolutionary platform in political realms that hopefully will pave the way for continued reform and transformation of political systems. Even if it turns out that she was in over her head, at least she will have delivered her message to the many that have already been privileged to have heard her story. If she can accomplish this task at fifteen, I am curious to see what the future holds for her.

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2010-05-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

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Instead of getting more pants with a waist extension, I got a wardrobe expansion.

2010-04-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

Exercise and weight loss always seem to be topics that are in the frontlines of the media. There are so many books, programs, TV ads, and fitness gurus to choose from. Sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to figure out who to believe and what to follow. I have heard many people use this as an excuse that stops them from even trying. There is one simple concept when it comes to exercising and fitness and it is the old Nike slogan, “JUST DO IT.” Many wonder, is it just that easy, well to answer your question, yes! I have gone through many spurts of time when I was really consistent with exercise and I saw results, as my weight was where I wanted it to be and I liked how I felt and looked. However, I have also gone through periods of time when I didn’t exercise and continued to eat whatever I wanted and I paid the price. After a time period of laziness, there always seemed to be the same self esteem damaging thoughts that would pop up in my head, such as I am just fat, I can’t do it, I will never be able to get to the weigh that I want so why try, I don’t have time to exercise, and I don’t have the energy. THESE ARE ALL LIES! After a while, we begin to believe our own lies and that paves the path of self-destruction. It is funny how our own brains can sometimes be our worst enemies. In fact I am sure many people hear these words and more when they start thinking about their fitness levels and weight. I have heard people utter them out loud every time I have been a part of a conversation regarding the subject.

I can remember weighing in at 214 pounds as recent as 2004. Since that time my commitment to my workouts had waned and I saw my weight gradually increase each year. In 2006, I can remember weighing 238 as I had weighed myself at the beginning of an attempt to lose weight. I had purchased a diet food plan (I won’t mention any names) to help me get back to a better weight. I lost about 10 pounds, but after about 2 months, I was done with the terrible food that I had to eat. Over the next three years my weight continued to climb, as I couldn’t maintain (didn’t make it a priority) any type of consistent workout schedule, and frankly was board with the workouts I was doing. In 2008, I visited the doctor and was astonished to see my weight at 248. There were several events from 2008 until the end of 2009 that continued to add to my inactivity and my weight gain. It all started to make sense, I was not making exercise a priority and I was suffering because of it. I felt like crap every morning. I wasn’t getting good sleep, didn’t have much energy, and I was getting winded just walking up stairs. I went snowboarding in November and felt like I was going to die, as I could only do three runs. I had been in denial about my weight gain and it was time to stop the madness!

At the beginning of this year, I decided that I was tired of lying to myself and I had decided that I had enough of feeling bad physically and wanted to get my old body and energy levels back. This time I was going to make it different. I got some help! As a Christmas gift, I was given a three-month pass to attend an exercise class. Yes, you have probably heard of it and seen it on TV. It was P90X. On January 1st, 2010 I finally had the courage to step on a scale, as I knew I needed to know how much I weighed if I was going to start a program and set a goal. I had reached a peak weight of 257 pounds! I was embarrassed, angry, sad, and ready to make sure that I was going to follow through with this P90X program.

I began my P90X journey January 4, 2010. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the program, I had heard a little bit about it, but didn’t know much. I knew it would involve a lot of pushups and pull-ups and that was it. I liked the idea of doing this workout with a group of people and to me I felt like working with a group would make me more accountable to the others and myself in the group. I have always been pretty competitive and I figured that working with a group would drive me more and keep me motivated. I still have a lot of pride as an athlete from my days of playing sports in high school and college and I knew that watching others beat me would drive me crazy and add fuel to my motivation. The first two weeks of the program reminded me of my days of double and triple session football practices in college. My body hurt all over, but to me it was a good hurt, a hurt that was a sign of progress. By the end of the first month I saw approximately ten pounds drop of my body and physically felt much better. My clothes fit better and the pride from doing the workouts made me more self confident and committed to be more health conscious with what I was putting into my body.

I made it back to the ski slopes and was ecstatic with my performance. I had my best day of snowboarding ever. I completed 7 runs in about 3 hours. That was unheard of for me, especially in the last 2 years when my weight had really bulged. I am by no means a great snowboarder, but my energy and fitness level was much improved and I loved the results.

As I continued into the second month of the program, my feelings toward the workouts also changed. The first month was very difficult and I knew going into each workout that I was subjecting myself to some extreme physical struggles and assured pain and exhaustion. By the end of the second month, I was enjoying the workouts and beginning to push myself a little harder. My body was responding to the demands that I was placing on it and I was able to increase the amount of repetitions and weights I was using. An added bonus was the fact that I could fit into some pants that I had not worn in the past two years. Instead of getting more pants with a waist extension, I was getting a wardrobe expansion. I had kept my workouts and my plan of losing weight somewhat quiet. I didn’t share it with coworkers, because I have heard several coworkers over the years discuss their New Year’s resolution plans to lose weight, only to see them a month later at the same weight, with no changes occurring in their routines. I was afraid that I might be one of them as well. After about two and a half months of the P90X workout program, I finally had someone ask me if I lost weight. I was proud to tell them at that point that I had lost about 23 pounds. It’s amazing the kinds of reactions that people have when talking about weight gain. My answer sparked a conversation from others about how they needed to lose weight, and needed to eat better, and needed to exercise more. It felt good knowing that I was not one of them! I was no longer making the excuses that I was hearing from those people. They were making the same excuses that I used to make. “I don’t have the time, I don’t have the energy, I don’t have anyone to workout with, I don’t have the money for that program, and those programs don’t work.” Those excuses are all a bunch of BS! Somehow I figured out how to get these workouts into a week that consisted of working at least twelve hours a day five days of the week. I pushed myself to do it, even when I felt bad, and even when it felt like I would need a crane to get me out of bed during those first two weeks of the program.

I watched a couple of people from the group that started the program drop out or come to the sessions erratically. When people say programs don’t work, it is because they don’t follow them how they are meant to be followed. In doing the P90X program, I have made fitness and health my choice and my way of life again. I am happy, have more energy, more self-confidence, and I am not embarrassed to go out in public in a bathing suit anymore. My experience with P90X has been a cycle of continuous rewards that I am excited about continuing to follow. When I have a hard day and the thought runs through my mind about skipping my workout, I remind myself of the slogan that I continually heard during the program, “Do Your Best and Forget the Rest.”

To track my progress I started to keep a daily log of my exercise, weight, and calories. I found this to be reinforcing and it keeps my mind focused. It is much more difficult to justify blowing off a workout when I have my little notebook in front of me reminding me of where I came from and the hard work that I have put in. That little notebook is a motivator and it keeps me on track. In fact I have titled it three hundred days of fitness, as it is my goal for the calendar year of 2010 to get some form of physical exercise during at least three hundred days of the year. It is a lofty goal and very formidable if you think of it all at once, but it’s just like any other journey it starts with one step, then another, then another. That was a very clichéd statement, but when it comes to weight loss, it took more than one donut and one day to put it on, so you have to be patient in taking those little steps to make it happen. As we come to the end of April, I am nearing my one hundredth workout and I have lost twenty-five pounds. I have had people warn me about burning out, but to be truthful, I look forward to going to the gym. It is definitely a stress reliever and for me it symbolizes the end of a day of hard work. I even reward myself with some relaxing time in the steam room after my workout. To me, it has become a routine and is now again part of my lifestyle. The people who are successful at maintaining a healthy weight, make exercise a part of their lifestyle. Making exercise and fitness a priority and part of your lifestyle is part of living an evolutionary life.

Take A Vacation From Mediocrity

2010-04-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Mediocrity is a term that just doesn’t sound good. Mediocre does not necessarily mean bad, but does not mean good either. It is somewhere in the middle. I don’t know about you, but when it comes down to it, I don’t want to be considered mediocre. I think of it as spending enough time at something not to be bad at it, but not spending enough time to be good or excellent. It’s like just getting by, or being a C student. I am sure many people have their opinions about what a C student is like, in fact there are many C students who turn out to be experts in their fields and we even had a C student as the President of the United States. You may take a break from reading for a second to laugh or comment after that last statement. Tommy Newberry, in his book Success Is Not An Accident, defines mediocrity as, “failing to set big goals for your life and neglecting to live the life God gave you.” If you think about it, when we don’t strive to be any better than mediocre, we are not living up to our own potential, and using our knowledge, skills, and talent that we were provided. I am not trying to lay a guilt trip on anyone reading this, just wanting to trigger some thought and maybe action to drive people to be better or do better at something, or just one thing in their life. We can’t all be great at everything we do, but we should aspire to do better in many things we do.

While I was sitting in the library the other day, I took notice of the amount of people sitting around working. I don’t know what those folks were working on, but I can bet they were sitting there working because they wanted to be good at whatever they were doing. I can’t imagine them sitting inside on that day working because they wanted to be mediocre, especially since it was seventy degrees and there was not a cloud in the sky outside. I was amazed at the amount of younger people sitting at desks working on school work. I could only reminisce about how I spent days like this when I was young. It was definitely not a day I would spend in the library. It was an awakening thought, as I pondered what might be different if I had put forth more effort when I was younger. I felt a sense of excitement for those kids, as they had a head start on others their age, who were not putting forth that same effort. I am not adverse to having a good time and goofing off and we have to have some balance, but we can’t all get by in life on good times and good looks. The harder you work, the better you become, the better you feel, and the better outcomes you receive. If you are working hard in one area of your life, that effort and work ethic is bound to carry over into other areas of your life as well. It is said that mediocrity breeds mediocrity, well, at the other end of the spectrum, I believe hard work results in success, and success breeds success.

At times it is difficult to give that extra effort and it is more comfortable to just put forth the minimum effort. This can become a pattern and a trap. Have you ever heard of someone taking a vaction and never returning? Well it is very similar to the trap that people fall into with mediocrity. People didn’t intend on staying mediocre, but time passes and they haven’t left. I read a quote once that continues to stick in my head, I apologize to the author, as I can’t remember who said this, “the difference between the rich and the poor is what they do in their free time.” It is easy to say to yourself I’ll do that tomorrow, I just want to catch that episode of Seinfeld (that I have seen twenty times) on tv tonight. Well successful people refrain from that type of action more often than the mediocre.

I would like to extend a challenge to those of you reading this. I named this blog The Evolutionary Life Project because I wanted to inspire people to evolve and to take action at making life and this world better. So I would like to challenge you to take a vacation from mediocrity for a day or for just one task that you have to complete. If you decide to do so, I would like you to analyze your results from that day or that task and share your experience with others. I am sure it will be a story that you will want to tell.

We Create Our Own Reality

2010-03-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

To many people creating your own reality or designing your own life may not seem realistic. Many feel as though they are pushed and pulled by extrinsic factors that determine the outcomes of their day and their life. Those factors include work, school, family, coworkers, friends, financial obligations, or other scheduling obligations. What we tend to forget is that we set up those scenarios and we can change them too. Of course this will take some work and is not always easy.

All too often people feel caught in this trap or rat race of life and learn to forget or give up on what they really want in life. The day-to-day grind eventually can make people zombies if you do not live your life mindfully or with a sense of purpose. In the business world, most businesses have a mission statement or purpose statement that identifies or establishes why they exist. How many people have taken the time to do this with their own lives? This may be the number one reason why people feel as though they have no control and they succumb to the everyday distractions and pressures of life.

The first step to creating your own reality is to identify what you want in life. Even though this sounds easy, it may be quite difficult for some. I have asked that question to others, who have answered, “I want to be happy.” That is quite a general answer. If you answer that way, you have to ask yourself some more questions, such as, what makes you happy? That is a loaded question in itself, as you yourself choose how you want to feel, and nobody can change that. Blaming someone else or an event for your feelings is a cop out. Many people will challenge that statement, however it’s the truth. Cognitive behavioral theorists believe that your thoughts lead to how you feel and your ensuing behaviors. Well, in that case, if your thoughts lead you to feeling bad, then it is possible that you can change what your thinking about in order to change how you feel, and how you act. Of course learning and practicing this is an advanced skill that takes personal awareness and commitment. In fact many therapists and life coaches use these tenets in their work with their clients to facilitate change.

In my late night channel surfing recently, I came upon a show that was a documentary of prison life. The show interviewed many prisoners regarding their thoughts about being incarcerated. I was amazed to hear one of the prisoners describe his outlook. The prisoner stated that he was serving a life sentence. He indicated that he deserved his life sentence for the crime he committed and the harm he had done to others. He went on to explain that he had a choice of how he could serve that sentence. In that explanation he stated that he could be miserable and focus on the how his sentence was the end of his life or he could make the best of his situation. To make the best of his situation he decided that he was going to have a positive attitude and he was going to use his time to serve others in an attempt to repair the harm that he created. It was obvious, that this man had made choices that resulted in his prison term, but he also made choices about how he was going to deal with the consequences. He outlined how he was going to think about and view his sentence. This gave him a sense of purpose that contributed to prosocial goals that aligned with his thoughts, which in turn helped him to have a better outlook and more positive feelings about his predicament.
When identifying what you want in any situation, you need to be specific. I have heard many people identify things they want which has included, losing weight, making more money, a better job, etc…. Those are all vague examples, they lack specificity. If you want to lose weight, identify how much? If you want more money, how much? If yow want a better job, what do you want to do? To get what you want, you have to know exactly what you want. Several years ago I was involved in a seminar that had the participants complete an assignment that consisted of writing down fifty things that they wanted in life. It was a difficult task, but I completed it. I recently found the notebook with this list and I was amazed at how many things on my list I had achieved. The reason I was able to do that was because I was very specific with what I listed. If you want to make your own reality you have to know what it is that you want first and then begin outlining specific details on how to get it. If you don’t have the knowledge, someone can help you, there is always an answer that will help you get started. If you don’t like your reality, start changing it today.

It's Evolution Baby!

2010-03-03T23:52:00.000-08:00

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam once belted out It's Evolution Baby, when singing their song Do The Evolution. I have always found Evolution to be an interesting topic. Many may think of the progression of humans from cavemen to present human beings when thinking of this term. However, with the help of a dictionary, I put together my interpretation of this term. My interpretation of the definition of Evolutionary is; a process that of unfolding, development, or change, a movement that is part of a series. I believe we owe it to ourselves, friends, families, the world, and our higher powers to make the most out of our lives. That includes developing our talents and inner genius, challenging ourselves to be better in all areas of our lives, and continuing to work at growing and developing. For some people this process may come easier and it may look like it is effortless. However, it does take work and it is a life long project that takes persistence and commitment. My posts will have a variety of flavors, as I plan on writing about my challenges with my evolutionary life project, writing about successes, tips, lessons, stories, providing book reviews, and commentary about the challenges of life in general. I hope to entice other to share their thoughts and hopefully this blog will inspire people to take action in their own evolution to create a better and more fulfilling life.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. WE were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."~Marianne Williamson