The more you fail, the more you learn. The more you learn, the closer you’re to where you wanna be. If you never failed, you’ve never lived.

Join me as I recount what these famous people went through before becoming successes today. They’ve got one similar trait.

They never give up.

Whoopi Goldberg was a high school dropout and survived on welfare. To make ends meet, she worked as a bricklayer, bank teller and makeup artist, applying makeup & dressing the hair of corpses in a mortuary.

Fredrick Smith got a C for his term paper proposing “an express delivery service” when he was studying in Yale university. He started Federal Express Corp in 1971 but only managed to deliver 6 packages – 4 were from the operations testing its system and 2 from real customers – in its first run.

Simon Cowell was expelled at 16 with just two O-level passes. He eventually dropped out of high school and worked as a mailroom boy at his dad’s employer, EMI.

Charles Dickens once worked in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish.

Brad Pitt dropped out of university, just 2 credits short of a journalism degree, went to Hollywood where he worked outside a fast food restaurant in a giant chicken costume.

Li Ka Shing, one of the world’s richest tycoons once sold plastic flowers for a living.

Akio Morita & Masaru Ibuka, founders of Sony first released a rice cooker through their company in 1945. This was how it looked like. Yes, a complete disaster. The cooker burnt rice instead of cooking it and sold less than 100 units.

George Orwell went to Paris, eager to make a living from freelance writing. He barely survived by teaching English, eventually pawning his possessions and working in a hotel as a janitor.

Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything” and he was also fired from his first 2 jobs for not being productive enough. Perhaps that’s why he failed 2,000 times before inventing the light bulb.

Tom Hanks dropped out of Sacramento State University and worked as a bellhop at a Hilton Hotel.

Michael Bloomberg was fired as a partner from Salomon Brothers in 1981 when it merged with another company. He took the merger proceeds to startup Bloomberg financial information network and became the New York mayor in 1991.

Colonel Sanders, founder of the world renowned Kentucky Fried Chicken chain got his first social security check of $99 at age 65. He had a small house, a worn out car and was pretty much broke. But that didn’t stop him from approaching restaurant owners, offering his popular chicken recipe free, in exchange for a percentage of the pieces of chicken sold. 1,009 restaurant owners rejected him before he got his first yes.

Eminem failed 9th grade 3 times and dropped out of high school at 17. When his girlfriend broke up with him and took their newborn away, he attempted suicide.

Soichiro Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for a engineering job. He was jobless for a while and started making his own scooters at home. Encouraged by his neighbours, he later setup his own company – Honda Motor Corporation.

Salvador Dali was expelled from an art academy in Spain for not letting his professors critique his paintings.

Jackie Chan dropped out from grade school after the 1st year and was sent to the China Drama Academy where he trained for 19 hours a day. He used to be a stuntman in Bruce Lee’s movies.

Bill Gates was a Harvard dropout but was clever enough to buy someone’s product for $50,000, rebrand & licensed it to IBM & other computer companies for billions.

Albert Einstein started speaking when he was 4 and only learnt to read at 7. His teachers and parents thought he was intellectually challenged, slow witted and anti-social. He was also expelled from school and couldn’t get into the Swiss Polytechnic Institute in Zurich.

Oprah Winfrey was demoted from her job as an on-air evening news anchor and was told she wasn’t fit for television.

John Grisham‘s first novel was rejected by 16 agents and 12 publishing houses.

Dr Seuss’s first book was turned down by 27 publishers.

Arnold Schwarzenegger went for “The Incredible Hulk” TV series audition, but lost the lead role to Lou Ferrigno because he was “too short and too thin”.

Charles Darwin failed a medical course in University of Edinburgh and was often criticised by his dad for being lazy and too dreamy. He wrote “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.”

Ralph Lauren dropped out of college after his sophomore year and worked as a part-time stock boy in a department store.

Isaac Newton was an average student. When he was put in charge of running his family’s farm, he let sheep escape and fences to fall down. In the end, his uncle took over and sent him off to Cambridge.

Vincent Van Gogh only sold 1 painting in his lifetime for just 400 francs. But that didn’t stop him from completing 800 works worth millions today.

Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union used to work in the fields of a Russian village.

Michael J Fox dropped out of high school and went to Hollywood to venture into TV acting. But instead, he was $30,000 in debt and had to live in a garage without a telephone & furniture.

Winston Churchill failed 6th grade and only passed the entrance exams to Royal Military Academy on his 3rd try. He was defeated in every election until he finally became UK’s Prime Minister at 62.

Amitabh Bachchan, an award winning Indian actor known for his rich voice was rejected for an announcer’s job with All India Radio because his voice was “unsuitable”.

Charlie Chaplin was a street urchin, danced for money and was sent to an orphange for destitute kids. Hollywood studio chiefs rejected his act, thinking that it was a little too nonsensical to ever sell.

Sidney Poitier was told to “stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something” during an audition. He went on to win an Oscar and became one of the most respected actors ever.

Stephen King’s first book was rejected 30 times. He threw the manuscript away and almost gave up. His wife retrieved the script from the trash and encouraged him to resubmit.

Abraham Lincoln fiance died. He suffered a nervous breakdown. He also failed in business twice and was also defeated in 8 elections. But all that didn’t stop him from before becoming the 16th president of United States.

Tom Cruise was denied a role on the TV show “Fame” because he wasn’t “pretty enough”.

Steven Spielberg was rejected by the a famous film school 3 times. Years later, he was conferred a honorary doctorate and seat on the board of trustees of the same school for his achievements.

J.K Rowling divorced less than a year into her first marriage, moved with her baby to Edinburgh, Scotland. She survived on welfare in an apartment infested with mice and wrote in cafes to help her baby fall asleep. Oh yeah, her novel “Harry Potter” was rejected by 12 publishing houses.

Claude Monet suffered from nasty cateracts but still came up with beautiful paintings. Unfortunately, his impressionist painting style was mocked by the then artistic elite, the Paris Salon.

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He was also made bankrupt many times.

Mozart was dismissed as a court musician in Salzberg with “a kick in the pants”.

Charles Schultz, the cartoonist behind the Peanuts comic strip had every cartoon he submitted for his school yearbook rejected. Even Walt Disney said “no” to his application for a job.

Marilyn Monroe’s modeling agents thought she should consider being a secretary instead.

Rabindranath Tagore, the 1st non-european Nobel Laureate for literature, was home schooled. He was later sent to England for formal schooling at 17 but didn’t complete his studies.

Elvis Presley’s high school teacher gave him a C & told him he couldn’t sing! That’s not all. He was also told by the manager of the Grand Ole Opry that he “ain’t goin’ nowhere” and “ought to go back to drivin’ a truck” before being fired from one of his earliest performances.

Mark Victor Hansen & Jack Canfield’s Chicken Soup for The Soul was rejected a total of 140 times.

Harrison Ford was told by a vice president of Columbia pictures that he wouldn’t make it in the business. 15 years later while Ford was having lunch at a Columbia pictures’ commissary, he received a namecard from the same guy, with the words “I missed my bet” written on the reverse.

Elizabeth Arden dropped out of nursing school. Her first attempt to sell face cream was a flop too. But she held on, changed her name and founded a new beauty brand.

The Beatles were told by a recording company that they “don’t like their sound and guitar music is on the way out”.

Beethoven’s teachers thought he was hopeless on the violin and would never succeed in composing. But he went on to compose some of the best symphonies while being completely deaf.

Dustin Hoffman couldn’t get acting jobs in New York and ended up as a janitor and an attendant in a mental hospital.

Luciano Pavarotti couldn’t read music but still became one of the world’s greatest tenors.

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

George Lucas’ first film in 1971 was a flop.

Henry Ford was bankrupt 5 times before he founded the Ford Motor Company.

Mahatma Gandhi fled the courtroom due to stage fright in his first law case.

Jerry Seinfeld was booed off the stage due to stage fright at a comedy club. He went back the next night, completed his set to laughter and thunderous applause.

Babe Ruth had 1,330 strikeouts – ironically a major league record – almost double of his home runs of 714.

Hillary Clinton failed the Washington D.C. bar exam. Undeterred, she took the Arkansas bar exam in the same year and passed.

Wilma Rudolph was paralyzed in 1 leg due to polio and told by doctors she would never walk again. She later won 3 olympic gold medals in track and fields.

Ulysses S. Grant used to be a farmer, real estate agent, customs official and store clerk. His last 2 occupations? A general and 18th president of United States.

Sylvester Stallone was expelled from 14 schools in 11 years. His university professors discouraged him from an acting career and his screenplay for “Rocky” was also rejected by all but one company who would only buy it on condition he would not act in it.

Martin Luther King was once ostracized by his family for not pursuing a merchant career.

Pierce Brosnan dropped out from school at 16, ran away from home to work as a fire eater in a circus.

Barbra Streisand’s first broadway performance was opened and closed on the same night.

Billy Joel, disillusioned by the failure of his first album, spent 6 months playing bar piano in a lounge under a different name.

Cynidi Lauper was told by doctors in 1977 she couldn’t sing again because of her badly damaged vocals. In 1984, she won a Grammy.

That’s all from me! Any famous failures you’ll like to add? Please share in the comments below or on my twitter & google plus page!

“Oh, wasn’t you aware? She went back to the corporate world.” G blurted out just as I popped a piece of salmon sushi into my mouth. I nearly choked.

“Huh? You mean she’s no longer working on her business?” I muffled. “What’s she doing now?”

“She went back to being a secretary.” G explained, taking a sip off her cup of green tea. “You know, it can be really nerve wrecking just surviving on the business’ income. It’s too unstable.” G nibbled on a piece of meguro sashimi and continued, “So after several months working solely on the store, she took on another part-time job. Sales related. But that industry was too competitive and newcomers like her had no edge. She called it quits and finally went back to her old line. But she’s still manning the webstore on the side though.”

I put down my chopsticks.

G’s friend was one of few people within my social circle who inspired me in one way or another. Back at the time when everyone of us – myself included – were slogging on 9 to 5s, G’s friend left her job in a corporate firm to setup an online business. Though she had no prior knowledge in the line of products she was selling, you can tell from the way she went about learning the tools of the trade that she really wanted it to be a success. I secretly admired her guts to go against the tide and yearned that one day I would muster enough courage to do the same. Learning about her decision to quit had a surreal impact on me.

The feeling was as if you’d just lost a fellow comrade in a battle. A fight towards living a conscious life where one will never settle and give up easily no matter how arduous the going seems to be. Knowing that someone like her – one of the more strong willed & self aware persons I knew around me – also gave in to the realities of life, I was slightly disappointed.

“Never Never Never Give Up!” ~ Winston Churchill

I’ll be lying if I tell you I never give up on anything in my life. Most of us have been quitters at any one point of time. I did and I still grapple with such thoughts every now and then. In fact, it was the act of quitting on goals that didn’t worked out that led to where I am now. Every endeavour served its purpose in chronicling this path I’m treading on. And I don’t regret embarking on every single one of them!

So what does “never give up” really mean?

It’s an attitude. It’s a refusal to kowtow to one’s circumstances regardless of what happens. It’s an attitude of life when you’ll continue to believe in yourself and never succumb to the experiences that life throws at you. It’s not about staunchly holding onto something for the sake of your ego. Or for putting up a pretense.

It’s not about winning every time or not failing at all. No one can do that. But rather, taking heed from our failures, pick it up from we left off and move on. Either to continue in the same ambition with a different twist or plunge into an entirely different domain altogether.

You can fail. And you can lose for now. You can even quit on those goals that don’t serve you any more. But no matter what happens, don’t ever be defeated in spirit to even try and forge much stronger than before.

People Who’ve Never Given Up

So many wonderful men and women of the past have shown us how they’d never given up on their ambition. In my next article, I’ll be featuring some of these famous successful people who failed umpteen times only to emerge stronger, tougher fighters. And whenever you feel like throwing in the towel, read about them and ask yourself

“They never give up. Why should I?”

** Photo by Shandi Lee

Affectionately known to his readers by the moniker Mr Money Mustache (“MMM”), MMM currently lives in the United States and is married with a young son. He and his wife retired in their early 30s (around 2005) in order to become parents and they’ve been going strong since then.

What’s most amazing is, they didn’t exactly retire with a million dollars! Contrary to what most financial advisors’ tell you to! And yet, they’re able to have a comfortable, wholesome lifestyle and raise a healthy kid at that. They’ve also paid off their primary house’s mortgage a few years after quitting their jobs.

So how did he do it? How did this family man retire so early when most people are still struggling with their bills? Join me as I get him to spill the beans in this interview.

Hi MMM, it’s great to have you with us today! Before we go into the interview proper, can you tell us a bit more about yourself and how you came to early retirement?

My wife and I both grew up in the Great Lakes region of Ontario, Canada. I got a Computer Engineering degree and my wife (known on the blog as Mrs Money Mustache) ended up with a Management and Information Systems degree.

When I graduated and started working as a software engineer in Canada, I soon realized that the great advantages of higher salary, lower cost of living and nicer weather & scenery were available if I moved to the United States. So I moved to Colorado and fortunately, my future wife decided to join the fun as well.

We enjoyed our new jobs for a few years, but realized that life is too easy for professional workers in the US. With higher incomes and lower costs, the logical choice is to save most of what you earn, rather than adopting an incredibly high-consumption lifestyle to use it all up. So we started saving, and then realized if we saved enough, we’d be able to retire from real work before starting a family, giving us a chance to be home with our future kid(s) for all of their most important years. We felt this would be a worthwhile improvement over splitting our efforts between parenting and high-energy careers.

Yes, both of you are amazing savers! I noticed you’re able to accumulate a combined household stash of $720,000 in just 9 years when you retired! How did you figure out this amount was enough?

It’s actually pretty easy. All you need is a set of investments that produce enough cash flow to cover your annual expenses, plus a reasonable safety margin. We added up our spending for each year, and found it was about $24,000 plus our housing costs. So by paying off the mortgage, and then getting investments that pay $24,000 per year, we were basically done.

The easiest way to accomplish this is by investing in a mix of dividend-paying stocks and bonds that yield a return of, say, 4% per year. To generate $24,000 per year at 4%, you need at least $600,000 in investments. Inflation protection is built in, since you are living only off the dividends and never touching the principal – both dividend payments and principal on average will rise with inflation.

So that’s all you’re doing for investments? Putting your stash in stocks & bonds and living off the dividends?

We don’t actually live off dividends these days.

I happen to enjoy buying, building, and renting out houses as a landlord. Owning a house and renting it out usually pays considerably higher than a 4% return, so you need less money to retire this way. If you own two $200,000 houses or apartments mortgage-free, and rent them each out for $1600 per month, you might end up with $28,000 per year after paying all expenses on the properties. That works out to a 7% return on your $400k investment, in exchange for just a bit of your time managing the houses.

In the long run, I’ll probably get out of rental houses and more into dividends, but for now it is great fun. Rebalancing a portfolio is a great idea every year or so too, especially for people who are living more on market-based investments like stocks and bonds. I also think REITs as a form of investments are a great invention, as they are a way to become a lazy landlord.

I agree with your observation on REITS. I own a few local based ones myself and realize they’re convenient & much more affordable than properties. Apartments & houses can be really expensive here! Taking about that, MMM, do you advocate buying your own home or renting and does this has any impact on retiring early?

In low-cost areas like the one I live in now, buying is definitely a win. In high-cost areas like San Francisco or New York City, renting wins. If you own a house, paying off your mortgage is a good safe investment to get done by the time you retire. If you will be renting an apartment forever, you just need to set aside the extra money to generate your rent payment for life.

But putting the money into stock markets is risky, isn’t it? How do you manage your portfolio to cater to any global economic uncertainties?

I don’t react to it at all! I don’t care about the current price of my stocks or bonds or rental house, only about the cashflow from them. The only exception is that when prices are unusually low on any income-producing asset, I’d be tempted to buy more. So, I think of stock market crashes as “stocks going on SALE!”. Backing up all of this, I like to make sure I have a good safety margin in all areas for when life throws its inevitable curveballs.

You’re cool, MMM! It’s not easy to buy when everyone’s selling! But are you always so calm and collected? I mean, do you get frustrated at times because of the sacrifices you’ve to made? And how did other people like your family or even naysayers respond to your decision to retire early?

There were really no sacrifices or downsides. It is fantastic from our perspective! Because we chose to retire as early as possible, we locked ourselves into a lower level of spending than most people have, meaning I can’t buy expensive cars and have a housecleaner, pedicures and various other luxuries that have become normal in the US these days. But we like it this way. There is still plenty of money for necessities and even lots for travel and charitable giving.

Our families were always very supportive of our decision. They are happy that we can now visit them for much longer periods than we would have if we were still working full-time. I also didn’t have any naysayer for the first 5 years of retirement, but now as Mr Money Mustache, I have plenty. My usual strategy is to ignore them, but occasionally I also like to make fun of them on the blog, as the regular readers tend to egg me on and encourage MMM to show his bossy side.

Haha, I admit I do like those posts too as some of them are really funny! So is that what you’ve been doing every day now? Blogging?

Blogging is just part of it! In truth, every day is different, but I tend to spend lots of time with my family, either at home or within biking distance of our house. We have great friends in the neighborhood, and there are parks, creeks, mountains, and all facilities very close by. The biggest tradition right now is the Family Breakfast. We never let outside responsibilities get in the way of a full night’s sleep, a great breakfast together, and some playing in the living room. After this, the day branches off and the boy might go to school and the parents usually do some sort of work or exercise. Both my wife and I are still somehow pretty busy. But by insisting on never-rushed mornings, it makes waking up a pleasure each day.

A lot of people must be very envious of your lifestyle! And I’m just curious, is there any aspect where early retirement has actually changed your perspective or outlook of life?

It has allowed me to branch out and study many more fields and meet many more people than I would have if I had kept the single full-time job. By trying different things every year, and reading more books, I get to learn much more about how the world works. This blogging hobby is a good example – it opened my eyes to a whole new world of people and ideas I never would have come across.

And if you had to identify 3 important habits that has brought you this far – what would they be?

Loving hard work, hating debt, and learning to enjoy delayed gratification and figuring out things for myself, rather than making purchases immediately as desires pop into my mind. Oh, and marrying someone who was willing to adopt the same three basic ideas!

I’m looking for a partner like that too! Oh by the way, you mentioned your son is going to school now. On your part, how have you been educating your son to be as financially savvy as you do?

We want him to have a realistic idea about money and the things you can buy with it. So he already earns small quantities of allowance for achieving certain things at home, and he likes to save it up and use it to buy his own toys. This way he gets an idea of money being finite and having to wait and save if you want something. He is also aware that buying manufactured things comes with a cost to the Earth, so they should be considered carefully and not wasted – and passed on to other kids as he grows out of them.

As he gets older, I’ll just make sure he has a good healthy fear of consumer debt and a knowledge of saving and investing.

You’re a great dad! I’m sure he’ll be very grateful for the knowledge you imparted and will grow up to be a very financially responsible and environmentally friendly lad! Before we end off, do you have anything to say to those fresh college grads with ZERO assets, a hefty student loan but who wants to retire as early as you do?

Well, since I graduated with no student loan (by saving up through high school, living cheap and working in good jobs every summer), I might have a 1-3 year headstart over the hypothetical person in your example, unless he has a higher salary than I did.

But either way, the advice is the same. Work hard in your job. Negotiate and switch jobs when you get a chance to increase your salary. Live close to work to free yourself from the time and money-sucking waste of car commuting. Never borrow money for anything except a house. And keep a simple, pleasant and efficient lifestyle, regardless of how high your salary goes. Learn about very simple investing in Index Funds (perhaps through the book A Random Walk Down Wall Street), and real estate too if you are interested in that area. And last but not least, read Mr Money Mustache regularly for inspiration from like-minded people.

Ah… Now that Mr Money Mustache has spelled out everything on how to retire early, what’s next for you? Do it. Go ahead and make it a reality!

And I realize I’m not the only one inspired by these wonderful sayings. A friend of mine who was facing some career setbacks recently poured out his woes to me over MSN. I forwarded him a quote and viola, he was up and going again. Almost instantaneously!

Seriously, I find that really amazing. How can mere strings of words bring about a change – an almost immediate one in fact – to a person’s persective in such a short time?

I guess the workings of the human mind can be pretty complicated. Many a time, we all know what we should be doing but somehow, we just can’t brace ourselves to challenge the issue at hand. We need someone to give us a knock on the head and remind us to say, “Hey, you’re better than that!”

It was with this intention that I’ve decided to compile these 200 inspirational quotes. If you liked the list of 50 positive quotes I’ve shared previously, you’ll probably enjoy the added variety in this little ebook.

To download this ebook, all you’ve to do is to subscribe to Goal Setting College. And once you become a subscriber – either by RSS feed or email delivery – you’ll be able to see the “Get Your Free Subscriber Downloads Here!” links at the end of each article. Just click on it and you’ll be directed to the password protected bonus page. If you’re an existing subscriber, just click on this link at the end of this article.

Do remember you can unsubscribe at anytime. And your email address – if you opt for email delivery – will never be shared with anyone else.

IMPORTANT : The password is “gsc” (without the apostrophe’s)

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It was inevitable. At that time, I was just a lowly paid analyst. Given the conventional way financial advisors derive their calculations, it was technically impossible for me to achieve something like that within such a short time. In fact after that first meeting, he went back and did some analysis for me. And the final conclusion?

The earliest age I could “officially” retire was 55. And that was provided I had at least $1.5 million worth of cash & investments – with a 1% withdrawal rate – by then. That stash of money would help pay off a pseudo $500,000 mortgage and generate $1,200 a month for my post retirement expenses. $1,200 isn’t a lot but for a 55 year old retiree who spent her most productive years slogging on a 9to5, with grown up kids, a paid up mortgage and few hobbies, that would help.

But to accumulate $1.5 million, I would have to stay dutifully employed for at least 3 more decades for the compounding to work.

Yes, 30 years!

I don’t deny it. I was disappointed when he said that. Though I liked what I was doing in the corporate world then, I found it depressing that I would have to wait so long before I could have the time of the world to do what I truly valued.

And that is what being “financial independent” means to me. It isn’t about having loads of money in the bank while I get around in a posh car or live in a large mansion. It isn’t even about traveling around the world on a lavish fashion. But rather, a modest down-to-earth approach towards living life. When I can have the freedom of time & resources for things, people and activities that really matters to me. While my daily needs and wants are being taken care of. And certainly, I’m not expecting to do all this only in my 50s. I want to do it in my best years.

My Ongoing Journey Towards Financial Independence

It was with this goal in mind – an awakening I got after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad – that I started actively researching on ways to “get out of the rat race”. As I explored and experimented with different ideas, I made several lifestyle choices along the way. And one of the most significant decision was taking the plunge to become a full time online entrepreneur.

Looking back, it has almost been 3 years since I’ve decided to quit my job. While I’m not exactly living in a lap of luxury, my online endeavours and dividends from stock investments is supporting my lifestyle now. Which is relatively simple and low cost since I’m single, debt free, living with my parents and pretty frugal to begin with. The fact that I’m now working from home helps a lot too. Daily commuting & apparel expenses can really add up, you know

I’m fortunate too that my income is kind of residual in nature. I don’t trade time for money and much of my effort these days is spent on monitoring my investments (5%), my websites (5%), family (50%) and volunteering for a cause I strongly believe in (40%). I love it that I’m no longer accountable to anyone for my time. And that – in my opinion – is where I think the “real” freedom is.

But having freedom for freedom’s sake is meaningless unless you’ve got the resources to support what you want to do. And of course your day to day needs. For example, what’s the point of having 8 hours of free time a day when you can’t even afford a proper meal? Or leisure activities that you’ve always wanted to pick up? Such as salsa lessons?

I admit this is one area I got real lucky. I’ve always been a very thrifty person and my lifestyle is kind of minimalistic in nature. Most of my hobbies are either inexpensive or entirely free. I’m that kind of person who’ll rather wait months for a new release at the public library than buying it immediately from the bookstore. And even when I travel, I usually do that on a shoestring. I know, I know. Thriftiness stems from scarcity but I admit this is one “virtue” that put me in a good stead. I don’t have to live miserably just to be financially independent. Scrimping and saving seems to be in my blood. Ha ha.

But much as I’ll like to think I’ve achieved financial freedom, I know I’m still a distance away. After all, there are way too many possibilities which may disrupt this equilibrium. What if I decide to move out? The rent or mortgage payments will add on my monthly expenses, isn’t it? What if a nice guy comes along and I decide to get married and have 2 kids?

Even though my emergency fund can tackle any unexpected one-time expenses, these possible recurring lifestyle related costs can have longer term repercussions. Being the ever prudent girl, the challenge for me right now is to really diversify and beef up my income sources so that I’m “ready” for such changes as they unfold. But one thing’s for sure though. I don’t think I’ll be waiting till 50 to make that happen.

No, don’t get me wrong. I’m not implying that retiring at a later age is inappropriate. Nor am I encouraging you to quit your job and do the same thing like I did. My decision was purely personal. And while it may not be the most foolproof plan around, I know it’s something I call my own. So far the journey has been very fulfilling! What about you? Any goal to achieve financial independence this year?

What You Can Consider In Your Own Financial Independant Plan

While everyone’s circumstance is different, there are things to consider and perhaps even adopt, if they’re relevant to you. Some of these may require a major paradigm shift, but the actual execution can be picked up over time.

(1) Set Up An Emergency Fund

“Cliche!” you might say. But this really works. In case you’re unaware, an emergency fund is an amount you can readily access to tide over unexpected events in your life. This should be separated from your spending account and used for only covering emergencies. You know, things like getting laid off, paying for an unplanned hospital bill etc.

I can’t stress enough the importance of an emergency fund. Before I first decided to quit my job back then, I had at least 10 months worth of daily expenses all stashed away. It gave me a lot of reassurance as I worked on launching my websites and also, learning more about stock investments on the side. I had to dip into it a couple of times over the initial months but since then, the shortfall has been replenished. So, how much should this amount be?

Well, it depends. Popular personal finance expert Dave Ramsey recommends that if you’re debt ridden, keep a buffer of about $1,000 and use the rest for the debts. Once they’re cleared, build up your emergency fund to about 3-6 months worth of required expenses. I think that’s a good way to get started. But for me, 10 months is still a figure I’m more comfortable with so I’ll probably stick to it.

(2) Keep Yourself Covered Medically

Since the demise of my sister, my attitude towards insurance – particularly health insurance – changed drastically. I witness for myself how chronic illnesses can literally cripple a family’s finances overnight. I also learned how one can easily mitigate that risk with a relatively low cost health insurance plan. Believe me, if you’re living in a country which doesn’t have some sort of universal health care, this can be a life saver.

Consult a few insurance agents if you must to obtain several quotations for your comparison. You can even get insurance quotes online. A general rule of thumb? Get a plan that suit your needs and not necessary something that is cheaper. For example, I switched into a comprehensive private health plan when I knew I was no longer covered under my ex-company’s employee insurance scheme. It cost twice as much as the most common option. But at least I know I can sleep better at night.

(3) Reduce Your Debts

Do you know how debts can delay your journey towards financial independence? It basically eats into the amount of disposable income you have for investing in cash flow generating assets such as stocks, real estate or in my case, a portfolio of stock investments and web properties. These assets are responsible for creating the residual income required to fund your lifestyle. And since debt payments and interest usually represent a significant portion of one’s monthly expenses, by tackling it head on, you’re applying the 80-20 pareto rule.

A rather effective method for debt reduction is Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball approach. While traditional methods of debt elimination recommends tackling the highest interest rate debts first, the debt snowball suggests you attack the lowest balance debts first. In this way, you gradually build up a psychological victory of eliminating debts in a quick consecutive manner.

I can see why this method works so well. It encourages the human mind by letting in a few quick wins and by the time one gets into the bigger balances, the whole debt elimination process would have been reinforced. Sure, that doesn’t mean it’s easier. But it somehow becomes so much more habitual.

(4) Lower Your Cost Of Living Without Feeling Miserable

In Your Money Or Your Life, financial independence is defined as “having an income sufficient for your basic needs and comforts from sources other than paid employment”. By simply lowering your essential costs of living, you stand a better chance of reaching financial independence earlier. Think about it. Which is easier? Earning a residual income to cover a monthly expense of $2,000 or $5,000? And trust me, you’ll be surprised how little you actually need.

For example, my expenses was cut by 30% after I quit my job. I don’t need to commute to an office anymore since I’m working from home. I can’t remember the last time I bought a new set of “office wear”. You know, those formal power suits? And I’m eating out less too thanks to my mum who cooks at home.

But do you know where the bulk of my savings was? Entertainment. Previously, I would chill out over drinks with my colleagues after work. I still do nowadays with my friends. But it’s so much less frequent. I guess when you’re bogged down with deadlines and tight schedules, you’ll need more booze to soothe the nerves. Ha!

So how do you get started on this? First, write down all your monthly expenses on a piece of paper. Run through each one of them and as you do so, ask yourself these questions

• Can this be cut back?
• If yes, will doing so make your life miserable?
• If not, how should you go about it? And how should you track it?

Remember, every dollar saved is a step closer to being financial independent!

(5) Increase Your Residual Income Sources

While being frugal and cutting back on your expenditure helps, it’s just one side of the equation. Some say it’s just a small part of it. You must have sources that will generate income for funding your needs and wants. And it’s pretty crucial that this income is “residual” in nature. Here’s why.

Residual income refers to recurring revenue you receive long after the initial work is done. It’s very much different from earned income in that you aren’t getting paid for your time, like you would in a job. And when your residual income exceeds your monthly expenses, you’re literally freed to do whatever you want! Because you don’t need a job to pay for your expenses anymore! Examples of such income include :

• Rental from real estate
• Dividends payouts from your stock portfolio
• Advertising revenue, affiliate commissions, product sales from your websites
• Recurring commissions from network marketing or insurance related products
• Royalties from copyrighted works such as the books you authored, music you composed, inventions you created etc.

Now, I’ll be lying to you if I said such income doesn’t require any effort. In fact, the initial work can be very laborious. During a dinner yesterday for example, a friend revealed how she was renting out her property for a net positive cash flow of $600 a month. Not too bad considering she’s still holding a full time job. But do you know how long she took to earn that income? Almost a year sourcing for a suitable property, renovating, furnishing it and getting all the paperwork done!

Come on, all that work for just $600 a month? Doesn’t sound like a good deal, isn’t it? But if you consider how much work she’s putting to maintain it, it’s probably not that bad after all. Yes, there IS effort required to maintain such revenue streams but depending on the type of investment you’re looking at, it can be pretty low.

In my friend’s case, the house’s in a pretty good condition so there were few tenant complaints about it. She also engaged someone to help her with the management so it was pretty much hassle free. Lucky girl.

Or is it? From my own experience, it definitely takes more than just luck to being financial independent.

** Photo by Only Sequel

A year has come and gone. Did the Vision Board work for me like what it has done to John Assaraf in the Secret? We’ll see.

1. Health & Fitness

   After completing the 5km race, things pretty much went into stagnant mode as I became more complacent. I was enjoying some leftover energy from the training and going for a regular jog merely for benefits of a healthier body became weak motivation. Even though logic told me it wasn’t true at all. At that time, I needed another concrete reason for me to keep running. And you know what I did?

   I signed up for a 10km women’s race! I remembered signing off with a tease in my previous update that I’ll probably participate in a 10km run next year. And it actualized! Much earlier than I thought.

   Soon, I was training for the race. I stretched myself to running longer distances progressively and covered 4km, 5km, 6km to eventually surmounting the 8km psychological hurdle. Never in my life had I ever run that far! And that much! If you were to ask me a year ago if I would go for a 10km, I would definitely say “you must be crazy”!

   But that same athletically challenged girl not only overcome her self imposed limitations to complete the 10km race in July this year, she’s now actively training for her next 10km and harbouring a dream to run a half-marathon one day. Could I have done it without the Vision Board? Certainly. But I admit the daily reminders helped.

   Definitely.

2. Living Environment

   While developments in my health & fitness took a strong boost, there wasn’t much “luck” in the living environment sector. I’m still staying in my humble abode. The previous option of bunking in with my other sister also came to a standstill as she faced difficulties balloting for her ideal government housing apartment.

   There were some slight disappointment and frustration initially. Even though I knew right from the start that this isn’t going to materialize in the short run – not in the next 5 years at least – there was still this cherished hope for a “miracle”. Recently however, my thoughts about moving out kind of took a change. I became undecided.

   A few months ago, one of my sisters passed away after a year’s battle with cancer. When I saw how devastated my elderly parents were beside her deathbed, I was heart wrenched. Thoughts such as “who will take care of them when I’m not staying with them” would occasionally flood my mind when I was reviewing the Vision Board. I knew it overrode the intentions I was sending out. Which kind of explained why I was encountering more limitations in this sector than the others.

   Perhaps this is an indication that I should review my goals.

3. Social Activeness

   While I was writing this article, I just received an email from a friend saying she “missed me” and wanted a meetup. Trust me, it can be really heartwarming to know that someone somewhere actually appreciates your company enough to go that extra mile. My stance still stands. When you start detaching any expectations in the things you do for others, it’ll definitely come back to you in ways you never imagined.

   Remember the Google Calendar project I started a year ago? On my own birthday this year, I received more well wishes than I ever did in the past! An overseas friend even sent me a cheque “drawable for unlimited amounts of happiness and joy”. Her creative gift took me by surprise! I cannot imagine who would have the capacity to send me cash! Little did I know that it was something more precious than that! Thank you, my friend.

   A lot of people have also given me great support during my sister’s passing. In fact, some were long lost friends whom I’ve not contacted for quite some time. That gave me an opportunity to reconnect with them and rekindle the relationship.

   As for the romance side of things, nope, no capricorn guy turned up on my doorstep! But there was still a continued abundance of opportunities to meet up new people. And yes, I did exchange numbers with a few eligible guys. But nothing really exciting turned out. At least not as of this writing.

4. Career Development

   Careerwise, I’ve evolved towards a totally different direction. The mastermind groups that I used to be in introduced me to various online business models and opportunities. I researched on these ideas, experimented with a few and went full fledged on one. Though those took time away from Goal Setting College, they were great platforms for me to learn and grow beyond the world of blogging.

   Regardless of the moves I’ve taken in my career, Goal Setting College still remains a very sentimental part of my business. After all, it’s the place that got me started. It’ll still remain as an outlet for my creative expression. But most importantly, it’ll continue to be a place I share my personal learning experiences on.

   “So, what has all these got to do with your Vision Boarding?” Though it may sound far fetched, the way all these opportunities have been “attracted” to me were nothing short of mystical. There were instances when after reviewing my vision board, I would come across an article that talks about something in the new line of business I was interested in. I would also receive joint venture offers or requests in the email. Recently, I’ve even received requests from a relative to do up his business website after he had seen what I’ve done here.

   Coincidences? Maybe. But I choose to believe otherwise. What about you?

5. Financial Wealth

   I didn’t have time for my “pseudo” value stocks portfolio and ended up working on 2 other investments instead. First, on my partially passive portfolio and second, on my new line of business. I took advantage of the current economic downturn to stock up on my index funds and reviewed the performance of my other mutual funds. The fundamentals of the economies are still going strong so even with the reds I’m experiencing now, things will definitely pick up in my opinion.

   As for my other business, I got a profit in less than 2 months. Considering it was something really new to me, I don’t think it was that bad at all!

It has been intriguing experience running the Vision Board experiment on Goal Setting College over the past year. I quit my job, covered long distance races, met new people, rekindled friendships, family ties and came across new business opportunities. Although I agree that not all turned out to be what I thought they should be, such “meanders” & “failures” became springboards for new learnings and realizations as my circumstances changed. I’m glad that I’ve tried it after all!

With the celebration of this one year anniversary, I’ll also be drawing a close on this experiment. Like the Self Hypnosis, Vision boards & visualization is just another way to get your goals to stick in your mind. At the end of the day, you still have to get your hands dirty, do the work and make the change. But that’s one thing I really like about Vision boarding more than anything else.

It can be really fun!

Update : For your convenience, here are all the links to the Vision Board Experiment logs :

• Want to Join Me in a Vision Board Experiment?
• Preparing for my Vision Board…
• How I Created My Vision Board – Revealed!
• 5 Steps to Getting More Out of Your Vision Board Experience
• Vision Board Experiment: Interesting Spate of Events
• Vision Board Experiment: How’s Your Vision Boarding Coming Along?
• Vision Board Experiment: One Year Later…

** Photo by Tanakawho

The fact is, technically, other than Aarron & perhaps M De Jong, most of the participants didn’t “complete” their SMART goal per say. Carmina let go of 5.5 pounds but was still 3.5 pounds short of her target. Lisa did come up with a writing process but wasn’t writing at the intended speed of 800 words a day. Mark Barr talked to 20 people about his network marketing opportunity but was still 1 person short of his goal. As for Imagi? She managed to know more people, learned a lot about herself and acted on the need for continous improvement. But that ideal, perfect partner didn’t turn up in her life during the period. Well, not yet.

So, does that imply that self hypnosis don’t work?

Let’s catch up on the very overdue summary of each of the participant’s final week’s progress before I answer this question right at the end.

1. Aarron

   A weigh in on day 16 itself made Aarron (who was on the “Weight Loss Motivation” self hypnosis program) realized he had already met his goal of letting go 5 to 7 pounds! Over the last week, one can truly attest that eating well & exercising regularly soon became second nature to Aarron. For example, a trip to the baseball match saw him giving up the hotdogs & beers combo for half a portion of a light meal at a Chinese food eatery.

   He also researched on new routines that he could do – without popping to the gym – just to spice up his daily workout. Towards the end of the week, he even adapted yard work in a Rocky Balboa styled cardio/aerobic routine! I definitely could sense the changes in Aarron. And based on the photos he posted in the private platform, I must admit it. It’s very motivational!

   He was totally aware of it as well and was so happy with his results that he was already planning for another goal he would like to work concurrently with self hypnosis! Way to go, Aarron!

2. Carmina

   In her last update on her “Weight Loss Motivation” self hypnosis program, Carmina reported a loss of 5.5 pounds. Though that was 3.5 pounds short of her target for the experiment, she generally felt that hypnosis was effective albeit pretty slow.

   She would continue to listen to the tape a month or two after the experiment as she started to see good changes in her habits over the last week. Aarron left a very encouraging comment for her on the private platform and I absolutely agree with him. Depending on one’s actual body weight, 5.5 pounds was considered great weight reduction. I would just like to remind her on Mark Tyrrell’s advice too. Different people respond to hypnotic trance differently and so, that could be the reason why she thought it wasn’t working as fast.

   More importantly however, I believe it has somewhat kickstarted a growing impetus to complete her goal, which would definitely snowball into great momentum if she keep at it consistently. Persist right till the end, Carmina!

3. Lisa

   Despite the occasional loss of motivation in the 2nd week, Lisa moved along smoothly in the final sprint, deeply thankful for the support from the rest of the participants & the “Write That Book” self hypnosis session she received.

   All in all, she had clocked in an additional 9,342 words since the beginning of the project and learned a great deal about writing a novel which included the important proper outline and character development processes.

   She reckoned. Had it not been for Mark Tyrrell’s outstanding self hypnosis session motivating her to “flow” constantly, she might have omitted the need to further her research and make necessary changes. Now that she had the structure in mind, she would be able to continue making her words flow onto the page with ease, something Mark had been constantly encouraging in his tape.

   Ahh, the determination fire has been ignited! Can she keep it burning? I’m sure she will.

4. M De Jong

   Some unfortunate personal & work circumstances drew De Jong’s attention away from the experiment which she was prescribed the “Find Your Passion” hypnosis program. But as she was deeply entrenched in her career & religious responsibilities during the week, she felt a sense of peace and confidence about her future.

   It occurred to her at that time that the things she desired to do didn’t actually need a direct change of workplace. Her current work was giving her opportunities to use her skills and develop herself. Her buddhist activities were also platforms for her to work with and for people. There wasn’t much practical change needed, but more a change in intensity. Which was happening right then.

   She hasn’t been listening to the tape for a few days since, as she noticed that she didn’t want to hear the stories about the other people anymore. To her, the confidence boost in the tape and other encouraging segments were already helping her. She was feeling happy and could also feel the creativity bubbling within her, asking for her attention.

   In my point of view, I’m glad she had came to terms with herself on her career expectations. Many a time, we’re often given the impression that the pasture is often greener on the other side but it’s only upon reflection that we’re only aware that things we’ve been searching has always been around or with us.

   Thanks De Jong, for the great reminder!

5. Mark Barr

   Mark’s doubts about self hypnosis seemed go on a roll coaster ride towards the end of the experiment.

   In his last few updates, despite continuing to talk to more people, he wasn’t sure if he felt any more motivated by his “Reach Your Goals” self hypnosis sessions. In one occasion, he was even distracted in listening to his session and suspected that was due to his graduation & daughter leaving on a trip.

   But that took a turn for the better as he went through 2 to 3 focused sessions on Day 16 & 17. With that, he completed the draft for the story he would be incorporating into his product preso and took up suggestions to give product samples to genuine prospects. He managed to talk to 20 people (including the experiment participants) about his product!

   Though he agreed that the results was not too bad, he was still skeptical if the self hypnosis session really helped. Frankly, I could understand his skepticsm. After all, we’re using a hybrid of goal setting/motivational techniques on the private platform which could also have a part to play in his result. But I believe those approaches we’ve been using together with self hypnosis are really complementary in getting the goals to stick. After all, self hypnosis is also one tool that does just that, isn’t it?

6. Imagi

   It has always been an eye opening experience reading Imagi’s updates on her experience with the “Be More Attractive To Men” self hypnosis session.

   And if there was one word that would describe her thoughts at the end of this experiment : it was “GLAD”. She was GLAD to have taken part as it was an important tool towards realizing her chosen goal and the eventual success depends on how effectively she utilize that tool.

   Throughout this period, she had managed to meet some new people and overcame her natural introversion to know new people. Such encounters had not been entirely fruitless, though they weren’t the kind she was looking for. She believed that success was not time bound – especially something as important as a lifelong relationship.

   More importantly, she had gained a deeper understanding of herself as an individual, learning her own unique abilities, flaws in the process and working on accepting and making the most out of them. Imagi, you know all of us are with you. I’m sure you’ll meet that ideal guy soon!

Reading the final week’s updates have somewhat illuminated the fact that even though the majority of them didn’t meet their SMART goals, most reckoned that the self hypnosis had some way or in another helped them get started. In some cases, such as Lisa & Imagi, the self hypnosis session was instrumental in gearing them to view their process/self in a uniquely different perspective. Something they might not have thought of right in the beginning.

Aarron said it best in one of his encouragement to another fellow participant “The actions and the lessons we experience along the way are often more important than the goals themselves. Like Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit, he learns much from his journey. The excitement, strengths and courage to go on in the face of fear, danger and the negative talk of the ego are all derived along the way. In-Joy (Enjoy) the journey and it is success.”

Yes, I’m sure all of them enjoyed the journey because I certainly did! It’s great getting to know a bunch of readers who have such great aspirations and are so eager to accomplish their goals! I also took the liberty to ask the participants their post experiment impression of self hypnosis and its effectiveness on their goals. Here’s what most of them think :

Aarron

“Clearly, hypnosis played an important role in achieving my goal. Could I have done it without – maybe. I think that it is not a pill you take and expect a solution to your problem. You must set yourself into action to achieve the goal you have in mind. Become congruent in your words and actions and the results will naturally follow.

I am very confident I can use hypnosis to aid in any of my future goals. It is important to give yourself as much help as possible when making a commitment to change. This is like having another tool in your tool box ready to use on the job.”

Carmina

“I think self hypnosis and this experiment has definitely helped me to commit to my goal and take it seriously. It had been a great experience. Self hypnosis worked for me and that’s why recently, I’ve also bought other tapes because I think it’s a good way to enrich your goals easily. The experiment made me really committed in listening to the tape every single day for 21 days. Otherwise, I don’t think I would’ve listened to the tape every day. It gave me an extra boost of motivation which I felt was really good support for keeping up with my goal.”

Lisa

“Yes, I do believe the hypnosis has helped me. The tapes were almost like a “guided” visualization and it assisted in steering me in the right direction. The SMART goal also helped in creating numerical goals I was able to “shoot” for. My experience with the 21 day hypnosis experiment will only assist me with other endeavors. When I am serious about a goal I know where I can purchase a hypnosis tape for anything I strive to do! Following the crucial SMART goal process (reminder) proved goals are best achieved using a plan. Our minds like numbers and climbing up the rank or down. With my goals in the future I will always create a specific measurable and time bound plan.”

Mark Barr

“It may have played some role in my progress, but in conjunction with goal setting and being in a group of like-minded people. I may continue to use my tape in conjunction with vision boards, affirmations and EFT. However, I feel nothing works as having a will written achievable goal and a realistic plan to reach it.”

Imagi

“Oh yes, it has. One of the main reasons I took up this hypnosis project was because I wanted to work on myself and see if there were any psychological blocks that were subconsciously, preventing me from attracting Mr.Right. To that extent, this hypnosis has helped me in becoming a better version of myself. I’m not talking of extreme makeovers here. But rather channeling my natural confidence into the area of relationships.

Through the hypnosis, I actually learned to accept that I could just be myself and more importantly, to make subtle changes and improvements in myself that make it so much more easier to relate to others. So I can go out there and impress people and still be my own self. If there is one thing I have taken away from this project, it is the CONFIDENCE in myself and an ability to look at myself OBJECTIVELY. This becomes very important when I am looking at other goals in my life so that I can easily pinpoint areas of improvement without any hang-ups.

And, oh, by the way, I am planning to meet somebody next week. So, in a way, the hypnosis tape still has some work to do!! Frankly, I really enjoyed the experiment. I came here with an open mind on this and treated this as a tool rather than a panacea for my challenges. But I also had some unexpected side effects, such as being fitter & slimmer, as I became more conscious of my diet and Yoga workouts, better time management & organizational skills.

Most importantly, I’ve learned to just chill! Life is great when you feel great! Other things will just follow of their own accord!”

Hmm… I’m inclined to say self hypnosis is indeed an effective tool to help one’s goals given the results and feedback from the majority of the participants. And if you’ll like to give self hypnosis a test run for yourself, here’s a list of self hypnosis programs available from Hypnosis Downloads. But like what I’ve reiterated, it should never never replace action. And I know it never will.

What do you think?

Update 6/8/08 : For your convenience, here are the complete links to the Self Hypnosis Group Experiment logs. And if you’re interested in give self hypnosis a test run, here’s the list of self hypnosis programs. Have fun!

• Can Self Hypnosis Really Help In Achieving Your Goals?
• How to Select the Right Self Hypnosis Scripts & Prescription
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : 1st Week’s Progress
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : 2nd Week’s Progress
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : Final Week Results

** Photo By Eliazer

1. Aarron

   Aarron’s disappointment last week – when he found out he weighed in an extra 5 pounds – turned into joy. A check on his own home scale revealed that he had lost 4 pounds instead! Perhaps it was all that clothes and personal belongings which made him seemingly heavier at the doctor’s.

   It was always so interesting reading Aarron’s updates. Not only was it detailed, it was full of his own little trials & tribulations. After getting back on track from his short disappointment, Aarron decided to test if the self hypnosis has been permanently ingrained into his subconscious by not listening to the “Weight Loss Motivation” mp3 for a day.

   Guess what? He actually fell prey to a fast food commercial and ate some fried chicken after 10pm! He even declared that day a break from dieting and went on to down 2 beers and some snacks. Hmm… looks like there’s indeed some co-relation between listening to the “Weight Loss Motivation” mp3 versus the action, isn’t it? Yet on the 14th day of the experiment, he missed another session unintentionally, without losing control of his diet.

   That got me wondering, has the self hypnosis really settled onto his subconscious? Or was it a coincidence? I really loved it when Aarron ended the 2nd week’s progress with a mention of his friend’s “Where is your butt?” comment on his new physique. I agree with his perspective that someone was indeed noticing changes in him. It’s often easier to see a change in the upper torso than the lower. So, when that person mentioned that, boy, that’s indeed fantastic news!

2. Carmina

   Though she commented that her body was relatively slow when it came to weight loss – and didn’t experience any further decreases after her first 2 pounds since listening to the “Weight Loss Motivation” mp3 – Carmina noticed a gradual improvement in her junk food binging habit. After all, lately it seemed much easier for her to refrain from eating in between meals even when she was hungry. Especially in the morning.

   She had also been going to the gym just for Pilates and continued to believe that going for more classes would help her to lose more weight. Oh well, Carmina you may not have lost any more weight this time but you’ve still got another week to play catch up, don’t you?

3. Lisa

   As the 1st week’s excitement fizzled out, Lisa found herself slipping on her goals. She didn’t listen to the “Write That Book” session for 2 days and noticed that there were 3 days she didn’t write at all. Picking up the self hypnosis session once again gave her a great motivational boost. In fact, she was so impressed with the instant motivation that she was considering getting other tapes to help her with cleaning out her cupboards and reorganize her stuff! Sure, Lisa. Here’s the entire Hypnosis Downloads list of mp3.

   As she started to get back on track in the later part of the week, a recent spate of news led her to further research into her writing. She continued to write, but not as much as she did in the first week. Nonetheless, she was grateful that “at least” she kept on with the writing. And when she did so, she found herself increasingly concerned about the knowledge of the plot and characters that she vested more research onto that.

   Keep it going, Lisa. You know we’re behind you!

4. M De Jong

   Frustrations continued to plague M De Jong since listening to the “Find Your Passion” self hypnosis mp3. Many times she felt held back and restrained by the very thoughts and visualizations which brought her excitement and happiness moments before. As a form of escape, she began to seek refuge by playing computer games & watching television. And even justified to herself why she needed to do that.

   In my opinion, that was probably her subconscious’ way of telling herself, she was on the wrong track. But what would she feel that way? Weren’t she supposed to feel clearer about what she wanted out of her career after the self hypnosis session? Why did she become even more confused? I knew I had to clarify that with Mark Tyrrell.

   And I did.

5. Mark Barr

   Due to work and personal commitments, Mark Barr wasn’t able to update as much. But it was good to know he was still progressing fine with the “Reach Your Goals” mp3. He had opportunities to speak to some more business prospects about his network marketing product and brought the total tally to 6.

   He also came up with a good business idea of including his story – of how he got involved with the network marketing company – as part of his preso materials! In fact, he promised to post it in the private platform for reviews when he had finished. Good! Mark, do let us know what else we can help!

6. Imagi

   Imagi found her social and professional circle expanding and ease in opening up to people who might help her connect to that particular ‘someone’. Something she probably didn’t thought she would do before listening to “Be More Attractive To Men” self hypnosis tape.

   However, what was really troubling her was her anxiety for results. A high achiever and doer, she found it particularly frustrating to not see results in this goal as fast as she did in other areas/goals in her life. She understood such frustration and anger would not do her good and was working hard to replace that with more peaceful thoughts. Thoughts of strength.

   It was only during this while that she became more aware of herself and her behaviour. Especially when mingling with people. She felt the challenge to impress people but on second thoughts decided to just be herself.

   Yes, Imagi. Just be yourself. I liked it best when Aarron advised in one comment “… Being congruent is absolutely critical to your success. You can dress up the outside as pretty as you want, but if the inside doesn’t match, it will easily be communicated through the morphegenic field to those you encounter.”

   It’s true. I’m a believer in change too. But change for yourself. Not for someone else. The former is a conscious decision that’s likely to be more lasting and genuine. Which will have more far reaching impacts than the latter.

Likewise in the 1st week’s progress update, I’ve invited the participants & Mark Tyrrell to join me in this interview. Unfortunately, one of the participants M De Jong is unable to join us today due to her work commitments.

Hello guys & gals, how are you? This week’s updates were kind of mixed.

Two of you maintained your progress, despite suffering some slight setbacks. Some continued to do well or moderately well and one of you who’s not here today is stuck. Now, in your own words, how would you describe your progress?

Aarron : Oh well, there was definitely progress, but there were also a few bumps in the road. Perhaps the ego was hard at work or perhaps just long hours and a plate full of responsibilities to take care of, but one day I totally fell off the program – yes, the day I didn’t listened to the mp3 – and went back to the old way of doing it. Fortunately, it didn’t last long. I corrected course and continued to make progress toward my goal. I may have needed a reminder of how it felt the old way and in that received the impetus to propel myself forward with renewed vigor and motivation.

Carmina : Well Ellesse, as you’ve noticed, I’m actually moving very slowly. In the 2nd week, my total weight loss still stood at only 2 pounds. But I was kept motivated by listening to the tape every night.

Lisa : My initial excitement wore out during the 2nd week and I slipped in reaching my daily goals. There were three days I did not write at all. This was an outstanding learning experience for me as far as goal setting and hypnosis were concerned. I learned “when” I needed to buckle down and use more force with myself in order to stay on track.

Mark Barr : During the 2nd week, I started to see more significant progress towards meeting my goals.

Imagi : Almost midway through the project, even when I’ve been regularly listening to the tapes, taking relevant action, I was seeing no result. It was frustrating, to say the least. That began the process of self understanding and acceptance. I began to delve into my basic nature, into me as an individual and how others might perceive me. That led me to focus on refining myself and my reactions – not that there was a lot to do. Now it was not so much about finding that “someone”, but was more about finding my own ideal self.

Cheer up, people! The issues you were facing were pretty inherent in goal setting. You start out motivated and excited but as that die down, what used to something so fascinating and interesting to you become routine.

In other words, it became “work”. Especially if you don’t see any immediate gratification. It’s during this time that most people give up. But don’t! Continue to take small steps toward your goal and remind yourself of why you’re working that goal and keep the faith that you’ll succeed.

Alright?

All : Yeah, we will!

Way to go, guys! Aarron, on the day that you fell off the program, you actually didn’t listen to the hypnosis mp3 right?

Aarron : I think at that time I was feeling the effortless ease with which I was able to resist eating the old way and thought I’d test the programming to see how well it had embedded at a cellular level. I’m actually combining this work with a symbol technology developed by Dawn Clark, which opens the chakras instantly and allows for rapid cellular embedment of any program or learning. I had often used this technique in other 21 day applications with outstanding results.

I also recall having had a very long day and getting less than an adequate night’s rest the night before and that probably added to the falling back into the old pattern of comfort from eating. It also could have been the resistance of the ego/brain a lot like those who quite smoking or drinkiing. I was in a typical environment that triggered an old response and I was just too tired to care or resist at that time.

But despite that, on the 14th day – when you didn’t have time for your self hypnosis session in the morning – you were able to control your diet without any conscious effort, right?

Aarron : Yes. I believe after the incident on the 12th day I had found the resolve to not treat myself badly anymore. The 12th was very motivational and instructive as to finding my feelings and trusting that they would be my best guide in the actions I needed to take. I began using my feeling as the map to reach the destination.

Hmm… your vastly different responses on those 2 occasion led to me another question.

Mark, as in Mark Tyrrell, can you give us an insight as to what causes this difference in Aarron’s reactions and any recommendations when one can effectively wane off from listening the tape?

Mark Tyrrell : Well for anything to become established it either needs to be extremely powerful or extremely…repeated. For example, someone could have a very powerful scary one off experience at that powerful one off time could be enough to establish the ‘habit’ of fear around say cars (if it was a car crash) or someone could just have the experience of feeling a little nervous time after time to eventually establish a fear of cars.

So, people don’t always have very powerful one off responses to the hypnosis sessions – although of course many do – but it’s the repetition that can establish a new habitual pattern. I’m guessing that Aarron’s new pattern needed to a little time to stick. Habits can be hard to break and fortunately that applied to good habits too. Once the ‘good habit’ is established we can start weaning from the tape just listening again if ever the need is felt.

Ok, that makes sense! Now that we’re at it, Mark, can you also shed some light on M De Jong’s situation? She seemed to be going through an internal turmoil in her 2nd week and got trapped into an escapist mode. What do you think could be the reason behind her emotional confusion and behaviour? And what’s your advice to her?

Mark Tyrrell : Well it’s interesting sometimes as if parts of a person almost rebel against new positive patterns. We certainly see this sometimes when working with smokers or other people with addictive behavior. Like what Aarron mentioned earlier in his own situation, it’s as if the old negative pattern senses that it may be under threat and puts up some resistance.

I’ll suggest that De Jong keep on keeping on just to see this as turbulence on a flight – it may feel dramatic but you’re actually still on course for your destination.

But how do you know if it’s turbulence and not an imminent plane crash?

Mark Tyrrell : Well progress is rarely completely smooth. Once we make progression, go back a little to review and then progress a little further. The general pattern is one of improvement. Airplanes don’t just go forward they go up and down but they get you to where you need to go. The So-called black and white thinking can cause people problems because it can lead to perfectionism (‘this has got to be completely perfect or it’s a disaster, I can’t love this person if they exhibit any imperfections etc.) or catastrophism (‘Things are going to go completely wrong’)

One of the first signals that someone is, for instance, coming out of depression, is that their thinking starts to become less absolutist. Rather than feeling their whole life is, for example, ‘a failure’ they start to see that bits are more successful than others. That is, they see the gray. To do this the mind needs to be calmer and they need to be able to challenge their own all or nothing thinking-at least on occasion.

Of course we never know completely for sure that the turbulence on a plane doesn’t signify imminent crashing but planes are meant to experience turbulence; to go up and down to some extent. But if we are using too much ‘black or white’, ‘all or nothing’ thinking then turbulence inevitably signifies something absolute (like a crash) for us rather than….the normal turbulence which it is.

Part of the value of hypnotic relaxation is that it can quiet the mind so that objectivity and multiple view points have a chance to operate and the type of thinking based on fight or flight, all or nothing recedes to the extent that our judgments can become ‘shaded.’ I hope this is useful.

Thank you Mark for the excellent advice! I guess it’s a matter of perspective to always stay postive and see all changes towards the improvement of our lives. Trust in your instinct that all things will definitely work well and it WILL! Ah, it’s back to our thoughts again, isn’t it.

Thanks Mark once again. It’s really great to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, with an expert in the house! Now back to the rest of you. What are the things that work – and didn’t work – when you set out to implement the plans you’ve mentioned last week?

Aarron : Most worked just fine for me. I would have listened to the Mp3 daily as an added measure rather than experimenting to see if the programming was strong enough to skip a day or two. Having a balanced meal plan that was easy to implement was critical to my success as well.

Carmina : For me what was more difficult was stop snacking between meals. Second week I still couldn’t totally avoid it despite working out and eating healthy meals. But I did see some improvements in that.

Lisa : I’m assuming this question is in reference to the smart goals specifically. Listening to the tape before bed time worked well for me through out the process. My smart goal did not have any breathing room for the structuring problem I ran into, as I had not included any “research” or “planning” time. I thought my 800 words a day worked well for me also.

Mark Barr : As I became a bit more accustomed to the tape, I started to relax more and become more focused. Writing in private platform and being in supportive communication with other members was also helpful.

Imagi : Though things were not moving at the speed and in the exact direction I desired, I persisted. Diligence and faith became my watch words. I worked on my Vision Board. And persisted with relevant follow up action.

You guys rock! Despite the mixed responses this week, I’m very glad that you’ve taking all these positively.

But what I’ve also noticed is, those of you who were more actively engaged with their goals (either through updating their progress on the private platform or continuously brainstorming on new ideas/ways to get a step closer to their goals) achieved more growth in their goals than others.

Mark, from self hypnosis’ point of view, what’s the significance of that?

Mark Tyrrell : Well, Ellesse. Basically, hypnosis is primarily a way of enhancing focus. Being more focused on your goals mean you already have a hypnotic advantage. We can all learn from highly focused people (as long as they are focused on productive and healthy things).
The participants who were continuously writing their progress in the private platform were in a way regularly reminding themselves what it is they want to achieve.

They’re developing real vision. Strongly imagining you’ve already achieved what you are aiming for then writing down in detail all the steps that got you there, then strongly imagining carrying out each step is actually a fine quasi hypnotic technique.

I think people should always strive to regularly remind themselves of their goals.

But in your last progress update, Mark, you mentioned letting the hypnosis “settle” as listening to the sessions alone should be effective in itself or when used with other non hypnotic approaches.

I take it to mean that even if the participants were to do nothing except listening to the tape, there should be some improvements or changes in their goals. Right?

Mark Tyrrell : Yes, this is the idea and certainly hypnotic intervention can have very powerful results. This is not to say that other approaches can’t be used in conjunction with the hypno approach but just that we don’t need to analyze’ too closely the contents of the hypnotic experience or consciously ‘try’ too much.

Oh I see. Thanks for the clarification. In your point of view, what are some of the best non-hypnotic approaches people can use to derive the most out of their self hypnosis experience?

Mark Tyrrell : As far as non-hypnotic approaches are concerned, doing one new thing each day that is broadly or even loosely connected to you goal is a great way to expand horizons. Telling yourself “Today I am going to do at least one small thing I wouldn’t have normally done’ is a good behavioral adjunct to hypnotic approaches. Although of course the hypnosis itself will also be promoting this behavior.

Visualization & writing out your progress, like what you’ve encouraged the participants to do in the private platform are something very helpful too.

Ok. In the case of Mark Barr, who was constantly unsure if his actions were as a result of his self hypnosis. What do you think he could do to enhance his experience?

Mark Tyrrell : Well of course we can’t always be certain what exactly has produced good results but I suggest really upping the experience (whether whilst relaxing to the tapes or at any other available time) of visualizing yourself speaking to people and congruently enthusing.

Self fulfilling prophesies are so powerful and a very effective way to producing them is to keep strongly imagining the pattern you want to activate in reality. Talking a lot about doing something without actually doing it just strengthens the pattern for…talking about it. But strongly imagining actually doing it creates the right ‘blue print’ or template.

Awesome! I hope the rest of you’ve learned as much as I did in today’s interview! Back to our usual check, what do all of you intend to do to move yourself closer to your goal in the last week?

Aarron : Yes! I’ve the motivation now to achieve my goal and ahead of schedule. For me, I’ll just doing what I’ve been doing.

Carmina : I intend to keep concentrating with my goal… keep going to the gym as much as I can… keep avoiding snacks between meals. I’m so motivated because after 21 days listening the tape seems that work really well for me.

Lisa : The notion of having only 1 week left for this experiment is already a great “end of the project” motivator. I’m excited to write every day and include additional research.

Mark Barr : I plan to focus more toward the finish line and what my daily actions are doing to get me there.

Imagi : I always knew that I was an ambivert and preferred a reserved attitude while among acquaintances. Now, I decided not to fight this natural trait but to just be my comfortable self. I had for a long time wished to join a public speaking course. During this week, I decided to finally go ahead with this. Like I mentioned earlier, it was about getting as close to my ideal self as possible, while keeping the ultimate goal in mind. I tried to not be overwhelmed by my ultimate goal nor did I lose sight of it.

Great guys! Let’s make full use of the last week of the experiment to make a full effort dash towards the finishing line. Before I sign off, Mark, any encouragement you’ll like to give the participants?

Mark Tyrrell : Yes! Always remember that we’re all capable of way more that what we currently know. Even if you consider yourself an extremely positive goal orientated person. Although you may sometimes think you’re alone with your goal, you’re not….We’re a mutually supporting team-working together

You bet! I’m with all of you too. Let’s run!

Update 6/8/08 : For your convenience, here are the complete links to the Self Hypnosis Group Experiment logs. And if you’re interested in give self hypnosis a test run, here’s the list of self hypnosis programs. Have fun!

• Can Self Hypnosis Really Help In Achieving Your Goals?
• How to Select the Right Self Hypnosis Scripts & Prescription
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : 1st Week’s Progress
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : 2nd Week’s Progress
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : Final Week Results

** Photo By Ishrona

Let’s take a peek at what the participants went through, shall we?

1. Aarron Light

   Aarron wanted to let go of 5-7 pounds and regularly participate in a fitness routine of 30 minutes (aerobic work out) at least 3 times a week. In his case, he was prescribed with the self hypnosis session “Weight Loss Motivation“. So, how did he fare?

   Clearly, Aarron’s disciplined character and previous experience with self hypnosis literally put him on a great start. When he first listened to the mp3, he got very relaxed during the instruction and found his mind drifting away from it from time to time. What made it really interesting was, after his first session, on the several occasions when he did think about having a candy or sweet, he actually had no desire to eat it. Which he would normally have no second thoughts about popping one into his mouth. In fact, he didn’t even crave for food in between meals. Something rather unusual for his standards.

   He also found his sweet tooth slowly disappearing. Which in my opinion was kind of quick. But as what Mark Tyrrell mentioned in the last interview, some people respond faster to hypnotic trance and I believe Aarron was one of them. On the third day after a walk for example, he threw away an ice cream cone after just 2 licks! Something that never happen to him before.

   From his first 6 days’ update, one would’ve expected him to lose some weight. Surprisingly during a visit to the doctor, he realized he had gained an extra 5 pounds instead! One of the other participant, M De Jong raised a very good point about it being a muscle growth. That was very good advice!

   No matter what, I knew Aarron wouldn’t give up. And as we progressed into the 2nd week, I knew I was right.

2. Carmina

   Carmina reported similar results with her snacking. Like Aarron, she was also given the self hypnosis prescription “Weight Loss Motivation“. Her plan to lose 9 pounds during the 21 days seemed to go on well as she was able to keep off snacking in between meals in the first week. Especially on cutting down the cookies and junk food she enjoyed so much before.

   And you know what? She lost 2 pounds in the first week! Not too bad, huh? From what I observed, she was beginning to adopt healthy habits that would definitely last her for a lifetime if she continue with what she was doing. Keep it up, Carmina!

3. Lisa Powers

   Despite only 1 week into the self hypnosis program “Write That Book”, Lisa was already doing quite well. In case you’ve forgotten, Lisa is our aspiring author. She wanted to kick off a personal writing process to help her complete a book.

   By the 3rd day, she was calling herself a “writing fool”. Why? Because she found herself more dedicated and relaxed towards her writing and thought it was more personal and ideal than what she went through in her last smoking cessation tape. She was so encouraged by the first session that she even roped in a girl friend to be her goal buddy with whom she would be comparing progress with in the coming days! Good for her!

   By the end of the week, she mentioned that she was enjoying the constant writing as well as the new process relating to her writing project. My, has she already achieved her goal in the first week? We’ll see.

4. M De Jong

   De Jong kicked off well in the first 2 days. She was pleasantly inspired by the stories mentioned in the self hypnosis session “Find Your Passion“. Particularly this quote that was mentioned “… do as your manhood (womanhood in her case, or humanity) bids you to do, and expect applause from none but yourself.” Interestingly, she found it progressively easier to manage her feelings and did well to shift her attention from negativity, doubts, etc to positive feelings, determination and trust. Good for her!

   However towards the 3rd day, she began to face some slight frustration. In her point of view, the tape was very inspirational in keeping one on their goals but turned out to be quite frustrating for someone like her, whose goal was in finding her goal/passion. But while relating her last update, she actually found revelation in unloading her thoughts and sounding out her ideas through the writing.

   I believe the frustration was probably her subconscious’ signal on the confusion of thoughts and hence writing it out WILL and SHOULD help. After all, the answers were all within her. It was just a matter of tapping into them. Easier said than done, but I know she could do it!

5. Mark Barr

   When Mark first started on the session “Reach Your Goals“, he had a difficult time winding down, clearing down to focus on the session – something Aarron aptly called “The Monkey Mind”. Mark believed that was probably due to the stress in his day job. But as he continue to listen to the tape, he found the mind chatter milder and noticed a better quality of sleep from the experience.

   By Day 5, Mark began to experience some urgency and anxiety in working his goal of sharing with 21 people about his network marketing product and opportunity. He wasn’t sure if that was due to the self hypnosis or the synergistic momentum of being part of the experiment. In my opinion, it seriously didn’t matter! I knew he had embarked on this experiment to verify if self hypnosis work but at the end of the day, what mattered more to me was his goal achievement!

   And I certainly think he did work his goal the way he intended. On Day 7, he mentioned that he shared with a few people about his network marketing product!

6. Imagi

   Due to her busy schedule, Imagi hadn’t been updating much. Yes, Imagi was the beautiful lady who wanted to attract a life partner through the experiment and was prescribed “Be More Attractive To Men“. Her 1st week progress was very motivational. Through the self hypnosis, she mentioned that she had learned to appreciate the attractive elements within herself and had also taken steps to connect with a different side of her. The anger. The frustration.

   She had also created a Vision Board, met a few new people in her life both of which I was absolutely happy for her. Regardless of whether those might lead to anything at all, the fact that she had began to see those changes was already a great step in her own self discovery, wasn’t it?

   I couldn’t wait to hear how those new encounters would work out for her

Now if you’re ready, let’s hear from the horses’ mouths as I interview all 6 participants about their 1st week’s progress and their plans to improve their self hypnosis experience. I’ve also invited Mark Tyrrell in the panel.

Hello Team! Nice having all of you here with me today! I’ve been reviewing all your updates and boy, you guys and gals are doing great!

Now, from what I understand, other than Aarron, Lisa & Mark Barr, the rest of you don’t have much experience with self hypnosis. So for the first timers, how was your first day listening to the tape? Let’s start with Imagi.

Imagi : Hello to you too, Ellesse! I apologize for not updating regularly on my progress. Well, that didn’t mean I did not have any experiences to share, it’s just that I had no time to put it up on the private platform! Haha. My experience with this project so far has been good.

The first day I went through the session, I followed the tape very closely and took in every single word being said. That gave me a clear idea as to what was being mentioned and also helped me plan how I could utilize these suggestions in the coming 20 days. I also found the voice of the hypnotist very smooth and comforting and could visualize easily. That I felt was an important component of my success.

Carmina : I pretty much had the same good feelings. On the first day, I was so excited and motivated about the experiment. In fact, I had such a good feeling listen to the tape for the first time that it made me literally “addicted”.

M De Jong : Most of all it was relaxing. I liked the hypnotist’s voice very much too. I’ve not much experience with hypnosis, and it was interesting to feel only at the end of the tape – when the hypnotist called me ‘into the room’ again – that I’ve been in another place. I liked the inspirational stories that were told on the tape.

Looks like all of you had a good time. Oh by the way, Imagi & Monique, that voice you heard in the tape was none other than our very own Mark Tyrrell! Ha ha.

Imagi, I remembered you also asked whether there’s any side effects to self hypnosis. Mark, what’s your take on that?

Mark Tyrrell : Thanks Imagi, that’s a good question.

Well firstly, all medications have side effects because they introduce outside and/or artificial elements into the body or brain. Because hypnosis is entirely natural, no chemicals are used so therefore no toxicity is possible. The side benefits tend to be numerous though.

For example, someone using self hypnosis to improve their sleep may find themselves enjoying better sex or being more confident at work. The increased relaxation from the sessions and positive suggestions can work on many different levels. And also there is a beneficial knock on effect from better sleep itself.

I’m often asked whether people can become addicted to self hypnosis. Certainly it can be hugely enjoyable but most people don’t have the time or inclination to do it more than say, 30 minutes a day maximum. It’s not a replacement for living. It’s an enhancement.

Thanks Mark for your assurance! I’m sure the participants are well ready to continue their sessions. Now, back to all of you, how do you feel about your progress over the past week?

Aarron : Frankly, I was kind of surprised to have already felt a change in my cravings right from the very first day. That really became the catalyst to go “all the way”. My progress was for the most part steadily forward almost everyday. I was also pleased to realize how natural it felt (not to battle with myself over an ice cream or cookie) and the ease – for the most part – that I was able to stay on target with the goal I had set.

Carmina : I was conscious about do not eat in between meals, but I couldn’t stop eating some cookies yet. Now that I’m in my second week, I’m starting to feel motivated even though I didn’t really lose much weight.

Lisa : At the beginning of the project I was less aware of the actual structure of a good “story”. But fortunately as I progress with the writing, I’m learning and therefore growing as a writer. Now that I’m going into my second week, I find that I’m writing more words, although it was technically not at my 800 words a minute goal due to stagnation brought forth by research and rethinking of the plot.

M De Jong : Actually, it was a bit frustrating. I encountered my old fear of never being able to really know which direction to take. I found myself falling back in old habits that distracted me from my goal. At the same time I felt deep in my spirit a faith and certainty that everything will be alright.

Mark Barr : Frankly, I didn’t notice much of a difference.

Imagi : As for me, I started listening to the tape twice everyday. The first two days I simply listened to the tape and tried to internalize the suggestions. It seemed to have worked, because at the end of the first week, I got to interact more with people I had never met before. And made some good friends too!

What else did you do to ensure you’re closely aligned to your goal?

Aarron : I check my written goal at least once a day. I also found motivating quotes and made sure to buy decent healthy food that was easy to prepare. Daily, I kept up with my updates on the private platform you’ve setup for us and checked in with other participants, offering motivation and encouragement whenever possible.

Combined with the urge to see results in my physical appearance as well as feel better mentally about myself and the new body I’m achieving, I was able to really stay on goal and target.

Carmina : I topped it up with exercise although I agreed it could be more regular. But well, it’s not always that I get the time to go to the gym. I was also careful with my diet, trying to eat more healthy and less fad foods.

Lisa : I had a section in my planner marked. However, I’ll be re-creating a much more formal plan for keeping track in the future. And yes, that means even after the experiment ends.

M De Jong : My daily chanting ritual is a way of keeping aligned with my goal. Furthermore, I’ve been very alert and in touch with my feelings. I made a deliberate effort to stop my thoughts when they tended towards negativity and to be in the moment. I noticed that that made it easier to be conscious of my real feelings and the surprising thing was, much of the resistance to situations I experienced, subsided. Also during the course of this experiment I’ve taken up journal writing again, which proves a helpful tool to stay on track.

Mark Barr : I guess I really didn’t think about doing any activity other than reviewing my SMART goal and updating my progress in the private platform.

Imagi : I followed up the hypnosis with action geared towards meeting my goal and ensured that almost everyday, I did something to take me closer to my goal. It did get me to interact with some people.

Awesome! It’s good to see that you guys are not just relying on the self hypnosis alone. After all, self hypnosis is just a tool like Visualization and should never be used to replace action!

Personally, I’m in favour of each of you reflecting on a daily basis, this question “What Can I Do Today To Take A Step Closer To My Goals?” and take a step further by answering this question in your updates and incorporate that into your daily action plan. What do you think?

Aarron : That’s a great idea. Fuel the fire!

Thank you, Aarron! Besides all of your goals, did you experience any noticeable benefits from the self hypnosis session?

Aarron : I normally like to work into the early morning hours. Sometimes it is a challenge to get to sleep after. I found the mp3 to be a wonderful relaxation tool and often would fall asleep within minutes. Thanks to Mark’s wonderfully hypnotic voice.

Carmina : Actually, I usually listen to the tape before going off to sleep. It’s really complementary because the session relaxes me a lot. Usually after listening to it, I’m ready to doze off. Which otherwise, would take me few minutes.

Lisa : Yes I certainly did! I believe that at any point of time when one is on track with their goals, they’re going to feel a better sense of well being.

M De Jong : My overall well being has improved. However, it is difficult to say if this is thanks to the hypnosis or other factors. The fact is, I’ve been more conscious and that makes me more present which in turn makes me happier. Oh yeah, I’ve also lost weight, just by being a bit more careful with what I eat and by changing my mindset to ‘slim’ instead of ‘I am a bit overweight’. I found that changes come about by simply making a decision, believing it and then let it go.

Mark Barr : I did seem to have better sleep.

Imagi : Well, physically, there was no difference. But at the mental level, I subconsciously started getting more aware of myself as an individual and was able to compare my current self with my ideal self. I also tried to improve myself (or rather soften the rough edges) so that I was more in sync with my ideal self image. This was basically an effort to be a “better me” rather than be like somebody else or for somebody else.

Alright, so what do you intend to do to move yourself closer to your goal in the next week?

Aarron : I love the saying “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” In this case, I’m already very happy with my results and the methodology I’m using to add improvements and achieve the goal I have set for the first 21 days. So, I’ll continue doing more of the same.

Carmina : I’m gonna try to be able to go to the gym two hours a day, keep eating healthy and keep listening the tape. All this should move me closer to my goal.

Lisa : I plan to create a new section in my life binder (includes life goals, brainstorming and marketing ideas for my botox reviews web site) for concrete goals for my book.

M De Jong : I’ll keep on listening to the tape. Besides that, I’ll strengthen my conviction that I already know what my goal is. I’ll also keep track of my feelings with all the activities that I do, so that I can use them as a guide for what really excites and motivates me. In a way recording my life in a journal.

Mark Barr : I’ll continue to listen to the mp3 and try to relax and focus more.

Imagi : Me too. I’ll continue to share my experience so far and review how I intend to take it further. I consider this first week a success because at some level it has taken me closer to my chosen goal.

Ahh… I’m very comforted to know that all of you’ve putting so much efforts in this experiment. Wishing you all the best for the coming 2 weeks!

So, Mark. I mean Mark Tyrrell. Do you have any take home advice how these 6 participants can complement their self hypnosis session for next 2 weeks?

Mark Tyrrell : Sure Ellesse! For self hypnosis to work effectively we can just let it ‘settle.’ We know things are changing hypnotically when something ceases feeling too much of an effort and starts to feel more right and natural.

For example, forcing oneself to exercise is all well and good but starting to feel that we want to activate our bodies is even better. So the short answer is, listening to the sessions regularly should be an effective approach in and of itself in conjunction with other non-hypnotic goal orientated approaches that I noticed the team’s already making.

Gee, that’s excellent advice! Thanks Mark. And a great thank you to all the 6 participants!

Update 6/8/08 : For your convenience, here are the complete links to the Self Hypnosis Group Experiment logs. And if you’re interested in give self hypnosis a test run, here’s the list of self hypnosis programs. Have fun!

• Can Self Hypnosis Really Help In Achieving Your Goals?
• How to Select the Right Self Hypnosis Scripts & Prescription
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : 1st Week’s Progress
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : 2nd Week’s Progress
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : Final Week Results

** Photo By Kevindooley

Conducting the 21 Day Self Hypnosis Group Experiment, however made me realize that getting the right prescription is as important as clarifying your goal. If your goal’s vague, it’s likely you’ll have difficulty deciding a suitable prescription. And I believe that’s also the same reason why people has reported mixed success with self hypnosis.

To shed some light on choosing the right self hypnosis prescription, I’ve invited Mark Tyrrell, Creative Director of Hypnosis Downloads (who is also a professional hynotherapist cum hypnosis trainer) to share with me his insights in this exclusive interview and how he went about choosing the tapes for the 6 participants in our experiment.

Mark, first of all, thank you and your company Hypnosis Downloads for supporting this 21 Day Self Hypnosis Experiment.

I remembered when I first worked with Mark Heald on the experiment, he mentioned that it would be more effective if the participants specified their goal and your team assisted in prescribing the downloads.

I know you guys are professionals and since you understand each self hypnosis tape offering in your store more than anyone else, it’s naturally more effective that you’ll be able to match the right prescription with their intended goals.

Now, for someone who doesn’t have the luxury of having you guys to pick a prescription for him, how would you advise him to make his own selection?

First and foremost, like what you’ve said in the introduction, I think it’s really important to be clear about what you want to achieve out of the hypnosis experience.

For instance, in the case of a weight loss situation, someone who’s having issues binging on junk food, will definitely have a different set of requirements as compared to another who’s having issues motivating himself to exercise. Though on the surface both of them want to lose weight, the suggestions we run through the self hypnosis session are actually different. The clearer you’re on this, the easier it is to choose a download that really pinpoints to the crux of issue. Generally that increases the effectiveness of the session as well.

We need to match your goals with the self hypnosis program. The good thing about most online hypnosis downloads stores nowadays is that they’re all designed for self selection. That means even if you’re not a professional hypnotherapist, you can still customize your own self hypnosis prescription.

If you take a minute to refer to the product listing on Hypnosis Downloads, you’ll find that each comes with a detailed product description that elaborates on its usage and objective. There’s also my blog which discusses some of the ideas and purposes for the downloads. It’s important to look at these two references carefully if you’re getting a download from Hypnosis Downloads. Anything that’s so personal that it relates or appeals to your specific goal right away is likely suitable.

At the same time, it’s also worth reading if the testimonials from other people attached to each download (before they were helped by the session) matches your goals as that definitely tells whether a particular session may well be for you.

Great, that certainly doesn’t sound too difficult! Let’s go through the process of how you came up with the prescription for each participant, shall we? First, Aarron Light & Carmina. Both of them had similar weight loss goals. What have you got for them?

For both of them, I’ve prescribed “Weight Loss Motivation”. This hypnosis for weight loss has been prescribed because of the perennial human problem. Which has to do with not just getting motivated but staying motivated. It’s also known as ‘running out of steam’ or ‘motivation leakage’.

At first it’s great. You’re losing weight, feeling better, and this newness is great motivation in itself but after a while, you get used to being a bit slimmer, the excitement of weight loss slows down and so does the motivation. But long term success needs more than initial enthusiasm. It needs sustained intention.

The weight loss motivation session seeks to maintain the new healthy behaviors as something you do as part of who you are, like cleaning your teeth. It seeks to use more than just excitement (which is transitory) to maintain motivation.

We all know how it feels to be revved up by something and excited by it. This is a great initial stage to adopting a new healthy set of habits but for long term motivation the healthy behavior needs to become something you just do. This session really aims to look at long term sustainable adoption and maintenance of healthy weight loss patterns. Getting slimmer and what I call ‘finding your real shape’ doesn’t just pay health dividends but boosts self esteem and can help with motivation in other areas. That’s what we call a happy ‘ripple effect.’

Hmm… that brings me to another question. Based on your experience, what’s the results like for 2 different people using the same prescription?

Ah, good question. Well, of course people are different and therefore respond differently. Some people take more naturally and readily to hypnotic trance and others need more practice and repetition to learn how to use hypnosis.

For example the boy who used our wart treatment download to clear the fourteen or so warts covering his hands (and, painfully, under his cuticles) took two months before he was clear of them. See his story here.

Whereas Danna Gonzalez listened to the Healthy Eating session just three times before she started seeing major results. Her story can be found here.

Wow, thanks for the examples! I’m sure Aarron & Carmina’s results are going to be different even though they’re going through the same program. In your point of view, what could be the factors causing any major deviation in such cases?

Well one factor would be the amount of weight loss desired. For someone very large, the initial weight loss can be pretty huge. On the other hand, if the person is slimmer, then any initial weight loss can be less noticeable. Healthy levels of motivation and a willingness to listen regularly to the sessions also, of course, play a role.

Listening once a day to start with is an excellent way to start. And once results become evident then three times a week is a good maintenance schedule. It’s great if people start off with healthy levels of motivation but in any case, the job of each download is also to hopefully provide motivation too. So, that’s killing 2 birds with one stone!

Next, Lisa Powers. She has a desire to write a book. What’s most suitable for her?

For Lisa, I’ll recommend “Write That Book”.

Again, motivation for writing a book can feel removed from the actual process of writing. This can sound strange but we can get immediate emotional rewards from talking about the book we are going to write, fantasizing about having written it that once we come to sit down and actually write. We feel that the ‘juice’- which is the initial excitement – has already been spent, so why bother?

This is like wanting to go on a long walk and getting excited about the things you’ll see but feeling let down by the fact you have to take individual steps. This session works on developing unconscious motivation to keep on keeping on. A book can be seen like any other off spring something to be continuously nurtured not only when we feel excited by ‘parenting’ but as a way of life.

Actually writing a book can be like having a deep and passionate relationship! Having to get back to it, being faithful to it, feeling compelled to be with it, taking the rough times with the smooth. I hope that doesn’t sound too dramatic but to produce something creatively, we need to have a relationship with it and that has to be a strong one in order to give it your all.

Haha, I certainly can relate to that! I’ve always had that kind of dilemma whenever I really sit down to write articles for Goal Setting College.

It’s not just about writing. It’s about writing something that’s sincere, creative and resonates with someone who reads it. How about M De Jong? She wants to seek an average of 4.5 clarity in her career direction.

Hmm… for De Jong. It’s “Find Your Passion“. This session really focuses on what ‘lights your fire’ what you want to do in life and how to get there. We can all just keep on doing what we do because it’s what we’ve always done but this session seeks to get people out of ruts and follow their heart.

Before I discovered hypnosis and began working with it I always felt I’d kind of drifted a little and never been totally engaged in what I did professionally. But the spark of interest developed into a blaze of fascination especially when I found how powerfully life changing hypnotic strategies could be for other people and me. So that difference between just muddling along and feeling compelled to go forward is really what drives this particular session.

Awesome! Next on the List. Mark Barr. He wants to share his network marketing business opportunity & product with 21 people by the end of this experiment.

In Mark’s case, it’s definitely “Reach Your Goals“.

To reach goals we need to be motivated not just initially but right past the finishing line. This hypnotic session again looks at how motivation leeks away and how that ‘leakage’ happens and how to prevent it from locking in motivation leakage. Wow, this is starting to sound like an incontinence commercial! Ha ha.

The “Reach Your Goals” session works to fix a goal in mind in such a way that it becomes part of who you are at least until it is achieved. The session can be used throughout the period of goal fulfillment. Goals of course need to be broken down into manageable steps. This session enables the user to envisage these individual steps. We are much more likely to actually do something if we have strongly imagined doing it. Hypnosis takes this imagination much further.

Years ago before Roger Elliott and myself had even started Hypnosis Downloads or our hypnotherapy diploma training program we sat down and, in great detail, role played having already achieved what it was we were going for.

It may sound crazy but we relentlessly asked each other just how we had achieved what we were (imagining) we had achieved. We play acted such a detailed account of how we were going to get there to such an extent that by the end of the session we had a thorough road map but, just as importantly, we felt we had actually ‘lived’ our goals and now they are a part of us. Not just an idea. And the rest as they say is history.

I’ve another question. Mark’s prescription “sounds” pretty generic. I mean, someone aspiring to write a book like Lisa Powers could have easily selected “Reach Your Goals” instead of “Write That Book”?

Assuming that Lisa popped by your store and purchase “Reach Your Goals”, how would that impact her chances of achieving her own goal?

Well some of the sessions do cross over and it can be experimental in the sense that some people just get on better with some sessions than others for all kinds of different reasons.

Eat Healthy may be as effective as the Weight loss session in helping a person slim. In the specific book writing example it’s true to say that “Reach Your Goals” may be as effective but as mentioned earlier in my reply to your first question, the more personal the better if your specific goal is actually being discussed the session as a whole is more likely to appeal to you.

We’ve these generic type sessions because, of course, we can’t address every single goal someone might have.

Yeah, sometimes there’s just no way you can cover everything, even though from the size of your products list, you’ve pretty much covered most if not all! I’m sure there’s definitely a session for everyone!

Now for our last participant Imagi, what have you got for her? She wants to find an ideal life partner.

It must be “Be More Attractive To Men“!

Finding a partner, the right partner, is and always has been a challenge fraught with difficulties. In days gone by, when social codes were more strictly adhered to, it was generally possible for most people to rely on living by these codes to help them find appropriate life-partners.

But in the modern world it’s every one (man or woman), for themselves. It can seem like a lottery. You have to find, attract, and hold the one you want by your own efforts.. But how? What, exactly, will appeal to a man? This session looks at firstly what men find attractive (certainly not just looks) and how to attract a suitable partner.

OK, in Imagi’s case, I’ve actually asked her to draft a profile of the person she intends to attract. Is there any way she can relate to that profile during her self hypnosis process to increase her chances of attracting someone like that?

Yes and it’s a very important thing to have a least an idea of the kind of partner you’d like to be with. So many people either continue to make repeating mistakes in their choices or have a sense that ‘anyone is someone’.

Imagi can think about the kind of man she would like in her life throughout the session. Or intermittently through it. Because of the way hypnosis works she can half listen to what is being send on the audio and also focus on the ‘profile’ of the man she would like. With hypnosis you can be thinking about one thing and other suggestions and ideas can still take affect. I hope this has been useful.

It definitely is! Many thanks to Mark, for his insightful answers!

Just a short update on the 21 Day Self Hypnosis Group Experiment. On 10 June 2008, the 6 participants have already started their self hypnosis experiment using the prescribed downloads and have been logging their progress in the private platform I’ve set up for them.

Update 6/8/08 : For your convenience, here are the complete links to the Self Hypnosis Group Experiment logs. And if you’re interested in give self hypnosis a test run, here’s the list of self hypnosis programs. Have fun!

• Can Self Hypnosis Really Help In Achieving Your Goals?
• How to Select the Right Self Hypnosis Scripts & Prescription
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : 1st Week’s Progress
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : 2nd Week’s Progress
• Self Hypnosis Experiment : Final Week Results

** Photo By Jurvetson