Today's Transcendence » Uncategorized

Welcome to Today’s Transcendence (Introduction and Overview)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:01:02 +0000

I’m on the verge of releasing my very first book, so in order to finish everything on time, I’m giving the daily blogging thing a break. This’ll help me to meet writing deadlines, restructure the site for 2012 and take time out to unplug, reflect and ultimately come back stronger.

(If you’ve been with me for awhile this is nothing new, really. I take a small vacation like this around the same time every year, so not to worry.)

But even though I’m on “blogging-leave”, that doesn’t mean I’m not “here.” Help yourself to a free consultation with me, and – especially if this is you’re first time here – enjoy the extended, best-of section featuring some of my most well-received work: 33 full articles, detailed reports, in-depth videos, audio podcasts and more…all to help you get focused, all at your convenience and ALL AT NO COST to you.

Again, I’m on temporary leave, but that’s just to finish the book. You’re always welcome to contact me for any questions, concerns or consultation needs, enjoy the work I’m best known for and sign-up for the email newsletter below to preview the book and stay updated on everything happening.

Peace,
+B

Get your hands on 2 full chapters from my upcoming book,
Doing The Knowledge: Ascending Into Action, FOR FREE:

How to Handle ‘Digital Distractions,’ PART TWO: The Top 3 Ways to NOT Waste Time When In Front of Your Laptop…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:01:22 +0000

“Digital distraction” is a big problem these days, partly because we live in a hyper-communicative world where cell phones, email and social networking has conditioned most of us to be OVER-accessible, and thus, constantly distracted and interrupted from what generates profit and builds long-term success.

We covered a strategy for that yesterday though…the other part of digital distraction (its more insidious side) is that the tools we now use to work are inherently PREDISPOSED to distraction and interruption as well…so even when no one’s around, the technology itself encourages (and facilitates) the *squandering* of time and attention, which just happen to be your two most valuable resources if you work with information, media and your mind.

So it’s a double-edged Moorish-scimitar: if other people are your problem (“external digital disruption”) read yesterday’s piece, but if you yourself are your problem (“internal digital disruption”), read on young Skywalker…

Technique #1: Use Organized, Targeted Bookmarks

As simple as it sounds, first create a bookmark system for yourself that’s completely ORGANIZED (not just a crazy-large folder of “cool” websites you haven’t looked at in years). Create one set of bookmarks in a folder called “work,” another in “school,” another in “bills” and so on.

Second – and most importantly – make sure the bookmarks link DIRECTLY to the act they’re associated with, because the main way we’re distracted online is by ads, headlines and other shiny objects on our way to a specific task.

Use bookmarks like a direct teleport-system to the places you need to go *precisely* (not general areas). This’ll save time, but also circumvent most of the distractions that would’ve came up along the way.

For example, in “How to Make Facebook Productive” I talked about bookmarking your facebook profile page, instead of the super-active homescreen with the Times-Square newsfeed effect. THIS WILL WORK WONDERS FOR YOU…just trust me and check out that post out for more details.

Technique #2: Turn the Internet OFF

I remember moving out of my old apartment, spending a day with my roommate to get all the utilities transferred to his name and coming back home that day to find the internet completely shut off, AFTER the company specifically told me they wouldn’t regardless of the transfer. (Note: “Cox” Communications IS NOT your friend in the digital age.)

Needless, to say, I was heated (I planned to put a new blog post up when I got back or something), but in a few minutes, I calmed down and woo-sah’d myself enough to realize the only thing left to do was write my book.

Take a second to think about this: most of your real work DOES NOT require the net, and was accomplished (in some form or fashion) for at least the last few centuries without it. So in a lot of cases, if you simply turn off your connection (or set up a circumstance where you can’t access it), you’ll find there’s nothing else to do but work.

Technique #3: Associate Devices w/ Specific Purposes

Next year, I plan to get one of those sleek tablets that keep coming out, because I don’t want to use my main work-computer for entertainment purposes anymore.

The idea here is to slowly condition yourself to associate specific taks with specific machines, because your unconscious mind will eventually learn to delineate between each one and automatically put you into a certain “zone” as soon as you pick the device up.

Try writing the next time you’re laying in bed (as opposed to sitting at a desk) and see how long you go without sleep. Try talking on the phone next time you’re standing in front of the fridge (as opposed a living-room type area) and see how long you go without stuffing your face.

It’s the same idea here, just the digital parallel to it: your subconscious mind orients your moods, psychological states and actions based on conditioning, so if you use a specific machine only for work, you’ll Pavlov-dog yourself towards more productivity over time, simply by picking it up or sitting in front of it.

If you’re not in a position to “cop gadgets” like that right now, try the going into different rooms (or places) thing just mentioned. You’ll find it having a good, effortless effect on you.

That’s all for now, so remember: we live in a techno-cratic age where constant digital distraction is THE NORM…most people simply aren’t familiar with what actual productivity looks and feels like anymore, so you need to consciously work against that social dynamic.

Prevent the external distractions (bothersome people) by simply trafficking correspondence to specific, predetermined times of day, and prevent internal distractions (you disrupting yourself) by circumventing the subtle dynamics that encourage it.

Use organized, targeted bookmarks to teleport yourself directly to the important tasks and, from time to time, outcast yourself from digital society so you’ll have NO CHOICE but to work. After that, start using your devices exclusively and you’ll end up associating them with their respective purposes and states of mind.

Hope this helps. Leave a brother a comment or something below: what’s your favorite of the three? Any technique of your own you’d like to add on???

Peace,
+B

How to Eliminate Digital Distractions, pt.1: Handling People’s CONSTANT Interruptions & Demands for Your Attention…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:01:12 +0000

The other day I put up a facebook status that read, “You train people how to behave when they’re around you, and you teach people what expectations to have OF you, regardless of whether you’re conscious to the process or not.”

And what I mean by that is most of the rules that govern our relationships are formed in unconscious and subtle ways…

So if we don’t take time to learn what these ways are and then consciously set up strategies for how to deal with them, we’ll constantly find ourselves in relationships that:

>> drain our energy and leave us feeling exhausted,

>> perpetuate a cycle of being used and manipulated,

>> INHIBIT our ability to set and achieve personal goals,

…and (as you already know from experience) A LOT more. For example:

If you start seeing someone romantically, they start leaving articles of clothing and other trinkets around your apartment, and *YOU* don’t challenge them on this, the subconscious rule being formed is “My place is here for you to (eventually) start using however you please.”

If you start working on a project for someone, they start asking pointless questions and inquiries by sending you emails and text messages all times of day, and *YOU* reply to them 5 seconds later each and every time, the subconscious rule being formed is, “You can bother me at any given time of day – as soon as you get the whim, really – and expect an immediate response.”

Basically, we establish “unspoken agreements” based on how we respond to relatively subtle interactions, and since this is happening ALL THE TIME, do your best to stay sharp and as “conscious to the process” as you can.

Here’s my strategy for dealing with second one…

Set Up “Response Periods”

One way I’ve address this (based on a time-management guru’s advice) is by having deliberate, pre-determined times for both project-related and business correspondence…I “train” people, from early on, by only communicating with them during “response periods” that work for me.

Instead of answering and return emails, phone calls and texts “as soon as you get a free second,” try responding proactively: only during a predefined time that you know will work for you, and be consistent.

Again, if you start to work for (or with) somebody and you respond to each of their bothersome concerns AS SOON as they send them to you, you’re creating a leash for overwhelming demands and interruptions. You’re conditioning them to believe that you’re available at all times of the day, any time of the day.

So instead, always respond to business correspondence like this during specific 1-hour or 2-hour periods that work for you, because it sets up an understanding and a boundary that people will respect.

If this feels manipulative or too unyielding , remember it’s something you’ll NEED to grow and accomplish more. As you begin to leverage higher amounts of demands and greater amounts of work, you’ll find there’s no end to how much people can ask of you (trust me). Listen to this:
Download audio file (e-mail.mp3)

So again, simply traffic your distractions: set aside specific windows to respond to all project and work-correspondence, and people will get the picture themselves…

Peace,
+B

Should You Really Be THAT Persistent??? Isn’t There a Limit To ‘Never Giving Up’???

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:00:49 +0000

Here’s an excerpt from an old Q&A session of mine (through email), discussing dedication, persistence and knowing how and when to use it, and it’s one of the best questions I’ve ever been asked actually…If you’re not already on the weekly email newsletter (to get free updates, tips and techniques, and more), use the yellow sign-up form on the right to join.

Should You Really Be THAT Persistent???

“…perhaps you could elaborate on that statement about never giving up. While there’s a lot to be said about tenacity of spirit and never giving up on your dreams, there’s a fine line there too…

Remember that saying ‘Don’t flog a dead horse?’ I think sometimes it’s necessary to ‘give up’ on something or someone as a continual investment of your valuable resources or you’ll end up draining yourself dry.

Take for example….a wall street investor continuing to pour good money into a losing stock until they’re wiped out, or the gambling addict who just HAS to put that next dollar into the slot machine. Or trying to influence a heroin addict to quit and going about all manner of effort to that end only to have the person continue using, or being deeply and passionately in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same way (‘unrequited love.’)

At some point you can’t continue trying to pound a square peg into a round hole.

Anyway….food for thought. Perhaps you’d like to expound upon this subject and provide some of your personal insight/experience/wisdom. I’d love to hear what you have to say on this subject.

Thanks Bryan.”

My Response

“Identify with your purpose, but be flexible in your approach…

Identify with the REASON you have a particular goal (usually for an emotional state or personal conviction) and focus on that when a particular plan isn’t working.

Napolean Hill (in his book Think & Grow Rich) has a concept called ‘Creative Persistence,’ and Robert Greene (in The 48 Laws of Power) ‘Assuming Formlessness,’ both of which apply.

Where the goal is to start a company, THE PURPOSE may be financial wellbeing, and so one should not be attached to an inefficient business model.

Where the goal is to have a relationship, THE PURPOSE may be to give and receive love, and so one should not be attached to an incompatible person.

I quit drumming when I was having some trouble with my music career because I zoomed out, looked at the forest and realized that my purpose was to express my individuality, not ‘to be a drummer’ per se.

Now, with the website, I’m creating more audio-visual content instead of writing all the time because I realized my purpose is to promote intelligence, self-growth and maturity, not ‘to be a writer’ per se (and multimedia is a more effective means toward that end, given this day and age).

Identify with your purpose, but be flexible in your approach. I’ll release another self-discipline video soon that’ll go further in-depth.

Peace,
+B”

How to Think Like a Scientist….& (More Importantly) How to ACT LIKE A SCIENTIST So You Get Scientific (i.e. Dependable) Results.

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:00:03 +0000

In an old talk-show radio program about self-discipline, I shared how since “everything is an equation,” one great way to raise your self-discipline (and start getting RESULTS) is to be more of a scientist who *experiments.*

What I mean by that is you can QUICKLY overcome your limitations and almost IMMEDIATELY discover the best methods, techniques and tools to accomplish your goals by having an experimentation-approach.

An Experimentation-Approach???

And what I mean by that is simple: DO EVERYTHING AS A TEST. Do things small initially to see the type of results you get FIRST and then – after you find what works – SCALE THAT UP.

Stop thinking that you need to start off with a great, big idea that’s going to have this major impact and requires a *huge* investment of time and energy up front. Instead, try experimenting with different things to see:

>> what you like,

>> what fits your personality,

>> what leverages your particular strengths,

>> what gets you the results you want and

>> what you can see yourself being dedicated to FOR A MINUTE.

Big goals – especially new ideas that you’re unsure of – create a sense of *pressure*, and that pressure is at the root of most procrastination.

Worse off, you don’t even know if it’s going to work, so you might end up investing a lot on the front end only to find out that it was a bad idea (or a complete waste of time to begin with) after the fact.

THIS IS WHERE A LOT OF OTHERWISE EXTREMELY PROMISING INDIVIDUALS MESS UP: THEY HAVE THIS GREAT IDEA ABOUT SOMETHING UNREALISTICALLY HUGE AND PROMISING BEFORE THEY EVEN START, BECAUSE IN THEIR HEAD IT SEEMS SO PERFECT…

As an Example…

A few years ago I wanted to start a writing group and when I told a poet friend of mine about it, his immediate response was “Yeah, you know I can get you set up at such-and-such a venue, and my man does promotion, so we can even get it popping on campus and start a poetry-movement!!!”

I just said, “Well, that sounds good but uh, let’s see how the first meeting goes and take it from there.”

And that’s the type of realistic, experimentation-thinking I’m talking about, because it’s much easier to be disciplined, focused, productive and effective when it comes to setting up *a single meeting* then it is to when it comes to starting a “poetry movement.”

What I’m really getting at here is that you can’t let yourself get carried away by the enthusiasm. A new idea might be promising or sound good, but unless you have raw data (real feedback from small samples) it’s still too fictional to take seriously…

But I Want to Do BIG Things…

Now you might be thinking, “Yeah, you’re right Bryan, but I don’t want to just do small things, I want to do BIG THINGS…I want to be somebody who leaves an impact.”

And THAT’S GREAT: you should want to leave an impact, but worry about that after you “strike gold.” The time for you to start thinking big is when you find an opportunity *that works* and builds momentum on its own…it’s something you’ll feel intuitively insteaassume preeminently.

(Just like a great relationship, it’s something you want to just happen and grow naturally, not conscientiously plan out. Simply put, scientists don’t jump to conclusions.)

Again, I’m not saying don’t be dedicated, but what I AM saying is that when it comes to specific projects and specific plans, start small and then scale up…always test your hypothesis before you commit.

Remember that you, I and everyone else you know that’s about progress *is constantly learning.* Our minds are always going to the next level, and that means that the vast majority of ideas we have AREN’T GOING TO WORK.

Just like most relationships don’t last and most businesses don’t last, most of your IDEAS won’t last either, so your best bet is to *experiment* (to try different things and play around with different things in a detached way) before you get too hyped or too involved with any particular program…ESPECIALLY when it comes to working with other people.

Hope this helps. Know you can contact me at anytime for more, and take care…

Peace,
+B

What’s ‘Today’s Transcendence’ All About Anyway??? It Sounds a Little Too ‘New-Agey’ For Me…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:00:24 +0000

Today’s transcendence is about power, but not “Higher” power, “Universal-Cosmos” power or any other vague, metaphysical notion of personal growth you’ve heard elsewhere. Today’s Transcendence is about PRACTICAL POWER…

This blog is meant to help (already) conscious individuals become more *action-oriented* individuals, because (in my humble opinion) too many self-aware, intelligent, articulate, talented, interesting, promising, insert-whatever-adjective meaning “potentially powerful” people aren’t accomplishing anything NEAR what they’re truly capable of, and since that was your’s truly for a good minute, I started this website to put that sad tendency to an end. (Read more about “conscious-laziness,” here)

So instead of adding to all the conspiracy theories and cosmic-alignment videos on youtube, I figured it better I create a place that channels all that “conscious learning energy” towards productivity and results (not merely “information”). I figured this way, I’d at least end up with something unique and more useful.

Specifically, “Today’s Transcendence” is a conscious path to:

>> end procrastination,

>> manage your time,

>> stay organized,

>> attain self-discipline, and

…find unstoppable motivation (which is also the title of my upcoming book). So if any of that sounds “up your alley,” you’re in good online-blogger hands.

There’s Also…

There’s also the occasional rant here and there, (okay, more then just occasional), but that’s besides the point…I simply thought it more constructive to create a RESOURCE rather than just waste internet gigabytes with my opinion, and time management, staying organized, getting focused, etc. are all things that I’m naturally good at enough to effectively teach.

So no, Today’s Transcendence isn’t new-agey at all: interestingly enough, it’s meant to guide people AWAY from that type of thinking and more towards practicality, focus and a good work ethic in today’s digital wilderness…

Honestly, when I first started, the blog WAS a little woo-woo (aren’t we all a little “out there” at some point in our lives?), but I’ve matured somewhat since that time.

Again, on this blog, you’ll find advice on how to get your mind right, how to stay focused, how to eat better, how to manage your time, and ultimately, how to conquer yourself. Use the navigation bar above to get an idea of what I mean.

Every day when I get out the bed, I aim to be a bit more wiser, focused and “together” before the next time I lie back in it, and I just think the world would be a better place if we all pushed ourselves to perform past our “default circumference” in similar fashion. Today’s Transcendence exists to help you do just that.

You can now return to your regularly scheduled online conspiracy theory.

Peace,
+B

Trouble w/ INFORMATION OVERLOAD??? Here’s What to Do When Knowledge Has You ‘Fiend Out’

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:00:16 +0000

KNOWLEDGE IS CRACK…I don’t care what anybody says, there’s no high like the high from a great new insight that revolutionizes your thinking, and that’s why my friends and I are ALWAYS in search of our next hit.

It’s one of the few positive addictions that are actually healthy, but like anything else, it can turn UN-healthy if you don’t discipline the crave. If you’re not careful, the process of learning can turn into the superficial performance of learning-related tasks, and – even worse – living in today’s hyper-communicative, digitized world makes this all to easy.

So learning to learn in a sensible way is a CHALLENGING enterprise, but a PRICELESS SKILL. Since we now live in an information economy (no longer an industrial one), the ability to learn, adapt and distill actionable plans from hordes of oncoming information is slowly becoming the new currency.

So let’s cover 4 techniques for dealing with information overload, because before you can truly “conquer” information, you need to feel liberated from it. Each tip will link to a specific post that’ll go more in depth. …

4 Techniques for Handling Information-Overload

1: Show “Intellectual Discipline”: Set up specific (as in numerical) guidelines for action and hold yourself to it. Say “at the end of each chapter, I’m going to try 3 techniques and measure the feedback.” For more on this approach, view my more in-depth article from back in March.

2: Delete Bookmarks, Emails, etc, etc.: and also give away some of your books. If you’ve been collecting material for a long time, that’s a good sign that you’ve probably GROWN PAST some of your historic interest, so getting rid of stuff helps alleviate the burden of feeling you obligated to finish so much. Click here for more on managing email.

3: Set aside a “knowledge” time: for me, I have a dedicated reading time first thing when I wake up in the morning, and first thing when I get off work. Not only does this get me inspired and keep me feeling on-point, it also chips away at my reading pile QUICKLY and CONSISTENTLY (because it’s a habit). See here for more on morning routines.

4: Try Accelerated Reading & Mind-Mapping: In my old-school radio show “Recommended Scrolls: Great Read for Overcoming Compulsive Eating, Building Concentration & More”, I shared some specific reading techniques to digest information FASTER, as well as specific note-taking techniques to RETAIN MORE. The first is called “Accelerated Reading” and the second “Mind-Mapping”. Click the respective links for more, and click here to enjoy that classic radio session.

So again, if you’d like to get a better hand on your reading, start by setting specific, reasonable metrics to gauge how much you’re actually getting from it, relieve yourself of all the unnecessary reading you’ve grown past, set aside a dedicated times to do this DAILY, and use advanced methods to speed up the process and get the most out of it.

Thanks again for checking this out. Hope it all helps.

Peace,
+B

Be The Sun, NOT THE PLANET: New Video on Defining Success & Being Successful ON YOUR OWN TERMS…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:15:21 +0000

I’ve been playing around a lot with video recently: the idea is to keep it short and simple (which makes things MUCH easier, actually) while I have fun messing with some new programs, features and techniques. Enjoy and leave commentary…

“Be the Sun, NOT THE PLANET…”

“Be the sun, not the planet, and what I mean by that is not so much an ego-centric, I’m the center of the world, kind of thing, but to simply take responsibility for your life by defining it and living it on your own terms.

Don’t orbit around somebody else’s plan or somebody else’s worldview, and be proactive about setting up a Solar System that reflects your own understanding and your own personal “laws,” if you will…”

Peace,
+B

How to Be a ‘Fly’ Person: Early Writings on Building Self-Confidence, part 3 (On Positive Self-Talk & Knowing Your Spiritual Nature)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:00:41 +0000

Here’s part 3 (the finale) of how to be a “fly” person: some of my earliest writings on self-confidence I thought worthy of reposting now. Be sure to check out part 1 and part 2 if you haven’t already, and – if you prefer – enjoy some of my more modern work on self-confidence too.

The 3rd Step for Self-Confidence

The third and last step is to realize that thinking is a habit…to realize that you have the same thoughts over and over again not because they’re valid or accurate, but simply because you’re in the habit of thinking them.

If you’re in the habit of thinking limiting and discouraging thoughts, then you have to get INTO the habit of thinking supportive and encouraging thoughts, and you can gain this habit in the same way you gain any other…repetition.

Think about it:

>> At the start of a new year, when you write down the date, you accidentally write down last year’s number because of repetition.

>> When you check your email online, you type out your username and password without even having to think about it because of repetition, and

>> When you stop using an alarm clock, you get your behind up at the same time anyway because of repetition.

So to be positive, motivated and proactive in your life, you have to condition yourself, through repetition, to think thoughts that are conducive to positivity, motivation and effectiveness.

To free yourself of anxiety depression and low self-esteem, you have to condition yourself, through repetition, to automatically think thoughts conducive to faith, joy and high self-esteem.

That’s why I focus so much on the affirmation process here on the blog: by consistently forcing yourself – literally bombarding your mind – to think thoughts of your own conscious volition, you gain control over both your mentality AND your emotions, as well as (logically) their consequent behavior. It’s called The Science of Autosuggestion.

So take the affirmations seriously, and find creative ways to make them part of your automatic, habitual mindstate. You already know the suggested technique.

Conclusion (Notes on Spirituality)

Lastly, don’t think of what we’re building on here as just “self-improvement.” Instead, think of it as “Ego Exercise” or even better, “Character Conditioning.”

As physical conditioning develops vitality and body-form; character conditioning develops personality and self-image…it’s the same principle applied to an alternate plane. With a strong, healthy and well conditioned self-image, you’ll carry out life-tasks with finesse – you’ll take on challenges and goals with a proactive, youthful spirit.

If you think about it though, terms like “self-improvement” and self-development” are really misnomers, because the True Self, the spiritual being you really are, comes from an Eternal Source, and in what ways can this Eternal Self ever be improved or developed???

Still however, your levels of persistence, personal integrity, vision, kindness, humility, emotional intelligence, humor, knowledge, patience and forgiveness (towards both yourself AND others) can ALL be improved and developed, and your self-talk, the internal dialogue that governs these things can be improved and developed as well.

Regardless of the circumstances contained in your present, and regardless of the history contained in the past, YOU control the destination contained in your future.

In your life, you’re the sole-controller, so free yourself from what happened and take charge of what IS happening. Today is the first day of the rest of your life, so clean the slate mentally and start building something right and exact in the here and now.

After all, the “you” that you dislike isn’t even the real you anyway – it’s only a garment holding your essential spirit. Remember, just as the wardrobe in your closet can change, so too can the character which adorns your soul.” ~ fin

So again, just for emphasis: being FLY begins with how you talk to and feel about YOURSELF, INTERNALLY…you can get all the greatest clothes, newest electronic devices and even accomplish the greatest things, but if you don’t work on this internal dynamic and heal that process, NOTHING ELSE WILL MATTER.

Thanks for reading…

Peace,
+B

CAN YOU HELP ME CHOOSE A BOOK COVER???

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:00:56 +0000

The video pretty much explains it all: I’m going with the green one, but I thought it would help to get some feedback first. Check out the samples below to get a closer look at each cover design. Enjoy…

Can You Help Me Choose a Book Cover???

Click HERE to view COVER #1 (the orange template),

Click HERE to view COVER #2 (the blue template),

Click HERE to view COVER #3 (the green template), and

Click HERE to view COVER #4 (the mixed template)

Use the comments section below to let me know your thoughts, and thanks again for your time…

Peace,
+B

Don’t Be Afraid to Expose Yourself: How Friendship & Bonding Make You More Productive & Remove Inner-Blocks

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:00:58 +0000

YOU NEED GOOD FRIENDS TO BE PRODUCTIVE, not because of they can “hook you up” with massive networks or valuable resources, but because they’ll *force* you to take a good look at yourself whenever you’re slacking…

Remember, being productive isn’t simply managing time, building concentration or anything else practical and obvious (that’s just the technical part). At a deeper level, productivity is about “leveling up” like an RPG (ask your resident geekazoid…he’ll know what I’m talking about). It’s about examining your entire life’s framework and seeing where your head is at…seeing those subtle, “subconscious confinements” most people are too shook to acknowledge.

Seriously: things like low self-esteem, unhealthy relationships, fear of the unknown and fear of being exposed CREATE FRICTION inside the prospectively productive-person’s system (hope that makes sense) and having this friction is a lot like looking into a broken mirror in that can literally DESTROY your ability to “reflect.”

In other words, inner-conflict is tricky because the thought process you use to get a hold of it is actually at the root of the problem. Therefore, the conundrum requires said prospectively-productive person to BORROW a good friend’s thought process as a means to help examine, neutralize and re-modify their own (really hoping this all makes sense).

Just think about the last great book you read: what were you doing except BORROWING somebody else’s thought process, temporarily? Anytime you read nonfiction, you’re borrowing somebody else’s thought process, and anytime you read fiction, you’re borrowing somebody else’s imagination. Think about that for a second.

So if this resonates with you – if you’re going through a rough patch in life right now and can’t seem figure out why you’re in “prospective” status – remember the basics: you need somebody else’s viewpoint to be objective and move forward in a rational way. (Duh, silly.)

There’s Nothing To Be Ashamed Of

This is just me “getting deep” to explain commons sense, but it amazes me to see so many brilliant, talented and knowledgeable people literally SCARED to open up about their fears and concerns, as though not feeling 100% driven and motivated *all the time* was something to be ashamed of, or as though having a real problem you need help figuring out makes you uncool.

If it helps, know that I MYSELF wasn’t feeling too motivated just last week. I don’t mean to get controversial here, but trying to “not” lose focus is like taking an HIV-test: ANYTHING CAN SET IT OFF…bad eating, family problems, girlfriend problems, sleeping problems, a damaging, ridiculing comment…literally ANYTHING.

Okay, so I take the HIV comment back (don’t want no beef), but my point is that being focused is a fragile thing, it’s so delicate that even your own thoughts can undermine it, so you need other “thought-mirrors” to bounce off of and make sure you don’t look jacked up. (This is also why I’m honored that you trust me enough to teach you this sort of thing…it’s really difficult, both to do and to explain.)

So don’t be afraid to expose yourself: eleven times out of ten, whatever you’re going through is something your friend went through themselves or knows somebody else going through RIGHT NOW, so they’ll empathize and won’t be judgmental.

(I even went to a suicide-prevention class one time and guess what…IT WAS PACKED. Point is: everybody’s going through drama and confusion – it’s called life. You’d be surprised what people have been through if you just take the initiative to reveal a little yourself.)

Remember that sharing a weakness actually opens the bridge and deepens the connection. Friendship and bonding help make you more productive and remove inner blocks, but they also help to strengthen your alliances as well.

So again, if you have trouble staying focused and being productive, it may be because you have some inner-conflict about your goals and AREN’T sharing those inner-conflicts with a more reasoned, experienced or objective thought process.

Don’t get too caught up meditating and reading self-development books, because one of the best ways to get over your *ish is the old-school way: BY TALKING ABOUT IT…

Even if you can’t think of anyone to open up to, you can contact me. Toll free too: 1-800-B-R-Y-A-N (it’s supposed to be 10 numbers though, right?).

Hope this helps…and if it doesn’t, ughhh…well…damn. Tough cookies. Glad I’m not you…

Peace,
+B

NEW VIDEO || 5 Time-Management Tips MADE EASY (Just In Case You Forgot)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:10:10 +0000

Here’s a great new video called “5 Time-Management Tips MADE EASY (Just In Case You Forgot)” based on an older, written blog post of the same name. Enjoy:

5 Time-Management Tips MADE EASY..

Peace,
+B

How to Be a ‘Fly’ Person: Early Writings on Building Self-Confidence, part 2 (On Overcoming Guilt & Forgiving Yourself)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:00:36 +0000

So here’s part two of being a “fly” person: being fly mentally of course…in terms of your self-confidence, not in terms of your fashion (although the young lad above is kind of jig). This is really some of my early work slightly revised, so be sure to check out the first installment and the third, finale one to enjoy this series in full…

So the second step for building self-confidence is to take large doses of this special medicine called forgiveness: learn to forgive yourself.

Self-forgiveness is challenging, because we tend to harbor extreme guilt and shame towards ourselves for things we’ve done in the past.

In the past – through our selfishness or lack of self-control – we may have caused someone else – maybe even someone we loved – to experience pain, and through our anger, we may have even done this intentionally.

If this is you, accept the fact that it happened, and that there’s nothing you can do about it now. You can’t go back in time and undo what’s already done, so dwelling on it now serves no purpose at all.

What Guilt Does to Us…

When you harbor guilt towards yourself, the only thing you do is prevent yourself from making the most of your life in the present, and in effect, you end up denying the world of the brilliant contributions only you have to share.

We all have things in our past that we’re ashamed of…the mistakes you’ve made (yes, even the most terrible ones) DO NOT make you a bad person, they only make you human…

“But how can I forgive myself if I knew EXACTLY what I was doing at the time, and still did it anyway?”

That’s a good question, and I’m glad you asked: the answer is to realize that everyone you know, including you, is, at all times, only doing the best they can.

Everyone’s doing the best they can. Everyone’s operating to the greatest extent that their awareness will allow them to.

While we may know something on an intellectual level, that doesn’t mean we truly UNDERSTAND it…it doesn’t mean we’ve integrated into the core of our psyche.

That’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom: while it’s relatively easy to grasp something conceptually, it takes *life experience* to internalize wisdom, and this experience usually comes in the form of pain, such as the guilt you feel from your mistake now.

That’s why you hear people say “You’re so smart, you’re stupid…”. Since “intelligent” people grasp things so well with just their brain, they tend to get over-confident in their own thought process, and thus disregard life-experience….they don’t pay attention to the signs they’re getting, and therefore fail to gain wisdom.

Wisdom is a bio-feedback mechanism: the prefix bio means life, and wisdom is the mechanism that obtains lessons from life by reflecting on it.

So realize that you had to make the mistake in order to learn from it, because if you really did know it, you wouldn’t of made the mistake in the first place. Forgive yourself for not having enough wisdom at the time, and move forward in life with the lessons you can extract from it now.

Channeling Guilt into Purpose & Direction

Debbie Ford talks about this in her audiobook The Secret of the Shadow: The Power of Owning Your Whole Story, where your “shadow” is the past that you’ve been avoiding or feeling guilyt about and your “secret” is the hidden jewels of insight contained within that same past.

While you THINK your past is negative, it actually holds the central keys to knowledge of self and life-purpose.

For instance, if your shadow has something to do with a significant other, the secret might lead you to devote yourself to creating love in ALL of your relationships. If your shadow has something to do with family, the secret might lead you to dedicate yourself to becoming a wonderful parent and helping others to do the same, so on and so forth…

You can’t play cut and paste with your life history, and you can’t relegate the parts that you’re ashamed of to some place in the back of your mind. If you do, they’ll continue to haunt and limit you from the subconscious realm.

You have to “own your whole story”; you have to accept EVERYTHING you’ve been through – the good, the bad and the ugly – in order to gain the wisdom necessary to live up to your Highest Design.

Hope this helps. Take care and check back in next week for part three.

Peace,
+B

How to Stop Failure NOW (Overcoming Negative Patterns of Defeat, Underachievement & More)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:00:24 +0000

Here’s an audio clip of Mike Brescia (founder of Think Right Now Intl.) telling the story about how he used the power of his mind to overcome the immense failures of his early life…

Trust me, if you think YOU got it bad, *this audio will put things into perspective*. It’ll also show you how to reframe your circumstances so they empower you for positive change. Check it out:
Download audio file (trn3.mp3)

Again, Mike Brescia is a founder of Think Right Now Intl., a company that provides the same “Accelerated Success Conditioning Software” that I use on a daily basis…

When you check out there site, they’ll give you this “Life-Transformation Kit” FOR FREE (that’s where this audio comes from), a collection of short-manuals on:

>> “How to Absolutely, Positively Guarantee Success In Everything You Do…”

>> “How to Feel Powerful Instantly…”

>> “How to Instantly Gain Momentum (AND Keep It)”

>> “The 11 Mental Patterns That Naturally Attract The Life You Desire…”

>> “The Unedited Conversations In People’s Minds EXPOSED…”

>> “Over 500 Think Right Now Case Studies from Clients…” (testimonial proof…*my* story might be in here too, matter of fact)

…and even more. To get your hands on these free resources, click here now.

As I said, me not telling you about these audio programs would be like me not telling you about the books I read that revolutionized my thinking or the holistic health choices I made that freed me from depression.

It’s THAT serious…ThinkRightNow.com is the most visited personal development product site ON EARTH, and it’s also the primary tool I use (everyday, mind you) to stay focused, motivated and in a constant state of growth and expansion, so do yourself a favor and check them out now to get those free tools.

Peace,
+B

True Beauty is ALL NATURAL: Holistic Health Advice from Beauty Expert & Guest Blogger Nikkeve Toi

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:00:40 +0000

Here’s a helpful guest post from fellow blogger (and good friend) Nikkeve Toi, who has a great YouTube channel (and website) that gives beauty advice from a holistic perspective.

In essence, Ms.Toi teaches women how to enjoy the benefits of an ALL-NATURAL beautification process, so they don’t have to worry about the chemical build-up and toxic long-term effects of normal cosmetics. This particular piece of hers is on healthy eating however, which the sister also talks delves in from time to time. Enjoy…

Beautify Your Diet

“An often overlooked beauty secret is maintaining a balanced pH level inside the body. Your pH (potential of hydrogen) level is what measures the acid-alkaline balance within your body.

The average American is inclined to have an acidic pH level due to lifestyle. According to Dr. Jonathan B. Levine – DMD, world-renowned dentist and correspondent for The Dr. Oz Show – “the majority of Americans eat mostly acidifying food, with minimal alkalizing intake”. Acidifying foods include processed foods, sugar, and meat. (High acidity can also result from high stress levels.)

A highly acidic body is unable to efficiently assimilate nutrition from the food we eat and therefore, causes our body’s functions to diminish. The results are all but noticeable in the mirror:

>> Chronic acne,

>> premature aging,

>> dark under eye circles, and

>> a dull complexion

…are just a few of the issues that can stem from high acidity. You can easily test your body’s pH by purchasing pH strips from a local pharmacy. Follow the package directions and consult your doctor if you are concerned with the results.

A healthy pH ranges between 6.0 – 6.5 in the morning and 6.5 – 7.0 in the evening. Maintaining a balanced pH level has a great effect on your health and beauty. *Here are some tips to help keep your body’s pH level balanced*:

Drink your water with lemon. Lemon becomes alkaline after digestion, therefore, aiding pH balance.

Eat more dark leafy greens. They’re nature’s ultimate alkalizing foods.

Get proper amount of sleep. Sleep reduces acid formation within the body, and lastly

Breathe deeply. Slow, deep breaths raise carbon dioxide level in blood which has alkalizing effects…”

Again, be sure to enjoy Nikkeve’s blog or YouTube Channel for more. Stay wise and take care of yourself…

Peace,
+B

The Friendly Way to ‘Keep People in Check’ (ASSERTIVENESS SKILLS 101 w/ Step-by-Step Formula)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:00:51 +0000

Here’s an excerpt from Lucy Jo Palladino’s Find Your Focus Zone: An Effective New Plan to Defeat Distraction & Overload, which follows an initial post on OVERCOMING FEAR you can check out here.

“I was watching pre-schoolers being interviewed on television about events in the news one day, and when one child was asked, ‘Why do you think people go to war?’ he replied: ‘Because they don’t use their words…’

Assertiveness skills are ways to use you words so you can stand up for your rights WITHOUT stepping on the rights of others. Since they let you express yourself effectively (without bullying others or letting others bully you), assertiveness skills help you get your needs met without passive-aggression or losing your temper. Here’s some examples:

Your boss refuses to listen to your ideas about a project…

>> Passive-Aggressive: you don’t say anything, but stall on getting it ready.
>> Hostile-Aggressive: You blow up and quit your job.
>> Assertive: You suggest a team meeting to discuss it.

Your significant other makes plans that involve you without consulting you first…

>> Passive-Aggressive: You go along with the plans but act coldly.
>> Hostile-Aggressive:You blow up, slam the door and leave.
>> Assertive: You decide independently what it is you want to do. Whether or not you choose to go, you discuss the issue with your significant other.

Your child won’t turn the TV off when she’s supposed to…

>> Passive-Aggressive: You don’t want to stop what you’re doing, so you let her keep watching; but you feel resentful and snap at her the rest of the night.
>> Hostile-Aggressive: You yell at her and threaten to ground her for a week.
>> Assertive: You walk into the room and matter-of-factly ask her if she wants to turn the TV off or if she’d rather you turn it off; and then you follow through.

Neurology & Anger

But obviously, it’s hard to use your words to solve problems when you’re mad. When you’re mad, your amygdala (a part of your brain’s “limbic system” responsible for processing emotions) diverts your brain’s resources in order to keep your anger burning.

So interestingly, at the times when you need to be most assertive, your brain’s CEO (logic) is less available to you because the amygdala is forcing it to rationalize your anger and keep that norepinephrine (a “neurotransmitter” underlying the “fight-or-flight” response) pumping.

Your focus gets narrowed, and you get quicker to think things like “This guy is an a-hole,” rather than “I wonder if there’s another way to do this. Maybe I can talk to someone else on the team.”

So to help you put your words together when you feel provoked like that, here’s a formula – a template for writing your own script, if you will:

1: State the facts,
2: Say how you feel,
3: See through the persons eyes, and then
4: Ask for what you want.

So let’s say you need to talk to the stubborn boss:

1: That new software project has complications and costs not listed in the current proposal.
2: It’s hard for me to jump on board, because I’m concerned about them.
3: I understand you believe it has a strong potential for success.
4: Let’s schedule a team meeting and see what everyone thinks.

This time you’re the frustrated parent with a TV-loving child:

1: It’s 9 pm and the TV is still on; we both know that it’s time to turn it off.
2: I don’t like having to enforce a rule you know is up to you to keep.
3: I know you want to keep watching and that it’s been a tough day.
4: Do you want to turn it off or would you like me to do that for you?

And now you’re the significant other who wasn’t consulted:

1: I see you’ve scheduled us again to play golf with the Duffers. I’m OK with going this time.
2: I want you to know, though, I don’t like it when you confirm plans without asking me first. I feel left out…as if I don’t matter.
3: I know you’re just trying to be sociable and plan nice things for us to do.
4: Next time Chip or anyone else asks you, would you say that you need to check with me first?

Step 3 helps diffuse the situation: when you make an honest attempt to see the conflict through the other person’s eyes, that person feels validated, just as you would if the other person tried to see it your way. This decreases the other person’s defensiveness and also keeps the rational part of your brain in charge.

HOWEVER, BE CAREFUL TO NOT TO START STEP 4 WITH THE WORD “BUT.” With that one tiny word you alter the entire sentiment of the message and undo what you said in step 3.

With the word “but,” you’re no longer validating the other person’s viewpoint…instead you’re saying “I see your point of view and now discounting it…” ~ Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD.

Peace,
+B

Romantic Obsession IS NOT Love: An Excerpt from ‘The 5 Love Languages’ By Dr. Gary Chapman

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:00:51 +0000

Right now I’m enjoying this AMAZING read, The 5 Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman, that explains how there are five, completely different “dialects” of deep, emotional connection and that we each come predisposed for a particular one. (“The personality types of love,” if you will.)

Unfortunately though, *we only understand OUR OWN language*, so too many great relationships and marriages eventually grow cold by us not VALIDATING one another – not “speaking love” to one another – on the frequency that other person is attuned to. Essentially, most relationships become the equivalent of someone speaking German to another who only understand Chinese.

So the five languages Chapman discovered are – write this down – (1) words of affirmation, (2) quality time, (3) receiving gifts, (4) acts of service, and (5) physical touch, but before he “breaks down the science” and gives techniques for each one, he covers two VERY important points:

(A) That the need for love is not simply a childhood phenomenon… that it’s something we ALL need even in our adulthood, and (B) that the initial romantic infatuation we go through IS NOT REAL LOVE, that it’s guaranteed to fade away with time (even though it seems perfect midstream), so we need to approach loving our mate in a more disciplined, conscientious way.

So for your reading pleasure (thank me later…or thank YOURSELF by buying the book), here’s an excerpt on that last point. Enjoy…

On “Falling In Love”

“Some researchers, like psychiatrist M. Scott Peck and psychologist Dorothy Tennov, conclude that the ‘in-love’ experience shouldn’t be called ‘love’ at all. Dr. Tennov coined the term ‘limerence’ for the in-love experience in order to distinguish it from actual, genuine love.

Dr. Peck says that falling-in-love isn’t real for three key reasons: first, it’s not an act of will or conscious choice. No matter how much we may WANT to fall in love, we never actually “make” it happen (it’s often when we’re NOT seeking it that we’re overtaken) and that’s why we tend to fall in love at inopportune times and with unlikely people.

Second, falling in love isn’t real because it’s effortless. Whatever we do in the “in-love” state requires little discipline or conscious effort on our part:

>> the long, expensive phone calls we make to each other,

>> the money we spend traveling to see one another,

>> the gifts we give and

>> the professional work and projects we sacrifice

…are as nothing to us. Just like a bird, by instinct, builds a nest, so being in love, by instinct, pushes us to do outlandish and unnatural things.

Third (and most importantly), someone who’s ‘in love’ is not genuinely interested in the personal growth of the other person: our main purpose is *to terminate our own loneliness* and perhaps ensure that termination through marriage.

Again, being ‘in love’ DOES NOT focus on our own development OR on the development of the other person. Instead, it gives us the (false) notion that we’ve “arrived” and need no further development at all. When we’re in love, we’re at the apex of life’s happiness and our only desire is to stay there: certainly our beloved doesn’t need to grow…she’s *definitely* perfect, and we simply hope she’ll remain that way.

So What IS Real Love Then???

If falling in love isn’t real, what is it? Dr. Peck concludes that it’s (brace yourself…we’re about to get analytical):

“A genetically determined instinctual component of mating behavior: the temporary collapse of ego boundaries that constitutes falling in love is a stereotypic response of human beings to a configuration of internal sexual drives and external sexual stimuli, which serves to increase the probability of sexual pairing and bonding so as to enhance the survival of the species…”

(NOTE: Now if you’re thinking “WTF???” after reading that, don’t worry…I was too. Basically, we’re wired to fall in love so the species can continue: limerence exists to insure that we keep getting our freak on.)

Whether you agree with that or not, you can’t disagree that the experience catapults us into emotional orbit like nothing else and DIS-engages our reasoning: we do and say things we’d never do and say if sober and – after we come down from the emotional obsession – wonder why we even did them in the first place.

When the wave of emotions subside and we’re back in the real world, we see our differences and ask ‘Why did we get married? We don’t agree on anything.’ But at the height of in-loveness we *thought* we agreed on everything…at least everything that was important.

So does this mean that after our genes trick us into marriage we either (a) resign ourselves to a life of misery with our spouse or (b) jump ship and try again??? Most of our generation has chosen the latter, but statistics prove – with 40% of first marriages ending in divorce, but 60 and 75% of second and third marriages ending in divorce, respectively – that the chance of living happily ever after the second or third time around is insubstantial.

But research indicates that THERE’S A THIRD AND BETTER CHOICE: to recognize the “in-love” experience for what it was – a temporary emotional high – and pursue ‘real love’ with our spouse…the kind that’s emotional in nature but not obsessive.

It’s a love that unites reason AND emotion. It involves will and requires discipline, AND it recognizes the need for personal growth.

Remember, our most basic emotional need is not to fall in love, but to BE genuinely loved…to know a love that grows out of reason and choice, not instinct. I need to be loved by someone who chooses to love me…who sees in me something worth loving.” ~ Dr. Gary Chapman

Peace,
+B

How to Be a ‘Fly’ Person: Early Writings on Building Self-Confidence, part 1 (On Reframing Your Mistakes & Failures)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:00:37 +0000

For most people, being “fly” means being “jigged out,” or simply having a strong fashion sense. But for me – being the conceptual nerd that I am – being “fly” means being psychologically unaffected by your trials and tribulations: it means being able to speak to yourself in an uplifting, elevated and liberated way, REGARDLESS of what happens to you…

That being said, here’s some of my earliest writings on raising your confidence and self-esteem. Let me know what you think, and enjoy both part 2 and part 3 of this series to get all the goodies. (Not “goodies” like Ciara though…that’s definitely not the subconscious association I need to be making…uh-oh, too late.)

The thing is, your value as a person can NEVER be measured by your accomplished, and while you’re desire for success is healthy, the false notion that you need success to BE desirable is not…

If you have this false notion, the following cycle might sound familiar: (1) you get inspired to do something, (2) you make a minor attempt at it, (3) you experience a small setback, (4) you lose the motivation to keep trying, and (5) you beat yourself up about it continuously after the fact.

The internal dialogue goes something like “Look at me, here I go messing things up again.” “What the hell is wrong with me? Why can’t I get this right?” “I’m just stupid…stupid, stupid, stupid.” “See, I knew this would happen. Why do I even bother? Just forget it.”

This is low self-worth, and in time, the negative self-talk associated can become ingrained, making the more positive self-talk that encourages success (an internal champion) seem unimaginable.

So to help fight this tendency, here’s part 1 (of 3) of my favorite techniques for becoming a “fly” person, which again, is about your motivational sense, not your fashion one…

1: Separate Your Results from Your IDENTITY

The first step to liberate yourself from this is to separate your experiences from your identity…it’s to learn evaluating yourself as separate process from evaluating your results.

If you can’t seem to “stay motivated” for instance, that just means you don’t know how to motivate yourself, which is *a skill* you can learn.

If you can’t seem to build anything with the people you meet romantically, that just means you don’t know how to build a relationship, which is *a skill* you can learn.

If you can’t seem to manage your finances, that just means you’re not strategic (or positive) about money, which is *a skill* you can learn.

None of this means that something is wrong with YOU, but simply that you don’t know how to do a particular thing.

When you were born, you didn’t even know how to walk, but you learned, didn’t you? And, you had to fall down numerous times, but did you say to yourself, “I’m destined to just crawl for the rest of my life. Why do I even try???”

Failure is a stepping stone to success. You have to fail multiple times in everything you do before you learn to do it, so stop interpreting your failures as indications of your personal value, and “stop making identity meaning out of external events.”

Before you can truly “unfold your wings” and take off, you have to understand that you are perfect exactly as you are now. You don’t need to improve, evolve or succeed in order to grow in value as a human being: You are valuable as a human being simply because you exist.

More coming soon…

Peace,
+B

THE 4 LEARNING STYLES: How to Create MAGNETIC Information That Speaks to ALL Personality Types

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:00:53 +0000

Ever try to teach somebody something important and get the weird feeling it went right through one ear and out the other? Ever have someone explain a vague concept to you by randomly pulling together facts and ideas that lead nowhere??? Both sides of the coin – having a poor teacher or having a lazy student – can be VERY annoying.

What if I told you that when this happens, it’s not because the person is just dumb (although that might be the case) or – on the reverse side – because *they* have absolutely NO idea what they’re talking about, but simply because they have a completely different “personality type for knowledge” than you do?

What if I told you that there are actually four *different* “learning styles,” that if you consciously knew and used to structure YOUR information, you’d ALWAYS be listened to…that people would seek YOU out to learn from and that you’d never be ignored (or thought of as “whacko” or preachy) again???

The Thing Is…

…while we all know about the personality types (introverted/extroverted, type A/type B, etc.), for some odd reason, we rarely think about how that same theory might play out in more specific areas of life.

For instance, Dr. Gary Chapman talks about the personality types of love in his book The 5 Love Languages which we’ll get into later this week, and Prof. Wyatt Woodsmall (author of numerous books on psychology and NLP) talks about the personality types of knowledge with his concept, “The 4 Learning Styles,” which we’re about to get into right now.

Now to be clear, these are NOT simply the various “mediums” you can put information in (like verbal, visual, or audio), they’re fundamentally different ways our psyches come pre-wired to understand new ideas.

By instinct, most of us only talk OUR OWN language: whenever we have something to teach or explain, we resort to our own natural style and assume that the other person should just “get it,”…and if they don’t, that that’s their problem, not ours.

But as you know, that’s a passive, failure-prone approach to have, so let’s get straight into it and talk about how you can start implementing the four learning styles in your own life today.

1: The “WHY” Learning-Style

“Why-learners” are always asking the question “WHY?” as in “Why am I learning this?” or “Why are you even telling me???” Quite literally, a why person CAN’T learn unless it’s made clear from the outset “why” knowledge is being shared in the first place…

One powerful way to talk to a why-learner is with BENEFITS & CONSEQUENCES. Remember a few paragraphs ago where I said, “People will seek YOU out to learn from…you’ll never be ignored/thought of as preachy again”?? That’s what I mean: tell the person directly, “If you learn this ____ (insert positive benefit) will happen, but if you DON’T learn this ___ (insert negative consequence) will happen.”

This is why most of my blog titles are so benefits-focused. Since *most people are why-learners*, I make sure, from jump, to tell people EXACTLY to expect and what they’re going to get out of it.

2: The “WHAT” Learning-Style

“What-learners” are the conceptual people: they always want to know “What’s this really about?” or “What’s the deeper meaning here?”, because for the what learning style, if there’s no deeper concepts, theoretical framework or even symbolism (in the case of a movie), there’s really no point.

One powerful way to talk to a what-learner is with THE HISTORY, like in one of my better posts on time-management where I said: “Time management is played out, and what I mean by that is that traditional ‘time management’ comes out of a world that no longer exists…

…the term dates way back to the *industrial revolution* which was the first time when ‘output’ for the average person was no longer confined to nature…whereas before,

>> work used to be determined by seasons and sunlight hours,

>> holidays by inclement weather and

>> even time itself by looking at the Sun,

…this was the first time when people started using clocks, working in factories and leaving their rural hometowns for major cities.” >> con’t reading

See what I mean? Anytime you talk about the history of something (or where an idea comes from and why), you’re almost guaranteed to satisfy a what-learner’s conceptual hunger. Go back and re-read from the sub-heading that starts, “The Thing Is…” for another example.

3: The HOW Learning-Style

“How-learners” are always asking “So HOW do I actually do this?” and learn best through step-by-step formulas. These are the people who want detailed plans, similar to cooking instructions or a GameFAQs walkthrough…

Obviously, the way talk to a how-learner is by HAND-HOLDING. Even if it sounds silly (or unnecessary), say “First do this, then do this, and then do that…” or somehow CREATE A PROCEDURE that tells them exactly what to do.

For examples, go towards the end of my post on Healthy Selfishness, or watch from 5:30 – 6:30 in my video on the “4 Elements” morning routine.

4: The “WHAT-IF” Learning-Style

And lastly, “What-if learners” are the entrepreneurs of the world: they’re the people who want to go do something *as soon* as they get a valuable idea (to the point of even leaving a seminar midway because they “got what they needed.”). They want to really test ideas out and see if they work…

I’ve found that the best way to speak to a what-if learner is to GIVE THEM PERMISSION. Be succinct, to the point and simply say “Alright, now go out and try and let me know how it works for you,” they’ll appreciate the brevity and feel like you’re more in touch with the real world.

Tying the 4 Styles Together

Now you may be wondering, “So how do I know what style a particular person is before I start teaching?” and the answer is, YOU DON’T, so the best thing to do is incorporate all 4 styles to make sure you’re information speaks to everyone. (Go in this same order – Why, What, How and then What-If – because most people are Why’s, then What’s, so on and so forth.)

Next time you have something to teach, sit down and devise why (play out all the benefits and consequences of knowing/not knowing it), explain what (teach the history or theory), and after you teach it, summarize with a procedure for the how’s, and then give the what-if’s permission get out there and do it.

Before you get started thought, take a second to leave your thoughts in the comment section now. What type of learning style are you? How do YOU like information to be shared so that you learn best???

Peace,
+B

Get your hands on 2 full chapters from my upcoming book,
Doing The Knowledge: Ascending Into Action, FOR FREE:

Subtle Secrets: The Valuable, Hidden Character Traits I USED TO BE ASHAMED OF…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:00:37 +0000

We don’t always offer up the truth about ourselves, do we? The Fugees were on-point when they said, “everybody wears the mask,” because almost ALL of us walk around in this society scared to reveal a thing, don’t we???

It’s almost like Eyes Wide Shut except without all the sex…or WITH all the sex, but without all the money and prestige, and what’s interesting is that the things we’re so hesitant to reveal about ourselves are often the same things that give us our unique power.

Personally speaking, in many cases, the key character traits that made me who I am today are things I used to be ashamed of and confused about when I was younger. Take a second to see what I mean and let me know what you think in the comments section afterwards…

(1) Being a LISTENER

When I was younger, I was ashamed of the fact that I didn’t have much to contribute to group discussions. I was the quiet one, and thought that since everybody else was vocal, outspoken and loud, that I should be that way too.

Little did I know that my mind was more concerned with assimilating and incorporating *new* ideas than with verbalizing the ones I already had, and that being a good listener would lead to me becoming GREAT at structuring and sharing ideas.

Ironically, if you let go of the need to always be the “deep” one, you become the deep one instead. Listening is a hidden character trait that leads to compassion, influence, respect, believability and more…

(2) Being a LEARNER

Similarly, when I was younger, I was ashamed of the fact that I liked reading. I hid my books from other people’s sight, and I thought it was weird that I understood the symbolism in English class when other kids didn’t.

Little did I know that if you limit yourself to the ideas you have direct access to (other kids, parents, people in your neighborhood), you limit yourself to the reality that they exist in, and that being a reader would lead to me constantly aspiring for something greater for myself.

Ironically, some of the things you do while sitting still (reading, meditation, etc.) end up taking you further then the most extroverted activities ever can. Reading is a hidden character trait that leads to eloquence, motivation, creativity and emotional strength.

(3) Being a SEEKER

And lastly, when I was younger, I was ashamed of the fact that I was always looking for meaning. I thought something was wrong with me because I didn’t get the same satisfaction and pleasure out of what seemed to make everyone else content.

Little did I know that my search for depth was the seed of what would ultimately become my life purpose, and that being a seeker would lead to me creating the blog you’re enjoying right now.

Ironically, when we spend a long time looking for something and never find it, we develop a way to create it ourselves. Seeking is a hidden character trait that leads to vision, depth, self-knowledge and contentment in life.

I guess the biggest irony of all is that the things I used to think made me weird and made my life difficult – the things I used to feel so frustrated and conflicted about – are the same things that make me a unique and valuable person.

Another good thing about these “subtle secrets” is that if you’re still reading this, it was probably just one big affirmation for you, but let me know in the comments section now: what are you’re “subtle secrets”? What character traits have you historically despised about yourself that’ve led you to becoming the stronger, more developed you you are now???

Peace,
+B

HEALTH-CONFIDENCE: The Secret, Psychological Component to Physical Wellbeing That NOBODY Seems to Talk About

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:00:43 +0000

DISCLAIMER: What you’re about to read is my simple, Hempstead, New York-bumpkin *opinion*. I AM NOT a professional health professional (don’t let the glasses or decent vocabulary fool you), so what follows is IN NO WAY meant to replace ANYTHING you’d get from your good ol’ family doctor, therapist (or “shrink” if you’re really nuts), nutritional consultant or any other licensed practitioner. Nothing in this blogpost (or anything my crazy behind says on this blog in general) constitutes medical advice.

Now I know that YOU personally don’t need to be told that, but remember: we’re on the internet (and remember those two girls who tried sue McDonald’s for obesity, too). Giving information like this without a disclaimer can be like having sex without a condom…or worse. So for the record – if it applies – I ain’t got jack-diddly to get sued for in the first place, so do us both a favor and don’t even try it. Onward…

WE ALL KNOW how important confidence is…ask a woman what attracts her to a man, a sales-rep what closes the deal or any life-coach (whatever the heck that is) what he teaches people to be, and your research’ll bring you to the common theme of CONFIDENCE. Confidence, confidence confidence confidence…

But for some odd reason, most of us fail to draw this same parallel when it comes to our own physical wellbeing. Simply put, it’s obvious that just like we need SELF-confidence in order to succeed professionally or socially, we also need what I call “HEALTH-confidence” in order to sustain long-term physical shape and constitution, but

You literally need a certain type of faith in your body’s natural inclination towards healing: a certain overall positive mental attitude ABOUT health that most people are lacking these days (both young and old, mind you).

Unfortunately, if you examine how most people think and talk about health, *they’re doing the exact opposite.* So let’s get into specifics and see what WE can do to protect ourselves:

Health-Confidence vs. Health-Anxiety

First off, the opposite of health-confidence is something I refer to as “health anxiety”: a fearful apprehension towards (or general feeling of helplessness about) one’s overall wellbeing.

A major way this manifests itself is by avoidance, like a few weeks ago when a friend said to me, “Yeah B, I have this pain in my side, but I’m scared to go check it out…what if the doctor tells me it’s something serious and I have to get all these weird operations and take tons of drugs????” (I’m not lying…that quote’s basically verbatim)

But another way this manifests itself by amplification, like when I told someone I work with that I was tired, and he said, “Oh yeah? Well y’know, you might be anemic because of low this-that-and-the-third. If I was you I’d go to a doctor and check that out…”

People with health-anxiety tend to blow minor aches and pains out of proportion and see every little tick as an opportunity to focus on the disaster of terminal illness. On the other hand, people with health-confidence know that the human body is not invincible, so even when small issues come up, they stay calm and maintain a sense of serenity about their situation.

(The idea here is to catch yourself whenever you’re worrying about something minor incessantly and STOP.)

Health-Optimism vs. Health-Pessimism

In addition to this, some people are generally optimistic about *the idea* of being healthy (they’re positive and interested whenever the subject comes up) whereas some people feel like it’s a drag…like it’s “too complex” or too much of a negative bore to even bother with in the first place (the “eat your vegetables” syndrome, but the grown-up version).

For instance, my previous employer was near 70 and “still kicking” as they say. He would work just as hard (if not harder) then the rest of us, and was outspoken about the power and benefits of a healthy lifestyle: “I knew that if I just took care of my body, ate somewhat decently and got my exercise, I’d be more than okay….I’d be fine.” and he now had the Cenegenics body (the energy, not the muscles) to prove it.

“Health-optimistic” people are genuinely interested in being a healthy person and it shows. They actively seek out the information that’ll them help you be strongest they can be, and apply it with a positive mood, so you should to: be lighthearted and cheerful about your entire approach, and you’ll be more than okay…you’ll be fine.

The Danger of Disease-Prone Thinking

And lastly, some people have what I call “disease-prone thinking,” where they THINK of health simply as the absence of disease (rather than the expression of life). Since their entire “health knowledge-base” is essentially a language of illness, they approach the whole thing from a deficit.

Think about how medicine is marketed (watch some commercials), how health-food is explained (“this fruit has ‘cancer-fighting’ properties”) and the type of sex-education we get in schools (don’t get me started), it’s no wonder so many people are such defeatist about it. We’re literally conditioned to think about “nasty, deadly diseases” anytime anything health-related comes up.

For instance, a lot of people associate sex with dirtiness, pregnancy, STD’s and religious trangressions, but NOT a lot of people know that it releases endorphins (the body’s natural pain killers), boosts creativity and that regular orgasms lead to increased self-esteem.

Not a lot of people know that regular exercise BOOSTS sexual self-esteem

Not a lot of people know that apples have protein in them (read the book Fruits & Farinacea for more.)

Not a lot of people know that massage before an athletic event enhances speed and power and makes the athlete more flexible and less prone to injury…

GET WHERE I’M GOING HERE??? Our society gives us a syntax about health that’s disease-oriented, so we have to condition ourselves to think more abundantly towards the whole thing.

One way you can do this is by learning things that are uplifting in nature…by sticking to knowledge that’s positive and success-oriented (not scary and failure-oriented). It’s called “towards-motivation.”

Qualifications and Conclusion

Qualification #1: I am NOT saying that you should “just be confident and positive” and do absolutely nothing. Educate yourself, seek counsel from health professionals you trust and follow up on high-quality advice.

Qualification #2: I am NOT saying that you should be indifferent towards people who *are* actually sick (just because they may have less positive attitude). If you know someone who’s terminally ill or going through something, being there for emotional support can make a big difference, and

Qualification #3: I am NOT saying that you should be dismissive towards someone’s genuine concerns or lack of knowledge. If someone’s uneducated but open-minded to a different point of view, take it as an opportunity to enlighten them in a compassionate way.

However, what I *AM* saying is that health is subtle MINDSET first and that, in our culture, we literally have a “disease-oriented society” you need to disassociate yourself from. (Think movies like Contagion…the billboard for it reads: “Don’t talk to anyone, don’t touch anyone.”)

Like always, your mindset determines your approach: if you don’t have the psychological component in place, you’re not going to do the right things and you’re not even going to be motivated to find out what the right things are in the first place. Without health-confidence, you’ll be “locked-down”… you’ll trapped and addicted to your own self-destructive behaviors, and won’t even know why.

Have faith in your ability to stay healthy and strong over the long-term. Know that if you simply do the right things and follow sound advice, you’ll be alright, and don’t assume (or feel destined) that something terrible is going happen just because that’s been the fate of people around you…

Again, have faith in your body’s natural inclination towards health, and have faith in your own knowledge-base and the resources you have available to you to help.

Peace,
+B

Your World Serves as a Reflection of Your Own Psychology…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:00:51 +0000

The first thing I want to say is that this post really isn’t for YOU pers se, cause I know you know this stuff already. It’s “for you” only as (1) a reminder to keep you in the right frame of mind and (2) as verbal ammunition – or facebook wall-post ammunition – to get the right idea across to the person in your life who needs to hear it. Let’s get started…

“One of my spiritual beliefs is that a man’s world serves as a reflection to his own psychology, meaning that the positives we notice in other people are, at a deeper level, signs indicating our own strengths and the character traits we can realistically aspire towards.

The corollary to that however is that the negatives we notice in other people also indicate our own faults, and in some cases, the “final destination” our current behavior is leading us towards.

Why Learn This Style of Thought???

I like thinking like this because it encourages me to spend LESS time criticizing or condemning other people as and more time simply OBSERVING them while reflecting on how their strengths and weaknesses relate back (or can relate back) to me.

(Even Confucius once said: “When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves…”)

Once you master this style of thinking, you get leverage over your limitations you’d otherwise never parallel. If you DON’T learn this style of thinking, you get other people’s anger, disrespect and hurtful actions consuming you and destroying your quality of life.

Another bad thing happens when you don’t do this: you’ll get intimidated at times when you should be uplifted. Instead of “seeing men of worth and thinking of equaling them,” – thinking of how to absorb their power into your own (like Rogue from the X-men) – you’ll just sit their and wonder what’s wrong with you.

Know that even though I have a “self-development” blog, in real life, I don’t spend my time and energy telling other people who they should be or how they should think. In most cases, I’m just the silent observer. I think you should do the same because it allows you to find much more opportunities in life while sheltering your personal experience from hurt, loss and unnecessary sacrifices.

Be a “Detective Psychologist”

A big key to this is being what I call a “detective psychologist”: being obsessed with understanding how success-prone, positive people think as well as how failure-prone, negative people think. A detective psychologist is able to delineate between these two types and articulate those differences consciously.

You can do this generally (as in “Why are some people generally optimistic while others are pessimistic?”) or more specifically (“Why are some people always broke or in debt whereas others always seem to have cash on them?”), but the point is to START DOING IT.

For instance: I’ve found that someone who stays focused and manages their time IS that way because they believe in the purpose of what they’re doing and they enjoy the tasks involved. Someone who stays procrastinating and only manages their laziness IS that way because they misunderstand what their work means (that it may “expose” their *assumed* lack of personal value to the world, for instance).

Someone who’s a good communicator is generally concerned with what the person he’s talking to understands, while someone who’s a poor communicator is generally more concerned with what the person he’s talking to perceives about HIM personally.

We could go on for days (people with consistently high-quality relationships want to build their partner up, people with consistently low-quality relationships want a partner for their own selfish gratification, etc. etc.) but I think you see what I mean…

Point is, don’t be too focused on just, “learning from other people’s mistakes,” (which is good too), but more so on exploring the psychology that motivates other people’s behavior and attracts their experiences, and seeing how that reflects and corresponds with your own thinking.

“Learning from other’s mistakes” implies, “Oh, he did X so I gotta make sure to NEVER do that…” (it’s simplistic).

“Reflection” implies, “Oh, he did ‘X’ because he sees situations like ‘Y’, and really, I do that too sometimes, in my own way, because I also ‘Z’…I need to chill.” (it’s more intricate and leads to actionable insights).

Remember, a man’s world serves as a reflection to his own psychology. Take care and let me know what you think anytime…

Peace,
+B

The 3 Key Areas of Self-Development: A Simple & Helpful Framework for Measuring Your Progress & Teaching Others Successfully (FREE Diagram & Exercise)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:00:44 +0000

SELF-DEVELOPMENT GETS OVERWHELMING SOMETIMES, doesn’t it??? I mean, if you’re like me, sometimes just one good trip to the bookstore or just one good session online (OR just one, simple halfway-decent blog) results in an AVALANCHE ofinteresting information you wish you could just download into your brain like Neo in the Matrix (“I know kung-fu…”)

Seriously…if you’re like me, you just want to become the best “you” you can possibly be, but with all the time-management techniques, self-esteem boosters, motivational quotes, health and nutrition advice, new-age metaphysical concepts, Afrocentric thinking, “for women” series, “manhood training,” classical stuff that’s a 100 years old and newer stuff that came out 5 minutes ago, it gets hard figuring out where to even start.

Enter “The 3 Key Intelligences”:

Luckily, my father recently shared something with me he calls “The 3 Key Areas of Life,” to help simplify things. He’s not *the first* person I heard this from mind you (all the good stuff comes from my Mom anyway), but he is the first to sit down with me and really school my ass on it. The 3 Key Areas of life are:

1.) Health & Wellness (everything pertaining to your physical wellbeing),

2.) Career & Money (everything pertaining to your financial wellbeing), and

3.) Love (everything pertaining to your relationships).

“Once you have these 3 things, YOU’RE SET: you’ll be happy and feel like you can accomplish anything” he said, “but whenever you DON’T have just one of these 3 things, something feels off. You won’t necessarily understand it, but something will feel missing and you won’t be at 100%.”

Now what made this powerful wasn’t that it made sense (which it does…more on that later), but that – from my years of blogging about personal growth – I know that these 3 fields actually account for around 70% of ALL sales in the self-development industry.

Let me say that again: the vast majority of REAL money being made in ALL of the self-help books, tapes, programs, lectures and consultations relate to one of these 3 fields (or any of their logical denominations). The actual term for it is “the three ‘mega-niches,’” because this is where people are spending their hard-earned cash.

I call it “The 3 Key Intelligences” because (1) these areas are a good yardstick to measure your own progess, (2) If you’re looking to teach, these 3 areas are the BEST places to focus your energy and (3) calling it intelligences just makes it sound more sophisticated.

Also, if you’re like me, you’ll probably find yourself strong (or just “okay”) in 1 or 2 areas, but needing a little improvement in others, and THIS IS NORMAL. Let’s get started with a quick explanation and then go into depth with a great exercise…

Intelligence #1: Health & Wellness

…which you find in almost anything that pertains to diet, weight loss, vegetarianism, exercise plans, yoga, pilates, etc., etc. I touched on this with posts like “Why I Became Vegetarian” and “How to Eat Healthier AUTOMATICALLY Without Any Conscious Effort” (as well as the video series I did with Nutritional Consultant Hondo Solomon). You can also try recommended scrolls like Afrikan Holistic Health and “Fruits & Farinacea: The Proper Food of Man”.

What makes this one interesting is that IT’S THE ONLY ONE YOU’RE BORN HAVING (with the exception of rare diseases, of course), so consequentially, most people take it completely for granted until it’s too late. Don’t make this same mistake.

Here, ask yourself questions like: “How confident am I in my overall health?”, “What type of small changes can I start doing to improve?” and lastly, “What do I know about health that I can share with other people?“

Intelligence #2: Finance & Career

…which you find in anything that pertains to professional success, money-management, wealth-building, real estate, internet marketing, forex trading and even time-management (which is all me of course). I touched on this with posts like “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (Audio-Book Excerpts)” and almost everything on getting focused. You can also try recommended scrolls like “The Millionaire Next Door“ and “Living Well On One Income…In a TWO-Income World.”

What makes this one interesting is that IT SETS THE PARAMETERS for how well you enjoy the others. As Norwegian Playwright Henrik Ibsen once said: “Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt…”

So here, ask yourself questions like, “How financially secure to I feel about my (& my family’s) future?” “What type of things will lead me towards economic strength?” and lastly, “What type of skills can I teach to help someone else become more of a financial success???” (This includes public speaking, frugality, etc….think outside of the box if you have to.)

3: Love & Relationships

…which you find in anything that pertains to (obviously) dating advice, marriage counseling, sexuality, etc. etc. and also parenting. I touched on this with posts like “7 Ways to Let Go of a Past Relationship So You Can MOVE ON…” and “WHAT DO WOMEN WANT???” You can also try recommended scrolls like “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” (more on this next week) and “Building Your Mate’s Self-Esteem”

What makes this one interesting is that IT’S THE ONLY ONE YOU CAN’T CONTROL. True love (not romantic obsession) only comes around once or twice in a lifetime, and that’s if you’re lucky…for some people it never comes.

So here, ask yourself questions like: “How confident am I in your ability to attract (and keep) a high-quality partner?” “What type of things can I start doing NOW to improve the relationship I already have?” and lastly “What type of things can I teach OTHER people that’ll help them their dating life/marriage???”

But What About Spirituality, Psychology, etc.???

Now you might be thinking, “Bryan, that sounds good, but what about deeper stuff like psychology and spirituality??? Aren’t those the ‘bigger’ fields that kind of ‘oversee’ these other ones you seem to be talking about?” and my answer is that, even when people cover information from those angles, THE RESULTS they’re usually targeting still come back to these 3 major concerns.

For example, in The (so-called) Secret, almost ALL of the “law of attraction” techniques were explained as conducive to attracting “the perfect mate” (whatever that is, cause NOBODY’s perfect), eliminating a serious illness or attaining financial security (hence the big red Ferrari).

And even with the Think Right Now programs I offer (which are strictly psychological), almost ALL of the products relate to success in business or health-oriented ways, with titles like “I am Smoke Free Now”(health), “Eating For Excellent Health Now!” (health), “Conquering Social Anxiety Now!”(social/career), “Anger-Management Now!”(relationships), “Fearless Public Speaking Now!” (career) and “Accelerated Sales Success Now!” (money), just to name a few…

Be truly honest with yourself and you’ll realize that the REAL reason you study almost ANYTHING psychological, spiritual, etc. etc. ultimately relate back to these 3 fundamentals. (Even Bobby Hemmitt was selling “Angelic Stimulus Packages” at one time. Remember that?)

Just think for a second: what brings people back to the church after DECADES of a more decadent, somatic lifestyle??? RIGHT…usually a life-threatening disease or severe financial turmoil. When do people call out for God and start praying??? When they seriously think they’re going to die!

What I’m really saying here is that these 3 mega-fields are the basic DRIVES that motivate all of our other searching. It’s not that anything else isn’t important, just that it’s human nature to use those other things as conduits towards our more basic needs.

If it feels like I’m trying to confine you by saying “there’s only 3 key areas to study in self-development,” know that this is a framework primarily about HOLDING YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE for real, actual results. What makes the keys powerful is that they’re the least subjective areas of study…

Anybody can be “spiritual” by tonight and return to being a *complete asshole* tomorrow morning. The 3 keys requires you to statistic and objective about your own progress, as well as the progress of other people around you and the quality of their information. If you’re hesitant to consider this idea, you’re probably also hesitant to be more disciplined about your overall personal growth.

Free Diagram to Pull This All Together

So here’s a pretty cool diagram you can use to put the 3 keys to work. Use the “goals” section in each area to describe what you want to change, the “knowledge” section to describe a thing or two you already know and then SHARE IT WITH SOMEBODY…download the exercise here.

I say teach somebody because that’ll reinforce what you know as well as the fact that you really DO know a lot of things (even if you’re not consciously giving yourself credit for it now).

Also, when I say you should be focused on these fields, I’m not talking about ULTIMATE PERFECTION. For instance, if you’re not in a great financial place right now, but you’re working to get there and you’re on that path, that counts. If you don’t have somebody special, but you’re getting rid of somebody not so special anymore – becoming clearer on what you need and want – that counts too.

This is a framework for growth, not something to beat yourself up about, and remember, anytime you’re sharing knowledge and information, always relate it back to one of these three mega-niches… because this is the type of stuff people are ACTIVELY searching for on their own accord.

Peace,
+B

CAN FEAR BE PRODUCTIVE??? (3 Things Every Driven, Fully-Engaged Person is Literally AFRAID Of…& Why YOU SHOULD BE TOO)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:00:02 +0000

In everything self-help, people are constantly dissing fear: all the experts, gurus and consultants (and even little ol’ me sometimes) talk about “overcoming fear,” how “fear is an illusion,” the “10 steps to eliminate fear for good,” etc. etc. as if it’s productive-person enemy #1…

So just the other day it occurred to me that most of us “self-developmenters” (I’ll continue to make up words for the rest of my life, so get used to it) never think about how FEAR CAN WORK IN OUR FAVOR…that there may be a few ways in which fear can actually make us MORE driven, ambitious, creative and efficient without us even being aware to the fact.

So – “generating off the headpiece” like I always love to do – here’s FOUR instances my black-behind thought of where being afraid of something ultimately led people I know to more productivity and SUCCESS then they would otherwise obtain (at least from my limited perspective). Check it out:

Productive Fear #1: Ending Up Just Like “What’s-Her-Face?”

Every productive person I know has someone they work with, someone they went to school with or someone in their family (or all 3 and then some) that’s THE DIRECT OPPOSITE of what they’re aspiring towards, and that person motivates them in reverse.

Like 50 Cent once said: “Daaamn homie…in high school you was the maaaaan homie…what the eff happened to you???”. Literally every ambitious person I know can relate.

…seriously though: EVERY productive, on-point, self-motivated individual I ever met has someone they see (at least from time to time) that makes them virtually scared about what’ll happen if they don’t “pull up their shoes,” and they REVERSE ENGINEER motivation out of that bad example.

So I ask you: who’s your nightmare-motivator? Take a look at how they talk, carry themselves, think and behave and then simply do the direct opposite.

Productive Fear #2: Being Dependent

On a deeper note, a lot of productive and accomplished people are also afraid of being dependent on someone else to take care of them. If you listen closely, you’ll hear a lot of focused people saying things like, “I just don’t want anybody else to control me.”

Now if this sounds negative to you, remember that this fear usually comes from a direct experience of what being controlled looks like on a day-to-day basis. These people are motivated to NOT GO BACK to something destructive that they’re intimately familiar with. It’s called wisdom…

Me? I don’t judge anybody, and although I don’t have a direct experience of being dependent like that, I know the power of learning from other people’s mistakes, and I suggest you do the same.

Productive Fear #3: Staying The Same

This one really applies to me the most of all: productive people are AFRAID of staying the same. They say to themselves, “I don’t want to look down the road, and after 10 years still be making tacos and playing video games with Norbert and Winston.”

When I was in high school, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life going to parties and chasing girls (because it felt pointless), and when I was in college, I didn’t want spend the rest of my life going to activist meetings and organizing protests (because it felt futile and victimizing). And to be honest, now that I’m here, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life blogging either (it feels good…but I also feel like there has to be some greater call for me too).

Maybe it all boils down to a fear of being trapped: I want to have new talents and skills, not just be a writer and I want to travel and see the world, not just live (and die) in America. All I can say is, once I begin to master something, I get scared that that mastery will become the circumference of my life-experience, so I start channeling my energies in a new direction…

So take a second to think about all this. If any of it makes you go, “Y’know Bryan, these fears really stem from being critical of others,” or “Maybe they just have trust-issues from childhood, and they need to dissolve their Ego into Universal Cosmic Non-Beingness” remember the bottom line: THESE PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE GETTING IT…

I know people doing all types of creative, magnificent things to reengineer their lives and get themselves and their family in a better situation. Take it as you want, but the older I get, the more results-oriented and less ethics-concerned my thinking becomes, so I have nothing but support for them.

My main point though is that productive people are simply AFRAID of the things un-productive people are content with: they’re not necessarily better or more talented, but their fears often drive their behavior down an alternate path.

Now leave a brother some love in the comment section: which of the “productive fears” above resonate with you most? Are there any other things you’re afraid of that help you to stay focused? If so, what are they???

Peace,
+B

5 Books Every Productive Person NEEDS to Read…That AREN’T Actually About Productivity

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:00:39 +0000

As you’ve probably noticed, I love recommending scrolls (suggesting great reads), but – as you’ve ALSO probably noticed – I’ve been slacking on my game for a minute now…

I haven’t written an actual, unique book review in about 2 or 3 months now, so let’s get back into the flow by mixing it up a little: a list that’s ALL fiction, social critique or otherwise not really about productivity at all…books that don’t talk about getting focused, but cover ideas so “ingrediential” to it that every productive person NEEDS to them on their bookshelf.

Enjoy, and like always, don’t hesitate to leave a comment recommending some great reads yourself.

5 Non-Productivity Productivity Books

(1) JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL by Richard Bach: the classic novella ( or “mini-novel”) about a talented, ambitious seagull learning to fly amongst mediocre, typical seagulls that can’t even envision a goal beyond finding their next pathetic meal…

“How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!”

This book parallels some of my work on being unique and living a life of metamorphosis, even when surrounded by those with no aspiration for anything greater. The fact that it’s a short read (as in less than an hour) makes it all the better, so click here for more…

(2) ATLAS SHRUGGED Ayn Rand: the well-known, best-selling novel about entrepreneurial genius learning to thrive despite a parasitic environment of governmental control…

“Hordes of savages have never been an obstacle to men who carry the banner of the mind.”

“Never feel guilt for that which you should feel glory: you are not a sacrificial animal. Refuse to be punished for the sin of your intelligence, or to perish at the alters of mindless brutes…”

This book parallels some of my writings on healthy selfishness, self-direction and internal power, because – slightly different from Bach’s work – Rand talks about sheltering your brilliance from exploitation. Check it out for more…

(3)EMPIRE OF ILLUSION by Christopher Hedges: a non-fiction social critique that defines America AS a culture of deception. Hedges details the various parts of our world that slowly gear ALL OF US towards a collective, subtly agreed-upon form of delusion.

“We ask…to be fed lies. We demand lies. The skillfully manufactured images and slogans that flood the airwaves and infect our political discourse MASK REALITY, and we do not protest…”

“The worse reality becomes, the less we want to hear of it, and the more we distract ourselves with the squalid pseudo-events of celebrity break ups, gossip and trivia.”

This book parallels some of my writings on eliminating distraction, the extinction of intelligence and how to avoid the mediocrity that literally ENTRENCHES our “kindergarten society.” Read this book for an intricate understanding of just how devastating our world is. Click here for more…

(4) FOUR ARGUMENTS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TELEVISION by Jerry Mander: another non-fiction social critique, this time focusing specifically on the advent of television and how it’s DESTROYED our ability to introspect and understand the world around us in any sort of real, organic way.

“Television offers neither rest nor stimulation…it inhibits your ability to think, but DOES NOT lead to freedom of mind, relaxation or renewal. It leads to a more exhausted mind: you may have time out from prior obsessive thought patterns, but that’s as far as television goes.”

This book parallels some of my old work on “Sovereign Thought” and how television destroys thinking, in that it explains how the advent of mass media marks the redefinition of existence itself (through the eyes of highly-paid corporate marketers). Today, virtually everything that almost everyone knows, thinks, feels and experiences has – at some point – been filtered by insatiable corporate agendas for “profitable” manipulation of the human psyche. Click here for more…

(5) BUILDING YOUR MATE’S SELF-ESTEEM by Dennis & Barbara Rainey: the only traditional, “self-help” book on this list, which goes in-depth about how relationships are really platforms for both partners to build one another’s confidence and self-worth.

“Each of us need someone to tell us we value…we want to be accepted without mask, facade or veneer. We want to be loved APART from our performance, totally and completely.”

This book parallels to some of my posts on dating (WHAT DO WOMEN WANT???, Choose a Woman Who Chooses You, and that video on building healthy relationships) in that it talks about relationships from the standpoint of self-development and self-knowledge…click here for more.

Hopefully these books gave you some ideas. I guess the main theme is that productivity is part of a WHOLISTIC process: that other things you study (whether it be relationships, dating or even your political perspective) can help amplify your ability to get focused and stay driven over a longer period of time.

Peace,
+B

DON’T ALLOW YOURSELF TO GET INTIMIDATED, Because It’s Not a Competition…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:00:53 +0000

Check this out…it’s an image of what my website first looked like when I originally got started way back in 2007:

…and here’s the first video I ever put up on YouTube:

I’m not showing you this so you can see how far I’ve come, but so YOU can remind yourself that we all need to start somewhere.

Be Inspired, Not Compared…

On your path to be more successful at anything (a blog, a musical instrument, your dating life or anything else), let the people who are already successful in that be a source of inspiration, NOT a source of comparison, because – like my father would always tell me – “No matter how good you are at something, there’ll ALWAYS be somebody better.”

He didn’t say this to me so I would feel defeated…he said this to me so that I wouldn’t get caught up in measuring my own progress against an impossible standard of people who were already ahead.

There’s no logic to not feeling motivated simply because you’re not one of the best: there will ALWAYS be somebody who paints better paintings, writes better songs, generates more revenue or has more karate trophies in his living room then you do. Just accept this as the reality and give it your best anyway.

Now you may be thinking to yourself, “What if I’m just starting out, and I’m THE WORST person I know???” And the answer is that this still applies because your goal is to better yourself, not to be better then anybody else out there.

It’s not a competition, and even in things where it IS a competition, it’s still not a competition… Let me explain:

A Sports Analogy:

When you ask NFL players why it is they won a game as opposed to an equally-capable opponent, you get answers detailing their mental state:

“Well, they were a great team too, we just wanted it more.”

When you ask NBA stars about their performance on a particular night, you get answers referring to their drive or team-dynamics:

“I knew I had to come through for the team, so I gave it my all,” or, “We came together and decided that we were going to take it just one play at a time.”

Typically, it’s the commentators, sports analysts and fans – the people OUTSIDE the game – who focus more on comparing statistics and technicalities. The people out there making it happen know that the real game is inside themselves…

So with whatever it is you have going on, don’t allow yourself to get intimidated. Just “play your position”: learn from the people ahead of you, set realistic, feasible goals based on your particular situation and focus only on being better then what you once were. See the motivation section of this blog for more…

Peace,
+B

Conquering Social Anxiety NOW!!!

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:00:04 +0000

“You and I both know that social anxiety, with its emotional and physical symptoms that hit you like a runaway freight train, is one of the toughest challenges in the personal development field. But yet, I’m here to tell you this:

With what we know about the human brain and new thought and behavior modification techniques, social anxiety is NOT that “unstoppable force” in your life you may have resigned yourself to “managing” as best you can.

On the contrary, it’s time for you to break free from social anxiety completely and never look back.

>> Even if you’ve struggled with social anxiety for years or decades on end…

>> Even if you’ve had little luck with talk therapy, group therapy, medication or herbal relaxants, and…

>> Even if you feel utterly trapped in a life of near TOTAL avoidance and see no way out of it…

Conquering Social Anxiety Now! Can Help

The Conquering Social Anxiety Now! program can help you break the chains and show the world the true you: comfortable in your own skin, self-assured, engaging and more than able to hold your own in any social, scholastic or professional setting…

Imagine the ability to erase “stage fright,” doubt and insecurity with confidence, poise and personal power…Imagine sharing your true personality and talents…not being afraid to express your thoughts, ideas, sense of humor and opinions…and have people love you for it.

…and it’s all now at your fingertips!”

What you just read was from the TRN’s Conquering Social Anxiety Now!, a webpage I *personally recommend* if any of the above statements resonated with you.

To discover more about the program, read the 100′s of testimonials and success-stories and make social anxiety vanish like it was never even there, click here now.

Peace,
+B

HEALTHY SELFISHNESS??? (3 Steps to Live the Life You Deserve WITHOUT Feeling Guilty For It)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:00:04 +0000

In the book Healthy Selfishness: Getting the Life You Deserve Without the Guilt, coauthors Richard and Rachael Heller explain how a particular type of selfishness is good…that the selfishness that leads to honoring yourself and establishing boundaries on what (and how much) you’ll tolerate from other people is a healthy, virtuous and indispensable skill…

Unfortunately though, it’s a skill most of us never develop because we’ve all been taught to be self-sacrificing: in one way or another, we’ve all been taught to believe that there’s actually something wrong with defining our own needs and expecting others to respect them.

So it’s pretty deep: while on one hand we live in a culture that teaches us to be self-indulgent – to be consumers who constantly want things – we also live in a culture that teaches us to be self-denying…to be donators who constantly GIVE AWAY every last little bit of whatever we have. So…

>> We ignore our own desires in order to help someone else get theirs,

>> We carry the burden of someone else’s ignorance and mistakes because we “love” them, and

>> We harbor guilt towards ourselves just for occasionally thinking of putting someone else second and ourselves first.

What’s also interesting is that the most self-indulgent are usually dependent upon and parasitic towards the most self-denying: it’s a yin-yang thing where one always capitalizes off of the other, but since they naturally attract, the dynamic ends only when the “host” steps up in a courageous, assertive and (so-called) “selfish” way.

Some Examples

Looking at a romantic relationship like this from the outside, most people think, “Dag, that’s messed up – why is she treating him like that?”, but the bottom line is HE’S ALLOWING HER TO.

HE (not she) has to realize that no one benefits from his sacrifices…that all he’s doing is hurting himself while reinforcing her inappropriate behavior. By failing to stand up for himself, HE PREVENTS HER from facing reality and learning her own lessons.

Likewise, if a business owner employs a lazy friend who only hurts profits by barely doing anything at all, he’s not doing the bum a favor by keeping him on payroll. His best bet is to sit down with the man and let him know he only has a short period of time to get his act together, or it’s a wrap.

A 3-Step Method for Healthy Selfishness

So if you’re personal productivity, personal health or personal life is currently being inhibited (and exploited) by someone else’s laziness, try this 3-step technique to bring things back into balance:

(1) First, get a full understanding of the sacrifices your making: don’t brush anything off as small…

Remember, if you’re noticing it now, chances are it’ll add up, multiply and eventually become something much bigger before you even know it…so if something (or someone) is annoying you now – even if it’s slight – honor that notification: project into the future what’ll happen if you don’t change things now, and think about the positives that can occur if you do.

(2) Second, be extremely present the next time it goes down: notice the details of everything that happens, AS it happens…

Take stock of the way you feel, the specific things their doing (or saying), etc. This way when you speak to them about it you can be concrete and objective. You’ll also come up with a better strategy and get more clarity on the situation…strengthening your resolve to actually change it.

(3) Third is the action, which in my experience usually just requires a serious talk.

If you stay specific and non-critical about it – if you explain WHY it’s a problem for you objectively, remain calm and speak with respect – you’ll get respect in return.

Use a lot of “I” statements (“When you do ‘x,’, I feel ‘y’ because ‘z,’” etc.). This lowers the person’s defenses, making it easier for them to truly hear what you’re getting at.

In Worst Case Scenarios:

I’ve found that most people are generally good-hearted and understanding: they’re not walking around with an agenda to “eff” with you purposely (unless they feel you hurt them first), so step to someone on a positive level and you’ll get a positive response…especially when it’s about things you deserve in the first place.

But in worse-case scenarios, my best option was to leave the situation altogether (end a relationship, quit a job, etc.). I’m not saying it’s ALWAYS between these two extremes (either a quick talk or just leave), but in my experience, people either respect you or they don’t, so when you’re feeling exploited, you have to force them to show that card.

Whenever I was in a situation where I’d mention an issue and not even see them try to make things better, there was always a long, drawn-out series of attempts by me trying to make things better BY MYSELF only to ultimately realize “Hey, this circumstance (or person) is never going to change: if I don’t remove myself from it (or them) NOW, I’m just going to end up in an even worse position then I already am..”

Here’s a link to get your copy of Healthy Selfishness: Getting the Life You Deserve Without the Guilt, and lastly, in the words of Richard Heller, “Respect your needs and feelings, even when others do not…ESPECIALLY when others do not.”

Peace,
+B

MEDIOCRITY IS THE NEW ‘BLACK PLAGUE’: It’s Literally Ingrained Into Our Culture & You Need to AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:00:09 +0000

You know how people say “40′s is the new 30″ or “30′s is the new 20″? Well, I say mediocrity is the new “I’m chilling”, and although I’m not big on using “black” in a negative context, it’s so damn close to that epidemic plague of the Middle Ages I feel I need to…

Mediocrity, aimlessness and indifference have become so embedded into our culture that it’s virtually an invisible norm, breeding its viral infection into every man, woman and child no matter how skillful or brilliant they inherently are.

We can go on for days about where this all stems from: maybe from living in an “empire of illusion” that conditions us to deny reality and focus more on entertainment and distractions than on actual results while programming us for consumerism instead of production, or maybe from a backwards education system that encourages passivity and submission rather than true intelligence, or just from being raised in a “kindergarten society” that devalues maturity and adulthood itself.

…or maybe it’s all this “ignit” rap music circulating around, but I’m not really dwelling on causes today, because I just want to tell you to AVOID THE PLAGUE AT ALL COSTS.

Just like there’s air pollution, water pollution and even noise pollution, this contagious epidemic of mediocrity is a form of THOUGHT pollution, so if you’re not vigilant against it, it’ll occupy your mind quicker than an unemployed college graduate on Wall Street.

How to Stop the Plague From Reaching YOU…

I honestly believe now that you need to make an oath to yourself to start saying things like: “I’ve let go of settling for less than the best I can be…,” “I am an action-oriented person,” “My best friends are people that are ambitious, loyal and wise…”, as much as you possibly can, every single day, because these relatively simple statements are the bedrock for an attitude and state of mind impervious to all the bullshit.

This might sound a little “out there,” but you need to sit down and make a conscious decision about the type of thoughts you need to be thinking, and then devise a plan to make them SUB-conscious thoughts you start AUTOMATICALLY thinking by default for the rest of your life.

What type of beliefs, ideas and values will draw you closer to where you want to go? How can you find ways to INSTALL these thoughts deep into your brain so you can think (and ACT ON) them without effort???

My answer? Think Right Now Intl.’s Accelerated Success Conditioning Software: the “Thought and Behavior Modification Programs” I’ve been using on a daily basis for the last FIVE YEARS to literally rip through my brain and rid it of all the disease-infected, bacteria-breeding limiting beliefs and disempowering attitudes I’ve picked up from the world around me.

Your subconscious mind is the key. Simply learn and install the key beliefs and attitudes of the world’s most effective, productive and happiest people, and you’ll think like they think, feel how they feel, and, most importantly, take the actions they take to live the life that THEY live…the best part being that it’ll all feel completely natural.

Again, mediocrity is the new black plague, and the only vaccination you have is in shielding your mind from all the foolishness and harnessing its sacred, subconscious power to finally activate your unlimited potential. Join me on this magnificent journey now.

Peace,
+B

The 7 Deadly Sins of Self-Motivation: Common Habits That Literally ROB People of Their Ambition and Drive…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:00:01 +0000

Here’s a quick list of what I call “The 7 Deadly Sins of Self-Motivation”: the most prevalent ways we tend to SABOTAGE our focus and hunger before it ever gets the chance to build up in the first place…

It’s interesting: we spend so much time trying to “be motivated” that we don’t even catch ourselves wasting all the motivation we already have stored inside. If you get nothing else from this post, know that just as you need to add motivation INTO your life, you also need to REMOVE the ignorant tendencies secretly squandering it away…

Think of it as frugality applied to your ambition instead of your bank account. Let’s analyze the top 7 ways we waste these motivational “dollars” and some methods to stop it from happening…

Motivational-Sin #1 is CERTAINTY

…or the ignorance of trying to be completely assured before taking action. This sin keeps you trapped because you can’t be certain of something you don’t know, and you simply can’t know something you haven’t already had experience with. (Think about it.)

So instead, spend your motivation on TAKING RISKS in an educated way. Let go of hesitancy and be courageous enough to act in the absence of a foolproof guarantee.

Motivational-Sin #2 is APPROVAL-SEEKING

…or the ignorance of trying to make your goals and creative work acceptable to others “from jump.” This sin keeps you limited because if you’re worried about how your project looks at from its inception you’ll never experiment or push past your creative boundaries.

So instead, spend your motivation on “FIRST DRAFTS.” Give yourself freedom to explore and don’t worry about editing or refining things until you have something going.

Motivational-Sin #3 is TASK-MAGNIFICATION

…or the ignorance of making every assignment an overwhelming test, big deal or detailed enterprise. This sin keeps you in anxiety because you’ll begin to associate worry, stress and “being swamped” with the act of working itself.

So instead, spend your motivation on SMALL SEGMENTS you can work on piece by piece. Use your imagination to break things down into tasks you can enjoy conquering, and then bring them all together.

Motivational-Sin #4: ANXIETY ITSELF

…or the ignorance of always expecting things to end in a complete disaster. This sin keeps you in a drama of cataclysmic destruction because it perpetually diverts your consciousness towards despair.

So instead, spend your motivation on CALM PROGRESS. Stay level-headed, and when things go wrong, take a break to regroup mentally.

Motivational-Sin #5: KNOWLEDGEABLE COWARDICE

…or the ignorance of thinking that knowing something intellectually equals knowing how to actually do it. This sin keeps you in mentally stimulated but never really “hitting it,” in terms of success because being a more knowledge person doesn’t necessarily make you a more productive one.

So instead, spend your motivation on ACTION-ORIENTATION. Discipline yourself to always “do the knowledge,” and remember that true learning literally EQUALS behavior change.

Motivational-Sin #6: PERIODIC ENTHUSIASM

…or the ignorance of leaving motivation to chance instead of developing a science and wiring it into your person. This sin keeps you confused because you’ll eventually questioning your own sincerity and wonder how dedicated you really are.

So instead, spend your motivation on being REWARDS-FOCUSED. Stay grounded in your original purpose and keep your mind centered all the benefits you’ll gain.

Motivational-Sin #7 is SELFISH CREATIVITY

…or, lastly, the ignorance of keeping your brilliance to yourself (which was me for a minute). This sin keeps you de-motivated, because without the feedback of another human being, your goals will never take on the force of living, breathing thing.

So instead, spend your motivation on SHARING YOUR BRILLIANCE. Select a few friends you can trust to get feedback from, and gradually extend out from there.

THANKS FOR READING, and remember: the only reason I can accurately describe all this is because I’ve been a serious “motivational-sinner” in my own right. Stay patient, diligent and self-forgiving as you work on these habits, and you’ll be on you’re way…

Peace,
+B

Are You Hijacking Your Own Success By BEING ETHICAL???

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:00:05 +0000

LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION: let’s say you drive home late today (like, three in the morning) and accidentally run a red light…do you take yourself down to court tomorrow and go, “Hey, I ran a traffic signal last night by mistake, but since a cop wasn’t around to stop me, I came here to pay the fine myself…”???

Of course not, but before we even go any further, let’s first establish the difference between “being ethical” and having a conscience.

A “conscience” is a moral sense of right and wrong: an instinctual drive for justice embedded in who you are as a person. Like Eddie Griffin once said, “Nobody needs to tell you, ‘Don’t kill yo mama.’ Somehow…you just KNOW that.”

But ethics is a little different…

Ethics is a branch of philosophical study PERTAINING to morality: an exercise in logic that results in an intellectual sense of right and wrong. It’s a “code of conduct” derived from THEORIES about how a conscience may (or may not) manifest itself under particular circumstances.

What I’m getting at here is that ethics are rules based on concepts that don’t always correspond to reality. They’re SUBJECTIVE by nature, so we all hit pivotal moments where we need to re-evaluate them (or let them go altogether) because they don’t lend themselves well to our real-life situations.

Now when it comes to success, I believe you have to be willing to do whatever it takes, but you’ll never reach that level of devotion until you can see your moral sense (or “conscience”) as something completely distinct from the rules and regulations you’ve learned from other people (as so-called “ethical behavior”).

I now personally believe that in most cases, the ethical conflicts we have about our success STEM FROM OUR DEEP-SEATED NEED FOR APPROVAL, and serve as one of the biggest barriers to personal growth and positive change. Let’s get into some examples….

Some Examples & My Perspective On This…

Nas has a line in his song, “Something Foul,” that goes, “Am I charismatic enough? Does my charm reach people that can make a change? If I shoot with straight aim…at the positive target, and swoo them to make a deposit into MY account, is that really progress???”

…which represents a major conflict all “conscious” artists share: “Is my work really making a difference at all?”, “Is it even right for me to make so much money from this?” and countless other ethical dilemmas that poison their productivity and creative focus.

A more common example is the abusive or parasitic partner leeching off the other, self-sacrificing one: “Can I really just kick his ass out on the street???” she wonders, as her “man” literally drains the lifeblood out of her every move.

Bottom line: you can’t be effective with anything important by riding its ethical-fence. When you’re too worried about the “rightness,” of what you already know you need to do, that preoccupation destroys your drive, undermines your productivity and NULLIFIES your ability to even think clearly and make healthy decisions in the first place.

Again, success requires you to do whatever it takes: to be committed enough to try whatever, be whatever, for however long and by any means necessary, so unless you’re 100% about the moves you need to make, you simply won’t make them in time…or, even worse, just won’t make them at all.

Wherever you see a lack of ambition, broken focus or hesitancy to make an important (an obvious) choice, an ethical hang up is somewhere in that person’s subconscious causing FRICTION…creating a dichotomy that defeats them before they even think to stand up.

And remember that life is complex: your challenges will NEVER perfectly line up with clear-cut definitions of right and wrong, and in this light, success in and of itself becomes one indefinite, perpetual act of identity-reform. It becomes the biggest ethical conflict because it’s actually asking you to transcend your own mentality, continuously…

What are your beliefs? How does the world work and how do the people in it operate? Who are you really? Is this truly how you want to continue to define yourself? Are you willing to give up this behavior (or idea, or person) for those more in line with what’ll bring you forward???

In other words, the triumphant, motivational, rags-to-riches success story is a childish one…a simplified narrative more reminiscent of the fairy-tales we’re told as infants than the reality of what success and progress truly entails.

In my experience, real success is a story of intense, internal psychological warfare: a journey to conquer yourself far too demanding for the average bear.

Knowing this, YOU can start by seeing yourself as a pure and honorable force: the clear, guilt-free conscious that comes from an identity which never questions itself leads to a motivation that knows no limitation.

Peace,
+B

6 Methodical Ways to Handle Large-Scale Work & Long-Term Projects SUCCESSFULLY (pt.2)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:00:47 +0000

Here’s a continuation of yesterday’s science on handling large-scale projects and serious work: two more practical, straight-to-the-point methods for leveraging your productivity skills on a higher plane. Enjoy…

Method #5: Get Help & Stop Pretending Your Superman

This one really speaks for itself. As I said in that classic lecture on time-management: “No one is superman, no one is superwoman, no one is an octopus and no one has 8-legs…there’s multiple people in the Universe for a reason.”

I’ve ALWAYS had trouble with this, so if I can get my act together – with guest contributions to the blog like Sepia Prince’s Does Your Cell Phone Have You On A Leash?, Mansu Edwards’s Ambition EQUALS Distraction and Genially Green Earth’s Beauty Begets Love – you can too. And in case you’re wondering, these posts got better responses then most of my own original pieces, so I saved time, my friends got the word out about their work, my audience enjoyed a break from my rambling behind and we all had fun putting our heads together on something positive.

Once you’re clear on what you want to do, find people who are talented, responsible and mature and ask them (in specific language) what you’d like help with, why you’d like their help specifically (as in compliment them) and tell that they’re free to say no for any reason whatsoever (if they said no it wouldn’t change the fact you think they’re a cool person)…it lifts the pressure.

If what you’re doing is positive and sensible, most positive and sensible people would love to add on their own two cents. Just be clear, specific, respectful and complimentary, and remember to ask the right people in the first place (people you know you can count on).

Method #6: Model After Others

I don’t care how creative you are, YOU’RE NOT THAT HOT. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but don’t kid yourself: none of us are soooo original that nobody’s ever done anything like what we’re hoping to do. The whole idea’s ridiculous, so if it applies, just stop…

Honestly now, if you can’t find someone else doing something at least SOMEWHAT similar to what your large-scale stuff is meant to be, it’s probably because you’re not fully clear and specific on what you’d like to do in the first place.

Also, one thing that helps me is knowing you can model yourself after a COMPOSITE of multiple influences. It’s just like in your life: you have one friend that’s in good shape (or eats pretty good), another friend with a great job (or some serious guap) and yet ANOTHER friend with a fine honey, so you model or aspire after different people in different ways, so too can you model or aspire your overall big-level goals after different businesses, organizations or groups in different ways as well.

For me, I’d like my teaching style to have the attitude and humor of Akil, the educational, professional approach of Eben Pagan and the lyrical finesse (and scholastic references) of Chris Hedges.

What’s interesting is that, the more I study, the more I find myself AUTOMATICALLY modeling myself after positive influences, subconsciously. So do your research, and no matter how bogged down you get with the day-to-day workload, don’t let it keep you from staying abreast as far as what’s working out there and why.

Now give a brother some love in the comment section! Later…

Peace,
+B

6 Methodical Ways to Handle Large-Scale Work & Long-Term Projects SUCCESSFULLY (pt.1)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:00:56 +0000

Sometimes a little jolt in productivity isn’t enough, right? Sometimes, especially when it comes to doing MAJOR projects like a new website, children’s program or whatever, you need stronger skills that’ll leverage your productivity past just another session or two…the reality is you need an entirely different APPROACH.

So here’s quite a few methods that I use to handle my large scale work (this blog specifically). It’ll be in two sessions: today we’ll cover four that are mostly about approach, and tomorrow we’ll cover two that are more concrete, practical techniques. Enjoy…

Method #1: Realize That It Actually IS Big

This might sound silly, but I’ve found that most people don’t even realize they’re signing themselves up for large-scale work to begin with. Personally, I believe the ability to consciously register how much (and the type of) work a new project entails is a discrete skill learned over time, because most people just have a “good idea” and go about it completely at random.

“I remember starting a writer’s group a few years ago: when I told a poet friend of mine about it, his immediate response was ‘Yeah, you know I can get you set up at such-and-such venue, and my man does promotion, so we can even get it popping on campus and start a whole poetry-movement!!!’

I said, ‘Well, that sounds good but uh…let’s just see how the first meeting goes and take it from there.‘” ~ from an old radio show I did about productivity and self-discipline

This is one of those things that’s obvious to point out, but still difficult to catch yourself forgetting. First REALIZE that your getting “amped up” about something that’s involved, then STOP and pace yourself into it. (In the example above, I just had one meeting and decided it was unnecessary).

To be honest, we’re actually being childlike when we’re overly-enthusiastic about a project just because it sounds cool: we’re forgetting that everything costs resources. This isn’t an entirely bad thing, I just want you to see it for what it is so you can control that tendency.

So be realistic: think about whether you really want to nominate yourself for all that work, and whether you have the time and money to do so in the first place. If you’re not sure, phase your way into it slowly and experiment before you make any serious (or public, or financial) commitments.

It’s not the most pleasant way to use your imagination, but it’s worth it. If the project was meant to be, you’ll make it through this phase stronger and more level-headed.

2/3: Benefit-Focus for the Mid-Term, MASTERY-Focus for the Long-Term

What I mean here is a lot simpler then it sounds: if you’re working on something that’ll take a couple of months, focus on all the rewards and benefits, but if you’re working on something that’ll take several YEARS, focus on mastering the craft it’s based on instead.

I’m focused on being the best writer and teacher I can possibly be, not really having a well-trafficked blog, but when it comes to finishing my first book, I’m focused on the income, accreditation and leverage it’ll provide me. Make sense???

Think about how long something will take, and structure how you motivate yourself with that in mind. Generally, if a project needs a few weeks or months (like a term-paper), focusing on benefits is good because it pushes you past your normal limitations, but if a project needs a significant portion of your life (like a martial art), focusing on mastery is good because it becomes part of your maturity as a person. For more on mid-term motivation, see here, and for more on long-term motivation, see here.

Method #4: Use Automation, Structure and Routine

AUTOMATE AND ROUTINIZE EVERYTHING YOU POSSIBLY CAN, and even if something isn’t “automatable,” make it as structured as humanly possible.

For instance, if you have to get people on the phone and talk, HAVE A SCRIPT…I don’t mean “stick to” a script, obviously, but have a general outline (written down somewhere) of how the conversation is supposed to go. It’ll save you the psychic energy of having to build yourself up to the task each time.

If you’ve ever had telemarketing or canvassing (door-to-door) gig you know what I’m talking about. Businesses structure and automate major tasks in order to take make processes more efficient.

Another aspect of this is to do everything at the same time each day, because once you have a habit of doing something at a certain time every single day it builds a life of its own and gets easier to do.

If you think about it, what I’m really saying here is “be a machine,” which sounds messed up on the surface, but it’s also why the industrial revolution was so profitable and productive: people eventually realized “Hey, we could produce A LOT more stuff if we automate and mechanize all these processes.” So structure and routine is the reason we have cars, the printing press, refrigerators and everything else…our whole standard of living is based on automation, actually.

Remember, automate and structure your work until it becomes a habit: do the same exact things in the same exact way at the same exact time every day (or every week) and watch it free up your physical energy and take almost NO mental energy at all…people will be literally AMAZED at how much you’re able to get done.

Check back tomorrow for more tips on handling large-scale work and long-term projects, and leave a comment below letting me know your thoughts. How do you handle long-term stuff???

Peace,
+B

THE SCIENCE OF SUPER HEROES (and Other Great Books Today’s Transcendence Readers are Reading…)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:00:24 +0000

Just the other day, I asked the the facebook fanpage “What are you currently reading?,” and got some VERY interesting responses. Apparently, my readers are into EVERYTHING, so take a look and see if any of the titles catch your eye:

Where to Get These:

I thought you’d be interested to see if there’s any common literary tastes between you and OTHER people who enjoy this blog, so here’s a link to all the titles I actually could find. (Don’t forget you can share whatever’s on your shelf in the comment section below too):

“Hunter Thompson (author of Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail) was a journalist who rewrote the book on journalism: he was almost completely subjective, wrote from the gut, and disses everybody in politics like they deserve to be dissed…”

“From Science to God was written by a physicist, describing his personal struggle to bring science and spirit together…”

(The Case for Father Custody by Daniel Amneus was also recommended, but Amazon wouldn’t let me put it in the widget for some reason. Check out some of my personal recommendations or my post 4 Simple Tips to Get Yourself Reading Again for more.)

Peace,
+B

The 11 Core Mental Patterns of Success: SPECIFIC Ways to Train Your Mind for More Progress, Productivity & Perpetual Accomplishment

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:00:37 +0000

Just realized the other day that I did a great post on the 11 mental patterns of failure, but never “flipped the script” and talked specifically about the mental patterns of SUCCESS in reverse. So let’s take a quick look…

11 Key Ways To Train Your Mind for Success:

(And just in case you’re wondering, NO, these are not simply the failure patterns inversed: that would be corny and unimaginative of me…although a good reinforcement. Enjoy the quick read and tell me your favorite pattern in the comment section below.)

1: Train your mind to have the self-image of a success, because someone who feels they already ARE what they’re aiming to be is destined to eventually get what they’re working towards. Condition yourself to believe you truly do have all the necessary components and qualities inside you.

2: Train your mind to focus on your purpose, because knowing “what’s in it for me,” is critical to staying inspired. Condition yourself to place your moment-to-moment concentration on WHY you’re doing what you’re doing (or why you’re here on Earth in the first place) and never lose sight of that.

3: Train your mind to visualize each successful step, because your subconscious mind constantly projects images, sounds and feelings onto your conscious one. Condition yourself to have a vivid, virtual reality of all the different SPECIFICS that success entails, because then it’ll feel more natural to take the right actions.

4: Train your mind to constantly focus on ALL the benefits of reaching your goal, because that’ll constantly renew your motivation over weeks, months and even decades. Condition yourself to keep all the different positive side-effects at the forefront of your mind.

NOTE: If this sounds similar to pattern #2 about knowing why, remember that 2 is about constantly thinking PURPOSE while 3 is about constantly thinking RESULTS. A purpose is usually personal or emotional (“For my child’s future…”); a result material or consequential (“The freedom of a passive income stream…”).

5: Train your mind to believe in your ability, because self-assurance creates courage. Condition yourself to believe you’ll do whatever it takes and your confidence will EXPLODE.

6: Train your mind to take appropriate action, because nothing works without follow-through. Condition yourself to believe that if there’s a job to do, a decision to be made or an obstacle to overcome, you’re the one to do it.

7: Train your mind to find joy in goal-related activities, because when you enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll want to do more of it and do it better. Condition yourself to always look for and always find what’s enjoyable about the decisions and tasks your goals require…it makes everything A LOT easier

8: Train your mind to look for and find lessons in both failures and successes, because the best in every field, in every sport and in every area of life learn more from their mistakes than anybody else does. Condition yourself to love learning everything necessary and you’ll develop mastery FAST.

9: Train your mind to see problems, mistakes, delays and setbacks as inevitable, because (newsflash) THEY ARE. Condition yourself to embrace the inevitable pitfalls of life and goal-setting WITHOUT fear and overreaction…shrink them down in your mind as small and manageable and plan for them ahead of time.

10: Train your mind to know and appreciate what you receive from success, because the most effective people alive have a way of squeezing out the maximum amount of joy from each moment, and this is DOUBLY true when it comes to their accomplishments.

Condition yourself to be aware of and deeply appreciative of every possible benefit and reward you get from working toward and achieving your particular aim.

11: Train your mind to feel proud of your efforts and accomplishments, because successful people have HIGH STANDARDS. Condition yourself to feel enormous joy, excitement and ecstasy with each victory no matter how small they may be.

So there you have it. Find out more about the automated program I use to train MY mind for success – Accelerated Success Conditioning Software – go here, and don’t forget you can also contact me for any questions, comments or suggestions using the contact form too.

Peace,
+B

Why Most Self-Help ISN’T Helping (& Why You Need to CONSCIOUSLY Control How You Use Your Brain)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:00:35 +0000

If you’ve been trying all the programs, reading all the books and getting all the newsletters but still can’t get YOURSELF to start taking all the actions, first know that you are not alone.

A lot of people go through this same frustration and really, interestingly enough, there’s only a few key things you could be missing. Download this audio to find out what I mean or click here to listen:
Download audio file (eben2.mp3)

Let’s Talk About the Unconscious Mind:

“Let’s talk for a second about what’s called the unconscious mind, and the analogy here is an iceberg: You probably know that only 10% of an iceberg actually shows above water and that about 90% is below water. Well that’s the way the mind is as well, with one key difference…

With the mind about 99.99% is below water and invisible, and only about, maybe 0.01% is visible in your conscious thought. NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK IS IN THAT WHOLE REALM OF THE UNCONSCIOUS??? You’re right…

>> Things like beliefs,

>> Things like identity and self-image,

>> Your view of what reality IS and what’s possible,

>> The ability to create optimism, and actually even your habits of thought are in your unconscious mind…

So you can learn all the fancy creative thinking and logic exercises you want: if your unconscious mind is wired wrong, NONE OF IT WILL WORK, period…even if some it does work just a little, you’ll forget it, because it’s not permanently wired.

Now I’ve never said this publicly before, but most of the work I do when teaching people is getting them to let go of outdated beliefs, inefficient mental habits and to change their mental image of themselves, because only then will techniques actually work…”

Full Video This is All From:

That is from the video “How To Use Your Brain” by Eben Pagan. (I just stripped the audio from it, cut it up and put the best excerpts over some cool instrumentals.)

This rung true for me because I know I spent most of my life NOT thinking for myself. I spent most of my life getting into trouble and feeling confused about where I was going because I was “fronting”… because I wasn’t being authentic about who I am or who I want to become.

So one of my biggest lessons in life was that I needed to CONSCIOUSLY control what I thought and believed, and then consistently ACT on those beliefs in order to refine them and make sure my ideas were accurate. Here’s another clip explaining what I mean:
Download audio file (eben1.mp3)

“So why would you want to “control” the way you think? Why wouldn’t you want to just have it happen naturally??? Well, what I’ve learned in life is that if you learn the powerful thinking tools and strategies that the most successful people use to focus their mind – to use reasoning and logic to create the results – you’ll:

>> Have more power and influence in the world,

>> You’ll attract more successful people into you’re life (they’ll automatically be attracted to you), and

>> You’ll achieve the results you want to achieve in your life: in business and in your relationships…

What I’ve also learned by watching very closely is that those that DON’T take control of their minds – those that never learn to use their minds in an ‘expert capacity,’ if you will – don’t make things happen.

In fact, what happens is the opposite: they LOSE power and status, people REJECT them and aren’t attracted to them, and they ultimately FAIL at the things they try to do, and it’s all because of what’s going on in their heads.

(later on) Almost no one actual does this…as I’ve been studying this topic and paying very careful attention over the last few years, I’ve noticed that ALMOST NO ONE I MEET OR INTERACT WITH IS THINKING INTENTIONALLY, using sound thinking techniques, or verifying their ideas with tests and measurement.” ~ Eben Pagan

Once again, here’s some links to watch the video this is all from in full and enjoy more audio mixes like these. Take care and don’t forget you can contact me for anything.

Peace,
+B

Not Getting Good Enough (or Even Just ‘Enough’) SLEEP??? Here’s 5 Possible Reasons Why…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:00:42 +0000

I have a couple friends with (so-called) “sleeping disorders,” and believe that adequate, rejuvenating sleep is VITAL to being focused in hundreds of little ways we fail to realize. Luckily, this short article from TRN’s “Tranquil Sleep Now” explains why, so take a quick look and thank a brother later (preferably in the comments section below):

The “5 C’s” Behind Most Sleep Problems

“If you’re like most people, you try to live life all at once and you bring it all with you into bed, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

Experts explain how the five Cs — Change, Conflict, Criticisms, Concerns, and Crises — can burden our lives with unhealthy stress. Any of these factors can ruin your sleep faster than you can say ‘good night.’ Look at what you do when you turn the lights off:

>> You play the day’s events over and over in your mind.

>> You mull over mistakes and disagreements.

>> You think about a deadline racing up.

>> You worry about your kids’ grades.

>> You dwell on PROBLEMS. Money problems. Family problems. Work problems. Health problems. Marriage and relationship problems.

Factor that all together, and it’s no wonder sleep is elusive. As the sleeplessness goes on and on, the frustration keeps mounting up:

>> You get down on yourself for being a failure at “sleep”

>> You soon dread going to bed.

>> You feel powerless over your sleep problems.

>> You just assume you won’t be able to sleep.

>> You don’t know how to relax anymore.

>> You can’t get comfortable in bed.

>> You resign yourself to being an insomniac.

>> You don’t think you’ll EVER get a good night’s rest.

>> Your mattress is too hard and the pillows too soft.

>> You have terrible nightmares, so “what’s the point?”

But why, with so much on the line, do these issues take over your mind when you’re trying to fall asleep???

It’s just the way we’re wired… Most of the 50,000 thoughts that pop into your mind every day are AUTOMATIC. They’ve been with you for decades (perhaps even a lifetime) – they’re the by-product of conditioned negative thought patterns that have hijacked your natural sleep processes.

That’s why just saying “STOP!” to yourself won’t do the trick, and blaming yourself because you don’t have any “internal discipline” won’t either…”

The healthiest, most effective way to correct your sleep problems is to change the unsupportive mental patterns (beliefs, thoughts, attitudes) that lurk behind them.

Sleeping pills and herbal remedies don’t change the underlying causes of sleep problems one iota. Tranquil Sleep Now! does—safely, effectively, and permanently.

It’s as simple as that…” ~ fin

Where This is All From…

That particular excerpt stood out to me, but there’s a lot more too, so click here to finish reading. The main headline says:

Remember, I’ve been using these programs since 2007 to stay focused, motivated, fully-engaged and ON-POINT. Click here to find out more now…

Peace,
+B

Affirmations AREN’T Working For Me…What am I Doing Wrong??? (Here’s The Top 3 Most Common Mistakes)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:00:18 +0000

I remember getting a business consultation a while back, where when I mentioned that I provide guided meditation and affirmation programs through my site, the guy said:

“Oh yeah? That’s funny – I read a statistic the other day that said most people who use affirmations are more depressed then the average person.”

And this got me thinking, “You know what? He’s probably right: most people who try this affirmation thing probably are more depressed then the average person, because (just like most people who start businesses, try to lose weight or do anything else constructive) THEY’RE PROBABLY GOING ABOUT IT ALL WRONG.

So if you find yourself having trouble with any affirmation-related practice, first make sure none of the following apply, because these are the top 3 common mistakes I find people making ALL THE TIME:

Mistake #1: Being Unrealistic or “Too Positive”

If you feel like a loser, saying “I’m a winner, I’m a winner, I’m a winner…” is NOT going to work, cause if you’re in a bad mood, you won’t feel like saying it, and even if you’re in an okay mood, just saying that’ll make you more aware of how you actually feel on a general basis…

Likewise, if you’re 200 pounds overweight, saying “I have a slim and healthy body…” just isn’t going to cut it, because you’ll know you’re lying to yourself.

Instead, someone who feels like failure should try statements like “I forgive myself for not getting things done…” and someone with with weight concerns might try “I know and believe in the value of being a healthy person…”

This is why the program I mentioned earlier uses both “affirming” and “releasing” statements: some affirmations focus on moving you towards where you want to be, and others solely on getting you away from where you presently are.

Some key phrases for RELEASING (before you try to install anything crazy) are: “I forgive myself for…”, “I’ve now let go of…”, and “It’s okay for me to…” The key here is to go at your own pace: since you know where you’re at better than anyone else, take your time to gradually nudge yourself in the right direction.

Mistake #2: Being Too Verbose or Not Hitting the Point

I remember this e-mail newsletter for Sovereignty (Law and Civics lessons, basically) I was on a few years back where they sent out an affirmation list called “Cosmic Trigger Enlightenment” with statements like:

“I AM CRYSTAL STAR SEED AND I MERGE IN ONENESS IN THE UNIFIED FIELD OF DIVINITY WITH THE CRYSTAL EARTH AND CRYSTALLINE COSMOS…”

Now c’mon: I’m not here to knock anybody’s spirituality, but to me, that’s basically ASKING for “more depression (and confusion) then the average person” to begin with…

Remember, affirmations are meant to re-pattern something that happens below your awareness: they work to change how you think, feel and act BECAUSE how you think, feel and act is governed by subconscious processes…things like self-image, identity, beliefs, perception and habits of thought.

Now here’s the secret: your subconscious mind IS NOT concerned with stars and galaxies…it’s concerned with your fears, pains, guilts and frustrations. Your subconscious mind doesn’t think, “I’m a star-seed child,” it thinks: “I’ll always be poor…”, “Women always reject me…”, “I have no self-control with food…” and so on.

In short, it’s the hidden, self-limiting beliefs that effect you in a direct and emotional way…it’s the stuff that makes you go, “How am I going to make rent on time?,” “Is my girlfriend going to dump me?” or “Will I ever have be healthy and functional again???”

THEREFORE, affirmations tend to work best when they’re focused on things like dissolving anxiety, gaining freedom from depression, building real self-esteem, releasing your fear of failure or developing unstoppable motivation. Those are really the key areas, so instead of “Cosmic Triggers,” try:

>> “I transcend all jealousy of those who have more then I do…”
>> “I alone am responsible for both my failures and successes…”
>> “It’s easy and natural for me to keep mistakes in proper perspective…”
>> “Life isn’t always fair, so I don’t expect it to be…” and
>> “I believe in tending to situations before they become problems…”

You have to understand a bit of your own psychology before you can craft the really effective ones: you need to know what you fear specifically so you can address that specifically, and you need to know how other (successful) people think about it so you can learn that too. (Like anything else, this is a skill you learn overtime.)

Also, another related problem people have is being too damn wordy. Simply put, when it comes to the subconscious, “less is more,” so follow E.B. White’s advice and OMIT ALL NEEDLESS WORDS. This is not where you show off your skills and get mega-deep – it’s where you come to understand your real frustrations and address them directly and compassionately…

Mistake #3: Not speaking with EMOTION…

And lastly, as you can see by now, the subconscious mind hears emotions, not logic. So if you want your affirmations to work, you have to speak to it in an emotional way.

Emotions are what drive us: emotions make things real and what gets us involved. Emotions are why certain movies, books and people are interesting instead of others, and emotions are why certain affirmations are actually believable instead of some of the ones you may be using now. So say them like you mean them. Say them like they’re values and convictions that you actually hold and watch them become values and convictions that you actually act ON.

Thanks for checking this out. For a free manual I put together on affirmations (with an in-depth method, sample affirmations and more) download this (it’s old, but still good…I’d change some things if I were to do it over), and to check out that guided audio program, click here. (Don’t worry, you don’t need to know a thing about affirmations to use these correctly, because they make the entire process VIRTUALLY AUTOMATIC.)

Like you’ll hear me say countless times, this is the #1 tool I use DAILY to stay motivated, disciplined, focused and ON-POINT, so do yourself a favor a take a second to check it out now…

Peace,
+B

Today is Your Day to Win, Pt.1: Going From the Bench to the Playing Field…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:00:36 +0000

Here’s an excerpt from Mike Brescia’s (leader of the Think Right Now Intl. organiztion) classic book, Today is Your Day to Win. It’s not the most well-written piece you’ll come across, but it does cover the hidden psychology of unstoppable motivation, so tough out the reading and give the man some of your precious time and attention (instead of Facebook). You’ll be glad you did…

Today’s Empowering Quote:

“I have brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli

Today’s Empowering Question:

“What am I willing to give up in order to reach my objective???”

Today’s Session: From the Bench to the Playing Field

Since I’ve had so many requests about how I went from a real bum to being able to write to tens of thousands of friends all over the world, here’s the story. It’s…interesting.

Up until early 1987, I regularly used to beg the gods for an answer to the question of why I couldn’t get myself to do what I needed to do to get my simple goals met. Why was I so lazy and miserable? Why was I just…a bum.???

I got fired from countless jobs. I flunked out of college, and then got fired some more. Finally, after reading some very popular books on selling and motivation over and over…I CONTINUED TO FAIL, not making one single solitary thin dime in my commissioned sales job for close to TWO more years. (If it weren’t for friends and then my trusty Ford Econoline van, I literally would’ve been living “on” the street.)

One day while sitting in my van, a man walked up and started talking to me. He was brilliant: he went on to tell the story of when he, as an announcer, covered the World Series back in the late 60′s. He had all the names; he knew stats like it was yesterday. His voice was clearly that of a broadcaster, but the thing that was most incredible was…

…he was pushing a shopping cart, which carried ALL his earthly possessions. He was homeless too, living on the street like me, and I couldn’t believe it. He told me that he just got sick of the daily challenges – of “one problem after another” – and literally became unable to function in any capacity. Very quickly he had lost everything, and at the end it was by choice.

Sadly, I could identify with THIS guy more than anyone I had met in a while. I was VERY low, but fortunately, I hadn’t quite reached that level…yet.

I did want to get off “the street” and stop being a bum. So I found this great bookstore around Hermosa Beach that had comfy chairs, and started spending a lot of time there. I got familiar with a number of self-help change methods, including NLP, self-talk and Accelerated Learning techniques..like I said, I had A LOT of time on my hands.

Back to New York

Soon I came back to Upstate New York, got a menial job and created my own Superlearning tapes with three cheap, borrowed tape players. Only instead of learning a language or factual data at lightning speeds, I figured I’d teach myself new attitudes and instruct myself to do the things that sent tremors of fear through me, the actions that would change me from a loser to someone I’d be proud of.

So from every sales, biography, motivation, NLP and “don’t worry, be happy” book I could find, I pulled out all the lessons, beliefs and attitudes of life’s top performers. I turned them into self-instructions, and recorded them onto tapes with very specific baroque music passages playing in the background. (Editor’s note: hint, hint.)

It was quite a setup: I was desperate, willing to try ANYTHING, and couldn’t get fired from $5/hr jobs anymore.

In what seemed like just a few days, I began to feel differences. In my new job, I started working lots of hours putting coin-operated TVs together and installing them, and soon, I was making telephone calls to prospective customers (large travel plazas with big restaurants).

These early TV boxes were downright ugly, but I was able to convince the presidents of nearly every one of these huge corporations to let us tear up their nice dining rooms and put them in. It was wild…I mean, I just got in a frenzy of conviction before each call.

The more I listened to my tapes while I slept, the more fanatical I got about reading and learning. Among my recorded self-instructions were ones that told me I loved learning and that I was the greatest salesman in the world. Ha!! I put in that the more I succeeded, the more success I wanted. Talk about a vicious cycle, huh?

Well, soon I had exhausted the company’s inventory of TV’s, and since the revenue each one made wasn’t that high, the company had no money to buy the parts to build hundreds more. Even though it proved to be a dead end job, it felt good not being fired.

So I left to start selling hearing instruments, and I got scary good: in an industry with 20-25% closing ratios, I was selling 95. In just about 4 months, that self-instruction about being the greatest salesman in the world was eerily coming true (at least in that industry). Soon I was going seven days a week, and missing a sale WAS NOT not an option.

How I Eliminated My Blocks:

I continued to listen to my tapes and develop new ones. Considering where I came from to where I was now, I figured that anything was possible, so I researched and made tapes for everything from diet practices to dissolving anxiety. I had gone from being scared of everything to feeling like I couldn’t fail.

I used to use double negatives when I spoke too (“I didn’t do nothing” was a famous line), and this drove people around me crazy, so I researched communication and public speaking and made an accelerated success tape for that too.

Whenever I wanted to eliminate a block, get good at something, or feel better about myself, I looked for the top professionals, researched their findings, uncovered lots of conflicting data, found what made sense and made a tape in the accelerated learning format.

I found there was NOTHING that I couldn’t literally install into or rip out of my mind. And with the right thoughts and instructions, you could create an endless loop of success, each good outcome fueling in you the desire to keep the positive change and to improve even more.

In short, that’s the early part of the story that leads me to today, getting to talk to you.

I hope this answered a few questions and inspired you to believe that no matter what you’re going through right now, you are truly magnificent. All you have to do is release your blocks and embrace your unlimited potential. There’s enormous power within you. It might be buried, but it’s there.

I know, I know: if that seems a little beyond what your belief system currently allows you to accept, I understand, and that’s OK. Just keep reading and repeating your self-instructions. You’ll become a believer soon enough…” ~ Mike Brescia

Today’s Winning Beliefs:

>> “Every success I achieve fuels in me the desire for more…”

>> “I can achieve anything that I can imagine…”

>> “I have the ability to visualize EVERY aspect of my success…”

>> “My ability is greater than any challenge I could face…”

Remember, “burn the thoughts, beliefs and attitudes of the happiest, most effective people into your mind and you’ll feel how THEY feel, do what THEY do and get the same results that THEY get!”

I’ve been personally using Think Right Now Intl.’s Accelerated Success Conditioning Programs to keep my head in the game” DAILY for 5 years now, so click here to find out more:

Peace,
+B

Ambition EQUALS Distraction (A Quick, Motivational Read by Guest Blogger & Author Mansu Edwards)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:17 +0000

Here’s a special guest post by a colleague and good friend of mine Mansu Edwards, author of the books Mental Diet and The Disappearance of Hate, both of which I urge you to learn more about here. Enjoy…

Ambition EQUALS Distractions

“Yes, ambition equals distractions. It’s an anomaly from the usual Personal Development theory, but does this sound familiar? ‘Make goals. Change your mindset. Surround yourself with positive people. Eagles soar. Repeat everyday for 10 minutes, ‘I’m a Winner’ and watch how your life changes.’

They’re all good suggestions. I’m not hating on these solutions (so shout outs to all the people making it their mission to improve people’s lives), but most of them don’t tell you that you will encounter many distractions. It’s a test that you can pass if you have a strong will. If you don’t, GAME OVER. Know thy enemy. Don’t get upset with distractions.

The phone rings while you’re working on a project that’s due next week. Oh yeah, and they’re people you haven’t spoken to in years. Why are they calling now? You know why? Because you’re ambitious and focused. Will you answer the phone or call back when you’re done. What’s more important? As the saying goes, DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS.

Uncle Ted watches a new episode of Alphas in the living room. You hear explosions and Malik Yoba shattering a titanium glass window with two quick jabs while you’re at the kitchen table drafting a business plan. Uncle Ted yells with excitement. You’re eager to stop the writing and researching. My future versus Alphas. Hmmm. What will I do? ‘I’ll take a 5 minute break and then go back to the business plan,’ you say. But, let’s be real, it won’t be a 5 minute break, you’re either watching most or all of the show . It’s just like when your Moms tried waking you up early for school and you told her “5 more minutes.” She came back to find you still sleeping.

Just, think about your future. What do you want to do? What do you want to be? Sacrifices are tough, but rewarding. I’m not a Guru. Just, in case you’re thinking, ‘this guy’s doing a lot of talking, I wonder what his life is about, he must have it all together.’ You know what, I DON’T. I’m imperfect like everyone else. My goal is self-mastery and yours should be too. And guess what, we’ll still be imperfect lol. Be ambitious, but be wary of life’s distractions.”

by Omar Hasan
Author of The Disappearance of Hate and Mental Diet
http://www.thedisappearanceofhate.wordpress.com

Peace,
+B

Does Your Cell Phone Have You ON A LEASH??? (w/ Special Photographs Courtesy of Sepia Prince)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:00:17 +0000

One thing you’ll hear me suggest A LOT on this blog (especially in anything about getting focused and conquering yourself) is eliminating distraction, because distraction and interruption, particularly the digital kind, rob us of more productivity than just about any other single factor.

What’s interesting is that digital distraction – interruptions from text messages, twitter updates, email alerts and the like – have us on a leash. Most of us (and I even catch myself sometimes) respond to our cellphones like one of the slaves Harriet Tubman COULDN’T get to leave the plantation, and don’t even realize how ridiculously absurd this conditioning is.

My good photographer friend Sepia Prince has a great photostream on Flickr about this called Electronic Leashes, and since “an image is worth a thousand words” (a very prejudice cliche I as a writer take offense to by the way, but whatever), enjoy the collection below. See if you can pick up on the highly ironic yet semi-depressing state of affairs these kodak moments so accurately portray:

“Electronic Leashes” Photostream Slideshow

Be sure to check out Sepia’s Flickr account for more great pieces, because the brother knows what he’s doing.

Take care of yourself, and remember: you are not a gadget, so next time your phone goes off, LET IT RING…resist the crack-needle-in-the arm, Pavlov-dog response syndrome and focus on the task (or real-life conversation) at hand.

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself CONCLUSION: Resource Materials, References & Recommended Scrolls…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:00:03 +0000

And lastly (I say this with a little feeling of triumph in my heart), here’s the resource page to the Conquer Yourself series. Just for fun, I did it in audio format for your listening pleasure too, AND there’s a cool beat at the end. Check it out…
Download audio file (conquer.mp3)

Online Resources (All FREE)

Simpleology.com w/ Mark Joyner: I first came across this in 2007 – a great productivity training course with simple daily exercises and quick videos all focused on “the simple science of getting what you want.” They’ve definitely stepped their game up since back then, so do yourself a favor and take a second to check them out now…

Productive Flourishing w/ Charlie Gilkey: a blog that’s “all about the science and art of meaningful action.” Just trust me when I say this brother has a lot of knowledge under his belt…his blog will help you demystify the creative process, understand entrepreneurship in this digital age and much, much more…

Zen Habits w/ Leo Babauta: Another site on “Simple Productivity,” Leo leans more towards the philosophical side. One of the most famous blogs on the internet right now for a good reason: his short but deep posts always give you something to think on WITHOUT taking up your time…which a brother appreciates these days.

43 Folders w/ Merlin Mann: You’ll see a great video from this guy below, but here’s a link to one of his blogs, a website all about “finding the time and attention necessary to do your best creative work.” His information is great, but I also appreciate the technological, geeky dimension he brings to the table…

The 5 Pillars of Self Discipline by Steve Pavlina: Another great read I stumbled upon while doing some initial youtube research. I really like this guy’s writing style, and this articles always link to a bunch of other dope reads…

4 Steps to Raise Your Productivity & Consistently Get More Out Of Yourself (pt. 1) by yours truly: This was the first post I ever did strictly on productivity, right at the turn of the new year…in my mind, I knew a lot of people would be looking to set 2010 off right, so I decided to go with this concept of personal effectiveness. This post covers some of the most powerful ideas I came across all in one writing. Catch pt. 2 here…

Wake Up Productive w/ Eben Pagan: One of my favorite teachers online right now – what I really like about this guy is that he does mostly video training instead of the typical, boring written word. You’ll see one of his videos below, but check his blog for more…they’re really good. (Most go so in depth that they end up being kind of long though. For shorter clips, check the youtube channel…

…also, don’t forget about Think Right Now Intl.’s Accelerated Success Conditioning Software. Remember, this is the ONLY program a brother’s been using DAILY for five years to stay motivated, focused, faithful when times got hard and ON-POINT (them having a free newsletter, life-transformation kit and audio-interview series doesn’t hurt either). Click here to find out more now, and thank me later…

Recommended Scrolls

Video Archive

Contact a brother for any questions…I’m here for you.

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true power…Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” ~ Lao Tzu

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 13: How to Raise Your Productivity By HAVING MORE FUN

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:00:59 +0000

Lastly, here’s lesson 13 of the Conquer Yourself series: DON’T FORGET TO HAVE FUN, whatever that means to you, because a big part of productivity IS guilt-free leisure time…lesson 13 is that if you never spend time enjoying yourself, you’ll actually end up procrastinating by proxy.

Don’t Become a Workaholic

This was one of my biggest issues: if you’re a procrastinator, being a workaholic probably seems like a good problem to have, but the reality is that procrastinators and workaholics have A LOT in common. (More on this further down…)

In the past, I had a habit of not eating well, not connecting with the important people in my life and barely get away from the computer at all. I’d read while I cooked, check emails while talking and act like I was too tough to take care of myself. You could of made a movie about me called, “What Happens When Ambtion Supersedes Wellbeing”.

I don’t want this to happen to you (because the tendency is to shift from one end of the spectrum to the other), so I’m ending the Conquer Yourself series with this advice: DON’T BECOME A WORKAHOLIC…IT IS NOT TRUE, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTIVITY.

A truly productive life is meaningful and purpose-driven, NOT enslaved to an infinite onslaught of tasks and responsibilities. When you’re a workaholic, not only do feel overworked all the time, you also forget why you started doing things in the first place: you lose your sense of purpose and what was once significant to you degenerates into another source of monotonous “work.”

I’ll spend the rest of this post quoting from Niel Fiore in his book The Now Habit, because he explains this a lot better then I can. Fiore actually dedicates an entire chapter to this idea called, “Guilt Free Play, Quality Work” and it’s some solid advice…

Guilt-Free Play, Quality Work

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living…” ~ Dale Carnegie

“‘Putting off living’ is the most tragic form of procrastination we can engage in…attempting to skimp on holidays, rest and exercise leads to a suppression of the spirit and a decline of motivation because life begins to look like all spinach and no desert. To sustain high levels of motivation and lessen the urge to procrastinate, we need guilt-free play that provide us with periods of mental and physical rejuvenation.

Similar characteristics separate workaholics and procrastinators from producers and peak performers. They both:

- See themselves as always burdened by incomplete work. They see themselves as always working yet still undeserving of rest.

- Think of their lives as “being on hold,” with only a faint hope of someday being successful enough to enjoy living.

- View human beings as lazy and in need of discipline, so they feel people need pressure in order to be motivated. Procrastinators respond to this pressure with feelings of overwhelm and anxiety; workaholics with constant busyness and stress.

- Maintain a negative attitude toward work, seeing it as infinite and insatiable (impossible to satisfy). They think success requires deprivation and sacrifice, a sacrifice workaholics are willing to make often to avoid getting too close to anyone. Procrastinators exaggerate the sacrifice and escape it with halfhearted play out of the fear that they’ll never be able to play again…

Both workaholics and chronic procrastinators are either constantly working or constantly feeling guilty about not working…

(Producers and Peak Performers on the other hand think,) ‘I don’t have to force myself to come to work. I’ve escaped the confines of those old-school definitions of work, play and human nature. I have my own sense of purpose that helps me combine work and play.’

From studying their performance styles, I’ve learned that guilt-free play is essential to attaining quality work and minimizing procrastination. A firm commitment to guilt-free play will recharge your batteries, create renewed motivation, enhance your creativity and energize you for all the other areas of your life. When you know that work WILL NOT deprive you of enjoying the good things in life, you can more easily tackle a large tasks without the fear of having it rule you.

Guilt free play is based on the seeming paradox that in order to do productive high-quality work on important projects, you must stop putting off living and engage wholeheartedly in recreation and relaxation. That’s right, you can actually be more productive if you play more! And as you put the strategy of guilt-free play to use, you’ll learn to play more AND complete more work.

Since one of the reasons we procrastinate is out of the fear that work will deprive us of play and enjoyment in life, guilt-free play fixes this problem by insisting that you plan recreation into your weekly schedule…

It all starts in childhood: adults usually think of play as being separate from learning and work, but play is an essential part of every child’s developmental learning about work. Through play we learn the physical, mental and social skills necessary for adult life.

With toys and their imagination, children create scenarios that rehearse them for work, relationships and conflict – they express difficult feelings, negotiate promises, solve problems, and learn perseverance and deep concentration. Some of the most essential and complex learning we get about “work” is actually done while “playing.”

(However, work environments, well-meaning parents and society as a whole eventually teach children that) work is unpleasant and that we are all lazy. We’re lead to believe that we need the pressure of “have to’s” and “should’s” in order to keep us from escaping through play, and this loss of guilt-free play makes the task of life seem more depriving and difficult then it needs to be. Consequently, incorporating guilt-free play back into your life can revive your early childhood excitement about learning and doing.”

Pull-Motivation, Push-Motivation

“We’re more likely to work productively when we can anticipate pleasure and success rather than isolation and anxiety…When attempting to motivate yourself to start working on a goal, do you use pressure to push yourself with force or attraction to pull yourself forward naturally???

Here’s some examples of each:

PUSH
‘Private Jones, if you don’t finish peeling that truckload of potatoes by 1700 hours, you’ll lose your weekend pass for the next six months.’

‘This firm needs to generate $200,000 worth of sales this month or we’ll all be looking for jobs.’

‘Unless you increase the number of clients you find each day to at least fifteen, you can find yourself employment elsewhere.’

‘This freshman class had better learn now that you’re in for a lot of hard work. By the end of the semester, you’ll have read this entire shelf of books; and by the time you graduate, this entire wall.’

PULL
‘Private Jones, with each basket of potatoes, you’ll be earning another days leave. If you can finish that truck by 1700 hours, you’ll earn an additional weekend pass.’

‘We need to generate $200,000 worth of sales this month. That means we’ll all need to put out some extra effort so we can breath easier next month. I’d like to hear some ideas on what we need to do to increase calls, customer contacts and closing of sales by at least ten percent.’

‘This week you’ll be learning how to keep your client on the topic and politely complete the contact. Within two weeks you’ll be able to comfortably see fifteen clients a day.’

‘Imagine that as you read a chapter in your textbook, you’re placing it on this empty shelf. Chapter by chapter, book by book, you’ll fill this entire shelf 1st semester, and naturally, by graduation, this entire wall.’

The Pull Method of Self-Motivation understands that distant and indefinite rewards have little power to motivate someone to face continuous difficulty, and instead, uses the more immediate and definable rewards of life: leisure, time with friends, etc. In other words, to control your work habits, make the periods of work shorter (less painful) and the rewards more frequent (more pleasurable).

…If you’re interested in tackling a large task and minimizing procrastination, you must structure the rewards so as to increase the probability that you’ll start on the task each day.” ~ Niel Fiore, PhD.

Hope that all makes sense…take care of yourself, and be sure to check back in tomorrow for the series conclusion.

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 12: How to Leverage The Power of Your Subconscious Mind to Work FOR YOU…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:00:01 +0000

Here’s lesson 12 of the Conquer Yourself series, that true, sustainable productivity comes from leveraging the power of your subconscious mind, so make sure your core beliefs and deep-level mental scripts support you in your drive to be more effective…if they don’t, NOTHING YOU DO WILL WORK LONG TERM, no matter what.

Your Subconscious is the “Sovereign Master”:

Throughout this entire series, in the first posts I ever did about productivity, in an old video on free-thinking and in almost ALL of my writings, I talk about the subconscious mind being a sort of “sovereign lord” over the “realm” of your thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

I keep repeating this because IT’S VITAL: I don’t want any of my new readers miss it and repetition is the only way I know it’ll sink in. So to paraphrase once more, your subconscious beliefs about yourself (and about the world we live in) are like the totalitarian government of a suppressed nation, or the ventriloquist behind a puppeteered dummy: they control EVERYTHING.

So if you don’t have this part right – if you’re not constructively leveraging your subconscious mind – you’re undermining all of your efforts. You’ll keep hitting your head against a brick wall wondering why nothing you do ever seems to work and why you never seem to stay with a goal like you know you need to. For instance…

>> If you have an unconscious habit of disaster thinking (i.e: thinking “If I don’t make this sale, I’ll lose my house,” “I’ll kill myself if she says no,” “If I don’t lose 10 pounds this week, they’ll all laugh at me.” etc.),

>> If you associate overwhelm and burden with necessary, goal-related tasks (“I can never write that much.” “I’ll never have enough time.” “This is too big a job for me.”),

>> If you have a failure-prone self-image (“I just AM smoker.” “I am a procrastinator.” “I’m not good enough to such-and such in my life.”) etc.

…or anything along those lines, you’re mentally sabotaging yourself., but fortunately, these subconscious habits can all be changed. Just as you might have mental patterns that compromise and draw you away from success, you can also have mental patterns that leverage and draw you closer towards it.

Steps to Changing Your Subconscious Patterns

My favorite technique for this is called “Auto-Suggestion,” where you place yourself in calm, relaxed state of mind (making your unconscious more receptive) and “suggest,” or state to yourself the new, supportive beliefs you’d like to hold.

Instead of the more destructive self-talk used above, you’d practice and condition yourself to think things like: “I’ve let go of settling for less than the best I can be,” “I forgive myself for lacking direction in my life,” and “The days of being overly self-critical are gone forever.”

Here’s another free pdf I put together called “An Affirmation List,” which’ll walk you through this process in depth, but, more importantly, here’s a program that’ll automate this entire process FOR YOU:

It’s Think Right Now Intl’s Accelerated Success Conditioning Software, the #1 visited personal development product site in the world. I first heard about them in 2005, but didn’t use any of their programs until 2007. Here’s my story:
Download audio file (trn2.mp3)

Take the time to listen to my story, don’t forget to download your free guide to autosuggestion, and be sure to check out the Think Right Now website in full. You’ll be glad you did.

And remember, true, sustainable productivity comes from leveraging the power of your subconscious mind: make sure your core beliefs and deep-level mental scripts support you in your drive to be more effective, because if they don’t, NOTHING YOU DO WILL WORK LONG TERM, no matter what…

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 11: Attaining Peak-Level Performance (How to Push Yourself to YOUR GREATEST)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:27:23 +0000

Here’s lesson 11 of the Conquer Yourself series: that to get the most out of yourself, approach your performance like an Olympic athlete approaches theirs. The operative word here is “performance,” because it implies an activity that’s both SPECIFIC (as in, a discrete act unto itself) and QUANTIFIABLE, the key traits that’ll allow you to develop FOCUS and METRICS for feedback…

The Athlete’s Inner Game

“When a player comes to recognize that learning to focus may be more valuable to him than his backhand, he shifts from being primarily a player of the outer game to being a player of the Inner Game. Then, instead of learning to focus to improve his tennis, he practices tennis to improve his focus…” ~ W. Timothy Gallwey

In Gallwey’s classic, The Inner Game of Tennis, he talks about using the sport as a “platform” for developing concentration, similar to the concept of flow discussed in one of my latest videos. (See more in this free pdf download.)

What I want you to do here is isolate the different aspects of your craft into constituent skills so you can develop each one of them independently. This fragmentation (individual focus) is the first step to developing the flow that’ll help you perform at your greatest.

Think of what you do as a kind of “sport” you can break down into key functions that can each be honed separately in a methodical way. For instance:

>> In soccer, this might be speed, tackling, dribbling, stamina, shot accuracy and play formation,

>> In tennis, this might be forehand, backhand, serving, stamina, shot accuracy and concentration,

>> But in blogging, this might be drafting, idea formation, social networking, video creation, audience building, basic html, etc.

Whatever it is you do, sit down with a pen and paper to identify those core competencies. This sets you up to practice each aspect in-depth (so it’s not one big confusing mess), get “into the flow,” and zone out long enough to pick up the genius level insights that’ll take your game to the next level.

“The worse part about multitasking is that it leaves you incapable of developing skill or proficiency at any particular thing: In order to cultivate your talents and turn them into strengths, CONCENTRATE on refining the particular dynamics that those talents and strengths are composed of. Does that make sense??? If you really want to get ‘nice’ at something, you have to go in-depth and master all the minute details and aspects of that thing, but you’ll never get around to doing that if you’re too busy ‘multitasking.’” ~ from a piece I put together on productivity not too long ago

So stop “multitasking” your performance, and take the more precise, scientific approach an athletic trainer would towards his clients. Break it down, focus on each part individually and gain the flow needed to revolutionize every aspect of your game.

The Next Step is Taking METRICS

The logical progression after this is to get statistical data upon which to measure and track your performance over time. Whereas in step one you’re compartmentalizing your craft into discrete skills, here you’re getting numerical feedback that’s RESULTS-ORIENTED…

In Basketball, players are measured by games played (as well as games started), points made, field goals made (as well as attempted and the percentage), three-pointers made (as well as attempted and the percentage), rebounds (offensive and defensive), steals, blocks, assists, turnovers, personal fouls and more.

But in the blogging, I measure sales made, fanpage growth, newsletter membership growth, most well-received blog posts, the open-rate of the emails I send and many other things. (Technology makes this a lot easier then it sounds…don’t worry, I’m am keeping my sanity over here).

Concrete data creates a line of communication between your efforts and your rewards. Truth is, unless you have some sort of quantifiable metrics going on, you’ll never get a thorough understanding of what you need to do to improve.

In fact, I’ve once heard it said that “the ability to graph and quantify information is one of the greatest invention humans ever created,” because we’re not inherently wired to accurately measure and perceive change.

Human beings will ALWAYS be biased in subconscious ways: just like we mis-communicate in our relationships or recall things from the past in our own peculiar and skewed ways, we also lack the ability to objectively track performance (and how it plays out) with only our own distorted thinking.

The evidence is all around you: sports, business, banking, the medical industry, and even governments and schools (controversially enough) are all based on taking TONS of different kinds of metrics on performance. Think credit scores, tax returns, grades, misdemeanor and felony offenses, imprisonment, etc. etc…it’s literally EVERYWHERE.

So START TAKING DATA ON YOUR PERFORMANCE and create your own “dashboard” of sorts. At first it’ll be crude, but if you stick with it, you’ll develop a keen sense of what you’re doing wrong and the fundamental changes you need to make to take your game to the next level.

Again, break your craft down so you can focus on mastering each specific aspect, and start taking metrics on your performance…if you think about it, what I’m really saying here is be more scientific about your entire approach and your guaranteed to CONTINUOUSLY push past boundaries and perform at your greatest.

Hope this helps. Be sure to tune back in Monday and leave me a comment letting me know how you think.

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 10: THE SCIENCE OF WILLPOWER

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:10:47 +0000

For lesson 10 of Conquer Yourself, we’re going to do something a little different: learn the science of willpower with Roy Baumeister and John Tierney, coauthors of the new book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. Listen here:
Download audio file (willpower.mp3)

I love this clip because the authors do two key things: (1) combine the old-school, Victorian style approach to “self-regulation” with updated scientific data, and (2) provide a complete framework for how to cultivate and develop it, seeing willpower as a mental function strengthened by exercise, depleted by decision-making and preserved by routines, for example. (You can enjoy a free segment from the book by clicking here).

Quotes from the Show…

“There are so many new distractions and temptations, that we need to set our own rules for dealing with them. It used to be that you’d go to the office and you couldn’t much else except work there, but now you can sit at your desk and goof off anytime. The temptation is always there to turn on your phone, to go to facebook, to do anything…”

“Like a muscle, willpower gets fatigued as you use it during the day. Successful people learn to husband their resources: they don’t just count on that muscle getting them through a marathon day after day. But over time you can build it…”

“Typically, you have much less by less (willpower) by late in the day…I stop trying to make big decisions after 4 o’clock, and in fact, I stop having meetings after 4 o’clock practically.”

“Keeping track, objectively, is the easiest way to start on improving self-control, and you can do this at age 10 or at age 60 or 70. Start to record your successes and failures. Pick something you want to work on about yourself and just record your progress on it.”

Take your time and LISTEN TO THIS SHOW IN FULL (you’ll be glad you did). Don’t forget to download your free book excerpt, check out the original website this is from and enjoy the rest of the Conquer Yourself series at your leisure

Peace,
+B

A Short Break from Conquer Yourself (Resources, References, Charts, Diagrams, Downloads & More FREE Good Stuff)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:34:42 +0000

Today we’re going to take a short break from Conquer Yourself, but to review the entire series “suma total” (that’s right: I’m working on my Spanglish…you know you like it), go here. There’s even some secret, never-before-seen posts in that archive as well.

(They’re really just classic entries from back when my blog had the whole nature-walk, boyscout look going on…one that’ll show you the hidden architecture of self-discipline and another that’ll show you a preview of where we’re headed. Good stuff.)

Charts & Diagrams

Here’s the (revised) affirmations worksheet with extra space for personal notes, and here’s the foodlog journal for taking metrics on your diet and corresponding energy levels. THIS WILL GIVE YOU SO MUCH LEVERAGE ON YOURSELF IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY…so trust me and put my fancy design skills to good use:

Audio-Visual Resources & More

As review, here’s a couple of audio mixdowns teaching you how to harness, cultivated and protect your attention in the digital age (all imperatives in today’s techno-stressed world, mind you). Download the first one by Eben Pagan here, and the second one by Merlin Mann here.

Download audio file (eben4.mp3)

Download audio file (e-mail.mp3)

And here’s the video-tutorial, “How to Conquer Yourself: 5 Tips for Building Your Self-Discipline.” (See my youtube channel in full for more.)

And last, but not least – probably MOST IMPORTANT, honestly – here’s a link to Effective Time-Management Now!, which has been helping literally thousands of people to “Get more done faster, better and EASIER while DRAMATICALLY reducing your stress.”

Seriously, I’m one of six-thousand+ success stories, and if it wasn’t for Think Right Now Intl. (the company that makes these thought-and-behavior modification programs), this blog wouldn’t even be here. Give them a shot and check the page out now.

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 9: Technology is UNDERMINING Your Productivity, Not Raising It. (How to Bring an End to Email Overload)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:30:32 +0000

Lesson 9 of the Conquer Yourself series is simple: it’s that technology is UNDERMINING your productivity, not raising it. Hyper-connectivity and information overload inhibit concentration, disrupt important relationships and sabotage your ability to think and act creatively more then anything else…

The Evidence is All Around You

Facebook and other social networks wasting hours of our day, e-mail alerts constantly interrupt us from actual work, High-Definition, flat-screen TVs (with literally 1000′s of channels) entice us to escape in mindless entertainment and, under the illusion of progress, all of this technological advancement has produced an attention-deficit SOCIETY…a world where, since the inability to focus is THE NORM, we don’t even realize it.

“As our culture has become more mobile, high-speed, techno-stressed, information-cluttered and media-saturated, we’re getting pushed out of our ability to focus without even noticing it.” ~ Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD, author of Find Your Focus Zone

…but no, I’m not about to tell you to throw your cell phone out the window, and I realize that telling somebody you don’t have email these days is like telling them you don’t have electricity. All I’m suggesting here is that you ALTER how you use these tools so as to not as to not jeopardize your work-ethic or waste the precious free-time and energy you do have.

(What follows is going to focus on email. For a foolproof way to “productivize” your facebook and social networking in general, click here.)

How to Do Email The Productive Way

You can make email productive with two simple steps: (1) open your inbox only at predefined periods and (2) stop “checking” your email and start PROCESSING it instead.

The first step is self-explanatory: think of email as something you only need to tend to during pre-established windows of time, like the office hours of a college professor.

That’s because email is primarily firefighting…email is other people making requests on YOUR time, not you prioritizing what you’re going to do and doing it. So when you’re checking your e-mail, you’re not really getting anything accomplished besides reviewing the demands other people have in mind for you (like spam, pointless informational links, jokes, chain letters and social network notifications).

When you’re checking your e-mail, even though you’re not doing anything, you’re still expending your mental energy. Too much time here -or going back and forth between email and whatever you’re supposed to be doing – and you’ll get drained out. You’ll actually get exhausted and still feel like you got nothing done.

So TURN OFF the random bleeps that come up on your phone and stop “checking” your email randomly throughout the day. Promise to yourself, “I’m going to process my email once at __ a.m. and again at ___ p.m., and then leave it alone until the next day.”

On “Processing” Email

By “process,” I mean is have a discreet, limited set of actions that you can apply to EVERY email that comes your way. For instance, with almost all the emails I get, I only need to do one of 3 things: (A) respond to it, (B) delete it, or (C) categorize it.

If I get an email I need to respond to, I take the 5 minutes (during my predefined time) to respond to it. If I get spam or anything I’m not interested in, I swiftly hit the delete button, and if I get something that I AM interested in, but don’t have the time to follow up and read (or watch) now, I just file it away in a folder, because I know it’s not going anywhere.

Watch this for details:

Hope this helps. Trust me: once you see a clear inbox and feel the psychological release from getting rid of all that clutter, you’ll thank me later. Now get to work…

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 7: Challenging (& Enlightening) Yourself AWAY FROM Laziness…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:56:49 +0000

If you want go from procrastinator to producer, the first thing you need is a new definition for both terms…in session 2, we already discussed procrastination as a coping mechanism in response to anxiety, so here I’ll show you the corollary: that productivity is a fundamental expression of the human spirit.

Even Abraham Maslow once said: “Human nature has been sold short…(humans have) a higher nature which includes the need for meaningful work, for responsibility, for creativeness, for being fair and just, for doing what is worthwhile and for preferring to do it well.”

“Life, by living, multiplies (i.e: produces) itself,” says Wallace Wattles, and what I’M saying is that being productive is your inborn, default state, not something you never had that you need to attain. So see everything interfering with your natural drive to produce as an ABERRATION…as a divergence away from who you truly are, no different then a physical illness (albeit more subtle) that needs to be cured.

Also, know that being productive is NOT the same as drudgery, so if you feel bored, overtaxed or anything along those lines when you’re “trying” to be productive, you’re doing it ALL WRONG. Like I said in the latest video-tutorial, self-discipline raises your self-esteem and creates a sense of gratification you can’t otherwise obtain, so although it’s not ALWAYS fun, it generally feels good.

(By the way, if any of this sounds like I’m ridiculing you, that’s cause I am, but only the part of you that’s still settling for less then the best you can be, not “you” per se. You even wouldn’t be here unless you wanted to do away with that person, and I definitely don’t want that person here on the blog wasting internet bandwidth in his spare time, either.)

So here’s a helpful acronym I put together to help you think like a producer, feel like a producer and ACT like a producer as well. Take a look at it and thank me later…

“P” stands for POWER

…because power is what you attain when you’re a productive person. Inside of “productivity” is the root word “produce” – a is synonym for the word “create.” This ability to create on-demand is a power that’ll separate you from the rest of the pack and make the most of your talents and skills.

“R” stands for RULE

…or more specifically, self-rule. This series is called “Conquer Yourself” because it’s about winning the war going on between your goal-oriented driven self and your comfort-seeking passive self. Producers have the tools to fight this battle conscientiously, procrastinators don’t…

“O” stands for OBSERVATION

…which means two things: (1) being present-minded and (2) SEEING COMPLETE SYSTEMS, not just isolated tasks and fragmented busy-work.

Procrastinators “miss the forest for the trees” and squander all their time and energy away on disconnected, pointless activities that lead them to the great destination of not-too-far-from-where-they-started. Producers use “systems-level thinking,” to leverage their time and energy and play the game from a higher plateau.

“D” stands for DIRECTION

…because in order to hit a target, you must see it clearly. Producers know that “a problem well-defined is half-solved” and a goal well-detailed is well within their reach. Start being as specific, concrete and tangible as you can, because without direction, you have no orientation…

“U” stands for UNDERSTANDING

…understanding that, again, procrastination is really a coping mechanism in response to anxiety…that it’s a SYMPTOM to (and indicative of) underlying fear, not “the problem” in and of itself. (See session 2 for a detailed example.)

Producers also understand that our culture literally CONDITIONS us for consumption, over-indulgence, entertainment and distraction: traits that are all ANTITHETICAL to a fully productive life (see the latest video for more), so even though they have fun and relax, they never let themselves get sidetracked.

“C” stands for COMPASSION

…because producers have high self-esteem (and they tend to treat other people nice too). Niel Fiore, author of The Now Habit says, “In order to maximize your performance in a stressful world, you must create a protected and indisputable sense of worth for yourself.”

So stop beating yourself up for not being where you want to be, and focus on making minor improvements overtime. Also, learn to talk to yourself in a more compassionate and supportive way.

“E” stands for ENERGY

…because, obviously, your health and vitality levels dramatically effect how much you’re able to accomplish (we’ll talk about this more in later sessions), and…

The final “R” stands for Recreation & Rewards

…because producers enjoy their leisure time guilt-free…they’ve let go of the robotic, slave-yourself-away mentality most people take towards being more efficient.

If you don’t take time out to play and enjoy yourself, you’ll actually INCREASE procrastination, because you’ll begin to associate work with force, pressure and pain.

So instead, try using reverse psychology on yourself by scheduling in leisure activities INSTEAD of actual project tasks, and work around that. (There’ll be more on this in upcoming sessions too. )

My overall point is that you have both a producer and a procrastinator inside you, and you have to choose which one you’re going to feed. If these 8 points helped you at all in that regard, then I guess I did okay. Leave a comment below letting me know which letters stood out most for you.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned tomorrow for more goodness…

Peace,
+B

The Major Key to Managing Your Time, Energy & ATTENTION…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:34:06 +0000

Today I’m going to take a short break from the series: not really to rest or anything, but to put together a new video. Be sure to check back tomorrow for a great tutorial overviewing and explaining the Conquer Yourself series.

As a reminder, remember what we covered in lesson 1, that productivity is just as much about UN-doing things as it is doing them. Let go of all unproductive busy work because “the wisdom of life consists of the elimination of nonessentials.”

It’s hard to stay disciplined when you’re feeling overwhelmed, because your body will naturally shut down to recover itself, so your work-time focusing ONLY on the specific tasks that bring you closer to the end result, and throw everything else away.

Time, energy and attention (i.e: mind power) as a type of fuel you only have a limited amount to expend. Get rid of all the minor tasks that aren’t pulling you forward (like checking your email) and FOCUS on the key activities that do (like writing or selling).

To find out about the key self-development product I use everyday to stay focused, disciplined, motivated and on-point, click here. It’s an accelerated success conditioning program that works to re-wire your subconscious mind for RESULTS.

Take care, and message me for any questions…

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 6: Most Goal-Related Stress is STRICTLY Psychological (3 Techniques for Ending Work-Anxiety)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:41:03 +0000

Here’s lesson 6 of Conquer Yourself: that most goal-related stress is strictly psychological. It’s that we tend to take anxiety-prone thinking habits towards our long-term goals, and this creates BIG PROBLEMS when it comes to disciplining ourselves for success. Keep reading for more…

Have You Ever Heard “The Serenity Prayer”?

It something they use in 12-Step programs along the lines of, “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” (or words to that effect).

In contrast to that, there’s the more popular STRESS prayer, “Grant me the stubbornness to struggle against the things I cannot change, the inertia to avoid the work on my behaviors and mental attitudes which I can, and the foolishness to ignore the difference…most of all, grant me a contempt for my own human imperfection and the limits of the logically possible.”

Of course the second one isn’t a real prayer, but it represents the unconscious, psychological stance most of us take towards setting and achieving goals. It represents the way we talk to ourselves (without even realizing it) that UNDERMINES our success and AMPLIFIES the stress and anxiety that’s already there.

(In fact, when you think like this, you eventually begin to ASSOCIATE the work you have to do with stress in and of itself. Not the best scenario if you ask me…)

Point is, one way to handle stress and anxiety is by letting go of what you can’t control, and then re-framing how you THINK about (and approach) the things you can. This is what Dr. Paul Dobransky refers to as “healthy boundary functioning.”

Re-Framing Goal-Related Stress

Typically, we get stressed when we think of our goals in vague, intimidating or overwhelming ways. We get stressed when we think of our goals like they’re mega-huge superstructures we have to somehow magically “just do,” and also, when we ignore the natural path of trial and error that they entail.

Here’s Niel Fiore’s example from The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination:

“As an eager and productive new lawyer, Joel found great satisfaction in working on depositions and briefs that he could do quickly. However, he shied away from more complicated cases, and his fear and procrastination began to get in the way of his advancement in the firm.

Whenever he was forced with an important or risky case, his physical and emotional reactions were so strong that he felt stuck…unable to do anything. His worrying resulted in insomnia, indecisiveness over small issues and an excessive use of coffee and alcohol.

>> He worried about making a mistake, about

>> his inability to handle the case, about

>> how much work he’d have to do to just adequately complete it, and about

>> his “devastation” if he failed.

In his own words: “I get so intense about the possibility of losing the case that I stop myself from ever starting the necessary preparation. This makes me so anxious that I can’t decide how I’m going to handle it: how I’d approach the opposition, where’s the best place to start and so on.

Then I get so frightened that I’ll make a mistake on my choice of what to do that I waste additional valuable time. Eventually, my nervousness and procrastination leave me unable to find time to take depositions and meet court dates…”

3 Techniques for Overcoming Work-Anxiety

So from this poor lawyer friend of ours, we can learn three major “thinking faults” we all seem to share, and how to overcome them. Look to see which ones apply to you:

1) Stop assuming you should know the right place to start, because that makes you indecisive. Stop banking on perfection from the very first step, because there’s always multiple ways to start something and it’s more productive to get into “the flow” as soon as you can.

If you assume everything has to be perfect all the way through, you’ll never get started or never gain enough momentum to finish.

2) Don’t assume you shouldn’t have any stress at all. Don’t enhance your initial anxiety by thinking you shouldn’t be anxious at all. Let go of inner-dialogue like, “I need to discipline myself.” “I should know better already…” etc., and

3) Stop comparing your work with the finished ideal. Catch yourself saying things like “I should be done already”, or “How will I ever finish if this is all I can come up with?”. Don’t compare your imperfect progress with an imagined, idealistic end-result.

So, in essence: (1) give yourself permission to make mistakes, (2) anticipate anxiety and stress in the first place, and (3) remember the Chinese wisdom, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”

In fact, the next time you start working on something, start with the INTENTION of doing things wrong just to get yourself out of the perfectionist habit and get yourself into a flow.

Similarly, stop looking at your goal as a single skyscraper you need to leap in a single bound, and start mentally sub-dividing it into smaller, more manageable pieces of work.

Hope this helps. There’s more coming soon, and don’t forget you can message me if you have any questions

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 5: Native American Wisdom for Motivating Yourself & Overcoming Addictions…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:25:41 +0000

Here’s lesson 5 of Conquer Yourself: that laziness and overindulgence are now ingrained into our culture. At one point in time, Americans were known for their work ethic and sense of industry, but now we’re known for our sloth and excessive consumption. Therefore, looking outside this society – learning from other cultures and from other traditions – can help us to re-examine our values and motivate ourselves.

None of this is to say that we live in a “bad” society, just that if you want to get focused, you need to be aware of EVERYTHING detrimental to that ideal. Onward…

Native American Wisdom for Building Willpower

A Cherokee elder once told the children of his tribe, “A battle is happening within me – a terrible battle between two wolves. One wolf is of fear, anger, guilt, greed and senselessness; the other of faith, peace, truth, love and reason…This same battle is happening inside of each of you, and inside every other person as well.”

The children thought for a moment and one asked, “Which wolf will win?” to which the old Cherokee replied, “The one you choose to feed.”

His parable is a lesson in concentration: it’s a lesson on FOCUSING on what’s important, on overcoming your destructive habits, and on creating the results that you’re looking for, because the bottom line is that FOCUS IS FUNDAMENTAL…

Like I said in lesson 4, concentration is VITAL, and it’s especially vital now because we live in an age of constant digital distraction and attention deficit disorder. As I say in my upcoming book, “You’re not bubble gum; you can only stretch so thin…(so) begin to regard your goals as living things that depend on YOU (and your attention) for their cultivation.”

Here’s what I’m saying: even though (at some level) we all intuitively know we need to focus in order to succeed, we still forget to because our modern world encourages us to move at such a frenetic pace.

Not only are we conditioned for CONSTANT interruption, scattered thinking and hyperactivity, but, even more, as we use new technologies in order to be more productive, those same technologies alter how we work and interact with each other, creating ever-more destructive demands for our time and energy then ever before.

“Got a new cell phone? Good – now your boss can reach you on your day off. Wireless PDA, huh? Even better – expect to get e-mails all the time too. Mini-PC??? Word…we’ll just instant-message you those files then…

Basically, we’re juggling a schedule of constant demands and always-on electronics. We’re actually re-wiring our brains for what the technology industry now calls ‘continuous partial attention.’

…In this digital age of distraction, we function at new levels of stimulation and anxiety: the internet spews information at us like a fire hose, but to digest information we need to sip it through a straw.” ~ Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D.

So that’s one thing I’ll cover over the next few days with you: a plan to overcome distraction and information overload in this digital age.

What To Expect In The Upcoming Lessons…

Another concept we’ll cover is Sports Psychology: the mental tools and cognitive methods professional athlete use for high level performance (specifically Olympians).

In the book Find Your Focus Zone (what I just quoted from above), Lucy talks about the upside down U-curve used in Sports Psychology to graph the nature of being “in the zone” – of having the the optimal level of focus needed for peak-athleticism.

The Y-axis charts the level of attention and the x-axis the level of stimulation… how “into it” the athlete is feeling.

If stimulation is too low and in “underdrive,” (like when athletes start to train months before a race or competition), they use strategies to psyche themselves up. However, if stimulation is too high and in “overdrive,” (like when an athlete is actually at the event nervously waiting at the starting line), they use strategies to calm themselves down.

There are so many parallels here. For instance, I tend to procrastinate most on a project when I feel “I have plenty of time,” and then get hyper-stressed over it when I realize the deadline is right around the corner.

Besides that, there’s also a few Samurai metaphors we still have to cover (so far we’ve been building on overcoming procrastination, improving your self-discipline and changing the way you talk to yourself), and I also want to talk to you about overcoming addictions.

I’m no psychiatrist of course, but I feel like none of us are ever really “addicted” to any bad habit: historically, addicts were slaves given to Roman soldiers to reward performance in battle, and so eventually, any person who was a slave to anything became known as an addict…We CALL ourselves “addicts” when in reality, we’re simply just unconsciously devoted to (or dependent on) some external thing, which is different then being enslaved to it (hope that makes sense).

All habits are formed, and that we have bad habits (so-called “addictions”) for actually GOOD reasons. For instance, a person may use drugs to give themselves a false sense of self-confidence, which is essentially a healthy desire, just an UNHEALTHY way of meeting it.

And so I see it as the same with all addictions: addictions persist when we lack other, healthier means of satisfying the natural needs they unconsciously fulfill.

“I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,but to battle my greatest enemy – MYSELF…” ~ Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887…

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 4: Self-Discipline Begins with a Desire for Self-MASTERY…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:25:07 +0000

Here’s lesson 4 of Conquer Yourself: that having self-discipline in your behavior stems from having self-mastery in your system of VALUES. By seeing “mastering your potential” as a moral obligation, time-management, self-control and personal productivity become natural side-effects of that ethical stance. Keep reading for more…

Having Goals vs. Having GAME (The Path of a Master)

You should have specific goals, but while working towards them, remember that it’s much easier to get into the flow of improving your game rather then trying to win THE game. It’s natural to focus on the end result, but training yourself to have an “always practicing” mindset relieves you of the stress, anxiety and pressure associated with progress and work.

Life is practice…in fact, life = practice, and the same mechanics that govern the good habits to advance in any field (martial arts, tennis, playing the drums, etc.) also govern the good habits of advancement in life itself. Practice is the path of the master…”

If you think about it, you’ll see that it’s much easier to have self-discipline and dedication towards developing skill and gaining proficiency than it is to accomplishing a goal. Marinate on this for a second…

Now I’m not trying to get you to believe in some sort of universal, metaphysical truth or anything like that, but I do want you to consider how this perspective can help you towards your own personal goals.

So essentially, you have to transfer the principles of practice over into your particular field (and on a deeper note, into life itself, which is “nothing more than one long practice session; an endless effort of refining our motions”). Once you have this perspective, the stress and anxiety transfers itself into joy and calmness, and the desire for success transfers itself into a hunger for self-mastery.

Thomas Sterner talks about this in his book The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline & Focus into Your Life and George Leonard in Mastery: The Keys to Success & Long Term Fulfillment. Also, the Nation of Gods & Earths (5%’ers) have a concept called “Constant Elevation,” and Moorish philosopher Ibn Arabi “Perpetual Transformation” which are related as well.

When it comes to your goals, begin to focus on the process of achievement, not the achievement itself. Begin to focus primarily on practicing to become better at your craft, not reaching some final end result.

The Element of Concentration

Along with the overall focus on improvement and development, this “always practicing” style has other implications as well, the first of which is concentration.

It’ll take several blog posts to build on concentration in depth, but let’s start by understanding why we lack concentration in the first place – because we live in a world where multitasking and distraction have become THE NORM.

Thomas Sterner (author of the “The Practicing” Mind book mentioned above) says:

“Our culture today is one BUILT on multitasking, not just for increased productivity (which never seems to be enough), but also for survival. We end up conditioning ourselves and our children to always think and do multiple things at the same time…

“Imagine the simple act of driving a car – what’s the first thing most of us do? Turn on the radio. Now we’re driving AND listening to music or a news program, and if someone is with us, we’re probably having a conversation on top of that. If we’re alone, we’re talking on our cell phone…

Our minds are constantly juggling many different activities at once, and so our energies get extremely dispersed. Even though this exhausts us completely, it’s become normal for us as our world continues to move faster and faster, so we don’t even question the levels of absurdity it reaches at times.”

Years ago I took one of my daughters to a rolling skating party hosted by her school, and told her I would sit in the concession area and read while she skated. Here’s what I saw and heard as I observed the scene:

(1) 6 Television monitors hanging from the ceiling along the main side of the rink where people put their skates on…each TV had a different channel playing and each one’s volume competing with all the others.

(2) Loud music playing all throughout the rink, and a video game area with about 6 or 7 arcade machines blaring out their own side effects.

(3) Another 7 foot television screen on one end of the rink playing a music video different then the music coming through the PA system.

(4) Dozens of eleven years old skating around the rink, but none of them talking to each other.

How could they??? It was exhausting just standing there and absorbing all this sensory input that the mind needed to process. At times we must multitask, but the problem for us is that we are so used to multitasking that when we want to reel in our minds and focus ourselves on just one activity, we can’t…”

Self-Mastery as a Personal Value

Later on he says, “If you’e not in control of your thoughts then you’re not in control of yourself, and without self-control, you have no real power, regardless of whatever else you accomplish. If you’re not aware of the thoughts that you’re thinking in each moment, then you’re like the chariot rider without reins who has no power over where he’s going. You cannot control what you are not aware of; AWARENESS MUST COME FIRST.

Hopefully, this post inspired you to think a little differently about self-discipline and its ultimate source. Again, the more you can see self-mastery as a principle of life (almost like a natural law) and the more you can integrate it into the type of person you aspire to be (almost like a spiritual value), the more productivity, personal efficiency, willpower and self-control you’ll start to exhibit without even thinking about it.

More coming soon…I’m going to take tomorrow off to work on a new video, but come back Saturday and I’ll have something fresh for you.

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 3: Personal Productivity Begins With HOW YOU TALK TO YOURSELF

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:22:38 +0000

Here’s session 3 of Conquer Yourself, which focuses on the SUPER-important area of self-esteem. As a side note, YOU CAN END FEAR, RADIATE CONFIDENCE & HAVE WILLPOWER LIKE STEEL by checking out the new paradigm in personal growth (free course). Click here for more info

Personal Productivity Reflects Self-Esteem

Yesterday we related procrastination to its underlying causes (subconscious anxiety), and built on how the primary issue is your own sense of self worth.

So today let’s go a little deeper, because this underground mental healing is what will cure the symptoms of procrastination, your lack of motivation and much more. In short, what you’re able to accomplish with yourself will always correspond to the type of relationship you have with yourself…

Here’s something from Neil Fiore, Ph.D. (author of The Now Habit) that says even more:

“The self-talk of procrastinators often unconsciously suggests and reinforces feelings of victim-hood, burden and resistance to authority…By learning to challenge and replace your negative internal dialogue, you’ll free yourself from an attitude about your worth and your abilities that are INAPPROPRIATE for your current age, intellect and capabilities.”

So with that in mind, here’s an excerpt from my upcoming book, How to Get Focused: A Conscious Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Staying Motivated and All Things Self-Discipline called “Self-Worth vs. Success” that builds on this concept in detail: click here to download the free excerpt

Examples of Productive Self-Talk

As a forerunner though, always replace the internal dialogue of “I have to,” or “I should,” with “I want to,” “I decide,” or “I choose.”

“I have to” tends to create feelings of stress and resistance, because the implication is that you don’t really want to do it – but you just “have to” do it against your will because of some external consequences or by matter of force. It actually creates a conflict between maintaining your freedom and handling a task (paying bills, socializing with others, etc.), and this causes to the ambivalence or procrastination.

“I should” tends to create feelings of blame, burden and failure, because it’s a comparison between your ideal state to your actual reality. It’s similar to envy (which compares an admired person with the real you) or a longing for the future (which compares some blissful scenario with the real now).

Taken too far, “I should” starts to send the subliminal message “I’m bad. Where I am is bad. My level of progress is bad. My life is bad. Nothing is the way it should be,” and can actually lead to depression.

Most importantly, “I have to” and “I should” DO NOT send a clear picture to the mind of:

>> What you choose to do,

>> When you choose to do it, and

>> How you choose to start it.

In contrast, “I choose” is a language that focuses on results rather than blame; on what is rather than what should be, and on empowerment rather than authoritarian force.

“I choose” is a language that creates internal alignment rather than internal conflict, because rather than a mental judge or internalized parent telling you what you “should” or “have to” do, you’re telling your subconscious mind that you have the freedom and responsibility to choose among several alternatives.

Always replace “I have to” and “I should” with the language of “I want to,” “I decide,” or “I choose.” You’ll be glad you did…

Here’s that book link again: Self-Worth vs. Success: 3 Keys to a Liberating Source of Confidence

Peace,
+B

Conquer Yourself, Lesson 1: Beginning Steps to a Fully Productive Life

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:03:30 +0000

Here’s session 1 of Conquer Yourself, a blogging series on productivity and self-discipline I originally published back in March of 2010. Enjoy…

So What IS Productivity Anyway???

Productivity is the act of accomplishing results. We want to be “more productive” whenever we want to change something or create something that wasn’t there before, and “productivity” is everything that contributes towards that change or creation.

Eventually, we all hit a point where we realize that we can’t just manifest things with our thought. After the inspiration from a great movie dies down, the motivation from a great speaker wears out or the enthusiasm from a great new idea trickles away, if you’re like most of people, you found yourself not knowing what to do next (or why you can’t get yourself to do anything at all).

You might have poor habits that interfere (or completely contradict) your productivity, or you might not be able to differentiate between what’s productive and what’s not. You might spend a lot of energy towards a goal but at the end of the day, when you’re drained and exhausted, still feel like you haven’t gotten any closer to your major goals.

Productivity is the skill-set (and MIND-set) that puts all of this to an end.

The First Thing to Keep in Mind

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials…”

That’s a quote from Yin Lutang, a Chinese writer and inventor. Lutang not only translated tons of classical Chinese texts into English to make them more accessible to us all (The Importance of Understanding, The Importance of Living, etc.), but he also invented the first feasible typewriter system for the Chinese language.

What Lin’s saying is obvious: we accomplish little primarily by bogging ourselves down with tasks that aren’t important, so if you want to accomplish things with yourself, you’ll have to first identify the specific tasks that bring you closer to that end and eliminate the B.S.

I also want to remind you of the importance of taking responsibility for creating results – of switching from someone who is just “doing” tasks involved into someone who’s steering an entire project.

Just like taking responsibility for your life gives you a greater sense of personal power (as I talked about in an older facebook note), taking responsibility for a particular project (the thing you want to be productive about) encourages you to come up with more effective and creative ways to bring it to completion. Whenever you feel confused about a particular task, relax, zoom out to the forest level, remember the end result you want to create, and work from there.

How This Series Began

Even though I’m naturally a pretty focused person, I don’t consider myself a productivity expert. This series actually began with me doing research on how I could be more productive myself: how I can get more writing done, develop the website more efficiently then I’ve been doing so far, etc. and in the process of doing this research, I found that good information is hard to find.

For instance, I remember watching this one video online called “The 2 Secrets to Greater Productivity“, or “The 2 Essential Keys to Self-Control” or something like that, and the guy giving the presentation just looked like somebody you couldn’t trust (cheap suit with the slick hairstyle, etc.).

He had these corny, hand drawn diagrams that he would hold up in front of the camera and he took forever to get to the two keys, which were:

1) congruence of word and action

2) buy my system

It’s really wan’t THAT bad, but it was mad funny lol :) – I just had to find it to show you:

So I’m like, “WTF??? C’mon man – you gotta be kidding me,” and decided to do the research myself, take the best parts and put something fresh together for people with the same concern to build on.

Also, the other day I came across this website where the blogger said:

“Y’know, one of the major keys to being productive is to just do what you need to do. For instance, a lot of people have programs they want to start and the main reason they don’t get it done or that not it’s successful is because they never sit themselves down to finish doing it…”

My first thought: “Look fam…if it was really that simple I probably wouldn’t be on your website looking for information in the first place.”

There’s definitely more to it then forcing yourself to the task, because not only is that difficult and unpleasant, it’s also impossible to maintain. You won’t maintain that for the long term simply because it’s difficult and unpleasant: it’ll feel unnatural, and you’ll actually end up subconsciously associating pain with the tasks you need to do to succeed.

One Last Thing

“You’re future can either be an extension of your past, or it can be something new that you create. Tomorrow can either be a replay of everything you’ve been doing up to now, or it can be the day where everything changes…” ~ Eben Pagan

So let’s get started…the first step is going to be the easiest of them all: just keep doing whatever you’ve been doing for a few more days, but keep a measurement of your activities.

Instead of trying to force yourself to make changes right away, just focus on getting a better understanding of productivity, procrastination and time-management FIRST (as these posts will help you to do), while using the form below to collecting a pool of objective, raw data for you to experiment with later on with that stronger framework.

The form is called “Clock Movements,” because that’s exactly what you’ll be doing, and you can download it either as an adobe acrobat PDF file or an excel template (if you need to make any adjustments, if you’d rather type it out then print it or whatever).

Later on, we’ll use a template that focuses strictly on procrastination habits themselves. More coming soon…

Peace,
+B

CONQUER YOURSELF: How to Enhance Your Productivity, Improve Your Time-Management, Attain Self-Discipline & More

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:30:22 +0000

The only thing I want to say today is that starting next week, we’re going to revisit the classic blogging series, Conquer Yourself: Winning the Battle with the Enemy INSIDE YOU.

Why??? I’d like to say, “because I completely revamped and updated everything so it’s 20x better” but the truth is I NEED TO FINISH THE BOOK I’M WRITING…and this “old-school resurrection” will help give my overtaxed derriere some more time. I mean, I will renovate things as I post them, but I’m not going to sit here and lie to you about it either…

So what kind of things did can you expect to discover? How about:

>> The hidden keys to completely OVERCOME procrastination,

>> The underlying factors that cause stress and how to avoid them,

>> A classic time-management lecture audio download of me and some activist friends from college,

>> A foolproof method for successfully handling digital overload,

>> Techniques learned from ancient Native American and Eastern schools of thought for self-discipline and self-control,

>> How to be more productive BY HAVING MORE FUN,

>> How to build your concentration and leverage it to overcome destructive habits and addictions,

…and a whole bunch more. Like I said, self-discipline and staying focused is my natural strength, so you’re going to be learning from somebody who “walks the thugged-out talk” AND you’re going to get to hear me in my infancy too (I was nowhere near as confident back then). It’s going to be an insightful, helpful and fun ride.

What do you think? Whatever it is, be sure to let me know. You can leave a comment below (preferred) or even use the handy-dandy contact form.

Peace,
+B

The Difference Between ‘Getting’ Motivated and STAYING THERE (3 Keys for Long-Term Motivation)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:59:55 +0000

There’s 2 ways you can work on raising your motivation:

1.) The lightweight, popular, feel-good approach, where you’re making cute day-planners, putting inspirational quotes on your bathroom mirror and HOPING something will happen, and

2.) The heavyweight, not-so-popular, “OG” approach: the real deal where you’re putting in the daily effort, successfully networking, leading and motivating other people to get focused as you’re MAKING something happen.

The difference between these two approaches is the difference between night and day. It’s the difference between playing “Call of Duty” on your computer and being an actual soldier in Afghanistan RIGHT NOW.

Seriously though, it’s:

>> the difference between following somebody else’s set of routines (sold as a “foolproof method”) and being on a personal mission,

>> the difference between keeping busy with superficial tasks and transforming the environment around you, and

>> for our purposes here, the difference between motivation that lasts for a couple days (maybe a few weeks at best) and motivation that stays with you for the rest of your life.

Now don’t get me wrong, both ways have their uses (you need something to get people started), but if you want to see yourself “burning the midnight oil” for years to come – if you want to make self-discipline and unstoppable motivation a “given” in your life – then you need to GET YOUR WEIGHT UP: you need to leverage your subconscious mind and human nature in ways that AMPLIFY your motivation at the deepest level.

So let’s delve into some of those heavyweight techniques now. Hopefully it all makes sense and doesn’t sound like some crazed lunatic venting his rage at the passive docility of our techno-digital generation (which it actually is by the way).

Step 1: Discover Your Purpose

When it comes to staying motivated, if you don’t have a purpose in life, you’re kidding yourself, because the highest levels of drive and ambition NECESSITATE it. Without purpose, you simply don’t have access to focus of a deeper nature…you might get a “sneak preview” of it from time to time, but you’ll never be there for real.

David Deida, best-selling author of “The Way of the Superior Man” (click here for a great excerpt) says:

“Without a conscious life purpose a man is totally lost, drifting and adapting to events rather than creating them. Without knowing his life purpose a man lives a weakened, impotent existence, perhaps eventually becoming even sexually impotent, or prone to mechanical and disinterested sex.”

Just trust me: if you want to be fully engaged – if you want to go “beast mode” when it comes to your success – do whatever you need to do to discover your purpose, NOW, and orient your goals around that.

Step 2: Work on Your Subconscious Beliefs

This is something else I talk about often, but haven’t returned to in a while. Here’s the Cliffnotes version:

YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS IS ABOUT 0.1% CONSCIOUS, AND 99.9% UN-CONSCIOUS: Your subconscious mind truly is the hidden director behind all of your drives, emotions, behaviors, itches, scratches and freaky-little fantasies, so if you don’t get this part right, you’re unconsciously sabotaging everything you’re working to create.

For instance, if you want to start a business and build wealth for yourself, but subconsciously believe that money is evil or people will despise you for having it, you’ll “unconsciously sabotage” everything you do to start that enterprise.

If you want to be healthier or improve a certain illness, but subconsciously believe that you’re guilty for something you’ve done in the past so your body deserves it, you’ll “unconsciously sabotage” everything you do to get well.

So spend some time really thinking about your beliefs, WHY you think they’re true, and how that all relates to your personal goals. I guarantee you you’ll come across TONS of contradictions, hypocrisies and false assumptions that are keeping you on lock down without you even realizing it, because we all have them.

For more help in this area (it is the hardest of all three, by the way, because it’s intangible), check out the accelerated success conditioning program I use on a daily basis to consistently get the most out of myself. Do it.

Step 3: Improve Your Habits in Other Areas

I believe in the power of holistic thinking, and that means that sometimes, staying motivated requires fundamental changes to other aspects of life that don’t really seem related.

For instance, I have an entire section here on the blog about holistic health because one of my biggest self-development “growth spurts” came from deciding to go vegetarian 6 years ago. It saved a brother from depression, and completely revolutionized my day-to-day motivational state.

I even did a video awhile back called The 4 Elements: A Quick, Simple Morning Routine For More Energy, Creativity & Focus and several other posts as well as a video about “friends,” about how the people in your circle you THINK are holding you down may actually be holding you BACK, and how exactly put an end to that too.

So there you have it. Remember, these are called heavyweight techniques because they’re all “hard” (relative to putting inspirational quotes on your bathroom mirror).

If you think about it, what I’m really saying here is you can only raise your motivation when you CHANGE AS A PERSON, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t see instant results. Change is the one thing everybody wants but still spends their entire life running away from, so give yourself time and compassion as you work against that natural trend.

(Don’t get it twisted either: I still struggle with all this too. Over time, you’ll see that you have to keep coming back to all this and continually refine your process.)

Get to work on these three things and see what kind of realizations you have. Again, it won’t be easy, so check out that weblink I mentioned before for help.

Peace,
+B

How to Use Productivity to Gain Respect & Build Self-Esteem

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:45:51 +0000

Here’s the continuation of yesterday’s post, The Hidden Benefits of Getting Focused & Secret Side-Profits of Self-Discipline, where I talk about the unintended, positive consequences of being a productive, action-oriented person. Enjoy…

2: Getting Focused Gains Respect

We become like those we associate with, and people want to around other people who are setting goals, achieving results and developing the future. When people see that you’re focused – that you’re disciplined, action-oriented individual serious about building something important – they’re literally HARDWIRED to respect, admire and trust you…

Think about the last time you met somebody who was organized (a rare quality these days) versus the last time you met somebody who was a complete mess. How did you intuitively feel about one versus the other?

Better yet, spend some time asking women what they find attractive most in a man (a good exercise in its own right) and one of the things you’ll constantly hear is a man with DRIVE and AMBITION.

People make character assessments about other people based on their behavior, and subconsciously attribute self-discipline to some type of evolved power. If you become more focused and action-oriented, they’ll assume you have a certain maturity level other people just don’t…if you DON’T become more focused and action-oriented (if you’re seen as lazy and ineffectual) people won’t listen to what you have to say and your talents and potential won’t be taken seriously either.

Self-Discipline Builds Self-Esteem

Ever clean your entire apartment from head to toe? How’d you feel each time you came home for that entire week? What about when you got your first place, landed your last job or made your first sale and had a little money in your pocket??? Like a million dollars, I bet…

Productivity is the path to accomplishment, and the more accomplishments you have the better you’ll feel about being you.

Human beings have an inborn need to feel like they’re doing something constructive with themselves: if there’s no “positive growth” going on that we can take personal responsibility for, we’ll feel misplaced and insignificant.

This is by no means to say that if you’re simply “productive,” you’ll be ultimately happy and your life will be magically complete, just that being able to look at something you’ve achieved and can say “that’s me” to brings a sense of fulfillment you can’t get in any other way.

People who DON’T accomplish much, on the other hand, often feel a little bit depressed about life. Go too long without doing some new and constructive, you’ll start to question yourself and once you start to question yourself, that self-doubt poisons and undermines EVERYTHING you do, from your dating relationships and social interactions to your career goals and hope for the future.

So hopefully with these last few articles I’ve persuaded you to see how vital, urgent and beneficial self-discipline is to your own life in unseen ways. As a recap, the hidden benefits of getting focused include:

1.) That it’s a “hard skill”; that it’ll stay with you as a “core competency” for the rest of your life, no matter how you change as a person.

2.) That it gains respect, trust and admiration from the people around you (i.e: not having it raises questions about your maturity level and sophistication), and

3.) That it BUILDS confidence, thereby making you a more attractive, happier and more optimistic person in general.

Check back tomorrow for more free advice on getting focused, and click here for my favorite program on effective time-management.

Peace,
+B

The Hidden Benefits of Getting Focused & Secret Side-Profits of Self-Discipline (part ONE)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:35:40 +0000

One thing I’ve realized by publishing TONS of blog posts, newsletters, lectures and videos over the years is that while many of us are familiar with the TASKS that lead to greater productivity, very, very few of us (maybe like 5-7%) are truly familiar with all of the BENEFITS that it consequentially provides.

At some level, almost everybody at least intuitively knows that we need to get organized, do our best to eliminate distraction and associate ourselves with intelligent, competent and loyal people, but almost no one connects these relatively straightforward techniques to a complete metamorphosis of their life for the better.

It’s interesting: on the front end, we mistakenly simplify getting focused to just mean, “time management tips,” while on the back end, we constrain the value of it too, by thinking of it only in tandem with “achieving goals.”

So during lectures or presentations, I often get people motivated by what I call, “The Hidden Benefits of Getting Focused” or, “The Secret Side-Profits of Self-Discipline” (which I think sounds a lot cooler). Check these out and let me know what you think:

1: Productivity is a “Hard-Skill”

…which DOES NOT mean “hard” as in “difficult to learn” (because it’s definitely not), but hard skill as in a fundamental technique to have in life, not simply another interest.

Learning to stay focused isn’t like learning Pilates or learning the health benefits of “Acai-Berry Cleansing.” It’s not just something cool to be into because it revolutionizes how you work and live on a deep level.

As we get older, we meet new people and change AS people: we have different experiences that transition us THROUGH different interests, philosophies and personal values. Personally, I’ve changed A LOT over the last 10 years or so (ask anyone who knew me in high school), but one of the things that always kept me together and helped me persevere was my ability to discipline myself on what’s important, and that’ll never change no matter who I become.

No matter what your interests are, no matter what your goals may be, no matter your religion, race or creed AND no matter how unsure you may be of what direction to take in the future, self-discipline is the underlying strength that dictates your success or failure in virtually EVERYTHING you do.

It’s simple: your ability to sit down and work on what’s important, to overcome procrastination or to get yourself organized is not a one-time learning investment, it’s something you’ll ALWAYS need no matter who you become or what you choose to do with yourself.

In fact, if you DON’T learn to get focused: if you don’t learn to discipline yourself and make laziness a thing of the past, you’re JEOPARDIZING everything you have going on, and ever will. Think about this and you’ll realize I’m right.

If you have a fear of failure that paralyzes you, if you constantly find yourself overwhelmed with distraction or just can’t seem to get or stay motivated about your goals and priorities, this is what you need to learn, RIGHT NOW.

Again, self-discipline is a fundamental life-skill that DICTATES success or failure in virtually every personal or professional goal you’ll set for yourself, for the rest of your life. It’s THAT important, and when you have this under your belt, you’ll have that special “oomph” that’ll separate you from the rest of the herd.

Check back for more “side profits” and hidden benefits tomorrow, and click here for my favorite program for managing my time and setting goals…

Peace,
+B

Why This Blog Focuses on Time-Management & Self-Discipline, NOT All the Other Random Topics I Used to Touch On…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:05:28 +0000

“There’s two types of information in this world: the first of which consists of SUGGESTIONS and the second, SOLUTIONS…” ~ Eben Pagan

When you’re giving suggestions, almost everything you share boils down to your opinions and ideas: it’s you “breaking down” what you think is important and why you think the world works the way it does…the information is essentially about YOU.

When you’re giving solutions, almost everything you share is an answer to a real-life problem: it’s you guiding somebody else towards a specific result based on their wants or needs…the information is essentially about THEM.

This blog focuses almost squarely on time-management, self-discipline and productivity because the information I have to share in those regards deliver solutions that I can virtually guarantee.

When I Look Back Over the Years

…I want to look back at a career I can be proud of, and that necessitates me providing information in a responsible, professional way.

In my opinion, it’s irresponsible (and immature) to use a platform (such as a teaching venue or trusted relationship) for personal rants, or for exploring theories that you can’t hold yourself personal accountable to.

As I get older, my understanding of what I’m doing here and how I want to position myself change, so I’m constantly adapting and refining as I proceed. Most recently, this includes a commitment to be “right and exact” (i.e: precise and accountable) with everything I share.

For instance, I did a series of blog posts and radio shows on overcoming depression that brought in a ton of emails from actual, clinically depressed people (naturally, as I invited that type of response). This made me realize that there’s certain burdens I’m not willing to publicly take on, and certain boundaries I shouldn’t cross.

Although I’m a generally happy person, I can’t responsibly share information on “being happy” and guarantee results in the same way I can on being productive. Although I may have “insights” on other fields that other people may find valuable, that, by itself, does NOT entitle me to position myself as a general guru, because (again), they’re not actual, proven solutions I can hold myself to.

So it’s very important for both you AND ME to remember that I’m not the “Walmart” of self-help or internal development. I can’t give you virtually EVERYTHING you need to live a complete life, because nobody can.

“General” Coaching Promotes Parasitic Relationships

Interestingly enough, many “life coaches” and “spiritual gurus” (including religious leaders of a traditional sort) have a slave-like, pathological relationship with their followers, and me narrowing my focus is an attempt to avoid that dynamic.

On the part of the followers, it resembles a dependency complex: I see people walking around with their umbilical cords held out, looking for someone to save them from their own anxiety rather than responsibility for their own lives.

On the part of the guru, it resembles a superiority complex: I see someone using their intelligence like a slave-master’s whip, looking for someone to transfer their unprocessed shame onto rather then deal with their own guilt.

Avoiding this overall, parasitic, savior-type dynamic requires you, as the leader, to set boundaries for where you will and will not go, which is why this blog focuses on time-management and self-discipline, not all the other random topics I used to touch on earlier in my career.

In quite simple terms, I can’t be everything to everybody, and it’s much more valuable to be a meaningful specific than a wandering generality…

Peace,
+B

FREE Preview from My Upcoming Book (On Discovering Purpose & Becoming Purpose-Oriented)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:17:59 +0000

Here’s a free preview excerpt from my upcoming book, tentatively entitled, How to Get Focused: A Conscious Guide to Overcoming Procrastination & Attaining Self-Discipline. Let me know what you think…

Discovering Purpose & Becoming Purpose-Oriented

Self-motivation is the offset of purpose and direction. In order to be productive and ‘on it’ when it comes to your tasks and goals, you have to connect those tasks and goals to an end result that RESONATES with who you are as a person.

Unless you ‘inject’ (or associate) personal meaning into the action-steps your goals require, you won’t maintain the drive or long-term focus they require either. In this way, getting focused is a natural consequence of self-discovery and self-definition…

For instance, When I was in college, I found it interesting that students would join programs just to have something to put on their resume.

Plays, debate teams, activist organizations, community programs and cultural clubs of all sorts were usually FILLED with kids who had no genuine concern for the vision, purpose or overall success of the group they were a part of, and this is where most of the slack came from…

“Resume kids,” were typically late, negligent, unaccountable and careless with the few responsibilities they did have, while “core members” carried most of the (unappreciated) burden, and this is one of the main reasons why many otherwise promising organizations eventually disbanded and broke down.

I’m not saying this to suggest that you’re being superficial about your own aims in life, just that if you’re having trouble staying disciplined, your goals may not be as rooted in you as they they could be, or (if they are) that you may of lost sight of that orientation.

So let’s start with a short exercise to make SURE you’re on purpose (while the rest of this chapter will give you techniques to maintain that focus over time)…” ~ fin

Peace,
+B

3 Simple Ways to Make Your Mind INFINITELY More Creative, IMMEDIATELY

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:23:08 +0000

Here’s 3 key techniques you can start using IMMEDIATELY to boost your creativity. It’s the same stuff I use to put together concepts on a daily basis, as well as fuel my motivation for long term projects like the upcoming book…

Treat these techniques like a set of beliefs that you need to INTERNALIZE, not rationally prove as true or false.

If you’re the type of person who wants everything proven as perfectly sound and precisely valid before you’re even willing to experiment, I can’t help you. These are ideas you have to “try on” to see if they “fit,” and work from there.

As for me, I refuse to settle for mediocrity in my life, no matter what, and that’s why I’m willing to do ANYTHING that sounds conducive to getting results like the happiest, most productive people our planet has ever known do. So let’s get started…

1.) “I Truly Believe In My Mind’s INFINITE Power.”

The first affirmation is “I truly believe in the infinite power of my very own mind…”, which is difficult for most people because they falsely assume this to mean, “I think I’m God” (i.e. “I think I’m perfect) even though nothing could be further from the truth…

While feeling like this does require a bit of audacity, remember that there’s still a BIG difference between believing you’re invincible and simply believing that you can handle anything that comes your way (including a creative challenge).

In other words, to be creative, start by having FAITH in your creative abilities, just like to have self-esteem, you would start by having faith in your abilities in general.

Once you truly feel that your mind can always combine, assimilate and create new, interesting combinations of ideas, you won’t be as pressed about a specific creative block. Instead, you’ll realize:

>> What you feel as a “block” is really you just needing some time to rest and let it marinate,

>> That most creative limitations are really just emotional issues (like low self-esteem) playing themselves out in your work, and that

>> Since it’s natural to hit low points every once in a while, you still need to keep at it (applying those diagrams on self-discipline to your creative work, cause it’s the same principle).

So again, have faith in your mind’s infinite power. It’s OKAY to truly believe your mind is capable of anything artistically, and it’s NOT synonymous with thinking you’re beyond fault or anything.

2.) “No One Shares My Higher Purpose or Unique Nature”

In an old video presentation on free thinking, I said: “To begin (or enhance) self love, you have to appreciate your uniqueness, and forgive yourself for the mistakes you’ve made in the past.

First realize that, in all of creation, there is only one YOU….while somebody else can have you’re name, or any of your other attributes, nobody else can ‘be’ YOU.

In all of the planet Earth, and in all of the entire Universe, you’re a unique creature: you have a unique set of experiences, a unique set of talentts and skills, a unique perspective and a unique contribution to give to the world. That in itself is an amazing thing…”

So remember this as you’re putting ideas together. Even if you’re talking about something that’s been discussed before, NO ONE can talk about that something like you can.

Remember that you have your own voice, your own perspective, your own style and your own set of dynamics that you’re ALWAYS bringing to the table (there’s nothing you can do about it). So in that sense, you’re always making something original too…

3.) “Piece by Piece, I Increment Momentous Change.”

What I mean here is work in small segments your mind can grasp, not gigantic chunks that feel like mountains. (It’s more of a practical technique then a mindset shift, but it has mental implications as well.)

If you have trouble conceptualizing how you’d “freak” a particular project as a whole, break it down into small segments that you can “overstand” and deal with confidently piece by piece.

When putting the book together for instance, I don’t just sit there and write “an entire book,” obviously. First I create the outline, then I fill out each section with essential ideas (like note-taking in reverse), and then I rough draft each section.

THEN I read through the entire thing to get a “holistic feel,” and finally I come back to finalize each particular section one by one, so that it ultimately feels like a series of great blog articles tied together by a thesis (which I can handle) rather than an ENTIRE book (which I can’t).

Learn to zoom in and out of the forest. Just like if you were using Google Maps, where you’d start with a general outlay of an entire area (like the borough of Queens) and then you’d hone in on particular neighborhood to see how the streets connect (like Flushing, St. Albans or Briarwood) in order to make travel plans.

Remember to constantly transfer between the two perspectives. Go in, and then go out – come up, and then come down – and focus your creativity on the specific, small sections while using the forest-level overview to give you a sense of how it all comes together.

Hope this helps. I tried to be as general as possible so that it can apply to everyone, so if you have any questions in particular (or comments…cause I love comments) just leave them below.

Peace,
+B

Be Vigilant Against the Forces DESTROYING Your Focus & Concentration…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:10:15 +0000

Today’s post is in audio form. Check it out and download it for your archives too:
Download audio file (vigilant.mp3)

Be Vigilant, Point-Up & STAY FOCUSED

“Be vigilant against the forces that are knocking your focus: sometimes the things that destroy your concentration, inhibit your productivity and alter your self-discipline come in UNDER the radar…you never really realize how detrimental they are until they’ve come TOO FAR into your circle.”

“The things that can knock you off and undermine your whole empire can be the simple things…things that permeate your life on a very subtle level, but because you’ve built up habits around them, you don’t even think to question it.”

Peace,
+B

MENTAL DIET: An Inspirational Cookbook for Productive Living and Emotional Strength

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:39:15 +0000

Check these two recipes out, and let me know what you think. They’re both cool, simple, to the point and motivational…

1: “Positive Vibes” Salad

1 large round bowl of encouragement

Add a small bag of think outside the box cranberries

Pour in 5 small boxes of raisin proverbs

Add 1 small box of wholesome blackberry thoughts

Add a handful of mental granola determination

Garnish with listen attentively slices of tomatoes.

Lightly pour on it IS possible salad dressing, and enjoy…

2: Tuna Fish “Enlightenment” Spread

2 medium size cans of that’s a good idea chunk white tuna

Add 1 small container of enthusiasm

Seperate tuna with a God Will See It Through fork.

2 tablespoons of It Can Be Done mayonnaise

Liberally sprinkle going to see this dream come true salt.

Season according to expectation, mix well and serve cold…

These Recipes Are From:

Both of these recipes are from a good writer friend of mine, Mansu Edwards (Copyright © 2010, 2011) who just released the book Mental Diet, a collection of motivational “recipes” like this for daily inspiration.

Mansu was kind enough to send me TWO copies actually: one for me and another to give away to my readers, SO…

As part of my first ever “sweepstakes,” you can win a FREE copy of “Mental Diet” (along with a never-before-seen preview MY upcoming book) just by sending me a great testimonial.

Simply email me, bryan@dotheknowledge.com, a quick paragraph or telling me what you love about this blog (and why), and if yours stands out above the rest, I’ll send you BOTH:

1.) A free copy of Mental Diet, AND

2.) An exclusive excerpt from my upcoming book, tentatively entitled Doing The Knowledge: How to Get Focused, Attain Self-Discipline & Overcome Procrastination FOR GOOD.

Take care, and let me know what you think. For more on Mental Diet, check out Mansu Edwards’s blog, fanpage or simply email ohassa@gmail.com

Peace,
+B

Live Your Life Like You’re Already Dead (Ancient Samurai Wisdom for Emotional Wellbeing)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:45:59 +0000

“The Way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day without fail one should consider himself as dead. This is the substance of the way of the samurai.” ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

First off, a caveat: by “living like you’re already dead” I DO NOT mean “live like nothing matters anymore,” cause that’s just not cool. What I do mean is let go of your bullshit and identify with experience in the present moment.

To be clear, it’s what new-agey types refer to as “transcending the ego,” but I do my best to stay away from cliche terms, because the potency of an idea gets lost as it becomes general knowledge.

This is important to remember too: general speaking, the more commercial something is (whether that be a fad, idea or activity), the LESS significant it tends to become. Just like the depth of your own mind is found mostly in your subconscious thought, the depth, value and “truth” of a society is found mostly in its underground expression.

Some Good Examples

So yes, Echkart Tolle in The Power of Now refers to this as “present-mindedness” and you might also hear quantum physicists say things like, “the observer, the observed and the process of observation are one.”

Bro. Phil Valentine, in his video lecture The Book of the Earth calls this “Pi-Point Perception,” but I’m referring to it here as “Embracing Death” because to me, that’s exactly what’s going on.

Whenever we transcend the ego, live in the present moment or “use pi-point” a certain aspect who we are (i.e: who we’re PRETENDING to be) is dying: it’s passing away as we realize that all of our guilt, shame and limitation is part of a drama that we’re acting out VOLUNTARILY (albeit it subconsciously).

When asked who we are, we respond with our name, followed by things like our profession, our belief system and our ethnicity or national name. However, these are really just aspects of our personality – the word personality coming from the Greek ‘persona’, meaning ‘mask’

While we all have names, talents, personal goals, positions, titles and social roles, etc., that’s not who we fundamentally are. At a deeper level, we’re really just awareness: a self-aware “observer” animating the physical form, or “The Ghost in the Shell“…

I’m not too big on mysticism or anything like that, but I’ve found that “embracing death” has two valuable, practical benefits:

1.) It develops courage, because the void you enter into can be intimidating, and

2.) It allows you to conquer yourself, because it dissolves all of the psychological complexities that are inhibiting you.

For me, I had an awkward fear of it not simply because it freed me from self-critical thoughts, but because it constantly put me in a position of power.

The more I embraced death, the more I found others subconsciously giving me status and authority in almost ALL of my interactions, even in situations where it didn’t make sense (like at my job, in school settings with teachers, etc.). It can actually be scary…

The Way of the Samurai

“The Way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily…when one’s body and mind are at peace…one should consider himself as dead. This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai.”

“There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the moment. A man’s whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there is nothing left to do, and nothing else to pursue.”

I first heard those quotes in the film Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai starring Forest Whittaker (one of the best films I’ve ever seen, by the way). Check out the trailer here:

A friend eventually told me how the film is based on the life of Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a Japanese samurai from the early 1700′s known for the wisdom contained in Hagakure (pronounced “Ha-Ga-Koo-Ray,” which translates as “In the Shadow of Leaves).

Hagakure is also known as “The Book of the Samurai”, “The Analects of Nabeshima (Yamamoto’s Lord)” or simply “The Hagakure Analects,” and in it, Yamamoto suggests:

“(that) becoming one with death in one’s thoughts, even in life, was the highest attainment of purity and focus. He felt that a resolution to die gives rise to a higher state of life, infused with beauty and grace beyond the reach of those concerned with self-preservation.” ~ from Wikipedia

Here’s a Few “Jewels” From It:

“People think that they can clear up profound matters if they consider them deeply, but they exercise perverse thoughts and come to no good because they do their reflecting with only self-interest at the center.”

“It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this…”

“In the words of the ancients, one should make his decision within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break through to the other side.”

“There is a way of bringing up the child of a samurai. From the time of infancy one should encourage bravery and avoid trivially frightening or teasing the child. If a person is affected by cowardice as a child, it remains a lifetime scar. It is a mistake for parents to thoughtlessly make their children dread lightning, or to have them not go into dark places, or to tell them frightening things in order to stop them from crying.”

Hope you find this as interesting as I did, and that it helps you to develop bravery and focus in your own life…

Peace,
+B

CHOOSE A WOMAN WHO CHOOSES YOU: Relationship & Dating Advice for Men

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:08:55 +0000

Here’s an excerpt from one of my favorite books, The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida. I was reviewing it last night and this particular passage stood out to me.

As you’re reading, remember that everything happens for a reason, and that we learn most from our losses, not our gains.

Choose a Woman Who Chooses YOU:

“If a man wants a woman who doesn’t want him, he cannot win. His neediness will undermine any possible relationship, and his woman will never be able to trust him.

A man must determine whether a woman really wants him but is playing hard to get, or whether she really doesn’t want him. If she doesn’t, he should IMMEDIATELY cease pursuing her and deal with his pain by himself.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you want to be with a woman but she doesn’t want to be with you, you must speak with your friends. Ask them to be honest with you: ask them if they think this woman really does want to be with you, or if she really doesn’t.

If your friends honestly tell you that this woman doesn’t want to be with you, it is over. You cannot enjoy a good relationship with her, even if she changes her mind. Once she feels your neediness, once she feels that you need her more than she needs you, she will never trust your masculine core.

The Priority of the Masculine Core:

The priority of the masculine core is mission, purpose and direction in life. The priority of the feminine core is the flow of love in intimacy.

If a woman feels your feminine is stronger than hers – if she feels that the intimacy is more important to you than to her – then she’ll naturally animate her masculine: she’ll want space, she’ll want freedom to pursue her own direction and she’ll be repulsed by your clinginess…

You are only punishing yourself when you want to be in a relationship with a woman more than she wants to be in a relationship with you. Of course, you must discriminate between whether she’s playing “hard to get” or whether she’s genuinely not as interested as you are. This is why you should ask your friends (and even her friends).

If it turns out that she really doesn’t want to be with you as much as you want to be with her, then it is time to realize that the relationship won’t work. In such a case, the poles have become reversed, with your feminine desire for love meeting her masculine desire for freedom.

This is not viable grounds for intimacy: it iss better to move on and work with your hurt than it is to continue demonstrating that your feminine desire is stronger than hers.

Peace,
+B

How & Why Most People IMPRISON THEMSELVES: Find Out Now So It Doesn’t Happen to You…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:38:32 +0000

People imprison themselves by refusing to “leave the jail cell” of their conditioned thought patterns and behavior.

As the classic author James Allen once said: “Men are anxious to change their circumstances, but hesitant to change themselves…they therefore remain bound.”

And he’s right about that, because the essential nature of self-discipline is PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

The bottom line is that you’ll never go too far with your goals, relationships or personal health if your first response to a challenge is, “Okay, let me go out and change this thing,” or “Look, it’s because this other person has this a problem why things went wrong.” you’re playing a losing game

Don’t Project, Blame or Allocate Responsibility

Trust me, I’ve studied A LOT of personal development material over the years, and all of the experts say the same thing: that if you want to start getting different results, you have to start engaging in different behaviors…

In that same time, I’ve also been vegetarian for about 6 years, had a good amount of (what I consider to be) satisfying relationships, a strong history in activist work and a fair amount of progress and success publishing information online.

I’m not saying this to brag about myself, just to say that I know what I’m talking about, and that it all comes from me analyzing and interrogating myself and interrogating MYSELF, not from thinking that I know too much to be wrong, or that my ideals about how the world should work are anything else but exactly that…IDEALS.

If you want to grow, when things go wrong, LOOK TO YOURSELF and think about what YOU could of done differently to fix the situation (or how your underlying worldview about how something, like relationships, works is faulty). Just trust me.

Don’t project either: This is me talking to you about YOU, not anybody else you know that this might apply to.

You can’t change the world around you with direct, immediate physical force; you can only adapt and transform yourself so as to consequent different results.

In this way, your experience is a reflection of who you internally are, and to the extent that you’re avoiding this truth, you’re imprisoning yourself to the external environment. You’re giving your power away (because responsibility IS power…think Spider-Man) to parameters over which you have no control.

James Whitaker (the first American to successful climb Mount Everest) once said, “You never conquer a mountain, because mountains can’t be conquered; you only conquer yourself.” and that’s an extremely insightful point:

When you accomplish something, the thing itself did not change, YOU DID in order to accomplish it.

The man who climbed a mountain CLIMBED a mountain (the mountain itself did not change),

The man who created a successful business CREATED a successful business (the economic environment itself did not change to adapt to him),

…so on and so forth. Accept this as common sense and apply it to your life as often as possible.

So if every time things go wrong, you tend to allocate fault (focus on what another person did wrong or why a situation isn’t fair), STOP.

In fact, whenever you catch yourself in the act, hold your wrist together as if they were bound by cuffs and then force them apart as if you were breaking free and say “I take responsibility.”

Begin with the small things (why the garbage wasn’t taken out, why there was a mis-communication or anything else inconsequential…my pet peeves list has good examples) and the larger things will take care of themselves. Also, stay away from people who whine and complain because negative energy is infectious.

If you want to turn things around in your life, start by accepting reality the way it is. Stop deceiving yourself about why you have the problems you do, and then from there, work on letting go of your old habits, faulty paradigms and other negative tendencies so that you can evolve into what your particular situation demands of you.

Peace,
+B

What a Group of HOUSE RATS Can Teach You About Productivity, Time-Management, Team Organization & More…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:10:51 +0000

NOTE: You can have me read this post TO YOU here (and even download it for your personal archives):
Download audio file (aesop.mp3)

“Long ago there was a council of mice who bound together to overthrow their common enemy, the Cat. They mice infested a small cottage and the owner eventually bought a cat to scare them all away, so they held this meeting to stage their counter-attack…

The council was filled with bickering, complaining, mass confusion and fear until a younger mouse stood up and said:

“Look, we all know that the problem is with the speed and stealthy manner in which the Cat approaches us…she stalks us and therefore has ‘the up’ on us before we even realize she’s there

So what we need to do is get a bell and some ribbon to tie the bell to the cat’s neck, so as she comes, we’ll hear her, and know to escape in time.

The council responds in joy, like “Dang that’s deep…” “Yeah…EXACTLY what we need to do.” “Brilliant…that’s our move”

…and there’s nothing but cheers and applause until an elder mouse steps up and says: “That’s all well and good, but which one of you volunteers himself to actually tie the bell???“

In everyone’s silence, he continues: “It is one thing to propose, another to execute…”

…that’s from Aesop’s Fables. Some people say it’s one of Aesop’s, others say it’s from somewhere else and falsely attributed to him, but the point is clear: it’s easy to suggest impossible solutions.

It’s easy to have a “council of mice” that’ll propose TONS of ideas that sound good theoretically, but actually sitting down and applying them is an entirely different story.

How This Works in Your Own Life

So the council of mice can metaphorically represent either: (A) your own inspirations and plans, or (B) group conferences and meetings that contain a lot of suggestions and excitement, but a TINY AMOUNT of personal accountability.

I read a book once called Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen, where he mentions that most corporations can boost their profits by CUTTING DOWN on meetings, rather then trying to improve them.

Most corporations tend to have meetings at regular intervals that are essentially rituals without purpose…a pointless habit that only DISTRACTS workers from working, rather then help them work better.

So what I’m saying, on one hand, is if you want to accomplish more, don’t focus too much on meetings and conferences…

Not that you shouldn’t network or coordinate tasks, just don’t worry too much about meetings, because they often turn into rambles, round-table discussions and laid-back “kick it” sessions that the most productive members of your group will grow to resent.

Purposeful meetings usually force themselves to occur: they’re naturally born and have a “what are you going to do, what am I going to do and when are we going to do it?” vibe about them.

More Personal Examples

When I was still in college, I was part of this dope activist organization, and one thing we tried for a while was using PHONE meetings to replace our live, physical ones, and these phone sessions were drastically more productive.

Whenever we had physical meetings,

>> people would be late (or not show up at all),

>> they would last hours, and

>> very little would get accomplished.

But whenever we had phone meetings,

>> people would be on time (or only slightly, reasonably late),

>> they would last maybe 10 or 15 minutes,

>> they were VERY focused, direct.

…and everyone left with an emotional sense of accomplishment. (Try adapting this into your group program or institution. It shows respect for everyone’s time and leverages technology in a reasonable way.)

Lastly, what I’m also saying on the personal level is NARROW YOUR FOCUS DOWN TO A PLAN YOU CAN ACTUALLY WORK ON.

You hear me talk about this all the time: be realistic about what you can do and what you can’t do, and sensible about what’s worthwhile and within reach (what you’re willing to actually execute).

Don’t get caught up in the internal council of mice. Let go of all the complaining, frustration, and idealistic, magical proposals…be the mature elder who deciphers between what’s real and what’s not.

Take it easy. I’m glad you checked this out, so leave a comment below letting me know your thoughts or if you have any questions…

Peace,
+B

Don’t Underestimate Yourself, and NEVER Downplay Your Skills, Talents & Intelligence

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:59:23 +0000

Don’t underestimate yourself, and never downplay the value of your skills, talents and intelligence…

Don’t think that because something is near obvious to you that it won’t be BEYOND revolutionary for someone else…don’t think that because your current skills aren’t enough to surpass your current challenges that they’re not MORE THAN enough to help somebody else surpass theirs.

Not reaching your own targets (on your own personal scale) does not equate to being incapable of helping somebody else reach theirs.

Remember that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that your self-evident concepts may very well be another man’s “profound jewels of wisdom.” Remember that there will always be people who appreciate what you’re capable of, even when you don’t yourself.

Mental Strength Parallels Physical Fitness

Your mental strength parallels your physical fitness in that whenever you look through the mirror of self-reflection, you’ll always notice imperfection FIRST.

You’ll always notice eyebrows that are too thin, arms that are too flabby, legs that are too skinny or toes that are too fat BEFORE you take stock of your strong points.

But just because you don’t like everything you have on you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go out into the world, dress your best and carry yourself as confident as you can be, and it definitely doesn’t you don’t capture other people’s attention.

I’ve always had this problem with my writing (especially as I’m coming closer to finishing the book). Believe it or not, very little of what I put on the blog or elsewhere is what I would consider ideal, magnetic or forceful prose…

Self-consciousness is always a part of the process, but as you stick to it and learn to produce anywhere, it humbles you to the depth and intricacy of your craft.

“Not feeling that nice” is episode one to truly honing your skills: it’s the first step to noticing all of the nuances and particular demands that your discipline requires.

You can’t master something until you get your own ego out of the way, so not feeling that nice is a transitional phase that leads to the humility and respect that you’re field deserves, before you can join its ranks. (Think of it as nature’s way of weeding out those who lack dedication.)

Push through and pass this phase by knowing that no matter how behind you are, there’s someone who will appreciate what you have to share, so don’t underestimate yourself, and never downplay your talents, skills and intelligence.

Peace,
+B

How Self-Development KEEPS YOU YOUNG…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:35:21 +0000

Self-development keeps you young by nullifying (or inhibiting) the key factors that attribute to early aging (and aging itself).

The major 3 fields of all self-development work include:

1.) financial and career advice,
2.) dating and relationship advice, and
3.) health and wellness advice (weight loss, diet plans, etc. )

Coincidentally, the major 3 factors that attribute to aging include

1.) stress and anxiety over financial concerns and career problems,
2.) stress, anxiety and abuse caused from poor relationships and
3.) poor health, a lack of exercise, malnutrition, etc., etc.

So self-development keeps you young because the major 3 fields of interest and specialization directly combat (or neutralize) the major 3 factors attributed to aging.

Most of the money in the self-development industry – what’s estimated to be anywhere from 70-80% of profits made – comes from material catered towards financial prosperity, healthy relationships and physical wellbeing.

And most of the aging in affluent societies stems from financial problems, relationship problems or poor habits related to health and hygiene.

So self-development keeps you young by nullifying (or inhibiting) the key factors that attribute to early aging (and aging itself).

ALSO…Consider This:

Also, self-development keeps you young by nature of the mental exercise it requires.

One of the keys to long-term health and combatting old age is not just physical activity, but intellectual activity as well, and coincidentally, many of tasks associated with self-development require that mental exertion:

- reading,
- meditation,
- reflection,
- learning new skills,
- developing new habits,
- understanding new ideas,
- re-evaluating old ideas, and
- reframing the way you think about yourself and the world around you,

…all require the same type of mental activity that allows you to keep a youthful MIND well into your years of wisdom.

So self-development keeps you young by nullifying (or inhibiting) the key factors that attribute to early aging (and aging itself), and by encouraging you to consistently develop new, youthful and rejuvenative habits of thought.

Peace,
+B

Key Ideas & 2 Great Diagrams for Greater Self-Discipline & Realistic Success

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:25:25 +0000

I was with a good friend yesterday and drew a few diagrams for her about progress and success (how it really works and the different approaches you can take to it). Bear with my terrible penmanship and take a quick look:

Diagram 1: Eastern vs. Western Approaches to Success

This first diagram explains how we can take either a Western or Eastern approach towards progress and work. We can choose to focus on our goals in a way that’s predominant in American and European traditions, or in another way that’s predominant Asian and Middle Eastern traditions.

“The western way is REWARDS-oriented, because in the western world you’re more likely to find people starting businesses and careers for money, prestige and material gain.” I said.

“But the eastern way is PROCESS-oriented, because you’re more likely to find craftsmen and communal practices meant for long-term health, spiritual grounding and mastery of a skill for its on sake (like a martial art).”

“What’s interesting though,” I continued, “is that this eastern orientation is far more conducive for long term self-discipline, whereas the western orientation (and value system) is really only conducive to stress, frustration, burnout and a LACK of long-term focus and wellbeing.”

If you’re focused only on the rewards you want, you’ll lack the patience to truly stick things out, and even if you do, remember that there are a lot of people who achieve success and still feel empty inside…”

Diagram 2: How Work REALLY Works

I drew this second diagram to show her the difference between how we THINK progress works versus how it actually plays out over time.

“The top chart points out how we operate under the ILLUSION that because we’re working, we’re supposed to see constant, consistent results (where time is on the x axis, and rewards or skill is on the y).

The bottom chart points out THE REALITY, where:

- we see a little bit of results at first,

- then things STAGNATE (even though we’re still working hard)

- then we may even DIGRESS a little bit, in order to

…finally reach a little bit of growth and success and once more, and continue the cycle all over again.”

The main thing I wanted her to get was that success, progress and even life itself is mostly a series of PLATEAUS (with slight rises and declines sporadically in between), not just one constant up swing, so you need to let go of that delusion if you plan on taking long-term action towards your goals.

“You’re a really dope person…you’re really smart and I believe in you, it’s just that every time I see you, you’re all over the place and your situation is completely different. So I think this is important for you to understand…”

(I also referenced a great book called Mastery: Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard (an Aikido master himself). Check that out by clicking here.)

Peace,
+B

A Simple, Quick & Easy Tip for INSTANTLY Eliminating Fear…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:04:39 +0000

One of the keys I use to help me INSTANTLY overcome fear is to replace the word “fear” with cowardice.

Now that I reframe most of my irrational fears – hesitation, intimidation, procrastination, etc – as cowardice (and I’ve hit a point where I can admit to myself that “for most of my life, I’ve been a coward.”), I’m much more motivated to move away from that type of behavior.

Cowardice is a Much More Powerful Word…

Words are a lot like magic spells in that the specific language we use DRASTICALLY molds our perception of different behaviors, choices, situations, and relationships.

The word “fear” is light, simple and cliche…everybody has a little bit of fear, so that’s a normal (and therefore, in a sense, acceptable) trait.

However, the word “cowardice” is almost like a direct, personal attack…it’s a pathetic state of being that NOBODY wants to be associated with.

People will do all types of crazy “ish” in order to NOT be considered a coward – race cars down residential streets, take all types of dangerous drugs and gamble away their family’s savings. So if you identify the “fears” that are holding you back as an outgrowth of what’s essentially cowardice, you’re much more likely to change your behavior ON THE SPOT.

…it’s what psychologists call “away-from motivation,” (because you want to move “away from” that type of identification). Just train yourself to see fear as having its root in a cowardly aspect of your nature (that you’re gradually learning to remove).

Try Asking Yourself:

The next time you’re afraid to do something out of irrational fear, try asking yourself “Am I a coward, or a grown man/grown woman? Does a grown man/woman do this, or do that???”

You can also insert your name and get specific, like “____, would a real man/woman allow themselves to be intimidated by this blank page/cute stranger at the club/ email to a hiring manager?”

Since the answer’s obviously no, you’ll automatically go with the decision that reinforces the type of person you want to be. It’ll help build your self-image and self-esteem.

So replace the word “fear” with cowardice. Re-orient your thinking to see all of your irrational fears as indicative of a cowardly nature that you’re gradually moving AWAY FROM in order to attain a courageous nature that you’re gradually moving TOWARDS.

Really, even though I’m talking about language and words, what I’m really saying here is MAKE A DECISION. Make a decision about the type of person you want to become and hold yourself accountable for it in actual situations…

For another great resource on eliminating fear, click here…

Peace,
+B

Mysterious Author from Antique Book Collection Drops SCIENCE on Courage-Building, Fearlessness & Bravery…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:54:46 +0000

Here’s something cool: an unsourced article called “Character Building & Courage” from an online antique store, Old&Sold.com.

The author focuses on children and child-rearing, but I think the principles are generally enough to apply to ANYONE. Check it out…

Character Building – Courage

ALL parents want their boys to be courageous, and would like to see them heroes, yet often train them away from these ideals, or allow others to do so…

Such a mistake may easily begin in the cradle. (For instance) No child would ever be afraid of the dark, which gradually approaches each evening, any more than of the sunbeams that dissipate it at dawn, did not somebody fill its little head with stories of hobgoblins hiding among the shadows.

If, in spite of precautions, such needless fears get into the child’s mind, do your best to convince it that they are unreal (i.e: convince YOURSELF that your own fears are unreal); that the bedroom is as safe by night as by day; and gently cultivate stoutness of heart. No quality is more essential to happiness.

The Cause of Constant Misery

A timid child (person) is in constant misery: It imagines unreal terrors in each new experience, and magnifies difficulties. It is ever on the lookout for harm, and thinks of its own weakness instead of that of the foe. So it shrinks from effort for fear of getting hurt…

A courageous nature, on the other hand, dares joyously to put forth its whole powers, undaunted by rivalry. It does not retreat at the first rebuff, nor the second, but struggles on. It withstands oppression, and resists pressure upon its rights. Sometimes courage appears as physical bravery, as when a boy risks injury in order to do something that greatly needs doing, or when he defends his rights or honor, or a weaker companion, with his fists.

Fighting among boys is surely not to be encouraged; yet when your son comes home with a black eye and sore knuckles, inquire carefully into the cause of the fight and his feeling about it before you condemn him….

Sometimes a fight may even be worthwhile as disclosing to a timid boy the undeveloped manliness which he really possesses. A brave nature is a gentle one, but gentleness may, under bad management, degenerates into weakness and cowardice, and cowardice is usually at the bottom of meanness.

The Highest Courage

The highest courage, nevertheless, is that which is able to put aside a temptation to fight merely to show bravery, or for some other poor reason; which will enable a boy or girl to smile at a taunt that everybody knows is undeserved; and which, on the other hand, will enable a boy or girl, a man or woman, to champion an approved idea or person, however unpopular with others, and stand fast to the end of the chapter.

Physical courage is a good thing, but moral courage is above it. It is your privilege to teach your child to have both…” ~ fin

To check out more pieces like this (about friendship, responsibility, etc.) click here.

Peace,
+B

BE A MAN OF YOUR OWN MAKING: Self-Direction, Self-Definition & Self-Empowerment in an AGE of Complacency, Mediocrity & Fear

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:36:50 +0000

Just the other day, I got a text from a good friend of mine – a guy I went to school with – that said: “I’m glad I got this new apartment, and I guess I’m doing alright, but at 30 I feel like I should have a lot more to show for myself…”

That struck me as interesting, cause I live in NY now (he’s still in VA where I went to school), and here in the city, if you have an apartment at 30 that’s not a big deal.

It’s the same thing with not having a car, so his point made me think a lot about how everything is perception and works in context.

Being a Man of Your Own Making

So what I want to talk about here is establishing – and maintaining – a context FOR YOURSELF and your own direction in life.

Specifically, just like a small apartment may be a lot or a little depending on where you live, a small amount of progress can also mean a lot or a little depending on how you relate to it.

“Doing the Knowledge” and staying focused requires you having your own sense of vision, your own sense of meaning and your own sense of direction, regardless of whether or not the people around you think that that’s a good idea. (See “You’re Unique, So the FIRST Thing You Have to Do is Accept That You Won’t Be Accepted.“)

But the complementary idea to that is DON’T LET THE FACT THAT YOU’RE NOT YET WHERE YOU WANT TO BE NOW DISSUADE YOU FROM CONTINUING TO FOLLOW YOUR OWN PATH.

I’VE SEEN SO MANY PEOPLE…

Completely give up their dreams for:

>> a little bit of money,

>> a little bit of acceptance, or

>> a little bit of conditional love…

…only to LOSE their edge, LOSE their opportunity and LOSE their ability to get the satisfaction out of life they knew they could have otherwise obtained.

Heck, one time I had a girlfriend come out and ask me verbatim to choose between her and my work here with site (cause this thing takes a lot of time and energy), and I told her straight up, with the quickness, “I choose my work…while my work isn’t more important then you are as a human being, it’s more important to me then THE RELATIONSHIP I have with you.”

…and that was one of the most liberating moments of my entire life.

Remember, you can never own anybody like you own your purpose here on earth, and that NO amount of money can replace the self-esteem and justful pride that comes making your vision a reality.

Learn from Aesop’s Fables

Remember “Aesop’s Fables”? That collection of short stories about animals displaying wisdom (“The Turtoise and the Hare,” etc.)

There’s this particular one about a wolf and a dog who meet in a wild forest, where the dog says to the wolf:

“Hey man, you actually live out here???”

“Yeah…it’s pretty rough, but I manage. It’s going to be a cold winter, so I’m just preparing for it now…staking the territory, etc.” says the Wolf.

“Wolf, I got an idea…you should come back with me! I got plenty of food, warm shelter, and I can even shower every few days or so!!!”

“Really. Aite bet…I’ll come check you out.”

But when they finally get there, the wolf realizes that the dog has a Master, and when he sees the dog getting chained to the fence, he starts running for his life.

So the dog goes, “Hey! Where you going!?”

And the wolf replies with something deep like, “I’d rather be liberated and starve then overfed and ENSLAVED…”

So again, stay true to your own drive, and don’t renounce your ambitions simply because you’re not YET as successful as you want to be.

Peace,
+B

BEAUTY BEGETS LOVE: Relationship Advice from Guest Blogger Genially Green Earth

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:11:14 +0000

Today’s entry is a special post on relationships by guest blogger Genially Green Earth (All Rights Reserved). You can check her out on Facebook for more…”

BEAUTY BEGETS LOVE

“BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.” When we think of this quote we mostly identify it with the physical attributes of a woman or a work of art. Something that says, “beauty is not defined the same by everyone.”

Still, all too often we see beauty as an external gauge of physical attractiveness defined by others, never ourselves. “BEAUTY” is that something that’s not for everyone or everything…a title reserved only for the highest of high, up there with words like glamorous and extravagant, somewhere above most average beings and things.

So I Ask You: Are You Beautiful?

“Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder,” we also know this means beauty is not just skin deep, but even more than that this quote relates to an understanding that should be taken internally and exuded from one’s entire being. It challenges us to not be so judgmental of what we consider less than beautiful. To instead accept a person or thing for what it is and try to identify with its true value.

We can’t try to change it to fit our idea of ideal or our image of imagination. Instead we must (or at least try to) recognize that we and that thing, that less than beautiful thing, have something truly in common. It challenges us to humbly recognize the beauty and greatness in ourselves, all people, relationships, and events in life. This quote challenges us all to be honestly human in all our imperfections and grace.

Am I Talking To Broad For You? Let me make it personal…

You know how it is, the spring rolls in and every single man or woman out there OR unhappily committed lover (creepin’ you kno’) goes out looking for that “spring fling,” that “summer love!” That hottie with the banging body. That man with the G-stance. That seasonal satisfaction! AooWW! Looking for someone to love, someone to love them back too!

Yet the catch is…For what reason do we choose these seasonal sensations?

Is it because that spring fling fills that empty space inside with summery love and good feeling? Or is it because we recognize the beauty within that person and would love to help them manifest that beauty tenfold?

Now, be honest…you never thought of that second option until you just read it.

Don’t worry it’s not uncommon. I say, how could you recognize the beauty within another if you haven’t seen it within yourself. When you close your eyes and look in the mirror of your mind, do you see beauty? Do you see perfection? Do you envision the best version of self that you have to offer the world at this given time? Do you see someone worthy of Mr. or Mrs. Right? Do you see someone you’re in love with, someone you’re dedicated to? (umm, just a hint, that someone should be you)

Sounds just a bit crazy, I know. Thinking to yourself and saying “Gee, I love me, I’m so beautiful!” (and following up with a good mental hug). I know it sounds egotistical. Maybe the mental hug is a bit much, okay…But, really sit for a moment and think about it, imagine yourself at your highest of heights in every regard, what do you see?

Are you someone with a fulfilling occupation, the car of your dreams, dream house, with the loveliest guy or girl, and in a passion filled, loving and honest relationship? Probably not, I’m talking about La-La-Land for most people. Know why?

Because most people don’t even strive for half of that, let alone
think to obtain it. Just like beauty is something for the highest of high
we think healthy and loving relationships are too.

Most People Will Tell You:

Are you getting a visual here? We accept these ideas as truth because we’ve convinced ourselves that all the beauty in life is non-existent. That beauty doesn’t resonate from within, but instead is gauged from how others view us and our accomplishments.

We’ve done this by convincing ourselves that we are not beautiful, we are undeserving of greatness, that we are not capable of having those truly loving and honest relationships. You know the ones you see on TV? Or better yet the ones that you know of personally, but still say “Well who knows what’s REALLY going on at their house? Mmmhhmmm”

So What Happens Then?

WE SETTLE! We settle on unloving and superficial relationships that reflect our internal environment (not on purpose of course). We do this because those relationships make us feel and think that the way we live is quite okay, “Hey, How messed up can I really be if I found someone? I’m good!”

We settle on relationships that distract us from our own weaknesses. We settle on spewing spitfire at our counterparts when they don’t fulfill us the way we expected them to ( Remember “Every healthy relationship has arguments.”) We settle on looking for external sources of fulfillment instead of starting the loving process from within. (You know that hottie with the bangin’ body feeds your ego something real good!) We settle on obtaining crutches in life to mask our own inequalities.

We settle on blaming others and the world for why our love life doesn’t work…

“It’s because of you that I ___________ !!!”(insert your recent life’s drama here).

“It’s your fault that I _____________!!!” (insert your unfulfilled dreams here).

In reality it’s not anyone’s fault: you’re to blame for your lack of self-love. You’re responsible for not looking at your counterpart and seeing them for all their inequalities, all their imperfections and still out of humble understanding (love), appreciating their undeniable BEAUTY.

But who wants to do that right? We’re looking for instant gratification! Perfection from the start! Well you know what? You got it! You just have to learn how to recognize it and accept it for what it is.

That man or woman that you are working day and night to change is as perfect as they’ll ever be the day you met them, because that is them as natural as can be. There is no beauty above natural beauty.

SELF LOVE must be the first love…

Behold the Beauty within so that you can accurately recognize the beauty in others.

Self Love must be unconditional, unmatched and never undermined by the external world.

You cannot expect anyone you meet to fill in the blanks of your soul. You have to learn how to truly look at yourself through loving eyes before you even think about asking another to love you. That is when those voids dissipate, that is when you begin to welcome healthy loving relationships into your life. That is when you behold true beauty.

If you can’t live with yourself, how in the world can you ask someone else to?

You have to start the loving process from within. Recognize yourself as true beauty – always a work in progress – but a beautiful process at that. In that way when you go out next spring, looking for your summer love, you’ll be attracting a healthy and whole love and not just someone to fill your vacant heart. You’ll be able to create that passionate love folks sing about. It will be purely…beautiful.”

Queen Genially Green Earth
facebook.com/genially.green.earth
All Rights Reserved.

5 Very Important (Mostly POSITIVE) Things About People & Human Nature…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:59:16 +0000

Continuing on from Friday’s post, here’s a few principles about people and human nature that are mostly positive (or at least neutral).

Most of the time when I touch on this subject, I’m negative: I’m usually talking about:

>> negative thinkers weighing you down,

>> never letting someone else abuse your friendship and

>> avoiding people who settle mediocrity.

But I’m learning that people aren’t all bad – especially in the context of leadership, group dynamics and so on, there’s a lot to be said about people leveraging their energy and efforts towards a collective good. Here’s 5 examples…

1.) When Two People Meet…

When two people meet, one of the first things their subconsciously searching for is who’s going to be in control…”

This is a big one, and it’s a very subtle occurrence, so it’s important to know, but difficult to sense if you don’t already see it happening all around you.

Human beings are social creatures, so we can’t help but operate with some type of unspoken power dynamic in place. We instinctively figure out who’s going to lead (and who’s already leading other people) as soon as we meet them simply so we know how to function.

Another aspect of this is that people are usually looking to be directed and told what to do. Keeping this in mind will help you take the leadership role when you need to.

2.)Whenever People Come Together…

Whenever people come together for a common cause (good or bad) that cause is usually achieved.

Simply put, people bound together make things happen. Something as simple as telling someone else your own personal goal (and asking them to check up on you about) makes it FAR more likely that you’ll follow through (if for nothing else but to maintain your social image).

So always be on the lookout for the right people to involve or inform about what you have going on (key word right people). When you have good, strong minds interested in a particular thing, it makes it more real…

3.) People Will Support…

People will help to support what they helped to create. We develop a vested interest in seeing something we built prosper and succeed…

Municipalities often name blocks after hometown heroes, and one of the reasons people are interested in my first book is because they’ve seen my growth online over the years…

So again, don’t hesitate to share the wealth. You never know how it may all turn out in your favor.

5.) People Organized…

People organized around a common mission, a common purpose and a common goal become an unstoppable force

This is an obvious one: take a look at social movements, sports fanaticism, religions and cult-behavior for examples. When people have a purpose or collective meaning to lash onto, they lose their rational thinking, never critique themselves and become adamant, relentless and unrestrained.

5.) People Want to Be Part…

People WANT to be part of an organization that is moving forward, achieving goals and/or pursuing worthwhile causes

Think sports or charity drives. The main point here is that (1.) everybody wants to feel like a winner and (2.) everybody wants to feel like they’re doing good in the world, even if these feelings have to come vicariously thrugh another entity.

By working on your own goals, you provide a sense of meaning and direction to everyone who participates in it (even if they only give moral support).

6.) People Only Do Things…

Lastly, as a special bonus, people only do things to satisfy their own selfish motives.

If you want to get someone to take an action they wouldn’t take on their own accord, speak to them in terms of what THEY want, not what you want. (Frame the action or choice as being congruent with their own motivations, desires or ideals).

Of course, you can always ask for a favor here and there, but successful persuasion relies on understanding the other person, and speaking to them from their own perspective.

Just remember that you can’t convince somebody of something until you understand them. Click here for more advice on this…

Peace,
+B

5 Very Important (Mostly Not-So-Positive) Things About People & Human Nature…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:25:05 +0000

Here’s a few things I picked up from motivational speaker JP Maroney: not all originally him, but just where I heard it first. I’m sharing them with you because they resonated on a deep level…

NOTE: I’ll be on a radio station in Harlem reaaal early tomorrow (Friday, the 29th). It’s WCHR at the City College of New York, and I’ll be there from 6am-8am discussing Self-Discipline. It’s station number 90.3FM I think, and you can check out their website for more.

1.| People Instinctively Resist Change

People instinctively resist change with every fiber of their being: they simply don’t like to try new things.

I highlighted this in post like You’re Ahead of You’re Time and Keeping Self-Development Simple pt.2 , that trying to help OTHERS change as you’re changing yourself is an uphill battle that’ll most likely leave you with tons of lost effort and energy.

Remember, there are people in this world who’ve been running the same script in their lives for 40 years. Just because something makes sense or is obviously in a person’s best interest doesn’t mean that it’s enough to make them change their deeply ingrained habits of thought and behavior. (This is why advertisers and effective counselors appeal primarily to a person’s emotions instead.)

2.| The Law of Emotional Gravity

The law of emotional gravity states that 1 negative person can pull 5 positive people down, but 5 positive people CAN NOT pull one negative person up…

I talked about this in depth on this week’s earlier post, How to Transcend the Negative Thinkers That Are WEIGHING YOU DOWN, so check that out, but just keep this fundamental principle in mind, cause it speaks for itself.

3.| Whatever You Want People To Think

Whatever you want people to think and feel about ANYTHING (including you), you must be thinking and feeling it first.

It amazes me how much we as humans look to other people for approval, leadership, and meaning. There’s a psychological phenomenon called “social proof” that explains ths.

Bottom line: people are LOOKING to be led and told what to do, but they’re also intuitive enough to detect whether or not the other person leading them is genuine or not. Keep this in mind…

4.| Looking At A Person’s Past Helps Predict Their Future

Look at a person’s past and it will help you to predict their future, unless they have a significant emotional event.

Again, people change and make serious subconscious shifts primarily off of emotion (especially traumatic events). This is why hiring managers need resumes and our society is so based on record keeping (credit scores, report cards, criminal records, finanical reports for businesses, etc.)

99.9% of the time, someone’s future is simply just an extension of their past. Unless something major happens that causes them to “wake up,” put your money on someone being the same exact person they’ve always been…

>> doing the same things,
>> having the same relationships,
>> using the same language,
>> thinking the same thoughts,

..or otherwise living their life on constant repeat. It’s just the sad truth.

5.| Watch What People DO, Not What They SAY

Watching what people DO, rather then listening to what they SAY will tell you what kind of person they are.

Don’t get too caught up in somebody’s words, promises, ideas or re-assurances, cause whenever we’re down and out, the only thing we have to save us ARE our words, so we tend to get really creative at that time.

BEHAVIOR is the ultimate barometer. In fact, it’s been said that “true learning = behavior change.” I’m not saying that you should be unnecessarily impatient with someone, just realistic.

Hope this helps (hope it gives you some ideas or motivation to do what you know you need to). I’ll be resting from the blog tomorrow, but in Monday’s post I’ll list some more, this time POSITIVE, things about human nature to help “keep hope alive.”

Peace,
+B

How to Get Yourself to START READING AGAIN (4 Simple Tips)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:15:03 +0000

It’s hard isn’t it???

It’s like, you spend the energy to go down to the library, take the time to find the free pdf ebook online or even COUGH UP YOUR HARD EARNED CASH to get a hold of that book you’ve been “fiending” for, but after all that effort, it just…sits there.

And YOU KNOW you should read it: nobody needs to convince you about the wisdom or value contained in between those pages, but for some reason, it just….sits there.

I know cause I was in that position for a minute myself. Ask any of my old roommates about “Bryan’s Book Collection” and they’ll go, “Yo, that n__ is crazy!!! He got maaaaaad books…like, waaaay too many books. There’s no way one human being can read all of that within the span of a single life time.”

In other words, I used to have a serious problem (of getting books and never finishing them), but for whatever reason, I was just lucky enough to finally figure it out…

I actually donated about 3/4′s of that collection a couple month’s back and moved on to a new life of manageable, enjoyable, PRODUCTIVE literary tastes. Here’s some tips to help you do the same:

1.) Start Light, Not Heavy

Pick the habit up again with:

>> short stories,
>> 20-page guides,
>> novella,
>> articles

….or other “light-weight” work. Don’t come back into the gym and try to bench-press 250 just because that’s what you could do last time you were serious.

The other day I mentioned books like Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach or The Art of Money Getting by P.T. Barnum. Start back with easy reads and short pieces just to regain your momentum and get that sense of accomplishment.

2.) Make It Relevant

The more you can feel like an author’s speaking directly to you – the more you can relate what he’s saying directly to your own situation – the more likely you are to stay with him.

Even if it’s not something about your problems or particular aims, make it something that validates you. Make it something that gives you the verbal ammunition to express what you’ve always truly felt, and you’ll be well on your way.

Whatever you do, DO NOT start reading just for reading’s sake. Do us all a favor and do not come back into this as a way to APPEAR intellectual or sophisticated. That’s just not cool…

3.) Connect With Others

There’s this girl I started talking to a couple weeks ago, and guess what? I met her on the bus while she was reading a romance novel.

I told her I’ve been looking to get into romance books (just to get a better understanding of how women think), so we started to talk about authors like Zane, Danielle Steel, etc., and she just let me borrow one of hers…

Now the book itself is actually kind of corny, but I keep reading it because its part of our interaction (it basically gives us something to talk about).

It’s called Wild Wyoming Heart and it’s not THAT bad once you get into it. It’s really about sexual tension, how drama can amplify attraction, male archetypes, etc., so it’s pretty interesting

4.) Get Rid of What You Don’t Need

Like I said before, I donated 3/4′s of my collection to a local library, and that took a lot of weight off my shoulder.

Overview your entire collection to see what you can get rid of stuff. After you learn to LET GO, it’ll free you up from feeling like you have to read EVERYTHING, which is too symbolic of homework and force.

Hope this helps. For a suggestion of great books that I’ve just finished, click here…

Peace,
+B

How to Transcend The Negative Thinkers That Are WEIGHING YOU DOWN

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:26:30 +0000

There’s two types of pollution in this world: environmental pollution and what Bro. Phil Valentine calls “thought pollution.”

There’s also two types of ghettos in this world too: socio-economic ghettos and what Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth call “Ghettos of the Mind.”

…now you and I both know that you don’t need to live next to a toxic waste dump or in the middle of South Bronx to experience those more psychological forms of contamination, deprivation and despair.

So since I’m not educating you on something you don’t already understand (that Negative People SUCK…Energy Out of YOU), let’s get straight into the “what to do about it” part. Here’s 3 tips to help you the negative thinkers that are literally WEIGHING YOU DOWN

Get Them Out Of Your Life

Negative people are like parasites, so limit your interaction with them as much as humanly possible. I talked about this in my video series on getting focused:

Educate Yourself Properly

What I mean by this is read books like Atlas Shrugged or Jonathan Livingston Seagull, both classic, fictional metaphors about the powers needed to surpass negative, parasitic environments. Here’s a few quotes:

QUOTES
“The question isn’t ‘Who’s going to let me?’, it’s ‘Who’s going to stop me???’” ~ Ayn Rand (author of Atlas Shrugged)

“What he had once hoped for the Flock, he now gained for himself alone; he learned to fly, and was not sorry for the price that he had paid…” ~ Richard Bach (author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

“Man’s proper state is an upright posture, an intransigent (resolute) mind
and a step that travels unlimited roads.” ~ Ayn Rand

“Jonathan sighed. The price of being misunderstood, he thought.
They call you devil or they call you god….” ~ Richard Bach

“The man who thinks must think and act on his own. A reasoning mind
cannot work under any form of compulsion…it cannot be subordinated to the needs,
opinions or wishes of others. It is not an object of sacrifice.” ~ Ayn Rand

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a short novella, Atlas Shrugged a deep novel; both share similar ideas. I suggest the first for a light read and the second for in-depth understanding.

Define Your Own Parameters

…and embrace your unlimited power. In a recent newsletter, I said:

People like you and I deserve to live a different, more fulfilling kind of life, but we deny ourselves that honor by allowing smaller minds to set the parameters on our existence.

…and by assuming that by playing small, we’re being considerate to their weakness.

For most of my life, the logic I’ve lived by is tantamount to thinking I can help a diseased man get well by pretending to be diseased myself, and I’m willing to wager that you’ve been playing that same card…

So it’s time to stop playing around: it’s time to show this world the power of our minds WITHOUT APOLOGY, damn the consequences.”

Remember, since most people are content with mediocrity, there’s a subtle, mental form of that “thought pollution” being transferred onto you that you may not even realize.

Do EVERYTHING YOU CAN to put an end to this now, and refuse to ever settle for less then the best you can possibly be…

Peace,
+B

The 2 Types of Self-Development ADDICTION (& How to Overcome Them)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:33:38 +0000

Trying to develop yourself can be a tricky thing, because sometimes the whole process BACKFIRES on you like legal or medical malpractice.

If you’re not careful, you can end up wasting maaaad money…or have a crib full of foolish gadgets and gizmos that you THINK look cool, but really just make you look like you need some help

One of the ways this “malpractice” happens is with what’s called “Personal Development Addiction”, which in my experience takes two forms I call (1) EXTERNAL Personal-Development Addiction, and (2) INTERNAL Personal-Development Addiction.

…because one is caused by forces outside the individual’s sphere of influence, and the second is caused by forces inside that individuals own psyche. Knowledge this:

How to Medicate the External Kind

External Personal Development Addiction happens whenever we:

>> blindly follow some mystical guru,

>> waste tons of money on gadgets, books, programs and “tools” but never really use them (some people even go into DEBT), or

>> otherwise waste time, energy and money on the industry’s products and have very little to show for it.

In case you haven’t noticed, self-help has become a VERY commercialized field: it dwells mostly on gimmicks (rather substance) and CAPITALIZES on people’s pain, anxiety and desperation (rather then solve it).

Good self-help marketers understand the science of CREATING problems and issues (that only THEIR products can solve) just like the pharmaceutical industry understands the science of constantly creating new diseases (that only THEIR drugs can heal).

“Deceptive Intelligence,” is all around you, and don’t think for a second that because someone’s rapping about “self-realization” or “life hacking” that they’re free from that dynamic. Many people are addicted to self-help because they’re pawns of this manipulation

This is something I’ve addressed multiple times before, so for help on deciphering between the real and the false, see post like Is the Self-Help Industry a SHAM??? or Funny Political Cartoons EXPOSE Self-Development Hoax…

How to Medicate the Internal Kind

The internal style of addiction is way more subtle and difficult to detect. I was just reading a book not too long ago called Healing the Shame That Binds You with a section called:

Addiction to Guilt and Shame:

“You can also be addicted to guilt in a toxic way. Toxic guilt says you have no right to be unique — to be the very person you are. To stay in toxic guilt forces you into constantly taking self-inventory. Life becomes a series of problems to be solved rather then a mystery to be lived.

Toxic guilt keeps you endlessly working on yourself and analyzing every event and transaction. There’s never a time for rest because there’s always more you need to do. Guilt puts you in yoru head a lot. Guilt is also a way to feel powerful when you are really powerless.

Statements like ‘I’ve made my mother mad.’ or ‘I’m responsible for her sickness’ are actually statements of grandiosity (because they imply a sense of control).” ~ author John Bradshaw

And that really resonated with me because, for instance, if you check out my facebook profile, under the “about me” section you’ll see the phrase: “I’m really into knowledge and self-development. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m a knowledge-maniac, but…well…I’m a knowledge-maniac. Deal with it.”

…which is interesting, because being addicted to developing yourself is a clever way to disguise shame and guilt

In other words, because I was ashamed of things I’ve done in my past, a lot of things that I’ve learned and accomplished to better myself were done to VALIDATE me as a person…as a way to say to myself, “I really am okay…look.”

Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with trying to be a better person and accomplish more in life, but when the primary MOTIVATION for that is to make you okay as a person, you’re heading down a path that knows no end and contains no satisfaction.

It’s just difficult to see that that’s what you’re really doing, because it’s hidden subconsciously.

Concluding Thoughts

The point I’m making here is twofold:

1.) Take the time to sit down and analyze WHY you’re striving to accomplish or develop yourself, and

2.) You need to FORGIVE yourself for the mistakes you’ve made in the past (even the most jacked up ones), because if you don’t, NOTHING you do or accomplish will “atone” for it. The demons will always haunt you…

For a good portion of my life, I was really no different then someone who wanted a fancy car or a brand-new watch to feel important, it’s just that I disguised it under other, more constructive terms. Don’t let that be you…

Peace,
+B

PAIN IS A POSITIVE THING: 8 Techniques to Bounce Back From the Inevitable “Low-Points” in Life

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:55:39 +0000

Take a good look at the Yin & Yang symbol and you’ll notice that even in the side that’s completely dark, there’s a small little speck of light, and in the side that’s completely light, there’s a small little speck of dark…

You can look at your personal growth and success in a similar way: When you’re on top and everything is going smooth, all it takes is one little error in thinking – one small factor you overlooked – to bring you back down.

And when you’re feeling low like there’s no hope for tomorrow, all it might take is one small insight – one simple change beneath the radar – to get you back on your feet.

Eastern Philosophy Meets Western Self-Help

I’ve been trying to connect the insights of Eastern Philosohpy with the concepts of Self with the concepts of Self-Development like this for awhile now (see this radio show I did on the Chakras or this older post I put together honoring Lao-Tzu for examples), and this is one of the biggest ideas I’ve come across.

In any sport for instance, you need both a good offense (yang) AND a good defense (yin) in order to succeed, and that serves as a metaphor we can apply anywhere.

If you want to succeed financially and build wealth, you need to make money (offense) and keep a portion of what you earn over time (defense).

If you want to succeed romantically and build relationships, you have to attract a high-quality person (offense) and deepen a connection that sustains itself over time (defense).

To succeed at any personal goal, you need the specific skill-set that the goal requires (offensive yang) and the self-esteem and perseverance to handle failure when it comes (defensive yin).

In all fields of life, offensive “yang” is what initiates the game and defensive “yin” is what sustains the success.

See what I mean? All of that wisdom can be drawn from the simple image (or “glyph”) of Yin & Yang, but the thing is, since we’re in the western world, we’re in the habit of thinking primarily through words, not symbols…

So let’s get into some specific techniques on how to build the “Yin” aspect of that science…

8 Techniques to Build Your Defensive Game

1.) Be Patient: Stop EXPECTING life to not have road bumps, obstacles, serious problems and stress. The sooner you can accept that things rarely ever go as they’re planned the sooner you can orient your thinking in a problem-solving way.

2.) Be Prepared: Don’t cut off friends, social contacts, when you’re in a relationship, don’t squander your money when you’re at a high point and don’t eat WHATEVER when you’re feeling healthy and good. Don’t let a positive present make you less vigilant towards the future…

3.) Always Study: Always be growing…always strive to take your habits, skills and worldview to the next level. Marcus Garvey says, “Never forget that intelligence rules the world and ignorance carries the burden. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as far as possible to be intelligent…”

4.) Always Reflect: Journal, meditate, join a 12-Step program…do something that allows you to take inventory of you’re own thinking process and bad habits, as well as give you a chance to come up with the ideas and action plans you need to turn things back around.

5.) Stop Taking it So Seriously: Don’t get melo-dramatic or have panic and anxiety over your situation. Bob Marley says, “Don’t worry about a thing…cause every little thing…gonna be all right.” And if you look back over the last 8-10 years of your life, you’ll find that to be true.

Keep in mind that one day you’re going to look back on everything and either laugh, be amazed at what you got through or be surprised you even thought it was a problem in the first place.

6.) Rise to the Occasion: Take responsibility for what’s going on and use it as a platform to strengthen yourself. Never cower from an opposing force, whether that be a person or a situation you’re unfamiliar with. Be like someone from the Earth Kingdom in the cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and STAND YOUR GROUND.

7.) Raise Your Self-Esteem in general: I talk about this often because your self-esteem is the fundamental lens through which you see the world. Go here for more advice.

8.) Stop caring what other people think: One of the main reasons we have anxiety about our situation isn’t so much because of the problem itself, but because of how we THINK we’ll appear in someone else’s eyes.

“Henry had learned however, that true courage is shown most in bearing
reproach when not deserved…and that he ought to be afraid of nothing
but his own wrongdoing.” ~ from McGuffey’s 3rd Eclectic Reader

Remember what I said about the yin and yang principle above, and for more on dissolving panic and anxiety (which is AT THE HEART of any type of recovery process), click here.

Peace,
+B

Special Warning Notes on Success for the African-American Community…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:45:01 +0000

“I believe that people have to respect their own lives like they do their cars. You control your car. You give it energy to move (fuel), you start it, drive it, maneuver it and stop it when and where you want…and I know many people who need to do the same with their lives.

They need to get some energy and drive themselves where they want to go or (at least) to where they now THINK they want to go and maneuver through life as they would down a busy street.

What does it take for a person to do this? In my opinion, it takes faith, values and goals. By faith I do not mean religious beliefs, although they are important. By faith I mean true belief in YOURSELF.

I mean the belief that if given the right information, the right perspective, and a reasonable understanding of what to expect and how to deal with occurrences when they happen, there is a chance you might get to where you want to go.

Special Notes as a Black Person

As a Black person, there are many historical reason for your having little faith, very legitimate reasons. But opportunity is knocking hard today and you can make your own opportunity where none may seem to exist.

Today’s Black folks have more possibilities for their lives than any generation of Blacks in the history of our existence in America. Many Black people gave all they had so that you could be where you are now…

If you blow it, you will waste not only your own life, but also the efforts of MILLIONS who came before you and you will certainly be making it more difficult for those who come after you.

I don’t spend an awful lot of time trying to raise people from the dead because I realized an important principle a few years ago…look at either history or current events you will note that “winning people” choose themselves for success, but much of life (Black life in particular), is based on WAITING to be selected.

Think about it:

>> In school we stand in lines, raise our hands and wait our turns to be selected for something we value.

>> We apply to colleges and graduate schools to get our educations and be “qualified” and THEN

>> We send out resumes and ask for jobs and promotions, waiting for someone ELSE to select us and decide for us whether or not we’re going to fulfill OUR dreams. That’s the fate of the common person.

How To Lead YOURSELF To Success

Leaders start off by leading themselves first. They respect what others say and think of them (sometimes) but it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with where they are going with their lives.

After faith, people need values (i.e: subconscious beliefs) and goals that are not in conflict. Most motivational books talk about goals but few mention values.

If you are an adult around thirty or so, you probably have values that are much older than your latest goals, so if you seem to be getting no closer to your goals now than you were when you first set them, your problem could be that you’ve set goals that are in conflict with your true beliefs.

Your true beliefs are so deep that they’re a part of your fundamental value system, a system that’s anchored and rooted in your brain, your habits, your speech, your environment and your very essence.

So if given the choice between your twenty day old goal and your twenty-two year old values, which do you think your conscious and unconscious mind will lean towards??? You got it!

Black folks as a people have values that work against them taking charge of their own lives. They are rooted in our historical relationship with power and how respond to it (rather than seize it).

They’re rooted in our religious beliefs. They are rooted in our leadership and our role models…Hell, just by deciding to go into business for yourself you’ve already broken with most of Black tradition.

I’m not going to tell you what to believe or exactly how you should shape your values, but I do ask you to really check yourself and ask yourself what do you really believe and what proof do you have to believe it. (Proof to yourself, not anyone else).

If in doing some internal examination you’re rethinking some of your values, beliefs and habits, then you’re doing the preparatory work on which to build successful goals.”

…that passage was written by George Subira way back in the 80′s. I’m always amazed at how the timeless wisdom can be (particularly about the subconscious mind). Check out the book this is from here, and if you’re ready to gain the beliefs, habits and mindset of the most successful people on the planet, click here.

Peace,
+B

7 Ways to Let Go of a Past Relationship So You Can MOVE ON with Your Life…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:53:57 +0000

I was talking with an old friend yesterday, and he told me that AS SOON as he found out his ex-girlfriend was moving, he met another amazing girl who seems like relationship material.

For some reason, even though they’ve been apart for several year, and even though he’s been dating and enjoying the single life, he’s had trouble finding someone he could really bond and connect with.

But what are the odds of that??? The second his ex leaves town, he just “happens” to meet somebody else on-point. I mean, did this new-girl just pop up out of nowhere? Did a cosmic black hole open up down the block from him and she just walk out of it coincidentally?

Of course not…he just took notice of the new girl because he moved on psychologically. Something about the ex-girlfriend leaving gave him subconscious “permission” to move on, so his eyes were open

We talked about this, and I can definitely relate: I’ve had to throw away letters, erase thoughtful emails and delete naughty home-made videos to get past my ex’s and “open up the space” (cause I love real hard).

7 Actual Tips for Moving On & Opening the Space

What’s more interesting is that just the day before, another friend of mine sent me a link called 40 Ways to Let Go & Feel Less Pain, from a blog calledTiny Buddha, which talked about this same idea.

It built on everything from relationships to stress and anger (you can catch the full article here), but here’s a few of the relationship ones with my additional commentary:

1: Identify What The Experience Taught You to help develop a sense of closure.

I’m glad this one comes first, because to me, it’s the most important. One of the biggest keys is to realize that relationships exist to help us grow as individuals, and I think the more a couple can identify with this (regardless of whether they stay together or not) the more they’re on the right track. See the book Building Your Mate’s Self-Esteem for more.

2: Write Everything You Want to Express in a Letter, because even if you choose not to send it, clarifying your feelings helps you come to terms with reality as it is now.

…I’ve done this A LOT myself. It may feel kind of corny, but since the lines of communication aren’t always there after a breakup like they should be, being able to express yourself helps you feel “okay” as a person…it helps you stay sane.

3: Remember both the good and the bad. Even if appears this way now, the past was not perfect. Acknowledging this may minimize your sense of loss. As Laura Oliver says, “It’s easier to let go of a human than a hero.”

4. Un-romanticize the way you view love. Of course you’ll feel devastated if you believe you lost your soul mate. If you think you can find a love that amazing or better again it will be easier to move on…

5. Visualize an empowered single you — the person you were BEFORE meeting your last love. That person was pretty awesome, and now you have the chance to be him or her again.

6. Create a space that reflects your present reality. Take down his pictures; delete her emails from your saved folder.

7. Hang this statement somewhere you can see it: “Letting go is love. Holding on is attachment…”

Peace,
+B

MARCUS GARVEY on Being More Successful, In Demand & Removed from Ignorance

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:44:01 +0000

Here’s Marcus Garvey re-iterating what I’ve been trying to tell people for YEARS with programs like Recommended Scrolls and Mind-Elevation Radio. I figured him breaking it down validates it at a deeper level. Check this:

Use Every Spare Minute:

“Use every spare minute you have in reading. If you’re going on a journey that would take you an hour, carry something with you to read for that hour until you have reached the place. If you are sitting down waiting for somebody, have something in your pocket to read until the person comes.

Do not waste time. Any time you think you have to waste put it in reading something. Carry with you a small pocket dictionary and study words whilst waiting or travelling, or a small pocket volume on some particular subject. Read through at least one book every week separate and distinct from your newspapers and journals.

It will mean that at the end of one year you will have read fifty-two different subjects. After five years you will have read over two hundred and fifty books.

Remove Yourself from Ignorance:

You may be considered then a well read man or a well read woman and there will be a great difference between you and the person who has not read one book. You will be considered intelligent and the other person be considered ignorant. You and that person therefore will be living in two different worlds; one the world of ignorance and the other the world of intelligence.

Never forget that intelligence rules the world and ignorance carries the burden. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as far as possible to be intelligent….

If you know what others do not know, they will want to hear you. You will then become invaluable in your community and to your country, because men and women will want to hear you and see you everywhere…” ~ Marcus Garvey

It’s from something he put together called, “How to Read” and you can catch the full version here, or click here to check out some “Recommended Scrolls” (suggested reading).

Peace,
+B

How to Get Control Over WHAT YOU EAT: A Great Technique for Improving Your Diet, Health & Nutritional Discipline

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:20:53 +0000

In yesterday’s post about emotional strength, I mentioned watching your diet as a way to keep your feelings and overall mind-state “in check,” so today let’s make that even more practical.

Here’s a foodlog you can use to track everything you intake and, most importantly, how it effects you:

…with columns for:

>> Time: when, and maybe even why, you ate,
>> Hunger: scale it from 0-5, zero being not hungry at all, five being Starving Marvin,
>> Nourishment: what you ate and how much,
>> Pre-Emotion: how you felt BEFORE the meal or snack,
>> Post-Emotion: how you felt AFTER, and a
>> Supportive Thought: statements to keep you in-tune and on-track.

Again, click here to download the pdf for all this, and click here to see my original first draft in full:

Remember, “Processes that are measured improve, and processes that are measured and REPORTED improve exponentially.”

The Science Behind This

Stick with this for two weeks straight (I’m not kidding). It takes A LOT of discipline at first, but once you get the hang of it, the power and leverage you’ll gain over yourself will astound you.

If you fall off track, don’t try to “catch-up” and recall whatever you forgot to put down, just re-start where you are. This keeps it easy and makes it more likely you’ll keep up the habit.

If this sounds too robotic for you – like it’s limiting you’re freedom or something – you’re wrong.

The reality is, we humans are EXTREMELY predictable creatures: we go about the same routines (mentally, physically and emotionally) in routinized ways.

If you take a second to look at how we behave sexually, financially or socially, it’s just like an episode of Animal Planet. This is what psychologist and sociologists have been identifying for years. (Read books The Red Queen by Matt Ridley or watch documentaries like Sexual Intelligence or Stress: Portrait of a Killer for examples.)

The idea that we have free will and control over what we’re doing on a day-to-day basis is, for the most part, just that…AN IDEA. It’s something we tell ourselves to maintain a sense of pride and deceive ourselves into the belief that we’re in control, when we’re really not.

The thing that makes us unique though is that we’re self-aware (or at least we have the option to be, anyway). The sooner you can accept this fact – and see how it plays out in your diet, for instance – the sooner you can get leverage over yourself and REALLY become empowered and free by setting up a system that supports your natural routines.

Remember, you’re NOT in control…you can’t “willpower” (as in force) yourself into eating better, feeling better, thinking better or doing anything better for that matter.

You’re going to keep doing the same things REGARDLESS of whether or not you face the music, so your best bet is to get actual data on yourself and use that data to find out how to naturally bring out the best in you.

2 FULL WEEKS (download the foodlog here). Stay tuned for more soon…

Peace,
+B

EMOTIONAL STRENGTH: How To Find It, Use It, Keep It and STRENGTHEN It…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:20:05 +0000

I’m all about being a productive and accomplished person, but a big part of that isn’t just the techniques, it’s emotional and psychological concerns that need to be addressed at a deeper level.

“Doing the Knowledge” (getting focused and action-oriented) requires both an inner game AND and outer game – a yin & yang, if you will – so you have to focus on both if you want to experience long term, sustainable progress, development and success.

Sometimes:

>> you experience a breakup that sends you into a short depression,

>> your self-confidence is so low that you doubt whether you even DESERVE the success you can achieve,

>> you move to a new phase of life (school, career-change, parenting, etc.) and have trouble coping with the change,

>> you just feel down and have no idea WHY,

…or any of a host of other things that can send you spiraling down a path of emotional pain that leaves you virtually INCAPABLE of doing some of the more practical things we talk about here.

So let’s cover a few tips for building emotional strength: for finding, sustaining and strengthening your ability to cope with the inevitable ups and downs as you do your best to become a better person.

Tip 1: Expand Your Threshold

In my latest video on relationships, the speaker Umar Johnson said:

“You have to be willing to go through the pain of your past in order to sort out your present. Many of us don’t have the emotional discipline, willpower and tolerance for pain that’s necessary to travel back into your psycho-history, so you can understand what went wrong and heal yourself now.”

So what I’m saying here is don’t be afraid of it. Teach yourself to be more comfortable with the side of you that’s not so pretty.

Most people enter a state of “frantic re-assurance” whenever emotional pain comes up…rather then allow themselves (or the person) to experience the pain so it can process, most people look at the emotions as a problem in and of itself.

Since emotional pain needs to be AVOIDED at all costs and solved immediately, we say things like:

“Oh no – it’ll be alright…don’t worry.”

“You have to remember that ____ (insert objective fact the person already knows that doesn’t help them at that point in time).”

“Stop crying…” and so on.

I remember one time I was sitting with my ex-girlfriend in her car when she started crying and I simply said to her “It’s okay to cry…,” because I couldn’t think of anything else to help out, but just saying that eliminated about %70 percent of what she was feeling.

She said that nobody ever told her that before…that she remembered growing up and always being ridiculed and condemned by her parents for being sad and feeling down.

So alongside whatever she was feeling, she had the added weight of trying to PRETEND and COVER-UP over it, with the additional GUILT just for feeling sad by and of itself. Those emotional habits carried out into her adult life and she didn’t even know it.

Don’t let this be you – expand your threshold for emotional pain. Allow yourself to feel down once in a while so you can explore the deeper issues that are plaguing you. This is probably the biggest thing…

Tip 2: Give Yourself an Allotted Time

It helps if you give yourself a predetermined amount time to go through all this. Before you consciously explore anything, say to yourself, “Alright, for the next 10 minutes, I’m going to feel down, but that’s okay, cause after that I’m going to go right back to what I was supposed to do.”

There’s something about an allotted time that makes the whole thing easier to digest. Not sure why…

Tip 3: Talk to Somebody

This is an OBVIOUS one, but I’m still amazed at how many people don’t feel like they have anyone to go to about what’s truly bothering them, so I’m saying it again

In relationships, we often assume that if we share too much of what’s wrong with our lives, that it’ll draw the other person further away. We assume it’ll damage the connection, the subconscious logic must be, “Since I don’t like that aspect of myself, he probably won’t like ME for having it.” or whatever…

But in my experience, the opposite is true: sharing weaknesses and concerns brings two people closer together. You may even find out that that person has gone through (or IS going through) a similar thing.

Just throw something out there one time (start light). You’ll be amazed at how energizing and rewarding the conversation will be.

Tip 4: Avoid Sweets (and Cheese)

I forget the actual science behind this one, but I read it somewhere in African Holistic Health, 4th Edition, a few years back.

Basically, I know from my own experience that if I eat too much sweets, breads or cheese I’ll feel down…I won’t feel as creative, as sharp, as witty or as motivated about doing ANYTHING, actually.

If I eat an overdose of raw fruits and vegetables (and drink water), I’ll feel up…I’ll laugh more, be more outgoing and have more optimism about EVERYTHING.

So whenever I have a meeting, a date or some work I need to do, I pro-actively know before hand, like “Aite, this is important, so let me not eat anything stupid before I mess it up.” and it always works.

…it’s actually getting to the point where I look at cheese and visually SEE depression. A good holistic health tip is to train your eyes to actually see the resulting state of eating something (depression, exhaustion, indigestion, etc.) when you look at food, not the material itself. It’s like having “3rd Eye Nutrition,” something.

Did you hear the metaphor I used earlier, “Don’t eat anything stupid“??? I associate negative states with malnutritious things intuitively, and it’s taken me a long way.

Again, you can actually condition yourself to get grossed out over the things that aren’t healthy for you, even if you’re drawn to them now. It’s like reverse-psychology over your diet.

But in any case, take notice (you can actually chart this out) of what foods put you in what emotional states, and if you HAVE to eat them, at least make it around times where it won’t affect you as much…

If You Really Need Help

If this is something serious for you – something you KNOW that you need to get handled, then I recommend Think Right Now International’s program Freedom From Depression Now!

I have this (and about 5 other ones from them) at home right now, and it helped me get through a traumatic break up a few years back. (If you can’t tell, I’m a pretty sensitive guy.)

In short, it’ll help you reach a state where you:

>> Replace dwelling on failure with focusing on success,

>> Let go of all unnecessary and inappropriate guilt,

>> Welcome intimacy and closeness with the people you care about and

>> Begin each day with genuine optimism and high expectations.

…so for more, go here. I give this thing %110 of my confidence (I used it myself), so just go check it out to find out more

Hope this helps. Take care and be sure to check out the blog tomorrow for more great free tips.

Peace,
+B

More Productivity Tips for Accomplishing More Each Day….

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:00:52 +0000

Continuing on from yesterday’s post, here’s a few more tips for time-management, productivity, staying focused and relaxed success.

Tip 4: Stay Organized

…be a bit more “obsessive-compulsive” about your physical space: clean everything up and organize everything in a logical, structured way.

Having an orderly physical environment promotes having an orderly (and hence more effective) mental environment. It’ll help you find your stuff faster, think clearer about your work, lose things LESS often and feel much more in control.

For a post I did that goes way more in-depth about clutter, organization skills and more, click here.

Think again back to the movie Limitless. When Bradley Cooper first took that pill, what did he do? CLEAN UP and get his act together (dress, hygiene, etc.), because organization and personal care indicate self-direction and personal power.

In fact, you want to be somewhat territorial actually: you want to make any space you work at, chill at or whatever, YOURS (to the extent that other people can visually detect that). It’ll help you maintain this “I’m the master of my reality” mindset more conducive to accomplishment.

Leave Tasks Where They Belong

Just like you want your physical areas to be organized so your mind can be clear, you want your work-styles to be organized so your work can be efficient.

What I mean here is a couple things:

>> Take full breaks. When you’re resting, rest and when you’re working, work.

>> Only do certain work in certain places, so this way your subconscious automatically kicks into gear as you move around.

Always eat in a certain place, work in a certain place, sleep in a certain place, etc. etc. Control and systematize everything you do to the best of your ability…it sounds robotic, but it actually frees a lot of energy up to accomplish more things, because you no longer waste your willpower on menial tasks.

For instance, I always journal in my bedroom BEFORE I go to work (even though I could sneak it in if I wanted to), and I always read right before I eat.

Just don’t be so haphazard about where you do things. Structure your behavior just like you structure your environment, and it’ll help automate your mind to shift gears as you need to, instantly.

Be Specific

As a person, I’m realizing that as I get older, I tend to think (and speak) in more tangible and specific terms.

A few years ago I was waaaaay more philosophical (take a look at my early work online for examples). It was almost like I was afraid of reality, so I used my verbal skills to sound eloquent at saying nothing…that way nobody could hold me to any burden of proof, not even myself.

So don’t let this be you: when you communicate with other people, be specific and direct, and when you set goals for yourself, be detailed and concrete.

It’s hard at first, but the sooner you can do this, the sooner you can face the changes you need to make in life and get on track to actually start accomplishing things (which is a very addictive feeling).

Being measurable and exact is a good way to garner trust and build relationships too,. In fact, I now personally read someone that speaks too philosophically as a coward, and I’m not the only one who thinks like this, so be careful not to be too abstract…

Speak, plan and orient everything you do around FACTS, not metaphors, symbols, hints, gestures or wishes. The more physical you become, the more tangible, believable, and accomplish-able your words, plans and ideas will be…

Peace,
+B

3 Quick Tips to Get More Done, EVERYDAY…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:30:27 +0000

Productivity is my core strength…while I have a lot I need to work on personally (just like everybody else), when it comes to getting things done, managing time, structuring plans and ideas, staying focused and self-discipline, I’m your man.

So here’s a few tips with brief elaborations to help you become more of a focused, disciplined and productive person. They’re all small, technical things you can do accomplish more of the things that are really important to you over time…

1. Write it All Down

In traditional goal-setting advice, they always suggest that you write your goals down, and the same thing applies to your daily plans. Treat an accomplished, productive day as a “goal” you want to accomplish in and of itself and strategize it out.

The idea here isn’t so much so that you don’t forget anything (or so that you have a plan to fall back on if things don’t work), but so that you can have mental clarity as you approach the day with.

Your brain isn’t naturally wired to remember things, so once you have a system (or a piece of paper) that you can trust to hold everything you need to recall, that frees up mental energy for those individual tasks.

I divide my life into subjects and then categorize each activity, but whatever you need to do, just get it out of your head to prevent “abstract distraction” (distraction on the mental level, which I’ll elaborate on later).

2. Plan it All the Night Before

…because that’ll give some subconscious boost power to the plan.

If I have something deep I need to work on the next day, I’ll always START IT the night before (like a rough draft or whatever) because that gives my mind another type of leverage over the work.

So plan things out the night before: not only will you have more creative ideas about how to do things better or more efficiently, but you’ll also save yourself the wasted energy of planning it out in the morning.

Instead of waking up and thinking “what do I have to do today?” you’ll wake up in attack mode. Do it…

3. Do ONE Thing A Day

Every goal we set is composed of what I call “conscious tasks” and “unconscious tasks.”

What I mean by those terms is that every time you set out to do something, you only estimate about 50% of the tasks involved.

Every time you set out to do something, you’re only conscious of about HALF of everything that you need to do to finally get it done.

>> Sometimes you make mistakes,

>> Sometimes you forget that you need to meet certain requirements or get certain materials,

>> Sometimes you do something right only to find out that you did something ELSE wrong…sometimes you need to go back, or do other things nobody told you about, etc. etc.

So by focusing on one big goal a day (aside from small errands of course), you free your mind up from the anxiety of not doing enough because task A took twice as long (or more) then you intended to

Subdivide big blocks of time (such as an entire afternoon, a couple of days or even an entire week) to one particular goal, and allow yourself to not worry about other things until one thing is squared away.

Tomorrow I’ll cover three more good tips to be more of a productive, action-oriented and disciplined person who actually accomplishes things. Stay tuned…

Peace,
+B

An Easy, Quick 4-Step Exercise for Greater Self-Confidence

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:06:05 +0000

“Without confidence, you’ve lost in the race of life…
with confidence, you’ve won even before you started.”
~ Marcus Mosiah Garvey

I keep quoting this brother, and although I hate to repeat myself, sometimes you need to in order to make sure a point sticks.

But you already know this, don’t you? You already know you need confidence and self-esteem in order to:

>> build healthy, strong relationships,
>> succeed at personal goals (like losing weight, starting a blog or whatever),
>> maintain your sense of self through the ups and downs of life (financial challenges or other stresses).
>> overcome (and AVOID) terrible things like depression and anxiety

…and much more, right?

Since you already do, let’s go ahead and delve right into the science. Here’s 4 quick and easy ways to build (and restore) your sense of self-confidence:

Tip 1: Make Distinctions

Think about (and if you like, write down) what confidence means to you. What do confident people do that unconfident people do not? What would you do differently if you were confident?

For instance, maybe you would find it easier to speak up for yourself, show your emotions, meet new people or (in the case of a male) approach women.

Tip 2: Define Beliefs

Write down three beliefs you hold about yourself which could be limiting your confidence.

Now, think of three beliefs you would rather have…beliefs that would empower you and bring you confidence. Cross out the limiting beliefs and write these empowering ones down in their place.

What would you have to do for these new beliefs to come true?

Project Yourself Mentally

Make yourself very comfortable (either sitting or lying down), close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and relax.

Allow yourself to imagine: what would it be like to be perfectly confident? What difference would it make in my life?

Let your mind drift for a few minutes, then open your eyes and write down everything that comes to mind. Keep this list: you have it in your power to experience all this eventually. Remember that whatever your mind can conceive and you can realize .

Role Play

…and by this I don’t mean the freaky kind, so get your mind out the gutter.

Simply commit yourself to behaving more confidently AS OF NOW, even if it feels like an act. Do what actors, musicians, politicians, celebrities and many others do all over the world – pretend like you’re confident even if you’re not.

For instance, calm your breath, stand upright, look people in the eye and speak with a clear, unwavering tone…you’ll feel more confident immediately.

So that’s it for now. If you’re really feeling this, and know it’s something you need to work on in-depth, check out my classic Blog Talk Radio episode, The Dynamics of HIGH SELF-ESTEEM

Peace,
+B

How to WAKE UP FASTER, part 2…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:46:58 +0000

First, if you haven’t already, check out one of my latest videos on waking up earlier (with other motivational insights). It’s pretty dope, and got about 314 views so far :

Interestingly though, I didn’t get the type of response I was hoping for. Even though it’s a great video, I’m not sure the “just open your eyes” techniques works as good as it does for other people as it does for me.

So here’s a couple more quick tips to try out…let me know what you think

1: Do “Alert-State Associated” Things

For instance, if you wear glasses, be sure to keep them by your bed and put them on FIRST THING.

There’s something about having that clear vision that keeps you in an alert state. It’s almost like you immediately transition into that wakeful state of mind because that’s the state that your “glasses-vision” is connected to subconsciously.

It’s the inverse of taking your glasses off and immediately feeling sleepy (which happens to me all the time). Try it…

If you don’t wear glasses, just think about what activities are associated with being awake and do those immediately as you get up. If you take the time to think about this, you’ll come up with some good ideas.

Get Outdoors

Get outside into the elements as soon as you can as well, because being outside immediately puts you into a more alert state too.

I rent out a basement, so I have access to a small backyard, but if you live in a high-rise, go out on the balcony or just stick your head out the window. Do something…

The fresh air and just the feeling of being outside will help you pick up the pace. Trust me…

Waking Up Earlier vs. Sleeping Less

Also, on a deeper note, instead of thinking about waking up earlier or getting up faster, you can also consider sleeping LESS to begin with.

This is a sticky one for most people, but you can check out my post The Popular MYTH of 8-Hour Sleep for the back up and facts to support it. It’s something I used to be on A LOT back in the day, and I’m looking to get more back into it now.

Essentially, by doing things like:

>> drinking a lot of water

>> exercising throughout the day

>> taking brief power naps, and

>> being sure to get good sunlight.

…you can lesson the amount of “sleep cycles” you need to go through when you actually lie down at night.

See that classic post I mentioned earlier for more on this (and free, detailed eBook about it), and email me for any questions.

Peace,
+B

On Overcoming Loneliness, Poor Relationship Choices and More…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:22:23 +0000

In Friday’s post I talked a lot about introversion: about how self-development is essentially an introverted process and EXPECTING yourself to eventually part with your current friends in order to grow and excel.

So learning how to handle loneliness is a big part of that of course, and it’s also something that’ll help you out TREMENDOUSLY in relationships.

A lot of people end up in unhappy, less-then-ideal relationship scenarios simply because they were unable to handle being alone. They settle for someone who doesn’t treat them like they deserve or rush into something with somebody incompatible because they can’t tolerate the emotional solitude that being single creates (even if you are casually dating).

Blaise Pascal, the French mathematician, once said, “All of man’s miseries stem from his inability to sit in a room by himself…”

Warren Buffet, the leading investment thinker, also once said, “My idea of a group decision is to look in the mirror…”

So here’s a key insight to help you avoid those miseries, get more comfortable coming to those types of group decisions and simply be okay during those times when you have to “roll dolo from state to state.”

The Difference Between Loneliness & Solitude

The difference between loneliness and solitude is knowing that having other people around you doesn’t VALIDATE you as a human being.

Whether anybody agrees with your way of life doesn’t change how intelligent you are…it doesn’t change how funny you are and it doesn’t change anything about you period.

It’s not even a validation of whether or not your ideas are valid, because all great ideas are DEVELOPED over time.

Now of course, we all need people: no man is an island unto himself and there’s no point in trying to live in a vacuum, but I believe that there are certain key times in our lives when we have to embrace solitude in order to become someone greater. (If you check out Friday’s post about self-development, you’ll learn how growing as a person sometimes requires us to play an introverted game.)

For instance, I’ve been online since 2007 (click here to see some of my early work) and it’s only NOW that I have people checking it out that I’m not already friends with (as in actual, pure readers that don’t know me).

That’s damn near 5 years of developing this baby until it got into it’s present form. In fact, when I first started this site, some of my friends accused me of being selfish for spending so much of my free time getting it all together…

Most People Don’t See

Most people don’t see the tree inside of a seed. Most people don’t see the grown man inside of a baby infant or the fortune to be made in a simple idea.

Most people just see the single seed, the cute kid or the silly concept, ignore it and go about their day. In my post on settling for less then the best you deserve, I said:

Technically, unless you have NO family and NO friends, you’re not really alone, even though you feel like it now…you FEEL alone because you believe somebody else is needed to VALIDATE you.

Part of our drive for a romantic relationship stems from the idea that unless we have something romantic going on, our lives are incomplete or, even worse, that we’re incomplete as a human being.…

We assume that if somebody’s single (especially as we get older), it’s BECAUSE something is wrong with them, not because they’re working on themselves, being patient for something truly worth the investment, or anything else, which is a messed up way to look at it.

If you realize any of this thinking in yourself (because I still realize some of it in me, even to this day), the thing to remember is that regardless of whether you’re in a relationship or not, you’re still the same great person.

ESPECIALLY keep this line of thought somewhere in your register as you go about this self-development, inner-growth and goal-setting thing. You are YOU, and you don’t need anyone around you to change or validate that inherent value you have.

Also check out the blog posts on settling for less then what you deserve, how to step outside of your comfort zone and being ahead of your time and not letting other people slow you down for more…

Peace,
+B

K.I.S.S: Key Ideas for Self-Development Simplicity, pt. 2

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:18:27 +0000

(NOTE: This is a continuation of yesterday’s post, which you should read first.)

Key Idea #2: Roll Dolo from State to State

There’s this scene in the movie Belly where Method Man’s character is in Nebraska, and when the drug lords ask him why he’s by himself he says: “I roll dolo from state to state!!! Word up…”

…laughing with a big smile on his face, completely comfortable as if there’s nothing awkward about the idea.

So whereas he meant he moved from state to state physically, when it comes to personal growth, you’re moving from state to state mentally, and you’re doing it BY YOURSELF. (That’s why it’s called “personal” growth…deep, right?)

The path of developing as a person is essentially an introverted process: it’s an introvert’s game that requires skill and comfort in an introvert’s way of life.

If you think about it, whenever someone goes to a counselor, a spiritual guru, a psychiatrist or whatever, what do they encourage them to do? Right! They tell them to be more introverted.

They ask them questions about WHY they did what they did and what certain events in their past MEAN to them. They tell them to do things like journal, pray, meditate, etc. etc.

Since self-development is simply the constructive use of your introverted tendencies, the key idea here is to re-orient your thinking to realize introversion as a positive thing. Let me prove it to you:

Self-Development Requires Self-Direction

I remember reading something somewhere that said, “While extroverts are better at thriving in a social context, introverts are better at making choices and decisions for themselves and finding their own direction in life.”

So your choice to grow as a person is a path you made for yourself that places you AGAINST THE GRAIN: the reason there isn’t a lot around to support that drive is because there aren’t a lot of people around to even detect you on that frequency.

A friend told me yesterday that her favorite line in the post about conquering social anxiety was, “…you and I are both introverts: the 25% of the population that doesn’t get catered to by social customs.”

You have to remember this, and you have to remember that because your mind is in a different space, you can’t just communicate everything about it’s progress openly. The other thing is that…

You’re Friends Won’t Change, But YOU’LL Change Friends

Like attracts like, so if you wanted to…

>> develop new habits and productivity skills for your goals,

>> start eating healthier on a daily basis,

>> stop wasting money on things you no longer enjoy,

>> create deeper bonds with “deeper” kind of people,

…if you wanted to do all that AND keep your same friends, you’d have to convince them to all get on the same page with you at the same time (and relatively at the same pace), which is a statistical impossibility.

When I was young I used to change friend groups constantly.

I remember being in elementary school and having friends that were SERIOUSLY into video games and Japanese anime…I mean have the latest issue of Game Informer magazine out on the table during lunch.

So around 5th/6th grade, when I started noticing girls more (and they started noticing me), something clicked in my mind and said, “Bryan…this isn’t going to work.”

You ever have one of those moments where you zoom out and see the game a group of people are playing? It was like a flash of insight from Holy Black Jesus that came and said:

“This is the script their choosing to live out…it doesn’t matter if they’re missing out on other good things, because this is where they get their meaning from.”

The interesting thing about self-deception and self-limitation is that it’s not just a personal phenomenon: we deceive ourselves not just individually, but in our relationships, in our families, as communities and as entire nations as well.

When people come together in groups, they form a collective psyche analogous to the individual one, so the blocks and limitations we experience in our own thinking are a metaphor for the blocks and limitations we experience when we operate as a whole.

But someone who’s developing is someone who’s always challenging the perimeter of their consciousness, so you have to accept that that doesn’t work out to well in group settings.

I stopped kicking it with my video-game friends meet guys who would engage with girls, and then I eventually stopped kicking it with THEM to meet guys who were less danger-prone (not the street type so much).

THEN I went away to school and had a musical peer-group that transferred into an activist peer-group, etc. etc. ad infinitum to this day.

In case you’re wondering, the REAL friends always stay with you, and meet you at that developed point later on from their own paths…

Just remember, you’re rolling dollo from state to state, and forming new relationships is a vital part of that navigation.

So try to keep this line of thought somewhere in your register at all times. Also check out the blog on getting out of your comfort zones and being ahead of your time

Peace,
+B

Your Desire to Grow is a SACRED GIFT: Key Ideas for Keeping Self-Development Simple and Satisfying…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:14:50 +0000

When I was in grade school, there was this gifted child program called “More Able Learners” (MAL), and I loved it.

It was an accelerated learning course for kids deemed to be “advanced” (I think all kids are advanced, but whatever) where we all came together to learn advanced stuff:

>> stock market basics and simulation,

>> brain teasers and riddles,

>> computer programs and even

>> the subtle psychological ploys of modern-day advertising.

I’m saying this because I think of my blog (and personal growth as a whole) in a similar way…I look at anyone trying to develop themselves, anyone trying conscientiously to raise their thinking to the next level in order to bring about changes in their life, as a special type of person who needs to be honored.

What I want you do to is HONOR that in yourself: treat your desire to grow as a sacred gift that needs a special type of attention in order to flourish and grow.

So here’s a few true but not-so obvious, intuitive but not-so-easy-to-remember key ideas to keep with you…

Key Idea #1: Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

I’ve been serious about becoming a better person for at least 9 years now, and STILL have issues…I mean maaaaaad issues.

I wrote a pretty dope article on dating advice a while back, but I’m still learning TON about women to this day.

I wrote another piece on self-deception that got 500+ likes the other day, and still catch myself playing games now, and I’m pretty well-known for the video series I did on health and nutrition, but I’m still trying to get my act together in those regards too.

It’s funny: I think people see the work I do online (how consistent I am with it and everything) and assume that I’m some super-developed, on-point guy, but the reality is I’m just another cat trying to figure things out like everybody else.

I’m really just sharing the things I learn about myself as I learn and overcome them. The only reason why I’m able to churn out so much material is cause I’m always figuring things out about myself…it’s really more of a de-personalized journal.

But what I’m getting at here is that the journey is eternal: you’ll never hit a point where you feel like you’ve “made it,” so learn to enjoy the process more so then the actual results.

You have to look at this whole self-development thing like a video game: when you reach the end of a level, you have fight a difficult boss, and even when you beat that boss, you move on to another, MORE difficult level with an even more difficult boss after that…

The skills you learned on one stage are what you use to leverage yourself in order to conquer the next, and the challenge is what makes it fun (if you don’t take the game seriously).

Similarly, the better you get at:

>> keeping yourself motivated and managing your time,

>> taking care of body and eating healthy,

>> Your emotional well-being and why you feel the way you do,

…or anything else cool and interesting that helps you in life, the deeper this rabbit hole goes. You don’t really notice the growth until you look back over the long term and say, “Damn…I’ve come a long way.”

Don’t Get Discouraged

So don’t get discouraged. I remember talking to this girl one day and she said:

“I don’t see the point. No matter how much you try to improve yourself, you’re always going to find something about yourself that you don’t like, so you’ll always feel inadequate, so why even bother???”

Don’t think like that. Don’t feel down because you’re not where you want to be, because even when you get there your going to want to be somewhere ELSE again (it’s human nature to seek to improve).

Instead, look back and think about where you WOULD be if you never started to introspect, read, reflect, learn, try new routines and open your mind to new ways of living in the first place.

Me??? I’d be like another one of these young cats walking around with their pants sagging off their behind with no grooming, no manners and no ambition.

(I’m serious…that was me at one point in time, so don’t underestimate any of the young brothers you see out there. You never know what they might go through or where they might be in 5-10 years.)

So again, when it comes to personal growth, think “can’t stop, won’t stop.” The journey is eternal, and you have to constantly re-ground your thinking in an evolutionary perspective, not so much ends-and-results.

Key Idea #2: Roll Dolo from State to State

There’s this scene in the movie Belly where Method Man’s character is in Nebraska, and when the drug lords ask him why he’s by himself he says:

“I roll dolo from state to state!!! Word up…”

…laughing with a big smile on his face, completely comfortable as if there’s nothing awkward about the idea.

The path of developing as a person is essentially an introverted process: it’s an introvert’s game that requires skill and comfort in an introvert’s way of life.

If you think about it, whenever someone goes to a counselor, a spiritual guru, a psychiatrist or whatever, what do they encourage them to do? Right! They tell them to be more introverted.

They ask them questions about WHY they did what they did and what certain events in their past MEAN to them. They tell them to do things like journal, pray, meditate, etc. etc. I remember reading something somewhere and it was like…”

…more tomorrow. Check back in and we’ll continue right where we left off.

Peace,
+B

Q&A Session on Overcoming Comfort Zones, Social Anxiety, Differences Between Men and Women, etc., etc.

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:34:50 +0000

Question On Comfort Zones

“Peace…do you have any articles on the topic of comfort zones? I’d like to hear your perspective on the matter.

I recently spoke to one of my friends about my feeling alienated because I don’t go out to clubs, don’t drink, smoke, watch sports or tv for that matter and other lifestyle choices of mine. I told her I’m thinking about starting to go out and watching tv to be more versatile, because one of my focuses this year is to further incorporate qualities in my character.

Her perspective was that even if I went, I couldn’t change what I don’t like and that I’d basically be compromising myself and be trying to fit in. She also believes that we have comfort zones for a reason and shouldn’t try to force comfort.

She had a good point. Now, I’m always one for increasing comfort zones, but while visualizing, I don’t ever see myself actually growing to like the club scene, or any of that stuff. I would, be in fact, just compromising. My goal is to be a versatile person. I’m open to new things and what not, but not everything I like.

I guess versatility can be interpreted so many ways as well. Some people see it as being competent in many different things, some see it as being open to many different things and still others see it as being comfortable in many different settings.

What’s your opinion on the matter?”

My Response

First thing, I don’t smoke, drink (I do like wine though), watch sports or TV either, and, like you, I also went through a time where I truly believed that my best bet was to duplicate what I saw other people doing.

Essentially, I looked at my originality as a DEFICIENCY, and I tied it into a rationale as to why I wasn’t getting the results I wanted in life.

In fact, I spent a good portion of my childhood PRETENDING to be somebody I wasn’t…following others and pretending to enjoy things that, in my heart of hearts, I knew were unhealthy, destructive and pointless.

Everything from how I used to spend my free time to how I used to approach women was all engineered from a standpoint of what I thought would give me acceptance and respect.

So your friend has a valid point: you’re you, and trying to be someone other then who you are is a waste of time and a dishonor to your true nature, but check this: your desire to become a more versatile, more capable and more influential person IS NOT, and you have to remember that that’s an inherently male desire.

Have you seen the movie Limitless with Robert De Niro? One of the most interesting things that stood out to me in that film was how it was only males who really wanted to take the clear pill.

If you pay attention to it, you’ll notice that even when a female character takes the pill (like Bradley Cooper’s ex-wife, or his girlfriend played by Abbie Cornish), they hit a point where they KNOW they need to get off it.

Whenever a male character takes the pill however, his primary concerns is, “Where am I going to get my next hit?”

Men, Women & Inherent Drives

So what I’m saying here is that while your female friend’s advice – to be confident in who you naturally are – is valid, it doesn’t necessarily satisfy your masculine need for power, dominance, control, which you have to honor in order to become better at engaging the world.

I may be wrong here, but when I hear you say “become a more versatile” what I really hear underlying that is “become more capable in the social world,” …be comfortable and skillful enough to do ANYTHING you want in a social context, whether that’s networking, dating, leadership or whatever.

Now when I say that’s an inherently male desire, I don’t mean that women CAN’T (or don’t) have it, simply that it speaks more to a man’s natural drive than to a woman’s.

There’s a lot of talk nowaday’s about gender identity, women’s equality, etc. etc., and I think it’s great that women are seeking more power, independence and equality, but I also think there’s a difference between being equal and being IDENTICAL.

Think about it: why is that, as a whole, women are into things like soap operas and romance novels and men are into things like sports and DragonBall Z???

My theory is that it’s because our brains are wired differently. Women’s brains are wired in a way that makes them skillful at understanding people and managing relationships, men’s brains in a way that makes them skillful at setting goals and independent success.

So you have to keep this in mind when you’re asking for advice. Generally speaking, I talk to women when I have a question about dating and relationships and men when I have a question about pushing myself to the next level…

You Have to Play Your Strengths Up

Essentially, you and I are both introverts…the 25% of the population that doesn’t get catered to by social customs.

Things like clubs and partying, drinking and smoking and other “wild life” activities don’t speak to us, because we’re too scientific for that.

This doesn’t mean we’re “better” then anybody, only that we look deeper into what things mean then the average person, and that’s our particular strength. (It can actually be good OR bad, depending on how you use it.)

For more on this idea, check out this video lecture on personality types, or this book on living a successful, introverted life.

But what I’m getting at here is that you have to look at your introversion itself as a unique strength, and find ways to be socially relevant with that proficiency. Here’s some examples:

1.) Take yoga or dance classes,
2.) Start a book club or meditation group,
3.) Give lectures at your apartment,
4.) Go to a library or museum and look at the event calender for more ideas

…get where I’m going with this? Find introverted things to do that’ll help push you out of your comfort zones, and in the event that there aren’t any, CREATE THEM.

You’ll feel more comfortable (so you’ll be in your element) and it’ll magnetize the type of people you’d naturally be attractive (and attracted) to.

Learn to master your environment ON YOUR OWN TERMS and in ways that give you personal leverage

Hope this helps…don’t forget to check out that film – I’ll be mentioning it in the next newsletter.

Peace,
+B

How to AVOID Self-Development Scams…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:44:47 +0000

I was exchanging ideas with a good friend of mine yesterday, and he asked me a GREAT question…something along the lines of:

“B, you did a dope post the other day about the self-help industry having a lot of scams…something called Is the Self-Help Industry a SHAM??? (“Deceptive Intelligence” at it’s Worst…) Being that self-development HAS become a commercial industry…being that most of the material is engineered for profit, not for actually helping people, how do you know when you’re dealing with the real deal or not???

For more on this scam on how it works, click here. For answers on what to do about it, read below…

1: Know That Real Self-Development HURTS

Real self-help material is not the intellectual equivalent of some feel-good movie, real self-development HURTS.

Just like physical exercise hurts in order to develop your body, self-development is mental exercise that hurts in order to develop your thinking process and emotional strength.

For some odd reason though, although we know that being healthier, more fit or better coordinated in a physical sense requires pain and effort, we don’t apply that same common sense to the other areas of life, and the self-help scam caters to that delusion.

The bottom line is, if you want to change your behaviors, you have to change your THOUGHTS (more specifically, your subconscious beliefs), and real self-help work helps guide you through that process.

So anything that promises quick fixes or immediate results should raise a red flag in your mind.

And if at least 40-50% of what you’re doing to make more money, create better relationships or get your health back in order doesn’t push you out of your comfort zone, re-examine your study materials and action plan.

2: READ, Don’t Just Listen and Watch

This is a big one, so I’ll try to cover it quickly. Basically, reading activates your intelligence at a deeper level then listening to an audio or watching a video (which is why I recommend scrolls all the time).

Ever notice how when you listen to something rather then watch it visually you pick up a little more?

Ever watch a movie based on a book you loved and feel like the film destroyed the whole experience?

That’s because your imagination and critical thinking become LESS involved the MORE involved the medium of communication. The sounds and visual content distract you from the information…too much of your attention will go to the quality of somebody’s voice, their body language, the background scenery, etc. etc. and not the actual ideas.

Nine times out of 10, we prefer the visual over the literary because WE’RE LAZY: it’s just easier to sit down and watch a video then to read a few paragraphs of the same stuff, and when we see a few blocks of text, our minds immediately go Oh God…I don’t want to read all this.” and move on.

The trick here is to dis-associate reading from labor in your own mind. Keep forcing yourself to read, read and read some more until you realize that it’s not that bad at all, and in fact, takes LESS effort (and is more efficient) than watching video.

You’ll learn more, have more insights, develop yourself faster and become a more well read person because of it.

3: Take it Back to the Old-School

Truth be told, this self-development scam is a relatively new thing. I’d say it’s been around for at least 40 years, but it’s only permeated the game to the extent that it does now for the last 10 or 15.

Just like with hip-hop music, we’ve ALWAYS had flakes and sell-outs trying to make a quick dollar, but it’s only recently that the game itself has become a an outright fraud.

If you take it back to the roots (or anything before 2000, really), you’ll find that the concentration was a lot more pure then it is now, and you’ll also see where a lot of this new stuff comes from.

So, as a metaphor, make sure you have a few classics in your library, like:

>> How to Build Your Mate’s Self-Esteem by Dennis & Barbara Rainey (originally came out in 1948)
>> Black Folk’s Guide to Making Big Money in America by George Trower-Subira (originally 1980, I think)
>> African Holistic Health by Dr. Liala Afrika (the FOURTH edition came out in 1993, I think, so that tells you how far back this one goes)

So that’s it for now. In essence, to avoid self-development scams, make sure that you’re reading, make sure that you’re reading the old-school greats, and, most of all, make sure that you’re challenging yourself…

Peace,
+B

PUT YOURSELF FIRST, Because It’s YOUR Life (Practical Advice for Attaining Personal Power)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:03:52 +0000

Today’s technique is to STOP FIREFIGHTING, and by that I mean stop allowing your energy to be dictated to the random problems and dramas other people throw your way.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak once said:

“I cannot and will not accept to be dictated orders from the outside, no matter what the source is and no matter what the excuses or justifications are….”

Truth be told, they did nab his behind out of there about 2 days after he said this (and of course I’m not trying to suggest anything political to you), but the point still stands.

There’s something in that quote that represents an attitude, a certain approach to the world where a man PRIORITIZES what his actions and goals or going to be for himself…

Look for the Jewels in EVERYTHING

Mubarak also once said, “I will not separate from the soil until I’m buried underneath it…”

I look for self-development ideas and motivation in EVERYTHING now (from political events to random cartoons) and to me, here the “soil” metaphorical represents your principles: the goals, values, dreams and ambitions you’re grounded in and your life is about.

There’s certain things in your life that only YOU can make happen, so you shouldn’t let anyone or anything separate you from that until you’re buried underneath it (as in “it’s settled and accomplished”).

Don’t let anyone prevent you from getting satisfaction out of your own life, because – as far as we can prove – you only get one shot.

Don’t let anyone dictate to you what’s possible, what makes
sense or what direction you should be headed towards.

And on a practical, day to day level, don’t let other people randomly interrupt you from tasks that’ll take you where you want to go. Set the agenda for yourself PROACTIVELY, and fit other people around that.

Establish a Healthy, Personal Boundary

There’s a clear line line between your responsibilities (like a child or a utility bill) and somebody else’s (like proofreading their complaint letters to some soccer league president), so maintain and honor that distinction.

In fact, you’re goals ARE your responsibilities, we’re just so used to letting other people’s drama foreshadow over them that we don’t pay attention anymore.

One of the techniques I mentioned in an audio lesson a while back was to have a friend bother you like a bill collector about your progress until you actually succeed (or establish the habit).

There should also be some consequence in there, something funny enough to not take seriously but annoying enough to make you want to actually avoid it, like cleaning the other person’s bathroom…

I could go on about stuff like this for days, so for more, just check out the blog post itself, called HOW TO BRING YOUR GOALS TO LIFE: The 4 Dimensions of Focused Success.

But again, today’s main idea is to STOP FIREFIGHTING. Prioritize and take care of your responsibilities first, and establish a goal setting routine that forces other people to respect (and support) your success.

Peace,
+B

How to End Your Writer’s Block (& Other Creative Inhibitions) NOW

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:36:58 +0000

I put a status quote up on facebook last night that read: “All work is creative work if done by a thinking mind, and NO work is creative if done by a blank in uncritical stupor a routine he has learned from others.” (Ayn Rand)

…so in that spirit, let’s talk for a second about overcoming writer’s block (and other creative problems) because, if you’re checking out this blog, chances are that you have some pretty great ideas yourself, you just haven’t found the right method to get it all out of you yet…

Step 1: Learn from Old-School Rhyme Geniuses

…like Prodigy of Mobb Deep fame.

I came across this dope song a while back called “Self-Conscience” by him and Nas. Take a second to listen to it (excuse the language):
Download audio file (prodigy.mp3)

In Prodigy’s verse, he explains how he uses his own internal voice to help navigate him through writer’s block and other forms of self-doubt:

“Trust me Dun – I’d never leave you astray: take my word, n___s want to hear how you think…

Speak your thoughts, put your all in it. Whatever’s in your mind, spit it. Place your angle on the page; release tension on the tape.

A stressed verse seem to be what they most thirst: (it) makes fake n__s disperse and never challenge your works…” ~ Prodigy

What makes it so brilliant is how he crafted the rhyme: peep how it’s actually a conversation with his own awareness itself, and how his internal warrior is his ally, NOT his enemy (which is where most of us are, unfortunately).

Step 2: Push It Out of You

Think about writing – or any creative work – like delivering a baby: you just have to keep pushing that life out of you regardless of the psychological pain.

The way I see it, my creative flow is like water, so even if it comes out unformed, I can bottle it up in any container I want after the fact, and then put a dope label on it just to let people know how fly it is before they get their first taste.

In other words, I know ahead of time that the first draft IS NOT what people will see, and that there’s an editing process to help refine what first comes out as nonsense.

Here’s more from another writer about “pushing the baby out”:
Download audio file (writing.mp3)

Step 3: Take the Artist’s Way

There’s also this cool book that came out a while ago called The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Way to Higher Creativity, by Julia Cameron.

I think you should check out the audio version, because this woman’s kind of deep, and it’s nice hearing her actually speak since it gives you a better feel for her state of mind.

Here’s two techniques she mentions (and keeps returning to) throughout the book:

1) Artist’s Dates: Take your inner-artist out on an actual date. Technically you’re going by yourself, but if you can learn to see your creative side as another person you carry inside of you (like an inner child), you’ll begin to see ways to cultivate it and make it grow.

For me, this includes things like museums, parks and libraries, but it should be wherever works for you. Dedicate yourself to taking yourself somewhere that’ll spark your creativity once a week.

2) Morning Pages, or essentially fast-paced journaling, done first thing in the morning (as in, the VERY first thing immediately as you wake up).

The idea here is to grasp the most you can out of your subconscious: by journaling immediately when you wake up, you can clear away all of the deep subliminal stuff that’s blocking you.

So that’s it. Leave me a comment below letting me know YOUR favorite methods for un-blocking creativity, or your favorite technique out of everything mentioned above, and then get to work, NOW…

Peace,
+B

Take Care of YOURSELF: 4 Quick Tips To Stay Healthy On ALL LEVELS

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:42:48 +0000

Here’s a few quick things I do on the regular (as in, EVERYDAY) to keep myself at an optimal state. This will help give you ideas for a daily routine of your own…

1) Stretching

I stretch every morning, with a series that starts from my head and neck proceeding down to my shoulders, arms, waists and legs.

It originally came from a set of stretches you should do before running, but I couldn’t find the video I first learned it from, so here’s something that describes my first entire morning routine. Check it:

2) Having Someone to Rap With

I always make sure I have multiple people to rap with about where I’m at, what I’m doing and why I’m worried or confused about whatever. It’s almost like having a council or cabinet to deliberate on specific issues…

I usually consult a female friend for dating advice, older males for advice in general (money, bigger questions about women…anything really), and anyone intelligent – who can also speak DIRECTLY – about something mental, abstract or psychological.

I emphasize the “direct” part because I stay away from conversation just for conversation’s sake…usually, intelligent people are experts at running their mouths without making a point.

Also, I don’t take my goals or visions to someone who isn’t on the same page, but I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know enough to know what I’m doing (hope that makes sense).

There’s even a quote that goes, “Learn from the mistakes of others…you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” (Eleanor Roosevelt, I think)

3) Going Vegetarian, Vegan or Raw

I’ve been vegetarian for 6 years now. You can check out the complete story for more details, but the point I want to make here is that being vegetarian helped me to:

>> overcome depression,
>> SAVE money (contrary to what people assume),
>> keep my weight and health in order for the long term,
>> stay creative, energized and positive enough to do this blog

…and countless other things. Here’s a video that goes more in depth

(catch more videos like this here)

4) CONSTANT Mental Growth

The main idea with this fourth point is to constantly feed your mind with positive, uplifting and new ideas to keep yourself focused.

By this, I don’t necessarily mean new information per se, but with new worldviews, new frameworks and new paradigms that keep challenging you to think above the level your currently at. Here’s some examples:

>> What are your views on persuasion? Do you consider yourself to be a persuasive communicator, and do you think of persuasion itself as a valuable and positive skill?

>> What is your purpose here on planet earth?

>> If you create abundance in ALL areas of your life, what will you be able to accomplish from there???

…etc. etc.

There’s a program I use on the regular (again, as in EVERYDAY) called, “Think Right Now” Accelerated Success Conditioning that I recommend and offer through the site, that helps with this process.

If you’re really serious about this, I suggest you make the investment in yourself – and in your future – to keep your mind on track and to develop as human being.

This is the type of work which GAURANTEES that you’ll have the self-esteem, the motivation and the skills necessary to accomplish your goals and AVOID the failures that, unfortunately, most of our society is headed towards. Check out their website for more.

Take care of yourself…make it a priority to keep your inner world and personal needs (your health, your mind, your emotions, etc.) at an optimal level…

Peace,
+B

We Don’t Just Need Leaders, We Need Leaders Who Actually THINK…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:06:21 +0000

We don’t just need leaders, we need leaders who actually THINK.

We need what PR firms refer to as “thought leaders“: people who are recognized for their innovative ideas and who demonstrate enough confidence to promote those ideas as actionable distilled insights (things others can actually do).

Leadership in Nature

Whenever I hear someone say, “We don’t have any leaders…we need leadership,” the first thing I say in response is “leadership is an instinctual human activity; we always have leaders whether we consciously recognize it or not.”

When two people meet, one of the first things they figure out (unconsciously) is who’s going to be in control..

The human species has always been led by certain individuals (and will continue to be so) because we instinctually look for them…in cases where they don’t exist, we search them out and follow them by default.

Ask anyone with a younger brother or sister about this, or just look at popular culture for examples. Human beings intuitively look for others to follow, emulate and model their behavior after…

Since we’re social creatures by nature and we’re genetically hard-wired for leadership, the question isn’t “Why don’t we have any leaders?,” (because we always have and always will) but rather, “What kind of leaders do we have?” and “What kind of leaders do we need at this point in time???”

Leadership in Today’s World

Because we live in a technological world, we’re no longer dependent upon leaders for our physical survival. While in ancient times, a tribe needed leaders for survival, in current times, leadership is a far more abstract, mental thing.

For instance you might hear a rap artist say “I’m not a leader…” because he thinks that since his audience isn’t physically dependent on him (in the same way his family is), that he’s not mentally leading anybody.

Of course, what he also means is that he can’t take personal responsibility for another person’s actions (he has too many fans for that), which is true. But by disowning leadership, he’s also disowning a vital role: the power to help direct somebody else’s thinking.

On Me Personally

I WOULD NEVER DENY THAT I’M A LEADER, because when I speak, people listen…things may not be on the scale I want them yet, but I’d be a fool to think that the term “thought leader” doesn’t apply to me (that would be childish).

Like I said before, intelligence is dying, and self-confidence is becoming EXTINCT. If we continue on the path we’re on now, we’re heading towards a world with a

>> dumbed-down population that
>> promotes a prolonged state of infancy among its people;
>> a world that lacks the substance of meaningful ideas and
>> promotes laziness, ignorance and mediocrity as acceptable traits.

So I’m really saying all this to motivate you to think about what your goals on a larger scale. Take this as my personal request to DO SOMETHING that’ll push us in a positive direction, because it’s not about you.

Leadership as a Personal Benfit

Leadership also benefits you personally as well. Since it’s primarily about character and influence (and how those two intertwine), becoming a leader means becoming the type of person who’s capable of accomplishing great things, both for others AND for himself…

If you need any more convincing, listen here:
Download audio file (eben6.mp3)

Peace,
+B

Why PERSONAL INTEGRITY IS A FORM OF NUTRITION (The Hidden Aspects of Holistic Health)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:25:05 +0000

From some notes I had laying around (feels like I went digging in my old rhymebook or something):

On Food, Nutrition & Being of Your Word

“It’s interesting you put these concepts together, because when we think about holistic health, the tendency is to focus on mental, physical and spiritual health only – that’s usually the three-point framework we come from.

However, we can take things to the next level with the concept of “moral health” as well…rarely do you hear this kind of discussion anymore, even when it comes to the subject of holistic wellness.

I’m not here to talk to you about morals per se, but I do believe that INTEGRITY is a form of nutrition, and when I say integrity, I simply mean “having values and living up to those values in the real world, consistently…”

I put up a facebook status recently that said:

These are both from the audio book, “Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life One Conversation at a Time” where Susan outlines how authentic, direct and blunt communication is key to a progressive and fulfilling life.

She talks about how we can transform our existence “one conversation at a time”: how honest and transparent dialogs with the people that matter (friends, family, colleagues, etc.) create breakthroughs in our relationships and in our careers…she also takes your hand and guides you through the entire process.

With me for instance, one of my values is “radical honesty” – I believe in tackling issues head-on and having conversations that interrogate real problems, regardless of whether or not this’ll create tension or conflict with other people.

I’ve noticed that to the extent that I don’t follow this, I feel a little less of a human being… like I’ve lost energy and fell down to a lower plane, or like I shut myself off from my own power.

Like I said earlier, this website is called “DO the knowledge,” and part of that knowledge goes beyond the simple information you have and into the realm of your sense of purpose and personal values

Values (i.e. morals) are what give you definition, and definition is what gives you purpose, direction and power…to the extent that you deny yourself of these nutrients, you set yourself up for sickness, disease and deterioration of another form…”

Peace,
+B

The #1 Simple, Automated Tool I Use EVERYDAY to Stay Focused, Motivated, Self-Disciplined & ON-POINT…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:57:30 +0000

In the header at the top of the blog, you’ll see an ad wth the phrase, “Burn the Thoughts & Habits of the Most Effective People into Your Brain and…You’ll Feel How They Feel, You’ll Do What They Do, AND Get Exactly the Same Results that They Get.”

It links to a program I’ve been using since 2007 (and still do to this day…EVERYDAY) to keep my own mind in check. In particular, I use it to

>> stay focused, motivated and productive,
>> dissolve the panic and anxiety that comes up for me, and
>> keep me in an overall empowering, liberating, positive frame of mind.

They’re called “Think Right Now Intl. Accelerated Success Conditioning Programs,” guided affirmation-meditation technology based on the the work of Bulgarian psychologist Georgi Lasanov.

(He made some breakthrough discovers in the field of what’s called “Accelerated Learning.” The website goes in-depth about this and their programs come with detailed instruction manuals on how to use them).

Think Right Now is the most visited self-development product site on earth, and trust me, THEY WORK…I guarantee you that you’ll notice serious, REAL positive change in yourself because I use them all the time. Here’s the link…

How I Came Across This

I stumbled across their work during my early self-development days. Here’s a short story of me talking about how I found them…
Download audio file (trn.mp3)

and here’s the first thing you see when you get to their site:

I recently joined their affiliate network too, so now they’ll now give me a small commission for sales made through my referrals. If you do happen to get anything while you’re there, in a sense, you’re actually donating to DoTheKnowledge.com at the same time…

It’s really a beautiful thing, because me not telling you about their work is like me not telling you about the great books I read that changed my life or the holistic health choices I made that allowed me to reclaim my health.

(They also guarantee serious, real change themselves with a full 6-month money-back-if-you’re-not-happy policy too.)

Remember, I personally use these audio programs EACH & EVERY DAY, and if it weren’t for the work they do, the work I do WOULDN’T EVEN EXIST…just take a few seconds to check it out, even if it’s just to read the testimonials and success stories. You’ll be glad you did.

Peace,
+B

Bryan On Beginning Entrepreneurship (“Is Money Evil?” etc.)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:13:32 +0000

In one of the consultations I gave last week, one of the main points being money and being “okay” with making money on your own (as in, asking someone to give you their hard-earned cash for your product or service).

It was insightful build (mad fun, actually), so here it is somewhat “transcribed” as best as I can recall…

“I’m Trying to Eat”

“…you’re trying to eat off your talents and skills just like everybody else is. Bottom line, we live in a world where money is a necessity – it’s the medium of exchange (think about that), so a human being thinking money is evil in the 21st century is like a fish thinking water is evil in the Atlantic Ocean.

Unless you know of a way to live without money – that’s actually desirable…I’m all ears – that kind of thinking is insane

I did a blogging series called, “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” (based off the book) that talks about that…and another great audio post called “Negative People SUCK…Energy Out of YOU” that got a real good response.

When Your Beliefs are Barricades

You have to stop thinking about beliefs as true or not true (because they’re all just beliefs) and start thinking of them as empowering or dis-empowering.

When you’re looking at a belief (such as “Money is inherently evil…”), always ask yourself, “Does this idea empower me to get where I want to go, or does it DIS-empower me and keep me stagnant in my situation,” and THEN you have to align yourself with peole who think more so along those lines…

Me personally, I look at money as a measurement of how effective you are – at how well you create actually value in the real world.

Like, you’re a pretty smart guy: you wouldn’t buy something unless you felt it was worth the money, so similarly, somebody else wouldn’t buy something FROM YOU unless they felt it was worth the money too…give people that same amount of credit.

In fact, you probably wouldn’t even charge somebody for something unless you also felt like what you were offering them was worth far more then the actual cash price, and they’ll pick that up.

Concluding Thoughts

Again, thinking money is evil is insane…it’s counter-productive: you want money so you can be self-sufficient and so you can create a better life for the people you care about, NOT so you can have some yacht in New Zealand or something…

In fact, there’s this good book you should check out called The Millionaire Next Door: Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy, by Thomas Stanley, and what he talks about is how if most of us saw a typical millionaire, we wouldn’t even notice him.

Most millionaires are not flashy or materialistic, and in fact, they’re actually MORE frugal than the average person (which is a major reason they accumulate wealth).

The idea that millionaires are falshy, or that money is somehow a path TOWARDS materialism as a way of life is media conditioning, because most real millionaires are nothing like that at all.

The way I see it, money is power…a power that, once gained, exposes who you truly are. Who you become as you accumulate wealth is simply an expression who you already are at a level that poverty or bare sustenance can’t visibly display.

Peace,
+B

Advice On Staying Focused & Concentrating

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:30:38 +0000

Focus and concentration are closely related, but they’re not exactly the same…

Think of focus like in photography, where a photographer adjusts his camera settings to “focus” on a particular object. You’re focused in life when you keep things in proper perspective and proper alignment (when you know what’s important and what’s not).

Think of concentration like in chemistry, where a solution is “concentrated” because it’s composed primarily of a particular substance. You’re concentrating when you’re completely absorbed in the task at hand…when you attain present-mindedness and enter a state of flow.

I know it sounds redundant, but I’m not trying to confuse you here. They’re literally two different concepts and I’m bringing them up so we can tackle them at the same time…

The “How-To”

Focus by being clear and specific about what you want to accomplish, and by making the necessary adjustments in life in order to do so. For you to focus, you may have to:

>> end an un-supportive relationship,
>> move to a different part of the world,
>> quit a job or make a serious career change,
>> tell your close friends and family more about who you really are,

…etc. etc.

Concentrate by developing your attention, and by letting go of all forms of diversion, because “distraction and interruption rob us of more productivity then any other single factor.”

So if you have to write, sit yourself down at your computer, unplug your internet connection and force yourself to do nothing but type.

If you’re learning yoga, download some instructional videos from Youtube (use keepvid.com), schedule aside some time to practice and actually do it.

The Basic Requirements (Science)

Focus pertains to your overall life; concentration to its constituent activities. Focus require courage and concentration requires discipline.

Your creative power becomes amplified as your mind power becomes devoted, and your mind power becomes devoted as your style of living becomes tailored towards a particular end…

Like any chemical substance, your power grows weaker as it’s diluted amongst multiple tasks and concerns. So by focusing SPECIFICALLY on one dimension of your life and by concentrating FULLY on the actions within that dimension as you do them, you’ll finally notice your “Higher Self” starting to flourish and unfold.

Wisdom from a Good Friend

I have a friend who owns a small African gift shop – she sells paintings, statues, masks, jewelry, incense, beauty products and more.

As I was shopping there one day, I told her about a lecture I had coming up soon, and apologized for telling her about it so late.

She said it was cool, and then explained that she couldn’t make it anyway because she was far too busy herself…

As she started breaking down all the different fashion shows and school plays she had to organize for and all the different responsibilities she had on the home front, a customer interrupted her and said:

“Look sister, you’re not bubble gum. You can only stretch so thin…”

More Wise Analogies

Think of your goals and skills as plants which need the right amounts of nourishment, water and sunlight and attention to thrive.

Eventually, under the proper care, they’ll grow to become strong, healthy and beautiful illustrations of life that – according to feng shui – will add positive chi to the environment.

This is how your goals, skills and talents operate. Your opportunity for success prospers or decays depending on the amount (AND quality) of energy you exert towards them.

So begin to regard your goals as living things that depend on you for their cultivation, and they’ll begin to adorn your “living space” in return…

Remember, our goals don’t die because we lack opportunity, but because we lack the discipline to give them the attention they deserve. We fail in life not because “we didn’t have the resources,” but because we didn’t have the courage to make the sacrifices and decisions our goals require.

Great results come from intensity, and the more intense you are towards your endeavors, the stronger and sooner they’ll manifest.

Peace,
+B

Going “From Niggas to Gods”: The Book That Changed EVERYTHING For Me…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:22:38 +0000

I’m about to introduce you to an extremely powerful, rare book that literally changed my entire life.

Now I talk about books all the time: I love reading and I like “recommending scrolls” to people so they don’t have sort through all the garbage like I did to find quality, helpful information. But this is more then just a recommendation – it’s a honorable tribute to a man who’s work…

- altered my perspective on what reality IS,
- made me realize what was possible for me,
- helped freed me from the destructive mental patterns that I was literally surrounded by at the time,
- created a metamorphosis in my mind that led me to become the person you see today,

…and so much more.

From Niggas to Gods

The book is called From Niggas to Gods, and the title really says it all. If I had to attribute my growth and evolution to just one book (or if I had to recommend just one book to someone young), this would be it WITHOUT QUESTION.

Here’s a segment to give you an idea:
Download audio file (gods.mp3)

*download the mp3 of this here

A lot of people – particularly the so-called “scholastic” type – actually knock this book…usually because it doesn’t speak with proper English or pointless academic terms (the author Akil uses Ebonics and writes in a way makes it feel like he’s right there with you.)

But I think its strong point – that it’s written like that to talk to who it’s supposed to talk to: the average young Black man in a not so favorable situation…Akil’s writing style MAKES A CONNECT, so by speaking the way he does he encourages people to read who normally would not.

There are so many jewels and life-changing paradigm shifts in this one book (and it’s so easy to understand) that I had no choice but to put it up here.

So if you haven’t already, READ THIS BOOK & SHARE IT WITH SOMEBODY WHO NEEDS IT…you’ll be glad you did.

But have you checked it out already??? Leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts…

Peace,
+B

“Please do not condemn us without proper understanding…that’s what our enemies want you to do. They want you to disrespect us so that we can disrespect you back…” ~ Akil

Peace,
+B

What To Do When You Don’t Have Any Options…When Life Isn’t ALIGNED As It Should Be.

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:23:58 +0000

(NOTE: This is an old-school “resurrection” from August, 2010…so it reflects what I was going through at that time mostly, not so much now.)

If that headline strikes a chord with you in anyway, the first thing to realize is that YOU’RE NOT ALONE. We’re all going through this to some extent or another, including me…

For instance, I’ve just realized that I need to get myself a one-person apartment (instead of having roommates as I do now) because if I want to be successful, I need to live in an environment that represents who I am…I need to do my best to set up a personal space that’s aligned with my personal values.

As an Analogy

It’s like the ancient Chinese science of Feng-Shui combined with the self-development principle of Personal Integrity.

Don’t get me wrong, I love people: I enjoy building bonds and I’ve always gotten along with ALL of my roommates (been sharing living spaces since 2004), but the thing is, as I get older, I get more DEFINED…

Since I’m getting more defined, I’m getting more clear on what my personal values are, and I can’t go 100% towards my goals (with the website or with anything really) unless my lifestyle – including the place where I live – acknowledges that.

For instance, some of my values include:

(1) Order,
(2) Harmony w/ Nature,
(3) Peace (as in “peace and quiet” lol),
(4) Intelligence, so on and so forth…

….so when I’m living in a place that doesn’t represent those things, I feel like I’m contradicting myself.

It’s the Same Reason…

…why I won’t go back to New York (psych… I just moved back to NY recently): there’s too much clutter, noise and hyper-activity, and that’s not what I’m about anymore.

I’m very territorial: the truth is that unless I have control over my personal environment, I won’t feel authentic about what I’m doing in life.

So ultimately, if you’re feeling like things aren’t really lining-up for you like they should be, take it as a notice to get clear on what your values are and whether or not you’re really lining-up with them YOURSELF…after you have a session on it to get clear (talk with a good friend, go for a walk or whatever you do), you’ll probably end up making new goals and lifestyle changes for yourself.

Ironically (or, synchronistically), what I put on the blog that same week was ALL ABOUT THIS EXACTLY…I didn’t even plan it to map out that way, but life works like that sometimes.

(It’s like I came back from the future to write “jewels” for myself a week in advance, so that when I had the experience, my mind was ready to respond.)

Check out the links below, I guarantee you you’ll find something that’ll help…there’s an in-depth, blog talk radio session with international, best-selling author Barbara Hofmeister, interesting twists on how to approach Holistic Health and much more…

Reclaiming Your Dreams & Living a Life OF CHOICE (Radio Show w/ Barbara Hofmeister)

Rediscovering Your Passions (Inspirational Quote Collection)

INTEGRITY IS A FORM OF NUTRITION (Classic Blog Article)

Peace,
+B

Bryan’s List of Pet-Peeves: 5 Things That TICK ME OFF

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:32:53 +0000

I normally don’t get too personal here on the blog, but what we’ll be getting into here applies mostly to character, so it fits.

You can tell A LOT about somebody by their smallest and most subtle acts: the little statements they make and immediate responses they have to trivial things. I guess the reason these pet-peeves make me “go off” like that is because they reveal the type of things that I’m dedicated towards removing in myself and other people.

To be clear though, I do my best to not bug out about anything (life’s too short for that), but what I’m about to break down here are some things that do make go “Uggh…c’mon yo, that’s crazy,” “You expect me to believe that???” or “Stop…just stop.”

Let’s go ahead and get into it:

Pet Peeve #1: Not Taking Responsibility

This is a big one: I think it’s really whack when someone messes up or does something wrong, and finds some way to make it seem like it wasn’t their fault.

You see this all the time in so many indiscreet ways, and what makes it so deep is that it’s usually for stuff that doesn’t even matter. I’ll give you an example:

One time a friend of mine had to watch this old film for a course she was taking and write a short review of it after the fact. I forget what the movie was called (it was actually pretty good), but her, her homegirl and I all watched it together one night.

Maybe two or three days later when I was kicking it with her again, I asked how the review paper turned out, and she says back to me:

“My teacher didn’t accept it…”

I said, “What? What do you mean your teacher didn’t accept it??? Why would he assign something to the class and then not accept it?”

“Well…he said it was late.”

“What are you talking about? Did he SAY it was late, or was it late?”

“Yeah – I ended up turning it in a day after it was due…”

“Aite then…” I said, and I had to tell her about herself, because rather then just admit that she messed up and didn’t get it in on time, she magically found some way to phrase it that deferred responsibility onto somebody else.

And that’s the thing: I would of had so much more respect for her if she just owned up to her mistake (because we all make mistakes). It’s one thing to mess something up, but when you try to cover up over what you did, it’s another thing entirely. That’s really what I have a problem with.

She of course thought it wasn’t big deal; that her finding a different way to explain what happened didn’t mean anything at all. To me however, it was a reflection of her character.

PEOPLE DO THIS ALL THE TIME, especially young people – it’s as if they’re afraid of admitting they have anything to do with what happens to them.

Here’s another quick example. This one is recent:

I was making music with a friend the other day, and when it came his time to record into the mic, he made a small mistake and skipped over a word…Nothing big, right?

So I noticed he messed up, stopped the recording and said to him, “Yeah, I can tell you missed a word there.”

Guess what he says back to me: “Yeah…oh – it’s actually written down wrong so it wasn’t my fault.”

I’m like, “What??? WHO WROTE IT?”

“I did, but I’m saying…”

And then went on to rationalize it, but I got to keep it real with you…at that point I stopped listening. I just shook my head and said, “Alright man, we about to set it again.” and re-recorded the take.

It’s small instances like that that just irk me: how people can come up with the most illogical justifications for their mistakes (no matter how insignificant the mistake is) and actually feel okay with themselves about it.

Pet Peeve #2: Being OVER-Apologetic

This is my second pet peeve: people who are constantly saying “I’m sorry.“

There’s a lot of people these days who seem to take any opportunity to say “I’m sorry” that they possibly can. They might as well walk around wearing a t-shirt that says “I’m sorry” because that’s exactly what they are: SORRY.

Seriously though, personally speaking, someone who apologizes too much gives me the impression that they’re sorry to be alive. They’re constantly apologizing for being in your space or inconveniencing you in any way because they believe they’re inherently an inconvenience themselves.

I tend to get this more from women then men, and attractive women I know tend to get this from men ALL THE TIME.

For instance, I was on the phone with a good friend the other day and she apologized to me because she took a few seconds to help her little sister find a computer game.

The whole thing took no longer than half a minute and I thought it was kind of cute too (I could hear everything over the line), plus I was organizing my desk in the meantime anyway, but for some reason she found it necessary to apologize…

I asked her “What are you apologizing for?” and we went into detail, but I already called her on this a couple times before anyway. I’ve actually made it now a habit to tell people “stop apologizing” early on in the relationship (business, friends, whatever).

Maybe it’s just me: I feel like this conveys weakness and a lack of self-confidence, and in case you haven’t noticed, I prefer to spend my time around strong, confident people…people who challenge me to step my game up simply by being around them.

I actually think you should refrain from saying “I’m sorry” as much as possible. This way, when you do make a real, important mistake, people know you’re being sincere and it actually means something.

Now you might be thinking, “Yeah Bryan, but sometimes people say ‘I’m sorry’ because truly are…it’s a way of showing care and consideration” and I’m with you on that.

I think we should all be considerate to the people around us, but that we should show our consideration through action, NOT through words. Let people know how empathetic, compassionate and considerate you are by how you tend to behave, not by the words you can muster up after the fact.

Also, some people apologize to avoid conflict, and this might sound a little weird, but the older I get, the more I embrace conflict: I know that me going after what I want may necessitate me making other people upset, and I’m cool with that. Consequently, anyone who seems too scared to engage, clash with or inconvenience anyone else turns me off…

#’s 3-5: Seeking Approval, Seeking Permission & Indirect Communication

Approval-seeking is another one people do all the time, and it’s one of the best ways to come across as needy, insecure and unsure of yourself.

Here’s some side dating advice: never ask the person you’re interested in “What do you think of me?” Just assume that they like you for who you are because if they’re spending time with you, they probably do.

Although we can all use a good compliment or acknowledgement every now and then, there’s no need to look towards somebody else to give you validation. Most of us could benefit from being comfortable and confident enough in our own skin to not care what other people think of us anyway.

Similar to seeking approval is seeking permission, where whenever I’m out with friends, one of the questions I often get asked is, “Are you sure you can (do this thing, go over there past that thing, or whatever else it is they suppose is forbidden)?” and my response is always, “Watch me,” or, “I don’t know but we’re about to find out…”

In most cases it just feels like a dumb question…like the person asking it doesn’t know how function without an authority figure.

I also get ticked off if I can tell somebody wants something from me, but rather than ask for it directly they decide to break down a whole series of details first…

(Friend that hasn’t called me in 18 years:) “Hey what’s going on bruh?”

(Me:) “Chilling…what’s on your mind?”

“Well, last week I was supposed to do ‘x,’ so I had built with person ‘y’ about doing ‘z’ for me earlier this week, that way it would be easier except he didn’t…”

“Wait, wait, wait…what do you WANT?”

I always interject because you can always tell ahead of time when somebody wants something from you just by the vibe, and the detailed explanations do nothing but waste time.

There’s also another one where you’ll ask someone a question, but they won’t answer it directly…they’ll just go off on a tangent or repeat whatever they just said.

I had this guy from some network marketing company do that to me. He kept saying, “Hey man, I got this business opportunity you really need to find out about…it’s a real good opportunity for you to make some side cash and I’d love to have you come through to our next meeting.”

“What is it?”

“Aw man, just a great company that’s been around for more than 10 years and it’s a leader in the industry…”

“No, no….what is it SELLING??? What product or service are you talking about?”

“Well man, like I said I just want to let you know about this great business opportunity. It’s a chance for you to finally live the freedom lifestyle…”

This went on for another minute or so only to find out that the dude was trying to get me involved with pre-paid legal services. Not interested.

(I’ve found that a lot of network, multi-level marketing companies prey upon people with weak boundaries…the average person’s inability to say “No.”)

Catch what I’m saying? Dodging the issue like that conveys a sense of shadiness to me…it makes me think you’re intentions are ill or whatever you’re dealing with really isn’t worth my time on its on merit.

I could really go on for days here, but it took me writing this out to realize that my REAL pet-peeve (to which all of these others are a subset) is people who are afraid to live, and consequently, live in fear instead: the fear of being found out, criticized, challenged or whatever else.

Leave a comment below sharing some of yours…

Peace,
+B

Self-Empowerment 101 (Taking it Back to the Basics…)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:23:25 +0000

“…transform your perspective from being someone that’s ‘at effect’ in the world – someone that’s a victim – into someone who makes things happen…someone who’s responsible for their thoughts, their actions, their behavior and their results…

Anytime you catch yourself trying to put responsibility for what’s happening in your life outside of you, STOP and say ‘I take responsibility,’ especially in those moments where it’s easy to blame things on someone else, because that’s the most powerful time.” ~ Eben Pagan

The Basic Premise…

The following was originally for an audio project I put together called Fundamentals for Mind-Elevation, and it builds on a concept I call “taking up the responsible frame.”

You might hear researchers refer to it as “an internal locus of control” (trying to sound fancy, I guess), but the basic idea is simple: you empower yourself when you take responsibility for the situations you experience, the relationships you have and the results you want to create.

Check it…

The Responsible Frame

“…the way I see it, you have a choice to make between two fundamental perspectives: either an internal or an external frame of reference.

When you’re stuck in a problem, an external frame of reference means you place responsibility for it on things OUTSIDE of your control (other people, society, etc.), but an internal frame of reference is means you place responsibility for it on YOURSELF.

Now, you don’t take up the internal frame by denying that external problems exist (because they do, so to deny them is to deny reality), you simply do two very important things:

1) You acknowledging what’s in your control and what’s not, and

2) You then adjust your thoughts, actions and emotions accordingly.

Let’s Be Clear About This…

To be clear, the only thing you really have control over in life is YOURSELF, so whenever you’re in a situation (a financial situation, a dating situation or whatever) you empower yourself by changing what you do, NOT by trying to change what the other person does or the nature of the environment itself.

“There’s a lot of wisdom here…if this is your primary mode of dealing with the world, then you’re playing a losing game: If when things aren’t going your way, your first thought is ‘let me go and try to change person x or person y,’ then you’re going to be beating your head against the wall for a looooooong time…” ~ Eben Pagan

Two Examples (One Personal)…

For instance, let’s say there’s 2 guys working for a small business and – because of the economy – their boss has been late paying them multiple times.

Here, the man with the external frame would focus on how unfair the situation is: he’d complain about the financial trouble it’s causing him and contemplate different ways of forcing his boss to give him his pay (lying, legal recourse, emotional ploys, etc.).

But the man with the internal frame would focus on solutions: he’d learn the wisdom of saving for emergencies and contemplate different ways of creating another income-stream, reducing his expenses and staying calm while he looks for his next gig.

(He would also focus on preserving the relationship between him and his employer, which is more important than any cash balance.)

Don’t think about these frames of reference in terms of right or wrong, think about them in terms of power: which one allows you to keep (and amplify) your power and which one gives your power away to other somebody else???, Here’s a more personal example…

In one of my past relationships, I always accused my ex-girlfriend of being argumentative:

She’s extremely intelligent and logical person (yes, women can be logical), so whenever I shared any of my ideas with her I’d HAVE to defend it…so once this got redundant, I began criticizing her for questioning obvious things.

Because I was using an external frame, I was blaming her for the arguments we were having.

After a while, we got into the arguing-habit, and since I always accused her of being “too logical,” I prevented myself from enjoying all of her other positive traits.

When We Speak Today…

But when we speak today, I see our conversations as opportunities to refine my ideas before I present them to the world: as soon as I sense a debate coming up, my first thought is “Okay, what am I forgetting to mention here? What could I add to this to make everything clear?”

Now that I’ve taken up the responsible frame, she helps me to become a better thinker, a better writer and a better overall person.

Because, “the meaning of a communication is found in the response.” ~ a major principle of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).

The Final Breakdown

Ever heard the word responsibility broken down as “the ability to respond”? I like this phrase because it takes the meaning away from blame or guilt (as in, “You’re responsible for creating this problem!), and brings it closer towards resolving the actual issue (as in “I’m responsible for finding the solution.”).

In my mind, even when it comes to social injustice – where the problem is obviously external – the internal frame is still more effective, because that’s what puts us in a position to do something about it.

When you think of someone like Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey, Harriet Tubman, Timothy Drew and others, you’re thinking of someone with extremely high levels of

>> commitment,

>> perseverance,

>> organizational skills,

>> people skills,

>> self-control,

>> leadership

…and so on.

These are all internal qualities, and we admire these people not because they were conscious enough to point out certain problems, but because they were great enough to do something about them.

Remember that lip-service does nothing when it comes to the truly external social ills of the world, and understand that the responsible frame will help you to become a person capable of making change.

(This is the essence of life purpose: being who you need to be so you can do what you need to do in order to share your unique greatness with the world.)

Also, remember that people tend to use the external frame in order to rationalize their own shortcomings. Subconsciously, the logic is “Well, if the world is jacked up, of course I’m going to be jacked up too. I’m limited by my environment, so there’s only so much I can do…”

The external frame is really a JUSTIFICATION for settling for less than the best you can be – at a deeper level, when you’re using the external frame you’re actually making an excuse for the way you feel, think and behave instead of owning up to it.

The external frame is a limiting perspective, but, “Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion” (Jordan), so you can begin to transcend your limitations by taking responsibility for your life and everything it contains…

Peace,
+B

Self-Development & Community Development ARE ONE & THE SAME THING…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 27 May 2011 16:36:24 +0000

Here’s an excerpt from my upcoming book, where I talk about community development and why I think it’s not happening the way it should be. I’m using the segment here to jump-start a conversation, so please add-on with any ideas you have after you check it out:

Self-Improvement: The BASIS For Community Development

Ever seen the movie Belly??? Take a close look at the film, and you’ll notice Nas’s character (Sincere, the one who wises up and seeks to escape the life of crime) reading this small red & white pamphlet called, “Self Improvement: The Basis for Community Development.”

The pamphlet is actually a study guide based on a speech Min. Farrakhan gave back in 1986 with the same title. (Check it out here)

Now I’m no NOI member or anything like that, but the title stuck with me as soon as I heard it, and as I became more of a social activist during college, I also became more aware of the power inside this idea. Here’s what I mean:

Let’s Break it Down

The world is advanced by individuals who REALIZE and ACT UPON the possibility for advancement. The individuals who see potential in their environment and take it upon themselves to make that potential a reality are the ones who initiate growth, and the individuals who see a problem in their environment and dedicate themselves to solving that problem are the ones who initiate change.

There’s no magic to community development: things get better when people take responsibility for making them better, and only certain people are willing to take that responsibility. Even mass social movements and large-scale organizations are founded by, centered around and channeled through “drivers” – the individuals who hold themselves accountable for creating results.

So This is NOT For Everybody

Again, all of us are NOT in this category. It’s particular people who expand what we know to be real and possible, and community development depends on these particular people to make the most of themselves.

Now if you’ve read this far into the book, you’re probably one of those particulars, so I don’t have to remind you to be a driver (because you already are one), but I do have to remind you to be on-point, because your ability to master yourself indicates your ability to contribute to the world.

No matter how great your ideas are or how well you can analyze a situation, if you can’t handle your own problems you won’t be able to help handle any communal problems either. However, once you have yourself under control, you become an asset to every community you’re a part of (family, friends, neighborhood, company, peer group, etc.). You’ll give off constructive energy and generate solutions by default of your existence, and you’ll benefit others with your presence alone.

You’ll Never Know the Impact You’ll Have

Also, what you do will affect people you’ll never meet. It’s actually impossible to know the full extent of your impact, because you’ll influence people both directly and indirectly.

Some of the greatest books I’ve ever read – the books that inspired me to become who I am now – were written by other men centuries ago, and I doubt I’ll ever run into Charles Stone III (director of the movie Drumline, which, for me, set off a chain reaction of events that led to this book). It’s been said that the most trivial words can drastically alter a child’s life, and likewise, your contributions may drastically alter the life of people who have yet to walk the earth.

None of this is to say that you’ll become famous, or that you’ll even get acknowledged at all, because most greatness lives without proper acknowledgment.

For instance, computers are associated with people like Bill Gates, not people like Howard Mark Dean, the African-American inventor of the Personal Computer.

(Technically, Dean owns 3 of the original patents on which the PC is based: he’s the reason why we can see color on our computer screens, connect a keyboard and mouse to a central board, etc. Really, this man is the reason why average people like me and you can use computers at all.)

Electricity is associated with Thomas Edison, not Nikola Tesla, the Serbian scientist responsible for

>> alternating current (the electricity standard that lights up the entire world),

>> radio technology,

>> fluorescent lights,

>> remote control robotics

… and more. (Tesla’s been referred to as “The Master of Lightning,” “The Forgotten Wizard,” and “The Man who Invented the 20th Century,”)

It’s the Same w/ YOU

In the same fashion, you might spend two or three weeks working on a painting, then show someone your artwork only to get a response like “Oh – that’s nice,” right before they brush it off as if it didn’t even matter.

You might spend 2 or 3 months working on a music album, give someone the CD, and after listening to the first 30 seconds of the first 3 or 4 songs (if that), they’ll just turn back to the television and never play it again.

Think about it: most children don’t appreciate what their parents go through for them on a daily basis until much later on in life, and today’s generation is almost completely unaware of the sacrifices made for them to enjoy the freedoms they now take for granted.

Here’s Where I’m Going w/ This

People are rarely recognized for their accomplishments, but once you accept this and realize that you’ll probably NEVER be appreciated to the extent that you think you deserve, you’ll start gearing everything you do towards something greater than yourself.

In the grand scheme of things, you’re not that important, so take people not caring about you or what you have going on as a reality check

Once you’re no longer gassed up on ideas of your own importance or caught up in stories about your personal triumph in the face of “insurmountable odds,” you’ll start thinking about how you can align your own progress with the progress of the world instead.

(This realization usually happens to elders – it’s what psychologists refer to it as “generativity”, the urge to “give back” to the generations ahead of you and make your life about more than just… your life. I’m mentioning it here so that in the future, when people treat what put your heart into as if it’s inconsequential, you won’t feel so belittled by it because you know your work is inherently significant. From that point, whether or not somebody else pays any attention is irrelevant.)

So now that you’ve advanced yourself, begin to take actions that’ll advance your community as well. Accomplish your goals not with the thought of getting acknowledged, but with the thought of expanding your environment beyond its present place.

Actually envision yourself as an evolutionary presence, and…” ~ fin

More coming soon…

Peace,
+B

How to Be More Productive on FACEBOOK???

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:14:19 +0000

NOTE: My personal profile on Facebook might get permanently disabled…I keep getting warning messages for just about anything now (even “liking” the Happy Birthday comments on my own page). Just a heads up…so if I happen to “disappear” one day, you’ll know why.

Quick Productivity Tip for Using Facebook

If you have a facebook account, BOOKMARK YOUR PROFILE PAGE NOW…this way when you get on, instead of being sent to the homepage – with all the distractions and pointless information – you’ll go right to your profile so you can do what you originally intended to in the first place.

My friend calls the homepage “the Times Square of Facebook,” because with all of those videos, images & updates, it’s nothing to end up wasting hours looking at things you had no intention to…

So this bookmark technique allows you to immediately:

>> check your messages,
>> send the messages you need to,
>> see your notifications
>> post whatever information you had in mind

….or whatever else you set out to do FIRST. If you want to go to the homepage to see what’s happening after that, just click on “home” in the upper right corner (you’ll find you’re not missing out on anything at all, really).

So set a bookmark for your PROFILE page, and every time you need to get on Facebook, open that instead of the normal web address.

Deeper Points to Remember

With this digital age we’re in, productivity is no longer just about “to-do” list and traditional time-management techniques, but primarily about BUILDING WALLS that shelter, protect and cultivate your attention.

Also, remember that quote by Merlin Mann:

“As much as your time and attention are finite, the demands on your time and attention are INFINITE. There’s no end to how much people can ask of you… (so) you’re ultimately the one who’s going to make decisions about how you map it out to the things that are important.”

For more on saving your email and other tips for handling digital overload, click here…

Peace,
+B

Funny Political Cartoons EXPOSE Self-Development Hoax…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:46:53 +0000

In the movie The Matrix, later on in the series you learn that even Zion itself was a part of the program…that even the REBELS were, at some level, a part of the establishment just like everything they were fighting against.

These funny cartoons point out something similar about the self-development as an industry. I wrote a great blog post a while back called, “Is the Self-Help Industry Really a Sham???” that went in-depth about this, but here’s a few hilarious cartoons that give it all a visual aspect.

Check These Out:

They’re by a guy named Mark Joyner (of Simpleology fame). Check them out and then leave comment letting me know which one is your favorite and why:

Also, if you look at the navigation bar up top, you’ll see a new products and services section too. Check it out and let me know what you think…

Peace,
+B

Getting REAL Self-Esteem…NOW

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 16 May 2011 18:49:45 +0000

Here’s the story of Cheryl Anderson, a woman wasn’t allowed to see her own grandchildren after reporting her daughter-in-law for abuse. She really needed some help, because this event brought her back 40 years into the past when – as a teenager – she was stalked by her ex-husband. Take a listen now:
Download audio file (cheryl.mp3)

Just Like Me…

Cheryl uses the same programs I’ve been using for more than 5 years now,“Think Right Now Accelerated Success Conditioning” to help her experience the breakthroughs in her thought and behavior she needs to excel. TRN specializes in helping people of all walks of life to:

>> Dissolve their panic and anxiety for good
>> Gain freedom from depression…safely, naturally and easily,
>> Make diet and exercise changes that last,
>> Become productive, goal-setting MACHINES…

…and much more. Think Right Now’s programs are specifically designed to help you re-pattern the subconscious beliefs that are literally HOLDING YOU BACK while also installing the thoughts, beliefs and habits of the most successful, joyful and productive people on planet earth.

To Make This a Little Clearer…

…here’s some examples of thought patterns you may have, things you may have tried in the past to change it and -most importantly – why they didn’t work:

>> No diet in the world will take away that uncontrollabe, mouth-watering feeling of desire you get when the cheesecake or cookies come out. (Your thoughts may be, “I can’t say no! I’ll just starve myself tomorrow.”) Yeah, sure.

>> A motivational book or tape CAN’T take away the fear that causes procrastination and CAN’T force you to finish that project you’ve been putting off. (Your thoughts may be, “I’ll do it later…I don’t want to miss my favorite TV show…I don’t have time..Aw, I’ll just let someone else do it…I’m too tired now.”)

>> Being sedated and numbed by pills because of specific fears and anxieties (which can create a panic disorder) is now way to live the rest of your life. (Your thoughts may be “Oh, here it comes…I”m feeling nervous…I can’t breathe…I’ve got to get out of here!”)

>> A seminar conducted by the greatest of the sales greats won’t give you confidence when you pick up the phone or call on a customer face to face (Your thoughts may be, “They won’t want to buy ffrom me…Who am I kidding? My product stinks…they’re going to hate it…I’ve got to make this sale or I’ll go broke!”)

>> A patch won’t take away that tremendous urge to light up a smoke, especially when you’re having a cup of coffee or a coktail. (Your thoughts may be, “I’m dying for a cigarette…If I don’t get a smoke then I’m going to go nuts…just one won’t hurt.”)

>> A belly trimming gadget promoted by the most grogeous women wont’ make you stop hating exercise. (Your thoughts may be, “I hate sweating. but my muscles are sore! Why do I have to do this? I’d rather sleep…can’t there just be a magic pill to make me look good?”)

You see? It simple mathematics: unless and UNTIL you change your core beliefs, attitudes, and emotions, your chances of getting to change your ACTIONS to achieve major, important things in your life is about as likely as getting your dog to meow.

THAT’S what Think Right Now exist for…so click HERE to find out more. (Did I mention that they have the most visited self-development product site ON EARTH???)

Peace,
+B

More FREE, One-on-One Consultations & Coaching (Cause I’m Here For You)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 13 May 2011 16:43:08 +0000

Towards the end of 2010, I started giving free consultations to everyone on the email list: in short, I invited all of my closest readers and followers to a focused, individual, 1-on-1 session, helping them to:

>> Eliminate their biggest fears and frustrations,

>> Create daily action plans and strategies to reach their goals,

>> Build confidence, overcome social anxiety, and other “inner-game” issues,

>> Just talk more in-depth about WHATEVER you’ve seen me blog about,

…and much more. The sessions were great and I learned A LOT from them myself, but I eventually put it all on pause to get used to a new location, start a new job and help manage some personal transitions (see the latest newsletter for more).

Now, I’m Opening Up the Doors

…(or phone lines) once again, so I want you to know. As I said on the newsletter:

Basically, I’m a real, normal guy just like everybody else, so don’t think I’m unreachable. I’m here to rap with you personally too: we can build on anything you’ve seen me blog or talk about more in-depth or have an actual strategy/coaching session. All you have to do is send me an email describing:

• what you want to talk about,

• a good phone number to reach you at,

• 2 good times on 2 different days that would work for you,

And we’ll take it from there…”

My email is bryan@dotheknowledge.com. Look forward to hearing from you.

Peace,
+B

You Can’t Make a Transition Physically, Unless You Also Make a Transition PSYCHOLOGICALLY

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:34:21 +0000

I started a magazine for the site yesterday (a dope newsletter I give to everyone on the email list…where I get more personal and share exclusive videos, etc. Sign up to the right under “get more.”) Here’s what it looks like:

I used to do a newsletter way back in the day too. Check out the transition:

I’m Bringing This Up Because…

One of the first things I said in the new edition was, “You can’t make a transition physically without also making a transition PSYCHOLOGICALLY”: You can’t do something new and more advanced with your life unless you also do something new and more advanced with your perception of the world…

For instance, when somebody’s moving, a typical problem is the clutter: it’s difficult to optimize and fully “move” because we get attached to our useless crap.

So moving experts recommend saying things to yourself like, “These memories are in my heart, where they matter most” or, “I’m grateful I had this, and I look forward to what comes next,” but the jewel I want to point out to you is that when people hold on to their old stuff, what they’re really doing is holding on to their old identity.

Read Reality Through a Mental Lens

…not just a physical one. There are always parallels between what someone is doing and where they’re at psychologically, and this is something you need to learn to see both in yourself and in the people you deal with.

Here, I want you to see how just as physical objects can keep us from making the most of a new space, MENTAL objects can keep us from making the most of a new career, a new situation or a new relationship…

Old ways of thinking won’t fit you in a new situation in the same way that old clothes from 5th grade won’t fit you in your adult body.

Also, there’s a real deep parallel between adjusting for a different circumstance and adjusting who you are for a different outcome or desired goal.

The key is to remember that you have to change HOW your brain thinks, not just add more knowledge into it. Let go of who you used to be: accept that you need to transform into a different person and stop fighting it…

Peace,
+B

How to Squeeze More Out of Each & Every Day…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:18:49 +0000

SIDEBAR: If you’re not on the newsletter (i.e. if you’re not getting emails from me) then you need to get on it NOW. I’m about to get back on my email game starting in about an hour, and I want to make sure you catch all the blessings coming up. Sign up is over here in the right sidebar >>

If you’re not certain, think of it as a small, free membership club. I know how valuable an email address is these days (and the need to keep it 100% spam-free, which I am of course), so I treat the email list like a secret inner-circle…everyone on the list gets access to hidden material, discounts, previews, etc. etc. Sign up in the right sidebar now (under “Get More”).

If you ARE already on the list…get ready for some real fire real soon. Let’s get started…

You ARE What You Do With Your Time

“Sure, getting tasks done quickly is an important component of life, but it is not THE MOST important one. A life spent trying to fill every moment with fun, excitement and even productivity is an award-winning recipe for a nervous breakdown and for losing everything in your life that truly matters.

Again, you ARE what you DO with your time…If you’ve ever had the thought that your life stinks or ever wished that you were more like someone you know or know of, what you were really saying is that you would like to make better choices and spend your time like that other person. You were basically saying that you want to do the things that other person does, because to ‘be’ like someone else is simply to spend your time doing the same things they do.

In our research, we uncovered over 1,100 un-supportive beliefs and attitudes that the “average” person has about time and the amount of it they have, and how they choose to use their daily allotment…”

Find out what those core beliefs are so you can AVOID them by clicking here >>

Peace,
+B

Some Basic Anger-Management Techniques

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 10 May 2011 16:03:11 +0000

Anger is a BIG problem: it can destroy trust, damage relationships, cripple a child’s self-esteem, get us into situations with law enforcement and countless other “unpleasant” circumstances, so let’s talk for a second about how we can avoid and prevent anger, as well as tranquilize it whenever it comes up…

What’s funny to me is how even though everybody recognizes anger as a destructive force, almost nobody thinks about how to channel it in healthier, productive ways. Unfortunately, most of us never think beyond the simple, obvious triggers, so we end up saying things like:

“Just make sure you don’t bring Cynthia around Jasmine, cause they’re always going to fire off on one another…”

“I’ve learned to watch what I say around Paul, cause he’s cool, but he can get kind of ill at times too… “ etc. etc.

Now don’t get me wrong – when a situation is ugly, it’s UGLY, so I’m down for taking whatever measures need to be taken to prevent it happening, but what I’ve also learned is that anger is actually more of an indicator then a “problem” in and of itself…that we actually use anger for A LOT of reasons, like:

>> to get attention,

>> to vent frustration and confusion,

>> to intimidate other people when WE feel vulnerable, and so on…

Also, while you might not get the person to read this blog post, remember that the best way to teach is to lead by example…

By becoming a truly calm and even-tempered person, you’ll trigger that higher nature in everyone around you. So let’s start by making sure we know how to deal with the anger in ourselves FIRST, and then let that automatically emanate outward.

I’ve found that if you simply say to someone (at the appropriate time, of course) “Y’know, I’m trying to learn better ways to deal with my anger” it’ll register, and they’ll think, “Yeah…I really need to get myself under control too, cause I’m messing up right now.”

At our deepest core, all of us really want peace and happiness. Our issues with anger come from repressed needs, confused dramas and other hidden things we just need to uncover…so let’s get started

Tip 1: Grow in Assertiveness, Consciously

Take it upon yourself to GRADUALLY LEARN assertiveness. Start by being assertive and honest about a minor issue at least once each and every day…

Again, anger can generate as a response to pent-up stress a small thing built up over time. Brad Blanton, author of Radical Honesty, once said something to the effect of “Even 10 or 15 years of resentment can usually be cleared in 30 seconds of honest talk…,” so keep that in mind.

Here’s a quick scenario of how this can play out:

1.) Something you dislike happens on a small scale but you ignore it (because “it’s not such a big deal…” and you “don’t want to be annoying about it.”)

2.) That thing adds up, multiplies or extends until it gets to a point where you say “I can’t take this s__ anymore…”, and

3.) This built-up stress bursts out into hostility, anger or passive-aggressive behavior (i.e. you end up looking crazy)…I blogged about assertiveness skills a few months back, saying:

“…it’s hard to just use your words to solve problems when you’re mad. When your mad, your amygdala (the part of your brain’s “limbic system” responsible for processing emotions) diverts your minds resources in order to keep your anger burning.

So interestingly, at the times when you most need to be assertive, your brain’s CEO (logic) is less available to you because the amygdala forces it to rationalize your anger and keep that norepinephrine (a hormone underlying the “fight-or-flight” response) pumping…”

(In that blog, I broke down a simple, 4-step process for becoming a more assertive person, so check it out to learn more.)

Tip 2: Read Anger to Find Deeper Causation

You should also identify the source so that you can direct your energy on solutions.

This sounds simple enough, but it’s not: basically, you have to focus on WHY you’re mad instead of just trying to just stop it. It’s counter-intuitive, but you have to stop telling yourself “I need to stop getting so mad…” and find out what the anger’s trying to teach you.

If you’re around people who constantly say “you have anger issues,” it’s difficult because no one identifies with you and how you feel – you’re in a position where you have to teach yourself SELF-COMPASSION amidst others who may at some level resent you (or give off the impression that they no longer care).

It’s difficult for them to deal with you too, of course, and you should honor that, but what I’m saying here is that your anger INDICATES a deeper-level concern, so you need honor that too and start looking at it as a healthy response…

This means INTENSE REFLECTION, and solitude when you’re able to objectively think about your anger, stress and despair in a space completely free from anyone else’s input.

Also, in our 21st-century society, the cause and effect relationship for anger (and many other issues) can get very interesting and complex.

For instance, a well-known, presitigous college professor at NYU might suffer from “status confusion,” because while he’s at work, he’s a high-status, well-respected, powerful social figure, but on his subway commute home, he’s virtually a nobody, and when he gets home, his wife and family disrespect him as well…

This could create a conflict in his self-image – a disoriented identity where he feels confused, inadequate and even fraudulent as a human being (all of which may be dealt with through anger, withdrawal, addiction, etc.)

Likewise, our society has us all playing MULTIPLE ROLES, and for some of us, the conflict between these roles creates too much of a tension to handle without being directly addressed, because the human psyche has a need for a coherent self-concept. It’s deep…

Right now is the first time in history where status has been such a dynamic, constantly changing and unidentified thing. If this sounds minuscule or a little too far-fetched for you, check out Daniel Goleman’s Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships for more…

With the professor, he’d have to build social skills that him establish status and gain respect OUTSIDE of the work environment…this would lead him towards a more congruent self-image.

Essentially, the thing to do here is to reflect on the causation, and then create techniques from there.

Typically, anger – especially in males – indicates a feeling of dis-empowerment, so for him to “manage” it, he has to find ways to empower himself and raise his sense of self-perceived status (while respecting the needs and boundaries of others.)

Once he reads his anger (understands it’s true cause), it motivates him to re-direct his energies towards becoming a more mature man…

I may be doing more on anger-management soon. Click here for more details on the blog talk radio show, “Simple Steps to REDUCE STRESS…”

Peace,
+B

Should You Really Be THAT Persistent??? (Reader Q&A Session)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:12:56 +0000

Here’s an old Q&A from the archives that I think will help out a lot. It’s one of the best questions I’ve ever been asked, actually.

From the Reader Mailbag:

“…perhaps you could elaborate on that statement about never giving up. While there’s a lot to be said about tenacity of spirit and never giving up on your dreams, there’s a fine line there too…

Remember that saying ‘Don’t flog a dead horse?’ I think sometimes it’s necessary to ‘give up’ on something or someone as a continual investment of your valuable resources or you’ll end up draining yourself dry.

Take for example….

>> A wall street investor continuing to pour good money into a losing stock until they’re wiped out,

>> the gambling addict who just HAS to put that next dollar into the slot machine.

>> trying to influence a heroin addict to quit and going about all manner of effort to that end only to have the person continue using, or

>> being deeply and passionately in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same way (‘unrequited love.’)

At some point you can’t continue trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. Anyway….food for thought. Perhaps you’d like to expound upon this subject and provide some of your personal insight/experience/wisdom. I’d love to hear what you have to say on this subject. Thanks Bryan.”

My Response:

“Identify with your purpose, but be flexible in your approach…

Identify with the REASON you have a particular goal (usually for an emotional state or personal conviction) and focus on that when a particular plan isn’t working.

Napolean Hill (in his book ‘Think & Grow Rich’) has a concept called ‘Creative Persistence,’ and Robert Greene (in ‘The 48 Laws of Power’) has a law called ‘Assume Formlessness,’ both of which apply.

Where the goal is to start a company, THE PURPOSE may be financial wellbeing, and so one should not be attached to an inefficient business model. Where the goal is to have a relationship, THE PURPOSE may be to give and receive love, and so one should not be attached to an incompatible person.

I quit drumming because when I was having some trouble with my music career, I zoomed out, looked at the forest and realized that my purpose was to express my individuality, not ‘to be a drummer’ per se.

Now, with the website, I’m creating more audio-visual content instead of writing all the time because I realized my purpose is to promote intelligence, self-growth and maturity, not ‘to be a writer’ per se (and multimedia is more effective at that).

Identify with your purpose, but be flexible in your approach. I’ll release another self-discipline video soon that’ll go further in-depth.

Peace,
+B”

The TWO MAJOR MISTAKES of Self-Development (pt.2)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:38:58 +0000

(Here’s part 2 continuing on from yesterday’s science…even though it’s called “The TWO Major Mistakes,” I’ll keep adding on if ideas come.)

The first mistake is confusing self-development with self-perfection (an impossible illusion), and the second mistake is confusing self-development knowledge with actual experience… thinking that any insight or “science” you gain can somehow supplicate the process of maturity itself.

Breaking It Down

For our purposes here, let’s say there’s two types of self-development: INTERNAL and EXTERNAL.

Internal self-development is primarily intellectual, because it consists of studying, reflecting, having a deep conversation or anything else that causes introspection.

External self-development is primarily physical, because it consists of activities like exercising, eating healthier and other tangible things.

Now as you already know, these two types overlap. The internal is a foundation for external, and you have to work on both because deep on the inside is where you find things like:

>> subconscious beliefs,

>> identity and self-image,

>> your view of what reality IS and what’s possible,

>> the ability to create optimism,

… and actually, even your habits of thought are in your unconscious mind, so it’s that important.

But even though the internal lays the foundation like that, we tend to think that simply having an insight equals learning something. We tend to confuse “getting” something intellectually with actually knowing how to do it or truly overcoming a real life problem.

I first touched on this in earlier posts like “INTELLECTUAL DISCIPLINE: How to Become a More Action-Oriented Person” and “The 5 STUPID THINGS Intelligent People Do (That Keep Them From The Success They Deserve)”

The basic formula in both pieces was “LEARNING = BEHAVIOR CHANGE.” Stop thinking of learning (or “growth,” “development,” or whatever) as an intellectual process and realize that if your behavior didn’t change (or your results didn’t change) you didn’t learn yet.

This Mistake at Level 1

This tendency really messes us on one level, because whenever we set a new goal, our first impulse is to reach for a book or some type of instruction on how to do it, and we confuse that research with the actual work.

It’s a habit I catch myself still in TO THIS DAY (even after 4 years of “Do the Knowledge” .com), and I have to still catch myself and say “No, Bryan, this isn’t going to help me learn or develop anything, it’s just going to fill my brain with more un-acted-upon information.”

In fact, in a certain sense, the internal self-development can become a barricade to true growth…it keeps you from doing the necessary, practical things (like gradually changing your diet for the better, gradually getting out and being more social, etc.), and it RECONDITIONS you to think you’re making progress when you’re not making much of anything at all.

This Mistake at Level 2

Even worse then that, being too focused on the internal gives some of us a false sense of intelligence. Being too smart, too well-read and too familiar with advanced concepts can shut your mind off from really thinking about what’s going on around you.

For instance, many intelligent, articulate people hate the idea of learning from someone who isn’t as intelligent or articulate as them. Imagine needing serious help from someone in your dating life, but not reaching out to someone who can help you because you see yourself as more “developed” or “aware” then they are. It’s stupid…

Just remember that if you “o-d” on self-development, you can easily start rationalizing your faults away as if they’re strengths, not weaknesses.

And remember that life is always throwing you something at you that you’re unprepared for…it’s always challenging you to step up and see things on a level you’re not used to, so the concepts you learned in the past are rarely ever adequate for the problems you presently have.

Peace,
+B

The TWO MAJOR MISTAKES of Self-Development…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:35:44 +0000

What I mean here isn’t necessarily mistakes of the self-development INDUSTRY, but two major mistakes of self-development PEOPLE…mistakes we tend to make as we pursue becoming better on the inside and out.

Let’s break both of them down now. It’ll be a quick read, so leave a comment at the end letting me know what you think.

Mistake #1: Forgetting Self-Development is a DEVELOPMENTAL Process

which sounds kind of obvious, like “Of course it’s a developmental process…it’s self-development”

But what I mean is operating under the assumption that you’re developing yourself towards some final result: working on yourself to ACHIEVE something, gain something, or reach some ideal state of perfection, rather than working on yourself as part of an infinite process. The first mistake is using self-development as a means to an end rather than a way of life. (It’s something I tend to forget all the time).

The reality is you’re never going to hit a point where you don’t have problems. I’ve been seriously focused on bettering myself for 7 years and I still have issues, and the most developed people that I know are the people who are most in tune with what their issues are not the people who pretend they don’t have any.

You Need to Get Out Of The Habit…

So what’s unfortunate is that most of us who study self-development are in the habit of thinking that we’re one day going to “arrive.” Underlying you’re drive to improve yourself may be the illusion that one day:

>> you’re no longer going to have situations and problems,
>> you’re no longer going to have personal issues,
>> you’re no longer going to have things about yourself or your life that you dislike…feeling like things aren’t optimal for your potential or intellect level

…but THAT’S THE CONSTANT. The “development” is something you realize as you look back over time, not a destination you’re going to reach and just stagnate at. Thinking that you’re going to develop yourself to a point where you don’t need to develop anymore is like thinking you’re going work professionally to a point where you don’t need to work anymore either.

Did you know that even when it comes to people who retire (those that are lucky enough to, anyway), those that stay happy and keep their “zest for life” are the people who find something to occupy themselves with even if it’s not an “occupation”???

You find Elders writing novels, starting community groups, fighting breast-cancer or whatever partly because they know that if they don’t keep pushing themselves – if they don’t keep learning, growing and striving to accomplish something – they can end up physically, emotionally and mentally “off.”

Life is work, life is a process, life is development and life is CONSTANT. So get used to “having issues” and situations that you need to transcend, be proud of how much you’ve grown and changed thus far, and log in tomorrow to check out major mistake #2

Peace,
+B

CONSUMERISM: The Shared Psychosis of a “Surplus” Society

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:18:04 +0000

Yesterday I blogged about mind-manipulation in modern day advertising, so today I want to take that concept a little further by talking about “Consumer Culture” as a whole…

What I want to point here is that, not only do we live in a world that constantly tries to sell us “ish” we don’t need (and uses psychology tricks to do that), we also live in a world where consumerism has become an unconscious, shared THINKING PROCESS…it’s become so ingrained into our lives that it’s become the basis for how some of us form our identity.

I just started this new book called, “Identifying Consumption: Subjects & Objects in Consumer Society” and it’s pretty tight, so I’ll start by paraphrasing some of the ideas.

Some Concepts from the Book:

Consumption has always been a part of every culture, but our present society has a unique, modern style of consumption with it’s own distinctions.

One of big distinction is that consumption has gone way beyond the level of needs AND wants: it’s now something we do for it’s own sake…it’s like buying and acquiring is a religious act, a way of life that most of us are ATTACHED to, an end it in itself and its own justification.

Consumerism has become like a hidden belief system, an unconscious mantra resting on the delusion that material possessions and commercial distractions have the power to bring us happiness and personal fulfillment.

Into the future, our entire experience of “the self” (and of everyone around us) may be reduced to commodities and synthetic events we can purchase, own and use, because of what those commodities symbolize about us.

In the Author’s Language

Again, in Robert Dunn’s (the author’s) language, “Consumer Culture” is a social-system, and “consumer-ISM” is a belief-system that seduces us into accepting this culture as normal or even ideal.

Part of that means we use merchandise (and entertainment-based experiences like movies, concerts, etc.) as a basis for IDENTITY and self-definition.

“At its extreme, consumerism reduces consumption to a therapeutic program of compensation for life’s ills, (and) even a road to personal salvation…” ~ Robert Dunn

What’s worse is that this is all becoming GLOBALIZED. Spreading first from the U.S. to Europe, you can now find evidence of this throughout much of the world, especially anywhere experiencing serious economic growth (particularly south and east Asia). “Globalization” is really westernization, and that includes a shift towards a worldwide consumerist agenda

I’ll post more as I finish up the book and ideas come…

Peace,
+B

STOP SETTLING For Less Then THE BEST You Deserve…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:02:27 +0000

One of the things we do in relationships – one of the things I find myself doing over and over again, including RIGHT NOW) is settling for less then the best we deserve.

Partly out of compassion for the other person, partly out of our own ignorance, we act like human crutches, while at the same time cutting ourselves off from what we know we’re worth…

For example, let’s say that you know you’re capable of a “Level 7″ relationship – you know what you’re ready to giving and you know what you should be receiving for it (in a very objective and mature sense) – but you’re currently in a Level 3 relationship instead.

There’s a good chance that your subconsciously thinking, “Since no Level 7 situation is available to me now, it’s okay for me to settle and just marinate here for the time being, so at least I have SOMETHING…until I see a possible Level 7 unfolding with somebody else elsewhere.”

NOTE: I’m using the term “Level 7″ and “Level 3″ to refer to the quality of THE RELATIONSHIP, not the quality of the people involved. We’re all equal here of course: just because someone’s not good at a relationship doesn’t mean they’re not good as a person…it just means they’re not at that place right now.

The Problem With This

…is that you don’t see the Level 3 for what it’s actually doing: DRAINING you. Being in a relationship of any sort takes too much away from you (mentally and emotionally) to fully be there for the possible 7.

You can’t engage with a Level 7 person if your tank is only half full. Giving so much to a Level 3 (when you should already know better) makes it impossible to be present with a 7 like you need to be.

So why won’t you let go of that Level 3 person??? Probably because of the scary “L” word….LONELY. So let’s talk about that for a second.

On Overcoming Loneliness

Loneliness (and the fear of loneliness) is a heavy subject, so of course we won’t be able to “go in” like that here, but I’m mentioning it quickly because it’s so tied in with subject of settling.

Feeling alone is a very real emotion – it sucks, and I know because I know it first hand – but we feel alone because of a very subjective thing…our own mistaken thought process.

Technically, unless you have NO family and NO friends, you’re not really alone, but that’s not the mistaken thought process I’m talking about. On a deeper note, you feel alone when you don’t have someone else because you believe somebody else VALIDATES you.

Part of our drive for a romantic relationship stems from the idea that unless we have something romantic going on, our lives are incomplete or, even worse, we’re incomplete as a human being.…we assume that if somebody’s single, it’s BECAUSE something is wrong with them, not because they’re working on themselves, being patient for something truly worth the investment, or anything else, which is a messed up way to look at it.

Whether you have someone in your life or not, you’re just as smart, just as funny, just as honorable and just as important as you’ve always been, and you’re guaranteed to attract someone because of that, not to make you that way in the first place.

So I guess that’s good for now. Again, overcoming loneliness is a serious subject, so I’ll consider blogging more about this in the near future. For now, let me know you’re thoughts on this: What part of this post stood out to you the most? What’s helped you to overcome loneliness in the past???

Peace,
+B

On “Being Used”: How to Know When You’re Giving Too Much

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:09:45 +0000

I have a history of allowing myself to be used, and a big part of this comes from not knowing when I’m giving too much without being reciprocated for it.

This is something I’m still learning and growing through now, so obviously, this post isn’t meant to be some in-depth, all-you-need-know guide, but here’s a few ideas I’ve had so far…and of course, if you have anything to add, I’m all for it, so please share…

1: Be Realistic

Namely, make sure that the person you’re building with has THE CAPACITY to give back in the first place…don’t let your hope allow you to disregard your logical thinking.

Some people can give a lot physically, but not emotionally, and some can give a lot mentally, but not physically, etc. etc. So just be realistic from the outset (easier said then done, I know)….don’t wait for a situation to explode before you realize it for what it is.

I was watching an old episode of “A Different World,” the other day, and there was this scene where Whitley told Dwayne Wayne: “You couldn’t see the truth coming if it was driving towards you in your own car…” which seems to apply here.

2: Put Yourself First

If you’re like me, the easiest needs and emotions to forget about are your own…you spend all your energy making sure you don’t hurt someone, and end up in that position yourself.

I was texting a friend last night when she said to me: “When you’re a person who counsels others you’re more prone to fall for someone you feel needs your help…stop spoon feeding people and teach them how to solve their own issues.”

…and all I could say to myself was “Damn,” because she hit it right on the head. Looking back, I could of just projected into the future, thought “Worst-case scenario, I’ll end up ___,” and worked from there.

3: Speak to Someone…

In fact, speak to MULTIPLE people, MULTIPLE times. They’re the ones with the objectivity needed to think rationally, and if you feel comfortable enough talking to them about it, they probably have your best interest in mind anyway…

I say multiple times because it’s easy to lose sight of the truth when you’re surrounded by illusions. Just like it’s difficult to make wise financial decisions in a world that conditions us for consumerism, it’s difficult to make wise relationship decisions in a world that conditions us for psychological dependency…or in someone ELSE’S world when they need you a little too much.

So always have multiple people (of both sexes and different age groups) to spar with about your situation, and don’t be too embarrassed to talk about it either: you might help somebody else realize that they’re being used too.

So I guess that’s it for now. Want more??? Then take a look at my classic post called “Healthy Selfishness: Getting the Treatment You Deserve WITHOUT Feeling Guilty For It” and don’t forget to leave a comment letting me know what you think below.

Peace,
+B

Healing the Shame that Binds You…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:10:36 +0000

Currently I’m reading a book called “Healing the Shame that Binds You” by John Bradshaw….it’s helping me to process the guil and remorse I’ve had for years for how I’ve treated others in the past.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that I haven’t been blogging AT ALL recently (and haven’t put a new video up in months). Part of that is because of the deep-seated shame I feel towards myself.

Sometimes I feel like “Who am I share advice?” or “What makes me a person to look up to?” because I’m not always the caring person I should be to the people who matter most, and I’m not sure I can ever fully atone for the things I’ve done.

Advice from a Friend…

My friend (or, someone I hope will still be my friend) says that I should show more of my vulnerable side with my readership online, and what I’ve realized is that I don’t share my vulnerable side in life PERIOD (personal and professional problems tend to overlap like that)…

In that respect, here’s a poem I wrote on Sunday. One thing I do when I’m feeling low is spend time in solitude, and I put this down during that session. What’s deep is how I found the book randomly about 2 hours AFTER I wrote this…it’s called “There’s 2 Sides to Every Mistake”

“There’s 2 Sides to Every Mistake.”

“None of us have clean hands/
Atone for your guilt through the unfoldment of your wingspan…

Your drama is self-inflicted like a strategized game/
Why magnetize pain when you can satisfy brains?

You can’t rise or gain thinking you don’t deserve it/
But if your logic was consistent then the entire world is worthless…

Now would you give up on this planet Sun?/
You’re like a mini-God but when will you understand it Sun…

You’re only where you’re at cause others blessed you with a lesson/
Where would you be if those cats let there own mistakes arrest them?

Does Mother Nature apologize for a tsunami?/
When earthquakes shatter a city, you hear sorry???

(chorus)
Man’s heart and man’s soul carries a heavy weight/
(Where) Pain transfers to all things he undertakes…/
He rarely sees there’s 2 sides to every mistake,/
I said there’s 2 sides to every mistake…

Remorse is like torture in a mental state
The guilt will show itself as you elevate/
You have to see there’s 2 sides to every mistake/
I said there’s 2 sides to every mistake…”

Peace,
+B

Famous Screenwriter Shares 3 Important Things About Life…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:33:24 +0000

1: Make Someone Happy

“Make someone happy. Learn how to laugh and how to make someone else laugh. Take pleasure in who they are…in other words, love someone.

2: Be Helpful

Find out how you can be helpful. It didn’t occur to me at first that being helpful was better then being the center of attention, but it turns out that if you can really find a way to be helpful, more satisfaction and praise then you know what to do with will come your way.

Being helpful assumes that the people you help actually WANT your help, and that you know enough to actually be of help and not make life worse for them then it already is. This means getting as smart as you can…

But getting smart is a tricky business. The smartest people I’ve ever met where the onese who knew EXACTLY what they were ignorant of.

If you don’t know much about something, assuming that what little you know is all there is to know is NOT the way to find out more.

And try not to assume that you can just take a stab at complex things. Complex things bite, so be wary of simple answers to complex questions.

3: Keep Score Your Way

If you keep score, keep score YOUR WAY. Don’t let the world tell you success is a big house if you think success is a happy home.

If you meet a bully that says, “I’m stronger and richer then you are and you’re nothing if you’re not stronger and richer then me,” and he’s stronger and richer then you’ll ever be, wouldn’t it be stupid to be get into a contest with this guy???

Conclusion…

But maybe I’m putting it into too many words. Let’s say I was about to be shot in some petty dictatorship, and the firing squad goes…

“You have 10 seconds to tell us everything you’ve learned in life in one sentence, and if you can’t, our commander tells us to shoot you.”

My response would be, “Boys…think for yourselves.” ~ Alan Alda

Alan Alda is a screenwriter, author, five-time Emmy Award and six-time Golden Globe Award winner, and author of the book Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. Click either of these blue links for more…

Peace,
+B

How Technology is Attacking You (& What You Can Do to Protect Yourself)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:44:39 +0000

A little while ago, on the blog talk show “Holistic Health & Wellness Tips for OVERALL WELLBEING & a DEEP-LEVEL Understanding of Nutrition,” Hondo and I spoke briefly about dangers of EMF’s, or electro-magnetic frequencies being emitted by the technology all around us. Listen here:
Download audio file (emf.mp3)

And here’s a video that goes slightly more in-depth:

My Personal Solution

All of this is why I have a “Q-Link,” the pendant with a little “Q” icon on it you see me wearing in some of my videos…

(click on image to zoom-in)

As I was saying on the call:

“It has built into it (if you look on the reverse side) this metallic, battery-shaped, golden coil specifically built to resonate and harmonize with your Chi (what western science calls the “biofield”) in a way that mitigates and lessens the effect emf-waves are having on you.

This is the type of thing they give to olympic athletes to improve their performance. Let me tell you more just so you get an idea…

Just like when I became vegetarian, I started wearing this out of a state of desperation – it was getting to the point where I couldn’t even use a computer or a cell phone for more then 5 minutes because of the radiation.

I had these terrible migraines that just seemed to amplify whenever I used anything technological…it literally felt like I was getting a brain tumor (I started to get anxiety about that).

But little did I know it was also connected to my bone problems at the time: I had these knee and ankle pains that I was falsely attributing to my shoe size…so I went out and bought different types of shoes thinking that I needed something tighter or something looser in reality the emfs were actually re-distributing nutrients throughout my skeleton.”

FROM THE READER MAILBAG: “I’m thinking about getting those q-links. what was your experience with them and do you really feel like they are working?”

RESPONSE: “Yes…go ahead and cop it. Follow the instructions they give you and look for serious change in about 2-3 days.

They helped me allieviate:

- chronic migraines,
- bone pains,
- memory loss
- eye irritation from computers
- poor sleep,

…and a lot more.”

Thinking about it now, I should of gave him a more thorough response. That’s why I put this post together…

You can find out more about Q-links here at http://www.blockemf.com. Besides the Q-link necklaces, you’ll also find protection devices for your computer screens, home offices, cell phones, cars, etc. and learn more about how electro-magnetic frequencies work. Let me know if you have any questions…

Peace,
+B

Get your hands on 2 full chapters from my upcoming book,
Doing The Knowledge: Ascending Into Action, FOR FREE:

General Mind States (& Benefits) for More Productivity…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:04:18 +0000

Productivity is sexy to me…don’t ask why but there’s something about laser-focused, action-oriented behavior that gets me excited.

You know how most men look at foreign cars or what have you? THAT’S how I look at anything that illuminates the path towards self-discipline, personal efficiency and full engagement…

I was looking at this David Allen video called “GTD (Getting Things Done) & the 2 Keys to Sustaining a Healthy Life & Workstyle.” Early on in the lecture, he referred to his teachings as “Knowledge-Work Athletics”, and as soon as I heard that, I was like “Damn…YES! Exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

Here’s that video in full just in case you’re interested…

…and here’s another good, classic session from some other cool guy:

So WHY Is Productivity So Exciting, Anyway???

I guess the idea of being more productive turns me on because intuitively, I know it’ll make me more capable of achieving my life’s purpose, and I don’t think most people think like that.

When you learn to get more done, you actually GET MORE DONE. It’s like each time I learn something that makes me more efficient, I’m getting points to spend on the grand prize of my mission here on earth (think of an amusement park or something).

It helps in relationships too. For instance, when me and my ex-girlfriend lived together, I would get up super-early – like before 5 am early – just so I could have time to do my own thing (with the site and all) and still being around to build with her when she woke up herself.

Don’t get it twisted though: I was still a dumb-dumb at that time, so I jacked up the relationship in a lot of ways (and I’m still a dumb-dumb RIGHT NOW in a lot of ways too). I’m just saying that being so productivity-oriented helped the relationship out A LOT…I was able to teach her and show her a lot about different work styles, etc.

That’s another thing…most of my work online is born out of my productivity-skills, not because I’m all that as a person (cause trust me, I’m not…I got a lot to work on just like everybody else).

I’m able to do so well and be so consistent with my creative work because I’m self-disciplined, not because I’m any “better” or “more evolved” in the way I think most people assume.

So I guess what I’m saying here is that productivity accomplishes multiple things, like:

– bringing you closer to achieving your life’s purpose each time you learn something,

- making you more capable of contributing to your relationships in the fullest capacity that you can,

- allowing you to create and sustain some pretty impressive things, and to make the most of your knowledge, skills and creativity,

…and much more. Leave a comment below letting me know what you think. Why is productivity important to you? What does being more productive actually MEAN in terms of RESULTS for you personally…why is it even important???

Peace,
+B

How to Develop SELF-DISCIPLINE (My First Guest Radio Appearance)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:15:54 +0000

The first time I ever did Blog Talk Radio was with Don Nicoleone’s show to discuss Self-Discipline in depth, and it was dope. Here’s the direct audio stream so you can see for yourself (the science starts at around 20:15, so just fast forward):
Download audio file (show.mp3)

We didn’t have the time to get into everything I planned on, but we DID cover:

- psychological forms of self-deception,

- tips for enhancing your personal productivity,

- techniques for RESOLVING YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS LIMITATIONS so you can
finally achieve your goals

…and much, much more. We actually had to cut the show earlier then I planned because we were “going in” for a minute. (Click here to download the entire mp3 playback.)

This was actually what inspired me to start my own Blog Talk Radio channel in the first place. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions…

Peace,
+B

The 7 Styles of Intelligence (& Why EVERYONE is a Creative Genius in Their Own Way…)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:18:20 +0000

This is an interesting concept, and I just realized this morning that I never actually broke it down on the blog before.

Essentially, there are 7 different styles of intelligence: 7 unique, technically distinct ways in which we all express brain power. We each have a particular combination that we come hard-wired with (just like extroversion/introversion), so once you know your own set-up, you gain a degree of self-knowledge and self-confidence that nourishes you…

This 7-Style framework was developed by psychologist Howard Gardner, and is technically known as “The Theory of Multiple Intelligences” (or MI Theory). One of the things he found was that (and I’m sure you’ll agree) our school system tends to only encourages two types of intellectual capacity (linguistic and mathematical) while neglecting ALL of the other 5, leading children with alternate styles to feel as though they’re just “not intelligent.”

So let’s get into it. You’ll probably notice yourself in several of these, (being really strong in one or two and having a lighter predisposition to a third, for instance). Let me know what you think…

Linguistic Intelligence

…is, of course, intelligence with words, the ability to articulate yourself skillfully, explain and comprehend ideas verbally, tell stories and what not. If someone has linguistic intelligence, they learn best by reading, writing, listening and debating.

Children with the linguistic style tend to enjoy reading, story-telling, crossword puzzles and other types of verbal games…

This is of course one of my own strong points…Gardner would say I have a “high ability to manipulate syntax and structure.” (As a child, I use to understand the symbolism in the fiction we read, but never said anything cause I thought it was weird of me.)

Logical (or Mathematical) Intelligence

…is just that: not only a strength with algebra or calculation, but also a profound ability to reason, to use one’s thinking in an objective way, to compare and contrast, and to categorize and notice relationships where others do not.

This is the style that most resembles measures of traditional intelligence (IQ tests, etc.). It evidences the ability not only to reason logically, but to INVESTIGATE, notice patterns, strategize, etc. etc. Children with mathematical intelligence tend to enjoy arithmetic, logic problems and chess…

Kinesthetic Intelligence

…is intelligence applied to the human body, most noticeably in dancers and athletes. Someone with a Bodily-Kinesthetic style actually processes knowledge through physical sensations.

This includes those with manual dexterity (using your hands intricately) and “a sense of timing, a clear sense of the goal of a physical action, along with the ability to train responses so they become like reflexes….”

Kinesthetic children learn best by actually getting up and involving their body (rather then hearing about it). They’re well-suited for careers as actors, pilots, surgeons, masons and so on…

Musical Intelligence

…is intelligence applied to sounds, tones, rhythms and harmony itself. Children with a musical style are discriminating listeners, and are highly sensitive to pitch, meter, melody and everything else along those lines.

This is another common one we can readily recognize (we’re almost trained to look for musical intelligence with the rise of shows like American Idol, etc.).

I used to play the drums, but I wouldn’t consider myself to be “musically intelligent” in the same way I do some of the people I came up around…I know people who at 16 years old almost mastered the drums, piano and other instruments SIMULTANEOUSLY, so compared to that, I just consider myself “aite.”

Spatial Intelligence

…is one of my favorites, not because I have it (because I don’t) but because it’s so distinct. Spatial intelligence is intelligence related to physical space.

It’s an ability to judge how different objects should, can and already do relate to one another in an environment (think architects, designers and certain types of artists). Children who excel with this style tend to enjoy leggos, jigsaw puzzles and drawing…

My first girlfriend in college was VERY spatial-oriented. I used to tell her all the time that she could be an interior-design expert, a feng-shui master or anything along those lines. She had this superior logic that was like advanced algebra applied to physical space or something, and it all came intuitively to her…

Inter-personal Intelligence

…is intelligence applied to how people work. Think of it as “social intelligence” because children with this proclivity tend to be leaders among their peers: they can communicate, persuade and understand another person’s motives extremely well.

Sales professionals, politicians, managers, teachers and social workers are all examples of this style, as they typically learn best and enjoy working with other people.

This is one I definitely want to work on more…while I’m not the best at reading people (understanding their motives) I am pretty fluent at identifying (and articulating) another person’s thoughts or feelings, which helps me A LOT in relationships, and I want to develop here more…

Intra-personal Intelligence

“This area has to do with introspective and self-reflective capacities. People with intra-personal intelligence are intuitive and typically introverted. They’re skillful at deciphering their own feelings and motivations: this refers to having a deep understanding of the self; what your strengths/ weaknesses are, what makes you unique and being able to predict your own reactions and emotions…” ~ MI Theory on Wikipedia

This here’s my other forte…the one I enjoy most and get the most nourishment from. It’s responsible for me being able to create my own goals, know my own unique path in life (like starting this blog for instance), and not be so much of a follower who’s life is dictated by the values and opinions of those around him.

I found a dope video on introversion last night from a Youtube channel called “Keep It All Natural” called “The Introvert Advantage” (based on a book of the same title). Knowledge this:

Listen particularly to the section at 5:05, where he describes what it was like in school as a child being pressured away from his natural style…how he was made to think something was wrong with him for having a unique gift.

“It’s coming from within myself…I feel like extroverts should learn to embrace introvert qualities just as much as we introverts are expected to take on extrovert qualities. If that were the case, you’d find a lot more people who were happy and achieving their goals.” ~ Keep It All Natural (Youtube Channel)

(That makes 7, but they’ve also recently added two other styles to MI Theory: Naturalistic, or “intelligence with nature,” and Existential, or “intelligence with spiritual ideas,” basically. See the wiki for more.)

So what are your thoughts? Which styles are yours, and how can you tell??? Leave me a comment below letting me know what you think…

Peace,
+B

If You Want to Be a Success, STOP LOOKING FOR “SUPPORT.”

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:31:19 +0000

…and by this, I don’t mean a “support network” (as in friends and family to keep you motivated, which is vital) but support in the sense of, “support me for the simple fact that I’m trying…“

I hear far too many people (especially on facebook, and especially young people, for whatever reason) saying, in one way or another, “support me and what I’m doing,” and I use the term “far too many people” because this is a completely DEBILITATING mindset…

If you’re looking for success – for long-term durable accomplishment – stop looking for “support” and start focusing on contributing value instead. Think,

>> “How can I draw the hottest artwork?”

>> “How can I make the illest documentary?”

>> “How can I write the most on-point article?” or

>> “How can I put together the greatest fashion show possible???”

…and go from there, because it’s much more likely you’ll put the necessary work in from that state of mind…

Symbolic Teachers

There’s this book I’m reading right now called Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand -the first fiction piece I’ve read IN YEARS actually – and what I’m getting at here (about support) is actually one the book’s major themes.

In Atlas Shrugged, the entrepreneurs and leaders of the world are overthrown by a socialist ethos: you basically witness the world transforming AWAY from one where people create valuable things and are rewarded for their contribution and going TOWARDS one where people are rewarded on the arbitrary basis of “need.”

People no longer gain jobs and leadership positions on the basis of ability, but on how well they can plea for charity. So you end up with completely useless men running national railroad companies, inventive geniuses being robbed of their creative ideas (patents are eventually made illegal), and politics mutating into a corrupt game of childish schemes.

Essentially, the people lose the values of production and gradually replace them with those of manipulation and deceit, resulting in a society that encourages men to act at their lowest nature: as self-pitying, overgrown CHILDREN afraid to think or act on their own accord…as “scoundrels” vigilant against anyone who threatening to expose them for the useless cowards that they truly are.

I’m not saying this to suggest that anyone “looking for support” is a coward, only to remind you that we live in a world of give and receive, just as we live in a world of cause and effect, and that tradition of consensual trade is what encourages us to perform at our optimal state…

So instead of looking to be supported, focus on creating something interesting and valuable enough to gain compensation on its own merit.

In fact, don’t even let the thought of support enter your mind. If you want people to support you, let it be on the strength of what you’re doing, not just because you asked them for it (or think you need it).

A Personal Example

Not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but I’ve hit a “temporary plateau” with the blog recently…

I just moved and started a new gig, so I’m

>> in a brand-new environment,
>> meeting brand new people,
>> establishing new relationships and
>> challenging my own concepts about life.

With everything that’s been going on, it’s more difficult to get into a creative swing and really be “on it” like I used to last year…so I’ve been reposting a lot of old content, and some days not even blogging at all.

I asked a friend about this, and he responded by saying I should try to get people more involved (which is good advice). But he also added something very interesting… he said:

“For the average person, since they haven’t been hearing from you as much, it’s like, ‘Am I even still going to buy Bryan’s book when it comes out anymore???’”

…I say “interesting” because it comes out of the support mindset: it implies that someone should buy my book because they see what I’m doing, they’ve watched me put all this work in and wants to “show their support.” It implies that people are buying it to do ME a favor.

I have the opposite outlook though: in my mind, people buy my book to do THEMSELVES a favor. I plan to make the hottest, most engaging and therapeutic training program I’ve seen in a loooooong time, to the point where anyone looking to get focused, end their procrastination and stay in that motivated state they need to achieve their goals would have to be completely irrational NOT to invest in it.

Because I think like that, I’m not that pressed for attention. I know I got the goods, so I can be patient and focus on developing the best book I can, rather then make the same mistake I made in 2009.

It’s a lot like when a successful business isn’t too worried about losing a particular client. I mean, it happens…you’re going to lose people no matter what you do, so it’s much better you focus on creating a sustainable work practice that allows you to give the most value to the most people for the most time, rather than rush and try to get “support,” because you’ll burn out. (Keep in mind that if most aspring actors, writers, etc. got all of the success they wished for up front, they wouldn’t be able to handle it anyway…)

Right now, I’m anime charging…nothing of what I do is about me getting support or attention, because I’m not that important (the knowledge is). And I think you’ll be in a much better position if you took up that mindstate.

If you want support, JUST GET TO WORK and the support will come. Stop thinking anyone owes you anything simply for your effort and get focused on creating the hottest, most beneficial material you possibly can…

Remember This…

Remember, you have to be of a different breed just to come out alright in this world, and part of that is to not look for people to support you just cause they care about you (cause, in case you haven’t noticed, peopled DON’T care about you…deal with it), but to instead focus on providing solutions and results.

You only get an “E” for effort, so if it applies, stop thinking you should get compensated (in ANY form) just cause you’re doing something and realize that the only real rewards are based on the value you give to others FIRST.

If you think about it, what I’m really saying here is STOP THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF and start focusing on other people instead. It’s a much more fulfilling way to live…

Peace,
+B

How to Stay Motivated ON A REGULAR BASIS…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:33:02 +0000

Here’s the complete playback from one of my last radio shows, “How to Stay Focused…CONSISTENTLY.”
Download audio file (show11-3-10.mp3)

It’s actually my favorite (and the one I had the most fun doing), because it’s the first one I freestyled. Believe it or not, all of the radio shows I did up to that point (I think 13 up to that point) were completely scripted: I was so worried about freezing up live on air that I spent time (or wasted time) scripting out everything I was going to say.

Listen closely and you’ll be able to tell that this version came out a lot more “live” then any of the previous ones before it. You can download this show to your iPod or computer by using the blue link above, and you can check out a complete archive of ALL of the blog talk radio shows I’ve done here

Peace,
+B

Basics on Mastering the Tools of Thought…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:24:51 +0000

“Pick up the feather and ink, I plan to think…
Cause my mentality could make man extinct.” ~ Nas

As you already know, the mind is “the master craftsman,” which moulds and makes the reality you experience, but few people take see understanding psychology as the corollary to that basic truth. If you take a look at my work, you’ll see that almost everything I do relates back to psychology in some form or fashion. Whether I’m blogging about eliminating clutter or giving a lecture on time-management, some aspect of the psyche is involved because it’s so fundamental to all aspects of life.

I don’t mean to get too abstract here, but the point is that the ability to analyze and develop your own thinking process makes you adaptable, and, in a sense, invincibile. When you can serve as your own psychologist, it’s almost like having 3rd-Eye vision…

Video Interview on This

Here’s I video interview I did with Mona Reeves called “Understanding the Psychology of Self-Deception” that goes more in-depth:

And here’s a few more quotes…

“The human brain sees things in the ways most familiar to it…” ~ Gregory Burns (author of Iconoclasts)

“The story of how we arrived at our current picture of the universe is the story of understanding what we see…” ~Steven Hawkin

Peace,
+B

Psychology, Psychiatry & Mental Health at Our Universities…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:45:18 +0000

“You’re in a unique situation of being alone: you just left your home for college,
you’re trying to figure out what you want for yourself and it would be nice if you
could go somewhere and get some help and support without people
trying to tell you that there’s something wrong with you…

…that was the other part of me trying to support my friend – I was just trying to
convince her that she has the same power and the same qualities that all people
have to make themselves happy and choose what’s right for themselves…”
~ Vanessa Catherine Breeding

Watch This Video

Stumbled on this a while back while doing some research…I know it’s a little long (around 17 minutes), but trust me, it’s well worth the investment.

It’s psychologist Dr. John Breeding with his daughter, Vanessa, making some really insightful points about the medical profession today, especially as it applies to our youth:

Peace,
+B

ps: Click here for the program that I used to help me get through my personal bout with depression: if I really had only one suggestion to make to anyone going through anything serious (or just looking to “get their mind right” in general), this would be it…

Why Intelligence is SEXY, Cool, Powerful & Much More…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:08:47 +0000

Let’s just get started:

1: It’s the Way of the Future

As we transfer more and more into a digital age, the ability to abstract and deal with information effectively and creatively is becoming the new thermostat for success.

As you can see, technology is overriding a lot of our social and business systems (and un-employing a lot of our people), so the ability to perform physical labor is becoming obsolete.

Into the future, the people with the competitive edge will be the people who management guru Peter Drucker called “Knowledge Workers,” the people with the ability to handle information in productive and creative ways…

It’s like Revenge of the Nerds applied to society as a whole. If you think about it, more and more of today’s successful leaders are the Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerbergers, not the traditional, rough and tough, Macho types. Listen to this (and download it here):
Download audio file (eben7.mp3)

2: It’s Cool

On a similar note, it’s just starting to be cool to be intelligent again. Big, nerdy glasses are back in style (I paid $15 dollars for a cheap frame everybody loved), people are buying books and walk around with them to give the APPEARANCE of being intelligent, and more and more self-help and new-age ideas (law of attraction, holistic health, etc.) are permeating into mainstream thought (thank Oprah for that).

It’s Sexy

Women love a man who can engage their mind in new and interesting ways, especially when they realize it’s an authentic part of who he is and not just a front he’s putting on (which a lot of guys do).

And men automatically respect a woman when they can tell she’s a bit more “on point” then everybody else. It’s like we put her in a different category and know we have to come correct or not even bother…

Bottom line, intelligence is an advantage in the dating world. People who take the time out to be more creative, imaginative, knowledgeable and articulate just have a few more feathers in their cap…

It Solves Problems

I said this during that Recommended Scrolls radio show (the one where I reviewed a ton of great books back to back) because I don’t think a lot of people realize how powerful this is

I was saying how most of our problems with health, relationships and success stem from a lack of knowledge.

For instance, most people don’t realize how tied their diets are to their emotional states: most people simply don’t know how much what they’re eating contributes to anxiety, depression and more.

For me, when I first started publishing information online, I didn’t take much time out to figure out HOW to actually do it…I just threw a website up, talked about what I thought was important and (obviously) didn’t get much of a response…

Luckily, I stuck with it long enough and started doing research into how people perceive information, so it turned out cool…but what I’m saying here is that knowledge is a conduit for RESULTS, and I don’t think most people truly understand how powerful that is…

We could go on for days with this. Intelligence:

>> makes people respect you,
>> makes you a memorable person,
>> is good for your health (people who exercise their mind look younger and live longer),
>> prevents boredom,
>> allows you to better articulate yourself (strengthening relationships and your ability to negotiate business-wise, etc.)

Ad infinitum. Again, intelligence is sexy, cool, powerful and much more, so go on to become more of a “Knowledge Expert” and cultivate it in yourself…

Peace,
+B

Get your hands on 2 full chapters from my upcoming book,
Doing The Knowledge: Ascending Into Action, FOR FREE:

How to Be More Productive By HAVING FUN…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:05:22 +0000

Don’t Become a Workaholic

This is one of my biggest issues: if you’re a procrastinator, being a workaholic probably seems like a good problem to have, but the reality is that procrastinators and workaholics have A LOT in common. (More on this further down…)

Most of the time, I don’t eat well, I don’t really connect with the important people in my life and I don’t get away from the computer at all. I try to read while I cook, I try to check my emails while I’m on the phone and I try to act like I’m too tough to take care of myself. I’ve been letting my ambition supercede my well-being.

A truly productive life is meaningful and purpose-driven, NOT enslaved to an onslaught of tasks and responsibilities. When you’re a workaholic like I’ve been for too long now, not only do feel overworked all the time, you also forget why you started doing things in the first place: you lose your sense of purpose and what was once significant to you degenerates into another form of “work.”

I’ll spend the rest of this post quoting from Niel Fiore in his book The Now Habit. He actually has an entire chapter devoted to this idea called, “Guilt Free Play, Quality Work,” and it’s some solid advice…

Guilt-Free Play, Quality Work

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living…” ~ Dale Carnegie

Similar characteristics separate workaholics and procrastinators from producers and peak performers. They both:

- See themselves as always burdened by incomplete work. They see themselves as always working yet still undeserving of rest.

- Think of their lives as “being on hold,” with only a faint hope of someday being successful enough to enjoy living.

- View human beings as lazy and in need of discipline, so they feel people need pressure in order to be motivated. Procrastinators respond to this pressure with feelings of overwhelm and anxiety; workaholics with constant busyness and stress.

- Maintain a negative attitude toward work, seeing it as infinite and insatiable (impossible to satisfy). They think success requires deprivation and sacrifice, a sacrifice workaholics are willing to make often to avoid getting too close to anyone. Procrastinators exaggerate the sacrifice and escape it with halfhearted play out of the fear that they’ll never be able to play again…

Both workaholics and chronic procrastinators are either constantly working or constantly feeling guilty about not working…

It all starts in childhood: adults usually think of play as being separate from learning and work, but play is an essential part of every child’s development and learning about work. Through play we’ve learned the physical, mental and social skills necessary for adult life.

Pull-Motivation, Push-Motivation

Here’s some examples of each:

PUSH
‘Private Jones, if you don’t finish peeling that truckload of potatoes by 1700 hours, you’ll lose your weekend pass for the next six months.’

‘This firm needs to generate $200,000 worth of sales this month or we’ll all be looking for jobs.’

‘Unless you increase the number of clients you find each day to at least fifteen, you can find yourself employment elsewhere.’

‘This freshman class had better learn now that you’re in for a lot of hard work. By the end of the semester, you’ll have read this entire shelf of books; and by the time you graduate, this entire wall.’

PULL
‘Private Jones, with each basket of potatoes, you’ll be earning another days leave. If you can finish that truck by 1700 hours, you’ll earn an additional weekend pass.’

‘We need to generate $200,000 worth of sales this month. That means we’ll all need to put out some extra effort so we can breath easier next month. I’d like to hear some ideas on what we need to do to increase calls, customer contacts and closing of sales by at least ten percent.’

‘This week you’ll be learning how to keep your client on the topic and politely complete the contact. Within two weeks you’ll be able to comfortably see fifteen clients a day.’

‘Imagine that as you read a chapter in your textbook, you’re placing it on this empty shelf. Chapter by chapter, book by book, you’ll fill this entire shelf 1st semester, and naturally, by graduation, this entire wall.’

…If you’re interested in tackling a large task and minimizing procrastination, you must structure the rewards so as to increase the probability that you’ll start on the task each day.” ~ Niel Fiore, PhD.

Hope that makes sense…take care of yourself..

Peace,
+B

Exploring the Stages of Life Through Fiction…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:36:41 +0000

I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) earlier, and was really impressed by what one of the guest speakers (author Arnold Weinstein) was saying…the show was about the power of literature, and it honestly has me thinking about composing fiction in the future. Here’s a few rough excerpts and mixdowns I put-together from it:

Point 1: With Fiction, Nobody’s Trying to Fix You…
Download audio file (literature2.mp3)

Point 2: How the Value of Fiction Matures As You Do…
Download audio file (literature3.mp3)

“When I read fiction, nobody from outside is trying to fix me. I find that with Dr. Phil – all the talk show stuff – I find it very annoying…they’re always coming from THEIR point of you of who THEY think you should be. There’s constantly someone else in your business…our society seems to dwell on that, and fiction helps me to respond to people who are stepping over my threshold…“ ~ Sheila (caller from NY)

You can download the two clips above to your computer (right-click and choose “save as”), and to listen to the show in full – an episode of NPR’s “On Point” with Tom Ashbrook – click here.

Peace,
+B

Get your hands on 2 full chapters from my upcoming book,
Doing The Knowledge: Ascending Into Action, FOR FREE:

The Biggest Financial Asset YOU ALREADY HAVE (& 2 Ways to Invest It)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:45:34 +0000

I just realized that I’ve been mentioning money and wealth on the blog A LOT recently (with 8 Qualities of a Wealthy Women, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, etc. ), so today I’m going to take it back and reinforce that the biggest financial asset you have is your very own mind.

As I’m learning in my personal life now, the way to obtain wealth is through a progressive thinking process and outlook on life. Of course “stacking” is a part of that (I’m trying to get it like everybody else), but the actual money means NOTHING if you don’t have other things already in order (like health and relationships) and all of that begins with your subconscious mind.

Don’t forget the 4-part series I did a few weeks back, “Health, Success & Great Relationships: The Fundamental Skill that Makes Them All Possible,” where I said:

“Your thoughts and actions (even the most jacked-up ones) are not predetermined by or fundamental to who you are as a human being: you have the power to change yourself and your circumstances, but you can’t take hold of that power until you view yourself and your mind as a malleable instrument that YOU control.

Since I’ve started to work on my subconscious mind in regards to money and wealth, I’ve realized 2 key things:

1: We’re ALREADY Wealthy Beyond Reason

Sounds bugged, I know, but what I mean is that wealth is relative, and if you think about your economic status compared to that of a KING just 100 years ago, or even to most people in the world right now, you’re so wealthy it doesn’t even make sense.

There’s something Phil Valentine calls “The Pathology of Affluence,” meaning that we have an orientation towards affluence and consumption (as well-socialized Americans) so twisted and convoluted as to be considered a shared, mild psychiatric illness…

What I’m saying here is that our standard of living is so high that to think that we’re NOT wealthy is almost insane.

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO NOW. Watch it in full and really absorp what this guy is saying…it might save your life:

Me and my friend were rapping about this yesterday: she was about to kill herself and start working 3 jobs even though she has no children and is still mad young (i.e: has no serious obligations that necessitate it).

I had to get “Dr. Phil” for a second and check her on her spending habits (with love, obviously): I told her she that has something actually referred to as hyperconsumption…that she only wanted the money to continue supporting a way of life that her parents conditioned her to have as a child.

The whole thing was based on a faulty premise: she was about to do the financial equivalent of a sports team having ALL OFFENSE while completely forgetting the defensive aspect of the game. She was about to field-slave herself to buy ish that, in the grand scheme of things, really doesn’t matter anyway.

So remember that term, “The Pathology of Affluence,” because when you realize how wealthy you already are, you’ll have a different, more grateful, fulfilled orientation towards wherever you’re at now (and watch that video if you haven’t already).

Be a Frugal Cheapskate

The second key is related – and I got to thank my Mom for this one – it’s to be a frugal cheapskate…to be so frugal that most hyperconsumers with the pathology of affluence think something is wrong with you…

I’m currently reading Thomas Stanley’s The Millionaire Next Door, and according to his 20 years of researching America’s wealthy, he’s found that most millionaires:

>> Never spent more then $140 on a pair of shoes,

>> Drive cars that are (on average) 7-9 years old,

>> Live in average, middle-income neighborhoods,

>> Only have 1 or 2 credit cards, and are

>> Married to someone more frugal then them.

i.e: most millionaires report to actually having TROUBLE getting their wives to spend money. Very interesting…

The main point so far in the book however is that the real millionaires of the world live absolutely nothing like how the media conditions us to view them. It’s only the small minority that live in serious mansions, own several boats and buy mutli-thousand dollar suits (because most never spent more then $4-500).

The media conditions us to associate wealth with hyperconsumption and affluence, when THE OPPOSITE is the reality. Wealthy individuals tend to value economic power over displaying high social status.

If we saw a millionaire walking up the street right now, we probably wouldn’t even notice him (hence the title “The Millionaire Next Door”), so remember that as you set goals for yourself financially.

Concluding Thoughts

Remember though, the overall point here is that when you learn to USE YOUR MIND, you have financial leverage that most people simply don’t have (and never will until it’s too late).

Using your mind allows you to find those computer glitches and video game cheat codes we talked about the other day…

When you cultivate your mind and invest in your own thinking process like we’re doing here, you start thinking things out differently than the people around and you make different choices, which is key: most of our financial problems come from poor choices we made in the past and our inability to take time out and make good choices in the present.

Again, I wrote this whole post just to say that your biggest financial asset is your very own mind (and to then show and prove that with examples you can actually see).

Leave a comment below to let me know what you think (agree or disagree) or to share any experiences you have.

Peace,
+B

Get your hands on 2 full chapters from my upcoming book,
Doing The Knowledge: Ascending Into Action, FOR FREE:

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Some Steps You Can Actually Take

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:09:27 +0000

Here’s an audio clip from Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker, called “Here Are Some Steps You Can Take”:
Download audio file (eker3.mp3)

I posted part one of this a minute ago (back when I first started listening to the program) but just recently, I started reading another book called The Millionaire Next Door: Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley, which is also hot.

The Millionaire Next Door talks about how most millionaires are absolutely NOTHING like what the media depicts (how most are average income, frugal families) and what they did to get themselves into that position (as most are first-generation made…meaning the inherited nothing). Most millionaires:

>> never spent more then $140 on shoes,

>> drive cars that 7-8 years old,

>> live in middle-income, low profile neighborhoods,

…and are otherwise NOT “affluent” in the typical sense. Essentially, millionaires value financial empowerment over displaying high-social status, control and budget their consumption habits and many other things we’re socialized to forget.

Back to “The Millionaire Mind”

Eker’s main thesis? Even though we all need to get our paper straight, not too many of us understand that we need to get our mindsets concerning paper straight FIRST, and stop entertaining thought patterns that subconsciously inhibit us from creating wealth for ourselves and forthe people we care about.

So essentially, when it comes to restructuring your “Mental Money Blueprints” as Eker calls them, you need to progressively and continually work on them over an extended period of time.

Here’s that audio clip again…it’s called “Here Are Some Steps You Can Take”:
Download audio file (eker3.mp3)

Peace,
+B

Get your hands on 2 full chapters from my upcoming book,
Doing The Knowledge: Ascending Into Action, FOR FREE:

A Lesson on Concentration (Part 2)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:05:33 +0000

Not too long ago, my older brother blessed me with some research material to help get my website off the ground…something interesting from one his books stood out:

“THE WHOLE WORLD IS SUFFERING FROM A CHRONIC CASE OF ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER.”

It’s a quote by Rich Schefren, who says that this age of mass advertising, instant gratification, and advanced communication technology (high-speed internet, text messaging, etc.) has seriously taxed the average person’s ability to concentrate. Essentially, we live in a world of constant information overload, and for most of us, this comes with a severe price…

It’s a lack of concentration that keeps us unproductive and unable reach our goals. It’s a lack of concentration that keeps us from developing our talents and cultivating our skills, from using our brains (to recall important facts, think logically and make good decisions) and from gaining peace of mind. Ultimately, it’s a lack of concentration that keeps us in poverty: financial poverty, spiritual poverty and poverty of character…

Some Solutions

Now I’m no master on the subject, but I did get some help with this by checking out The Power of Concentration by Theron Q. Dumont a few years back: a mind-power masterpiece with an old-school vibe to it that you can’t find in the bookstores today.

“The person that is able to concentrate utilizes all constructive thoughts and shuts out all destructive ones. The greatest man would accomplish nothing if he lacked concentration…” ~ Theron Q. Dumont

Written in 1918, Dumont covers both the spirituality of concentration and the practical techniques needed to develop it. Get your hands on a free copy of the book here.

“Thermon Q. Dumont” is actually a pseudonym though: back in the day, he went under a variety of pen names and dropped jewels on a variety of subjects. Anytime you come across some classic spiritual, self-development material written by a:

- William Walker Atkinson, a
- Theodore Sheldon, a
- Magus Incognitus or a
- Yogi Ramacharakai,

…you’re talking about the same cat (I believe William Walker Atkinson was his real government though). He wrote almost a hundred books actually, including:

- “The Art and Science of Personal Magnetism” (in 1913)
- “Thought-Force in Business & Everyday Life” (in 1900)
- “Telepathy: Its Theory, Facts & Proofs,” (in 1910) and much more…

The Power of Concentration is another jewel El Rasun and I wanted to build on during Recommended Scrolls but didn’t have the time. Here’s one last word of advice from the guy…

“Do not become discouraged if you are unable to hold your thought on the subject for very long at first; there are very few can. It seems a peculiar fact that it is easier to concentrate on something that is not good for us than on something that is beneficial…but you can overcome this tendency when you learn to concentrate consciously.“ ~ Theron Q. Dumont

You can concentrate, but will you??? (Remember, “sometimes only a trifle prevents one from becoming a success…”) Here’s that link to download the book one last time.

Peace,
+B

The DEATH of the Liberal Class (Social Commentary)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:05:26 +0000

Remember that BIG recommended scroll I kept mentioning last year, Empire of Illusion, by Chris Hedges???

Well turns out homeboy just released another new book called The Death of the Liberal Class… Check out one of his recent lectures here:

He’s Going In…

…the whole idea is that REAL liberalism in America no longer exists: that what we think of as the liberal (or progressive) establishment is now only a disguise…a group of leaders actually complicit in the conservative and corporate agenda (although they speak in liberal and progressive terms).

According to Hedges, “the Democratic Party has betrayed us” (he’s even dissing Obama). All of the pillars that make a liberal establishment work have been destroyed, there’s no viable way to challenge the government’s agenda within the traditional government structure itself (remember, “the liberal class is dead”) and all resistance must now be carried out through anti-establishment, radical means.

In other words, you can no longer disagree with the government’s agenda, try to do something about it in any official way; everything that would make that possible has been subverted and controlled

I’m excited…I really like his style, and I think he drops a heavy book like this every year to supplement his income while he works on what he’s passionate about (working in prisons), which I’m all for.

Plus, this guy has lyrical skills. Watch the video above and leave a comment letting me know what you think about it…

Peace,
+B

ps: The book is currently OUT OF STOCK on Amazon.com. That’s what I’m talking about…

5 Time Management Tips MADE EASY (Just in Case You Forgot)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:10:01 +0000

Time-management is seriously important. With the skill-set (and mind-set) to be more productive with you’re time and energy, you’ll:

>> put yourself in a favorable financial and career position by developing your talents, knowledge and skills,

>> develop the relationships and contacts you need achieve your personal goals

>> become somebody of more impact and influence in the world and community around you, because

“In all our deeds, the proper value and respect for time determines success or failure…” ~ Malcolm X (emphasis mine)

Now, WITHOUT the skills to manage your time and energy well, you’ll:

>> lose status and respect from the people that are important to you,

>> NEVER accomplish the important goals in life that you set out to accomplish, and

>> sabotage your future financial security and wellbeing

But the thing is, as vital as these skills are, THEY’RE EASY TO FORGET, because, if you’re like me, ALMOST NOBODY AROUND YOU EXHIBITS THEM…

To the contrary though, almost everyone I know completely wastes every free moment they have (and complains about the situation they’re in). It turns me off…

I’m not saying this to knock anybody, cause we’re all in this together, but I just want to make the point clear: if you don’t constantly nourish you’re mind with this stuff, you’ll gradually slip back into the unhealthy and destructive habits of the people around you.

The consequences and responsibilities we’re all dealing with now are the result of CHOICES we made in the past. So ultimately, time-management is a preventive measure against the forfeiting of your future that almost nobody takes seriously.

If you pay insurance for your health or for any of the important items that you own, you might as well pay insurance mentally for the life you’re creating everyday when you get out the bed.

So let’s get started…

1 | “Time-Management” is Played Out…

Time management is played out, and what I mean by that is that traditional “time management” comes out of a world that no longer exists…

The term dates way back to the industrial revolution: the first time in which “output” for the average person exceeded the boundaries of nature…whereas work used to be determined by seasons and sunlight hours, holidays by inclement weather and time itself by looking at the Sun and Moon, this was the first time where people were using clocks, working in factories and leaving their rural hometowns for major cities.

Now most of the time-management literature and ideas come later of course, but they still developed during a time when there was NO internet, NO cell phones or any of the other technological advances that determine how we work and interact now.

So a more effective approach would be what I call “present-day productivity”: the techniques, habits, mindset shifts and tools for personal effectiveness (leveraging your time, information, communication, emotional wellbeing and action-orientation in the digital age).

Present-Day Productivity is like finding bugs and glitches in a computer program that you need to avoid, and then using cheat codes in a video game that you need to create (where the computer program is the society and the video game is your own human nature).

When you really get proficient at this, it’s almost like you’re whole life becomes a Game-Genie or something.

ACTION STEP: Eliminate the word “time-management” from your vocabulary completely. Instead, use terms like “personal effectiveness” “efficiency” and “productivity.”

Stop trying to manage “time” and focus more on managing YOURSELF: see the traditional to-do list managers, calendar systems and planners as a small part of your overall game…as a small part of the routines, systems and environments you consciously set up to support you getting the most out of yourself.

2 | You Achieve More By Taking Regular Breaks…

…then by ever working obsessively, so stop trying to run marathons with your workload.

Everything in nature operates by cycles, including your mental and physical energy. Just like you need to rest at night to sleep, you also need to break intermittently during the day to stay focused.

The sleep cycle is governed by something called the circadian rhythm, but the day-energy cycle is governed by something called the UL-tradian rhythm.. you should look into it if you’re really interested, but basically, you want to take a break and completely detach from what you’re doing every 90 to 120 minutes.

There was a more specific version of this I used last year where I’d work for 50 minutes, break for 10, work for 50 minutes, break for 10 and then completely detach for 30, but I find the every 90 or 2-hour version is simpler and easier to follow.

Tony Schwartz talks about this in his book The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, where he says, “full engagement is best achieved by taking up the mentality of a sprinter, not a marathon runner,” so check that book out for more if you’re interested too.

ACTION STEP: Take frequent breaks. Stop trying to field-slave your mind incessantly and realize that when you lose the ability to concentrate, that’s your body giving you feedback as to it’s natural needs.

Stop staying in “work mode” just to finish one more paragraph or one more client or one more chapter. If you do, you’ll pay for it with a lack of focus, poor memory, decreased creativity and bad sleep at night (let alone all the mistakes you’ll make). Listen to your body, take breaks and treat it right EVERY NINETY MINUTES.

3 | When You Need to Get Focused, Block Out Distraction

Just in case you forgot, listen to this:
Download audio file (eben4.mp3)

and watch this (it’s me):

ACTION STEP: Enjoy the two clips above IN FULL and follow what they say. I’m serious…don’t move on until you check them out.

4 | Learn Quickly By Paying Close Attention

…and asking terrific questions.

I blogged about communication skills last Friday, but I didn’t talk about it within the context of productivity per se. Put simply: when you listen, you learn, and when you learn, you’re FAR more productive, so do your best to always be in a state of apprenticeship…not just towards smart or effective people, but towards life itself as well.

At my last apartment, I learned how to fix shower heads and sinks (from my room mate), at my last job, I learned how electricity works and (neither of which were job-related), and in one of my old relationships I learned how to cook and clean (thank God), ALL FOR FREE.

That’s because whenever I see somebody doing something I don’t know how to do, I ask them “How do you do that?” Whenever I see someone communicating in a way that I don’t understand (or agree with), I ask them “Why do you think that?”

Knowledge, techniques and life lessons are all around you if you simply look for them, all of which can make you more productive in life. You can learn a lot from people’s mistakes, but don’t forget you can learn a lot from strengths too.

ACTION STEP: In your conversations, stop making points and start gaining them instead. Be eager to understand the other person first and see if you can gain a new worldview.

>> When you’re getting instructions, listen carefully.

>> If you’ve got a new job, take initiative to learn things you don’t need to know (your boss will remember that when it’s time to downsize).

>> Whenever you see someone fixing a car, doing photography on the street or whatever, ASK QUESTIONS. It’s amazing how much you can learn for free just by being interested.

>> If you have an opportunity for an unofficial apprenticeship with an older person you respect, JUMP ON IT. This is the big one..

5 | Align Your Work w/ Who You Are

The main thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is knowing that I have the chance to share empowering knowledge with somebody before I get back in it at night. (I woke up 6:15 a.m. to get the ideas down for this post today.)

Similarly, what gives you that ambition and that unstoppable forces is a sense of purpose: a sense of meaning beyond your own personal benefit.

Knowledge and intelligence saved my life, so everything I want to “be productive” about is oriented towards helping someone else experience that same transition (particularly young African-Americans in today’s society).

ACTION STEP: Think about what’s important to you and start gearing your goals around THAT, not what you think should be important or ideal.

Take a second to think about things in the world that get you upset and reverse them: If war gets you upset, create goals around developing peace. If ignorance gets you upset, then create goals around cultivating intelligence, and if bad fashion gets you upset, then create goals around having style.

Just tailor your goals towards self-defined values, and focus on the meaning they have (don’t be afraid to feel something). Don’t worry about getting it just right either, because as long as your conscious of this dynamic, you’re well on your way.

Leave a comment below letting me know what you think about this post. Tell me your favorite points, how you’re going to use the techniques or ask any question you have on your mind.

Peace,
+B

Not Listening is a Form of DISRESPECT…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:04:09 +0000

I put a facebook status up the other day saying…

…and a friend responded asking me to go more in-depth. I thought this one could use a bit more exploration myself, so here goes:

The Background…

It all started with a friend of mine. She has a son about 7 years old, and she was sharing with me how – as much of a daily headache he can be – she always makes sure to listen to him. (Her skype status actually reads, “As a child, the coolest adults were the ones who took the the time to listen… “)

So you know me, I got to work thinking about this: not only on how this was a big theme in the radio interview I did with teen-counselor Kelsie Morales (from “Girl Empowerment TV”), but also in my own life.

The first thing I realized was that as adults, we trivialize what children say and think. Because we’re much older and wiser (and because we already been there…because we already know what they’re thinking and why it’s mistaken), we disregard them when they express themselves.

I realized that there’s a difference between knowing somebody is wrong and HONORING them as they say it …it’s two completely different things, but we connect them in our minds, and thereby fail to connect with the other person.

Some say that most bad behavior is really an effort for ATTENTION, not trouble-making in and of itself. Children learn early on that only way to get noticed (at all) is to do something negative, so when we follow that pattern, we’re actually rewarding them…

The Science Behind It:

People know when you’re trivializing what their saying (even children), so when you form a habit of not listening to them when they’re mistaken (or when you THINK they’re mistaken), it damages the relationship.

Even if they realize they’re wrong, they’ll continue to argue with you almost as a way of exerting their right to be heard and have an independent thought.

I had this big debate about money the other day (one of the big issues), and even though I was wrong (and saw that midway into the discussion), I noticed that my real problem was that I felt DISRESPECTED. In other words, it had nothing to do with money at all, but with my viewpoint being disregarded, just because I was incorrect.

Here’s How to Use It:

Shut up and listen…even when you know EVERYTHING the person is about to say.

…when you’re talking with someone, let go of trying to express you’re thinking, and make it a goal to try and fully understand THEM instead. (This is what’s called “the negative capability”…the ability to fully shut your ish off so you can get the other person.)

Again, stop thinking about making a point COMPLETELY, and focus only on understanding what the other person is trying to get across…

After a while, when you get really nice with this, you can start explaining people’s mind state back to them better then they can themselves, which is VERY POWERFUL, because then it becomes “you and them vs. the world.”

Remember, most people go through their entire lives without ever being fully listened to and acknowledged at all, so when you become that person, you’ll get rewarded:

>> they’ll now fully listen to you and be receptive to your thoughts,

>> both of you will feel more energized, alive and healthy, and

>> the relationship will go deeper.

I went into Best-Buy the other day and me and phone-fixers talked for like 10 minutes about her sick dog. We really had a moment (forgot where I was at for a second), and that’s why I felt upbeat, energized and positive for the entire day…

On a deeper note, don’t be so quick to blame someone for “taking things personal,” and empower yourself by enhancing your communication skills.

Peace,
+B

How to Enhance Your Creativity, Decrease Stress & Boost Your Energy Level for the LONG-TERM…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:05:14 +0000

Remember that post from back in the day, Mental Fatigue, Stress & Attention Deficit: Their Societal Cause & Your Personal Cure, about how inattentiveness, a lack of productivity and mental strain are INGRAINED into our culture???

I’m didn’t say that to get all matrix-conspiracy on you, but it’s an important realization I want you to see: that we live in a hyper-technologized, media-saturated world, that’s…

I>> becoming almost devoid of organic, natural environments,
>> a complete 180-degree alteration from the type of world humans evolved in, and
>> inhibitory, poisonous and destructive to our ability to concentrate, think clearly and self-reflect in order to access that deeper states of inner-peace…

Taking it a little bit further, not only do we live in a technologized-environment, we GREW UP in it too. In other words, our entire development process was hijacked because of this immersion inside a “technocratic-bubble” of synthetic, man-made constructs.

Think I’m Taking This Too Far?

Then why don’t you check out Richard Louv, the renowned journalist and author of the nationally bestseller Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. This guy actually created the term “nature-deficit disorder” to highlight how this technocracy undermines childhood development.

Essentially, this book highlights 2 main problems:

1) the closest kids get to spending time in Nature these days is watching Animal Planet, and

2) this disconnection from the organic environment has just happened (primarily) within the last 2 decades.

Again, children today grow up in a society completely contradictory from the one their parents did, and so naturally, we don’t yet understand the implications this techno-alteration is having on us psychologically, physically or emotionally; either personally or collectively.

Here’s an excerpt from Louv’s book:

“As a boy, I was unaware that my woods were ecologically connected with any other forests. Nobody in the 1950′s talked about acid rain or holes in the ozone layer or global warming, but I knew my woods and my fields… I knew every bend in the creek and dip in the beaten dirt paths…I wandered those woods even in my dreams.

A kid today can likely tell you about the Amazon rain forest – but not about the last time he or she explored the woods in solitude, or lay in a field listening to the wind and watching the clouds move…”

“Children benefit greatly from unstructured play, particularly make-believe play, and kids are far more creative in natural play spaces than on the typical flat playground, whether it’s made of concrete or turf…

They are far more likely to invent their own games in natural places, and in schools that have outdoor classrooms kids tend to do better across the board from social studies to standardized testing.

When you’re sitting in front of a computer screen, or locked in a cubicle called a classroom, you’re not using all your senses at the same time, (but when you’re) outdoors, you’re…”

He draws on intense research and personal experience to show that when children are given thoughtful exposure to nature, it remedies:

>> attention deficit,
>> hyperactivity,
>> stress,
>> depression,
>> anxiety, and of course
>> childhood obesity

But unfortunately, today’s generation has come to know nature ONLY AS AN ABSTRACTION, not as a reality; something they learn about in textbooks, but never experience themselves…

For more research, check out:
>> Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil Postman,
>> 4 Arguments for the Elimination of Television by Jerry Mander
>> The Restorative Benefits of Nature by Stephen Kaplan, or anything about
>> Neo-Luddism (a philosophy against the progression of a technology).

Personal Remedies

So what’s the solution??? GET YOUR BEHIND OUTSIDE, and take anyone you care about with you. Preferably, do so in an organically natural environment…there’s a difference between being “outdoors” and being IN nature (you know what I’m talking about).

Once you make a habit out of this, the benefits become obvious, but here’s a short list:
>> enhanced creativity,

>> decreased stress & a better perspective on your situation,

>> more nourishing relationships (as others feel your energy)

>> a sense of inner-ease and contentment,

>> renewed energy to take towards work and much more.

My good friend and nutritional consultant Hondo Solomon even has a concept he calls “4 Elemental Nutrition.” Peep this:
Download audio file (hondo.mp3)

It’s about to get nice outside again soon too, so there’s no excuse. Experience the world as it was created, not restructured and manipulated to be…

Peace,
+B

How Video Games & Comic-Books Can Make You a Better Person…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:42:46 +0000

By watching, playing or reading them to LEARN SOMETHING, instead of simply for entertainment…

These things are literally FILLED with life lessons, historic symbolism, moral ideals and more if you look for them. So while most people are just wasting their time and trying to escape boredom, you’ll be doing your whole self-development thing mid-process…

As an example, I have this dope image collection on Facebook called “Symbolic Teachers,” but since I’m not to fond of the new, corny photo-display feature they just installed, I decided to put the album here instead.

I did my best to organize it by categories too: click each image for the slideshow and let me know what you think. (The X-Men Section is acting a little funny, check back later tonight for it to be fixed up).

The X-Men Universe:

Anime and Fiction Titles (Comics, Film, etc.):

Video Games and Others Uncategorized:

Hope you enjoyed this…leave a comment below letting me know if you have any suggestions…

Peace,
+B

Protected: Fundamentals for Mind-Elevation…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:05:04 +0000

Health, Wellness, Yoga & Psychotherapy: The Hidden Link that Connects them All

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:05:02 +0000

Here’s an excerpt from the book Yoga & Psychotherapy: The Evolution of Consciousness, collectively written by Swami Rama, Swami Ajaya, and Rudolph Ballentine. Trust me and read through this: you’ll be glad you did. I’ve edited the excerpt a little bit and added some commentary on the end to tie it all together.

Models of Disease: Internal Ecology vs. The Invasion by Germs

(…first it builds on how the body is really an ecological system, and then it delves into a discussion of germ theory and its negative implications. Dig this…)

“The Germ Theory”
In modern medicine, less importance is placed on the internal ecology, cleansing and development of internal experiences and more attention is given to external appearances.

For example, if a patient has acne or a skin rash, emphasis is on SUPPRESSING that rather than healing the underlying disturbance in the organism. However, physicians are now noticing that such suppressed symptoms may reappear in other forms. For example, in some cases where eczema is suppressed it reappears as asthma.

Our ignorance of the inside of our bodies is related to our attitude towards disease. It seems to have played a major role in the rise of a theory of disease peculiar to our culture. The conviction grew that most diseases were “caused” by invaders from the outside: micro-organisms or “germs.” (Therefore,) the ways in which poor management of one’s internal environment could contribute to illness was largely ignored.

The emphasis on germs was only one of a number of perspectives in modern medicine until it gained great impetus during the 30′s and 40′s as a result of the discovery of antibiotics. “Miracle drugs” seized the public’s imagination. It was quickly assumed that every disorder of the body would eventually be discovered to have its cause in the malicious attack of some invasive micro-organism…

There was a great sense of relief, for it seemed that medical science would also eventually discover an effective drug to annihilate each (and every one) of these invaders . Though a micro-organismic culprit did not materialize for every known disease, the concept of “miracle drugs” (still) prevailed. This search for new drugs to reverse illness continues today.

Thinking of ourselves in terms of the surface of the body while NOT developing an awareness of the interior leads to going about in the world to find the cause of discomfort whenever we feel vaguely that things are not right. From this perspective it is natural to assume that the remedy will also be something external – a (magical) “pill” or drug which can be put inside ourselves to make everything all right again.

This approach is also seen in the current attitude towards drugs which influence the mind and emotions. Feelings of unhappiness are glibly (or, superficially) blamed on “pressures.” “difficulties at work,” or other external influences. An “upper” is taken for a lift, a “downer” to relax, or whatever is handy to feel different.

The term “disease,” of course means dis-ease , or a” lack of ease.” But attention has turned away from a focus on this internal experience to the external world where the causal agent and remedy are both thought to be found. We have now (mistakenly) come to the point where “disease” means something that comes from the outside.

Additional Commentary:

So there’s the problem right there : when most of us get sick, instead of analyzing our lifestyle (what it is that we eat and how it is that we behave) or our inner-selves (what it is that we think or how it is that we are spiritually), we jump right up and attack the external symptom. Instead of analyzing the cause, we jump right up and attack the effect.

We fail to realize that there’s an internal ecology: that sickness itself is part of a healing process and that illness is a form of communication to let us know we’re not doing the right thing.

This is why most of us have the same illnesses repetitively coming back stronger each time. Either that or we stay ill consistently…as soon as they fix one thing, “here comes another.”

By ignoring our biological feedback – which is an intelligent system – we never eliminate the root cause, so the feedback has to get stronger and more diverse every time…otherwise we’d never wake up to it…

You even see the same thing in so-called “alternative healing” practices, where people run to different herbs to try and eliminate different symptoms, instead of going the route of introspection and internal change. It’s really just surface-level thinking.

It’s all about taking responsibility, which is a principle that goes beyond this aspect of healing and applies to all areas of life.

But the book Yoga & Psychotherapy is even deeper, because when it talks about internal understanding, it doesn’t just mean lifestyle choices, it means mastery over one’s internal energy dynamics.

In yogic philosophy, human consciousness has what’s called The 5 Sheaths: (1) the physical body, (2) the breath and energy, (3) the mind, (4) higher, alternate states of consciousness beyond mind, and then (5) pure bliss. According to the book, “each sheath covers and obscures the more subtle awareness that is interior to it,” and “the continuum they form makes up a sort of step-wise ladder that is the basis of all growth and evolution.”

So I’m in the beginning now where they break down Hatha Yoga (the physical yoga we’re all used to seeing) and how it relates to mind. Here are some of the sections in that first chapter:

>> The Interaction Between Tension in the Body & in the Mind

>> The Body in Modern Psychotherapy

>> The Body in Yoga Therapy

>> Techniques for Relaxation in Yoga & Modern Therapy

>> The Body as a Model for the Mind

>> Models of Disease (the part you just read), and

>> The Psychosomatic Model (which I’m about to delve into next…)

For more on Health & Wellness, check out the holistic health category here on the blog…

Peace,
+B

How to Handle Criticism & Overcome the Fear of Rejection

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:05:03 +0000

“To get your message out there, you have to open yourself up to criticism…probably half the people are going to love it and half are going to hate it, but you might make a difference.

I just want to give you permission and encourage you. Tell your whole story: put in everything you got – your head, your heart and your body – put it all out there and see what kind of results you get…a little bit of ‘push-back’ helps us grow.” ~ Eben Pagan

From the Reader Mailbag:

Someone just called me racist the other day. It was a 3-paragraph email entitled “Interesting Information.” Here it is in full (without editing). Knowledge this…

“i remember sending you a link online to my book and you wrote back and said; ‘when i read call a spade a spade, that was enough for me’… and i remember thinking at the time that you were retarded. but i now have what you meant… hate to let a little education get in the way of your ingrained racism but…. here is what i was writing about….

spade (1)
“tool for digging,” O.E. spadu, from P.Gmc. *spadon (cf. O.Fris. spada, M.Du. spade, O.S. spado, M.L.G. spade, Ger. Spaten), from PIE *spe- “long, flat piece of wood” (cf. Gk. spathe “wooden blade, paddle,” O.E. spon “chip of wood, splinter,” O.N. spann “shingle, chip”). To call a spade a spade “use blunt language” (1542) translates a Gk. proverb (known to Lucian), ten skaphen skaphen legein “to call a bowl a bowl,” but Erasmus mistook Gk. skaphe “trough, bowl” for a derivative of the stem of skaptein “to dig,” and the mistake has stuck.

the only brown person i know like you is my nephew. i know how hard it was for him growing up with no other brown people around as we are all pink. his dad was a useless liar who got laid a few times and cut after he got my sister in law pregnant. it appears to be his dads trait. we did send him down to meet his grandparents, but he was miserable as everyone else called him whitey and he came home early. took me a while to get it through to him that black and white were a shade and a tint and neither was a colour. all humans are a red hue. sorry about not being sensitive to all the racism in your country. in my language a spade is a shovel with a pointed tip…. as it appeared to be to the greeks as well. took me a while to figure out what crawled up your butt. hope this clarifies that i really dont give a rats ass what colour you are. you must be religious. all that racist stuff comes from the bible… there is gods chosen and their slaves… (spades in your venacular) deuteronomy 20:10-20″ ~ fin

Now, Mind You…

I have no idea what this guy is talking about (any links to his book, etc.), but most of the books I recommend are by white people (see here) and I even did an entire 2-hour interview with a German best-seller promoting her book on Blog Talk Radio (see here).

I wasn’t even going to mention this until I came across that Eben Pagan quote (and built with my Dad about this as he goes through the same thing). Here’s more:
Download audio file (criticism.mp3)

Basically, handle criticism and overcome your fear of rejection KNOWING it’s going to come ahead of time and ignoring it. As my Father says, “It’s only criticism if it doesn’t come with a suggestion…”

What do you think??? Leave me a comment below letting me know your thoughts on it…

Peace,
+B

How to Write a Great Blog Post in an Hour OR LESS…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:05:22 +0000

Step 1 | Know What You’re Talking About…

I know this sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many blogs lack coherence, direction, structure or any other indicator of purpose and clear thinking…take a second to search around the “blogosphere” and you’ll see what I mean.

If you don’t know EXACTLY what you want to communicate, you’re going to vacillate (keep alternating) between points, ideas, titles, etc. etc.

So know what you want to say and say that thing precisely: don’t drag along about it because people don’t even like reading these days anyway.

And don’t try to rationalize being all drawn out and verbose because you think you’re mega-deep or whatever (you’re probably not). Just make the point and get on with it. People will appreciate you for that…trust me.

(If you’re really not sure about how you should say something, just walk away and marinate on it. Decide what you’re going to write about the day before you need to write the first draft, and then let your subconscious work on it during sleep.)

So now on to the more practical stuff….

Step 2 | Segment the work & Concentrate on ONE SEGMENT AT A TIME…

Here’s my example:

>> First, write the first draft

>> Then put the images in

>> Then do all the links/videos, and

>> Then do the overview

It’s not that complex: just stop multitasking the various phases of the process…this is what helps you to concentrate on finishing one section of the job at a time.

Again, stop multi-tasking the job. Think assembly line and work on one part at a time.

Step 3 | Automate EVERYTHING…

The easiest way to do this is with another example. Everything in my blog posts, from

>> the facebook/twitter integration

>> the “more science” section at the end

>> the font style

>> the image placement and zoom feature,

etc. etc. is – to some degree or another – completely automated.

When I’m doing a post, the only thing I really have to do is type the first draft and make the links. There’s a little bit of work for the images, but nowhere near what you think.

I basically have ONE website I get all my images from: www.ImageSource.com (creative, huh?), and whenever I use their images I have an automatic embed code I for the cool zoom effect and everything else. It looks like this:

(I know his is web-code html, and you might not be familiar with that, but if you’re blogging, you should be. Go learn it. Since the images all come from the same place, there’s really only two sizes they can come in – portrait or landscape – and I know the “dimensions” for that beforehand.)

Conclusion

So because I know what I’m going to say, because I focus on one element at a time and because I have an automated routine, blogging doesn’t take too long at all

…Don’t get me wrong, my first few blogs took me a total of 7 hours or so to get together, so I know how you feel, but I stuck with it. (See a classic post like that here.)

That’s the thing: when most people work on something and it takes “too long,” they go “Oh…nah that takes too long, bump that” so THEY NEVER PRACTICE to gain the actual skill and experience needed to do it at an agile speed.

I used to play the drums (marching percussion) and one thing the old heads would always say at practice is “If you can’t play it slow, you can’t play it fast.”

They focused on that idea because all the beginners would hear something cool and try to play it super fast like the veterans could, instead of taking their time to learn the basics and get the skills…

So remember that – if you can’t play it slow, you can’t play it fast.

Don’t get discouraged because it’s taking you longer than you think it should. Realize that you’re learning a skill that’s going to be an asset to you in the long term (especially in this digital age), so all the time you’re putting in is actually an INVESTMENT.

You’ll be able to do all types of things crazy fast if you just keep at it…it’s called persistence.

Also, listen to this blog talk radio session I did on Self-Discipline a few months back: it goes more in-depth about the basic principles of productivity, time-management and a lot more.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about handling criticism and overcoming the fear of rejection (which is needed for blogging or anything else where you’re putting yourself out there).

Peace,
+B

How to Improve Your Memory (4 Quick Techniques)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:06:14 +0000

(This is an abbreviated excerpt from a book I’m currently reading, “The Productivity Handbook,” by Donald E. Wetmore.)

The Memory of an Elephant

One evening back in college I remember sharing some beer with a friend inmy dorm room. He declared:

“I don’t have a good memory. I can’t remember important things…
even when I study, when it comes to exam time, I come up empty.”

Believing that you can have un-trained memories but not bad ones, I replied, “If you have a bad memory, if you can’t retain important information, then I want you to forget the word elephant…”

“What??? Forget the word ‘elephant’? How can I do that?.”

“Don’t remember it. Forget it. Don’t memorize it. Elephant. You know, that huge gray animal with the long trunk with an affinity for peanuts and a healthy fear of mice. Rammph, rammmmph, rammmph,” I screamed with my nose to my shoulder and my arm waving from left to right, like the trunk of an elephant.

“Now, what animal are you going to forget that we talked about?”

“Elephant,” my friend replied.

“Now forget it, please,” I said.

Throughout the rest of that semester, whenever I would see my friend he would shout, “Elephant!” He never forgot it because we repeated it so often. It was reinforced with repetition and his memory of it was secured. (Many years have passed since I’ve last seen him, but I bet you if I ran into him today, his first word to me would be elephant!)

Many people believe that the don’t have a good memory, but I disagree. As the elephant story suggests, memories can be made by applying significance to a fact or event and then repeating it over and over again. Assuming there’e no physical limitation that would impair memory (amnesia, etc.), there’s no such thing as a bad memory. But there is an untrained, underutilized or lazy one, which is nothing you can’t fix…” ~ Donald E. Wetmore

Here’s some practical steps:

Memory by Repetition

Repetition is the primary way to embed things in your mind. Compare what heard on the news last week vs. what you heard on the news about September 11th.

No comparison, right? That’s because you’ve heard the 9-11 story so many times.

This is also why we remember commercial jingles and slogans so well, so treat important information the same way: repeat a person’s name after you meet them multiple times, re-read important material and go over notes as often as possible. You’ll always find yourself catching new stuff with each take.

Memory by Visualization

I have a memory technique I created called “visual mnemonics,” where essentially, I create imaginary logos to represent everything involved.

So, if I wanted to remember to check my email and send a Western Union before I go to work in the morning, I’d imagine an envelope (email) with a big W on it (Western Union) sitting on top of my alarm clock (when I wake up). When I reach for my alarm clock, something about my subconscious will make me visualize the funny envelope when I reach to turn the ringer off.

It’s sort of like imaginary graphic design applied to real life, and it’s pretty hot.

Memory by Association

“Your chances of remembering something are much better if you can relate the new information to something you already know.

Say you want to memorize the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. As names of lakes alone, it may be difficult for you to reatin and recite all five. However, take the first letter of each lake, H-O-M-E-S and you get homes, and remembering homes will trigger you to recall the actual names…”

Memory by Rhymes & Phrases

“Thirty days has September/ April, June and November” for the amount of days each month.

“Fall back and spring forward” for daylight savings time, etc. etc.

This one is fun, so be sure to make up your own. For instance, when I was growing up, there were to “Roberts” on my block that we used to chill with (and reference all the time). One of them was addicted to marijuana, and the other was Blood (part of the gang), so we called them “Bud Rob,” and “Blood Rob,” respectively…

While we did that just so we could identify who we were talking about, to this day out of all the friends I had growing up, they’re two names I’m definitely never forget: not just because we kicked it all the time, but because the phrase and rhyme we associated to them will always stick.

So remember, memories can be improved by using repetition, visualization, association or rhymes and phrases. Hope this helps…

Also, a good friend of mine joined an online art competition for Black History Month, and can use all the votes he can get. Show your support here.

Peace,
+B

The African-American’s Guide to Overcoming Fear of Success

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:05:56 +0000

I’ve been reading George Subira’s Getting Black Folks to Sell recently, and I want to share a section from there with you because it’s really helping me with where I’m at right now…

The book is about sales psychology as it applies to Black people: Subira outlines WHY learning sales skills is so important to our economic success (both individually and collectively): because a college education isn’t worth what it used to be, because technology is making black labor OBSOLETE, etc. etc.

After that, he helps the reader (in this case me) work through the psychological limitations specific to the Black community around selling, success, wealth and prosperity.

Check it out:
Download audio file (black-fear.mp3)

*download the mp3 of this here

What Resonates Most…

For me, the part about confidence really resonated, because I know I need to be confident if I want to be successful, but I have a fear that I’ll lose friends and meaningful connections from coming across as arrogant.

The confidence I need has to be authentic…it has to be an integral part of who I am (not something I just turn on when I’m online), but I’m hesitant about it because I don’t want the people I care about to feel like we can’t relate…

Subira’s work is helping me with this, so much love to him…

Peace,
+B

3 Ways to Tap into the Power of Your Mind Using Hip-Hop Music

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:26:46 +0000

Hey peep this: It’s a few mix-downs I made from a video I watched last night called “How to Use Your Brain…” all raw, rough drafts, but I think you’ll like them (my favorite is track 2). Just press the play button to check it out:

(1) Fully Understand the Benefits of Controlling How You Think…
Download audio file (eben1.mp3)

(2) Focus on Developing the Unconscious Mind…
Download audio file (eben2.mp3)

(3) Gradually Eliminate Your “Cognitive Biases”
Download audio file (eben3.mp3)

The Guy Speaking…

The guy speaking is business consultant Eben Pagan, and the video these clips are from is promotion for a 5-day training seminar he’s throwing in L.A.

I really like his teaching style, and if I had the paper like that (it’s $1000…or just 5 easy installments of $199.50, lol) this is one of the things I would definitely check out. Catch the full video here

Get More

Here’s one more clip I put together called “The Knowledge Experts”:
Download audio file (fme4b.mp3)

And to download any of these files so you can listen to them on your I-pod or computer whenever you want, just right-click the blue links and choose “save as.” I just put this icon graphic together the other day too, so anytime you see it, just know I have something for you :)

(All the background music was done by Fat Jon, “The Ample Soul Physician.”)

Peace,
+B

Free Internet Tools & Resources to Enhance Your Online Presence…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Here’s a couple of free online tools and web-resources that I use to do my thing online. Take a quick breeze through…I think you’ll find most of these to be REALLY helpful. (Note: all images can be clicked to zoom out and see additional commentary.)

Youtube to MP3:

This lets you strip the audio content from youtube videos and download to your computer instantly. It works best as a firefox add-on, but if you use a different browser, you can do the same thing straight from the main website here.

Keepvid.com:

This one lets you download entire videos themselves. From places like Youtube, Metacafe, Daily Motion and almost anywhere else, you can use this website to save the entire video to your computer or flashdrive to watch anytime later or edit into your own production…

AdBlock Plus:

This is a firefox add-on that ELIMINATES ALL ADS. Whenever I use Facebook, Yahoo Email or almost anything else, the ads just aren’t there, and it’s at the point now where I forget they even exist…(unfortunately, this looks like it’s Firefox only at the moment.)

Social Oomph:

This is a free online service that AUTOMATES your twitter posts. There’s actually a lot more that it does too, but I use it to schedule all of my “tweets” in one sitting and then go on with the rest of my day…

Crystal XP:

Just a cool site with tons of cool free software, wallpapers and other things that’ll help make your XP look better than a Mac. In fact, thanks to their “Brico-Packs,” when most people use my laptop now they don’t believe that it’s actually running XP.

DeviantArt.com:

This is the site where I get most of my cool images from. Think of it like a Google image search for the type of quality artwork that belongs in comic books and anime (see samples below). Great wallpapers here too…

ImageSource.com:

And this is the site where I get most of my realistic images from. It has what’s referred to as “stock photography”: images of people working, playing, and doing other real-life activities so that web designers, internet marketers and others can more easily paint pictures in their viewers mind. Here’s a few samples:

They just changed their site to allow for Stock MOTION too…now you can get silent videos of the same sort for voice-over narration, commercials or whatever else…

The Gimp:

GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program (GNU is a free operating system similar to Unix), and you can think of it like a free version of Adobe Photoshop. Of course, there’s a bit of a learning curve here, but if you’re willing to take the time (and check out some youtube video tutorials), you’ll definitely learn some impressive skills pretty fast.

This program is what lets me do the logos and images I put together from time to time. Here’s a couple examples of what I’ve been able to do with minimal training, persistence and a bit of common sense:

And here’s one of those tutorial videos I mentioned:

Animoto.com:

FIRE. This website makes amazing, high-quality slideshows from your images AUTOMATICALLY. All you have to do is upload the images, video clips and subtitles you want and Animoto does the rest.

Here’s an example. Peep how I used images from DeviantArt, videos downloaded with Keepvid, etc. (it’s all about synthesizing the skills):

Hope all this helps. Get at me with any questions…

Peace,
+B

Understanding and Overcoming ANGER & FEAR…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:05:50 +0000

Here’s a clip from Find Your Focus Zone: An Effective New Plan to Defeat Distraction &
Overload by Lucy Jo Palladino – one of the main scrolls I used for research when I put Conquer Yourself together back in March…

It’s a part where she builds on anger: how we’re “out of our focus zone” (that state of flow, full engagement, etc.) whenever we get angry, frustrated and ‘rage-ful,’ and how those emotions are really hidden expressions of FEAR.

In my own experience – both with myself and with other people – I’ve noticed that anger is usually just a cover up to disguise vulnerability.

I’ve noticed that whenever I’d feel hurt emotionally (or afraid that I was going to be hurt emotionally), I’d use anger as a tactic to intimidate the other person…that way they’d never get to see that they have the power over me to make me feel that way.

Confronting Fear & ALL It’s Cousins

So Palladino has a chapter in her book called “Confronting Fear & All It’s Cousins,” because that’s exactly what anger is – a close relative to fear trying to disguise itself as something different (power). She says:

“To stop anger from recurring, face the threat that triggered the fight-or-flight response in the first place, because anger is just fear in disguise.

At work, fear usually has to do with loss of money, time, status, respect or security. Suppose your boss goes forward with a project that you don’t agree with, and you’re mad. Underneath, you may be afraid that:

>> You’ll work hard but won’t get your bonus,
>> You’re going to have to work a lot of Saturdays,
>> You’ve lost a rung on the political ladder at the office,
>> Your expertise isn’t valued as it once was or should be, or
>> They’re getting ready to outsource your job.

Deep down, angry parents fear for their child’s welfare. They’re usually afraid that:

>> Something harmful will happen to their child,
>> Something undiagnosed is wrong with their child,
>> Their child’s not going to be successful,
>> Their child won’t be treated fairly, or
>> They’re making mistakes as parents.

Angry couples usually fear abandonment, entrapment or rejection. They’re usually afraid that:

>> Their significant other is going to leave or betray them,
>> They’re going to be stuck in a relationship that doesn’t meet their needs, or
>> Their significant other doesn’t want them as much as they want their significant other.

Kids who are angry at their parents are usually afraid of being controlled, but when they’re angry at peers it’s because they fear rejection, humiliation or loss of status….remember that adolescents are constantly establishing a pecking order for popularity or dating, fear of embarrassment underlies a lot of their anger.

Uncovering the fear gets your brain’s CEO (the logical part) back in charge. As soon as you give your fear a name, your amygdala (the emotional part) starts to let go, and you can then re-engage the newer, front part of your brain (what’s called the “pre-frontal lobe”).

Unlike the amygdala, your brain’s CEO sees the source of your fear as a problem to be solved, NOT a life threatening event…”

Concluding Thoughts & Solutions

She then talks about assertiveness skills as a logical, healthy resolution to those fear-based issues.

Personally, I feel that most of our fears have little to do with other people trying to manipulate or take advantage of us, they really come from us not having the courage to speak up for ourselves.

Also, since the media conditions us with images of conflict and drama, we falsely project those dynamics onto our own relationships, when the reality is that most of us are just doing the best we can. The conflicts we have almost always come from simple mistakes, misunderstandings and a lack of communication.

“Our brains were not made to constantly process streaming close-ups of murders, accidents, suicide bombers, disease victims and guerilla warfare attacks… (so) we need strategies to protect ourselves from this larger-than-life, all-the-time adrenaline, digital age of fear.” ~ Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD.

Therefore, we can conquer our fears, build healthy relationships and take back control of our lives once we have the self-esteem to be transparent and honest with other people about where we’re at and what we’re feeling.

Self-esteem is like one of those invincibility power-ups in an old Sega-Genesis game. Once you hold yourself in high regard, nobody can phase you…

Peace,
+B

Wisdom From The Jedi Master (May Be THE BEST Yoda Video on Youtube)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:05:03 +0000

Someone left a comment on this video the other day asking for more of these, but when I tried to link him back to the archive here, I realized that I messed up the image-plugin by changing the blog’s design.

(Much love to Animoto.com for help putting this together…)

A Little More…

“Named must your fear be before you can banish it…”

“Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously.”

Luke: “I can’t believe it.”
Yoda: “That is why you fail…”

“Fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate…hate leads to suffering.”

You can find more symbolic teachers here.

Peace,
+B

How to Go From Procrastinator to Producer

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:05:41 +0000

A Quick Audio-Session

So here’s an audio book reading from Niel Fiore’s The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for
Overcoming Procrastination & Enjoying Guilt-Free Play. It’s one of the beginning sections called “From Procrastinator to Producer”:
Download audio file (procrastinate.mp3)

Click here to download this mp3, and also check out “The Key to ELIMINATING PROCRASTINATION & Its Hidden Causes,” for a really great exercise…it’s short, fun and more then enlightening enough to drive the point home about why and how procrastination starts and what you can do about it, starting NOW.

Peace,
+B

Jewels for the Week (Best Quotes, Jan. 23-29, 2011)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:05:26 +0000

Just a few quotes I ran into over the last few days…a good way to close down the week:

On Money & Wealth…

“Rule #1: You can’t make a good buying decision when you’re excited. Rule #2: You can’t make a good selling decision when you’re afraid…” ~ Eben Pagan (more here)

“The most powerful force in the world is compounding interest…” ~ Einstein

On Intelligence & Thinking…

“Man is the creature of the era he lives in; very few can raise themselves above the ideas of the time…” ~ Voltaire

“A mind that’s active is engaged with the world and keeps on learning. It’s also the best way to combat depression, isolation and the mental decline that comes with age…” ~ Susan Stamberg

“We have enough youth, how about a fountain of ‘smart’???” ~ some bumper sticker

“Use your mind to give yourself props, not disses…” ~ Bryan Ogilvie

“Each day I awake like a scholar at his first class…” ~ The Zen Master from Circle of Iron

>> Circle of Iron – also known as The Silent Flute – was co-written by Bruce Lee in 1969 (he was originally going to star in it). I thought it was pretty corny, but type deep at the same time. Check out a clip here:

Basic Motivation…

“Speak up for yourself when you need to, and look forward to the conflicts that may come as a result.” ~ Bryan Ogilvie

“Assume its going to work…assume it’s going to happen. If you just race after that inevitability, you’ll get there before everybody else.” ~ Josh Calacanis

“If you have a candle that’s lit, and you help somebody else light theirs, you don’t lose anything. You both win…” ~ unknown

“The places where people assemble based on PASSION…are the places where you see the most influence…” ~ John Cohen

“If you can describe a person’s problem to them better then they can themselves, they’ll unconsciously credit you with knowing the solution…” ~ can’t recall

“We humans are very, VERY impressionable: our personalities are basically a patchwork quilt of little pieces and snippets that we borrowed from others and put together…” ~ Eben Pagan

“A man can’t be existing and do nothing with himself…that’s the most disgusting thing in the world.” ~ my Father

Peace,
+B

Previews from My Upcoming Book…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:05:41 +0000

Do you want your life to have an impact? Do you want to wake up everyday fully in tune with your own personal mission and have a science to effectively deal with anything that gets in the way of its accomplishment? Are you at a point where you need to re-examine or restructure almost EVERYTHING pertaining to your major life goals???

If so, this book is meant for you. It’s the project I began working on first, and it’s definitely the most in-depth and demanding. The title and graphic above is a little mis-leading (I’ve re-structured a lot since then), but here’s some clips to give you an idea:

(1) Concept Genesis…
Download audio file (ascend.mp3)

(2) The Philosophy of Ascension (see video below):
Download audio file (ascend2.mp3)

An Additional Video Book Reading…

More coming soon…

Peace,
+B

Some Thoughts on Overcoming Depression…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:05:51 +0000

I came across a lot of great material the other day while doing some research on emotional healing: articles and videos that made me reflect on some conversations I’ve had recently and my own personal bout with depression around 6 years ago. One of the blogs I found said:

“Last week another child gone due to suicide. When will we stop being
so busy with our lives, so busy working to obtain things, so busy driving
our children away before another one will die. Parents that have lost
a child to suicide will tell you that none of those things mean anything now
that their child is gone, and while I haven’t lost a child
to suicide I have lost a husband…

Watching my son grow up without his father and knowing that the day would
come when I would have to tell him what happened has been a journey I wouldn’t
wish on anyone. In no way can I fathom what a parent feels when they get that
dreaded news, but I hope that many of us will say enough is enough
and start doing something to help our children.”

The whole blog really touched me, so I posted a comment saying:

“Hey this is a great post Sheri, and I agree with you completely: we
often just condemn people because of their actions or their situation
(‘Why doesn’t he get his act together?,’ ‘Why does she always ’spaz
out’ like that???’) and we never think to actually consider
what motivates that behavior…

So many people are going through pain on a deep level
and feel like they don’t have anyone to talk to about it. This is
great what you’re doing Sheri…THANK YOU”

My Thoughts On It…

Now I’m no psychotherapist of course, but if I knew someone going through a serious challenge with life right now, here’s what I would say:

“The first thing I want to say is that I honor you… I honor the place you’re at and your effort to hold on. I’ve been there myself and I know what it feels like.

The main idea I want to get across is that even though it doesn’t feel like it, you’re the one calling the shots: you can either work on being happy and learn what that’s like or you can work on being depressed and continue to be where you’ve been.It’s work either way, and you have the power to make that choice…

My personal recommendation for you is the book The Dragon Slayer with a Heavy Heart by Marcia Powers, and a website called “The Depression Project.” There are many good sources of information out there and there are many people doing positive things… I don’t want to throw a bunch of links and books at you, but I think if you really start looking for answers you’ll be on your way.

For me, and I’m not a doctor or anything like that, my depression lifted when I stopped eating meat and removed sugars, dairy and processed foods from diet, and replaced that with a variety of raw, live fruits. Today, whenever I slip back into my old tendencies and have too many sweets or dairy products I notice depressive thoughts and moods start to come back, and I think there’s a connection there.”

Also, for me, what really helps when I have any issue in life are remembering these two simple truths: (1) There IS a solution to (insert problem)…even though I don’t know it yet – and I might not even know anyone who knows it yet – there IS one, and (2) I can find it.

Just thinking like that always helps me out a lot…

Some Resources

The Dragon Slayer with a Heavy Heart, “A Powerful Story About Finding Happiness & Serenity…Even When You Really, REALLY, Wish Some Things Were Different” by Marcia Powers:

“Sometimes things happen we wish hadn’t. Sometimes things don’t happen we wish would…In the course of living, problems arise, both big and small. We might wish our past had been different or that we could be different. We struggle through disappointments and frustrations, losses and other painful experiences.

As hard as we may try to be strong, to have a good attitude, not to let things get us down, we don’t always succeed. We get upset. We worry. We feel stressed. We get depressed. We get angry. We do the best we can and wait for things to get better so we can feel better. In the meantime, our hearts may grow heavy . . . perhaps very heavy.

That’s what happened to Duke the Dragon Slayer. In fact, his heart grew so heavy with all that was wrong, with all that was not the way it should be, with all that was unfair, that he became desperate to lighten it—and set forth on the Path of Serenity to find out how…”

—————————

Think Right Now International (the most visited personal development product site on earth): “If depression makes each day a struggle for you, learn about the program that is now helping over 10,000 people end their depression safely, naturally and easily…”

—————————

“The vision of The Depression Project is to be the global hub for the prevention and recovery of the causes of depression…the mission is to liberate the world from depression, one person at a time, by focusing on what works.

We are forming a network of people applying compassionate, transparent and effective action…” (note: this was where I found the blog mentioned earlier. Here’s one of their videos:)

Peace,
+B

8 Principles to EMPOWER YOURSELF (& Live in a Reality that Others Treat w/ Respect…)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:05:31 +0000

Look at what follows as a set of affirmations for you to employ in your own way… (You’ll get the most out of this by reflecting on how this personally resonates with you: think about how these beliefs would cause you to think, feel and act differently in regards to your own situation.)

———— Let’s Get Started ————

1 | Act As The Sun, Not The Planet:

Be the central foundation of your reality and radiate your light on to others. See yourself, your life, your personality and your natural gifts as a source of respectable power for the people around you..

2 | Live Up To Your Own Principles AT ALL TIMES:

Never modify your sense of right and wrong for the sake of another person’s comfort, or to avoid confrontation. See being around other people (and being tested by them) as an opportunity to express your individuality.

3 | Stop apologizing:

Stop apologizing for doing what’s right for you and for being who you are. Stop thinking that there’s something wrong with affecting somebody else as an offset of doing your own thing.

“…someone who apologizes too much gives off the impression that they’re sorry to be alive…they’re constantly apologizing for being in your space or inconveniencing you in any way because they believe that they’re inherently an inconvenience themselves.” ~ from Bryan’s List of Pet-Peeves (5 Things That TICK ME OFF…)

4 | Speak Up For Yourself; Look Forward To Conflict:

Embrace conflict as a learning experience that’ll help you establish your personal boundary. Always tell people where they stand, use the assertiveness skills they talked about in school and learn to be selfish in a healthy way.

5 | Be At Cause In The World, Not Effect:

Be a person who makes things happen. Take responsibility for what’s happening to you, set goals for yourself and go after them. Learn what success is made of and spend your life making it.

6 | Stop REACTING To What Others Do Or Say

…as your primary way of dealing with the world and start setting the context up yourself…in the study of social dynamics this is called “controlling the frame.”

Remember, at the deep level, reality is just a form of perception, so when it comes to social groups, the person with the most dominant form of perception sets up the context that everybody else reacts to (advertisers know this).

Specifically, stop treating other people’s actions as “the news” you need to adapt to and start making some waves for yourself. Express your convictions, call things as you see them and stop thinking that you’re “crazy” just because no one else is verbalizing the thoughts that you’re thinking…

7 | Know Your Purpose In Life and STAY ON IT:

“If you don’t know your purpose in life, discover it…NOW. Without a conscious purpose, a man is totally lost: (he) drifts and adapts to events rather then creates them…and lives a weakened, impotent existence.” ~ David Deida (go through a great, short exercise for this here)

8 | Get In Touch w/ Your Animal Self

…and play the game of life ON OFFENSE.

Stop being timid and half-assed about what you want…instead, have the self-image of a predator and go in for the kill. (Within reason,) Get in touch with your animal instincts and direct that energy towards your goals.

Find something meaningful to you, forget what everyone else says and think like, “If some clown doesn’t like me or doesn’t want me to ____ (insert goal), he’s going to have to kill me, because that’s the only thing I can see working…”

Be AGGRESSIVE: always advance and take advantage of opportunities as the present themselves…FAST.

Peace,
+B

Are Your Thoughts MURDERING You? (& Your Chances for Success???)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:59:17 +0000

…because you murder your chances for success in ALL the key areas of life by using your brain in ways that are INCONGRUENT with your objectives. Let me explain…

I ended yesterday’s blog like:

“Look – you already know your mind is a computer, but for some reason, you don’t see YOURSELF as the “computer-programmer…

This level of awareness begins with (and implies that) you have the capacity to change.”

———— It Sounds Simple ————

Now what I’m saying here sounds simple enough, but I’m really talking about a deep mental principle about your self-image. It’s a lot deeper then the words can depict…

Follow the logic of that post and you’ll find the following 4 fundamental points:

1) Your daily habits are the foundation for the life you’re creating,

2) Those habits are both physical AND mental in nature,

3) The mental ones tend to create a self-image, and

4) Since your self-image comes from the habits of your mind, you can use your mind to build a self-image that’s more congruent with the things you want (that’s “the fundamental life skill that makes it all possible”).

You can create a concept of yourself more conducive to what you want to create for yourself, and once your self-image is aligned with your desires like that, you virtually AUTOMATE the process of taking the required actions.

Clearly stated: if you want to get something in life, you have to start thinking like a person who already has it. Once you do that, the actions you need to take become natural because they become part of your self-image to behave like that in the first place…

Don’t get it twisted – we’re only talking about your self-image here, not anything mega-deep or mystical.

For instance, I think astrology is valid (to a degree), and that we all have certain fundamental temperaments (like introversion or extroversion), but that’s not what I’m talking about…your self-image has more to do with the subconscious beliefs you have about yourself and the world you live in. Check it:

WHO YOU ARE IS AN OPTION that you either reinforce or modify based on how you talk to yourself (what’s called your “internal dialogue”). So…

———— Here’s Some Basic Examples ————

>> Stop thinking of yourself as “a procrastinator,” and start thinking of yourself as someone who can gradually learn to be more productive if they choose to…

>> Stop thinking of yourself as “lonely,” and start thinking of yourself as someone who can gradually learn to build and sustain healthy, meaningful relationships with other people…

>> Stop thinking of yourself as “sick and overweight” and start thinking of yourself as someone who can gradually learn to become healthier…

>> Stop saying things like “what’s wrong with me?,” “why can’t I get this right?,” “I’m doomed to always be ____ (insert depressing name or problem),” or anything else that ASSUMES the issue is about you and who you are as human being instead of something you don’t yet understand or are in the process of changing.

Whenever you take part in any of that negative self-talk, you’re murdering your capacity to go in the opposite direction: you’re undermining your power to change because you’re conditioning yourself to stay the same…YOU’RE HYPNOTIZING YOURSELF INTO A TRANCE OF NEGATIVITY.

So make it a habit to dis-associate your negative, external situation from your personal identity and then reverse the polarity of the particular issue (i.e. use your mind to gain momentum in a more positive direction). Here’s another example:

>> If you forget a really creative idea, say to yourself “I have an infinite mind,” and then act nonchalant like you know it’s about to come back to you (watch what happens).

Whatever you do, DO NOT get tense, agitated and upset about it, because that’s how someone who can’t maintain their creativity would act. Get it?

———— Give Yourself Props, Not Disses ————

Use your mind to give yourself props, not disses…

…more coming tomorrow. For the simple resource I use ON A DAILY BASIS to make all this “positive thinking” stuff virtually automatic, simply click the link below.

It’s a basic program I’ve been using since 2007 to stay focused, proactive, fully engaged, emotionally strong and “on-point,” so do yourself a favor and check it out now

“ThinkRightNow” International
Professional Behavior Modification at Home

Peace,
+B

Health, Success & Great Relationships: A Fundamental Skill for Them ALL…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:11:34 +0000

Another “old-school resurrection…”

“We are what we frequently do. Excellence then, is not a gift, but a habit…” ~ Aristotle

Peace,

Conscious willpower and direction over your own habits is a powerful skill, because if you can create your habits from the inside-out, you can learn to create ANY RESULT YOU WANT…better relationships, more success with your personal goals, a healthier, more lively physical body or just about anything else.

It’s simple: first you learn “the habits of highly successful people,” then you incorporate them into your own life.

However, most people mess this formula up because they focus strictly on physical habits and forget about the mental ones….they try to replicate someone else’s behavior without understanding that person’s mindset FIRST.

———— The Basic Principle ————

Your mental habits take primacy over your physical habits (as in, they govern them and create them; you need to get your mind right first IN ORDER to get the behaviors you want), but they’re established in the same way work on the same basic principle: repetition

Here’s something from my upcoming book to explain:

“If you’re in the habit of thinking limiting and discouraging thoughts, then you have to get into the habit of thinking supportive and EN-couraging thoughts, and you gain this habit the same way you gain any other: repetition. For instance:

>> At the start of a new year, when you write down the date, you accidentally write down last year’s number because of repetition,

>> When you check your email online, you type out your username and password without even thinking about it because of repetition, and

>> When you stop using an alarm clock in the morning, you’re behind usually gets up at the same time anyway because of repetition…

So to be positive, motivated and proactive in your life, you have to condition yourself, through repetition, to automatically think thoughts conducive to positivity, motivation and effectiveness. To free yourself of anxiety, depression and low self-esteem, you have to condition yourself, through repetition, to automatically think thoughts conducive to faith, happiness and high self-esteem. So on and so forth…”

I then go further in-depth about affirmations and other techniques, but what I need you to keep in mind here is that WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU THINK ARE HABITUAL TENDENCIES; nothing more…

Your thoughts and actions (even the most jacked-up ones) are not predetermined by or fundamental to who you are as a human being: you have the power to change yourself and your circumstances, but you can’t take hold of that power until you view yourself and your mind as a malleable instrument that YOU control.

You already know that your mind is a computer, but you have to start seeing yourself as the computer-programmer. This level of awareness implies that you have the capacity to change. For instance…

More tomorrow… for details on how this “mental-habit” strategy works, and a dope set of simple tools that I use to virtually automate the process, see the post How to Relax Your Way to Greater Achievement (& Donate to DoTheKnowledge.com @ the Same Time…).

Peace,
+B

>> How to Relax Your Way Towards Greater Accomplishment)
>> 4 Easy Steps Towards Greater Self-Confidence
>> 2 Quick Meditations to Improve Your Self-Image & Self-Esteem
>> See below to “Share the Knowledge” w/ some of your friends, and
>> Get your hands on two full chapters from my upcoming book, Doing the Knowledge: Ascending into Action FOR FREE…

(Your info will never be shared w/ anyone – EVER…I hate
spam just like you do and that would be whack of me anyway.)

GET ORGANIZED: How to Create a Clutter-Free Environment

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:52:11 +0000

Peace,

(Note: this is a big, core-skill of mine…probably one of the most important and “contributional” skills to my success so far.

Organization is a SERIOUS benefit to your energy, peace of mind and overall effectiveness, so enjoy this “old-school resurrection” and leave me a comment letting me know what you think.)

BGM: “Air” by Paul Collier
Download audio file (air.mp3)

———— Let Me Ask You Something —————

Would you like to have a clear, focused and well-structured thinking process? Would you like to have the advantage of being able to constructively use your mind to your own benefit whenever you want?

Well, if you’d like to have a clear, structured and organized mental environment, what makes you think you don’t also need to have a clear, structured and organized physical environment???

Clutter, mess and disorganization is preventing you from having a clear, focused and effective thinking process, but this is pretty self-evident, isn’t it? How much of an argument do you really need?

Here’s an excerpt from one of the books I’m currently reading, Find Your Focus Zone: An Effective New Plan to Defeat Distraction & Overload, by Lucy Jo Palladino, just in case you’re not convinced:

———— Find Your Focus Zone ————

“Clutter is distracting…(because) your eyes and your brain have too many places to wander. (While) Photos, artwork and pleasing decorations provide stimulation that helps you stay in your focus zone, piles of paper and stacks of stuff are like petty thieves that rob you of your attention…

Clutter is actually deferred decision making. Just think about it for a second: what’s the real reason you don’t want to deal with that file, magazine article, financial record, old letter or child’s artwork???

IT’S INDECISION, isn’t it? You don’t what to throw it away, but you don’t want to commit to keeping it either, so into a stack it goes…

It’s no problem to throw away junk mail, and it’s nothing to keep records that you’ll need for your tax returns, but what do you do about all that stuff in between?

You don’t know for sure, and because that uncertainty causes anxiety, you duck the decision by putting it off. ‘For now,’ you can put it on that shelf over there…

This is true of all kinds of clutter — computer files, household items and even social obligations. One way to improve is to understand the psychological dynamics behind clutter and then outsmart them…”

~ Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD.

———— The Subconscious Root Causes ————

She then breaks down two clutter-causing subconscious tendencies we all share:

1) Loss Aversion: The fact that we generally will risk more to avoid losing something than we will to gain something else.

When we’re not sure whether we’ll need something in the future or not, we’d rather give up living space rather than embrace the fear of throwing something away we might need later.

and 2) The Endowment Effect: Most people given an object will instantly value it more than they did before they received it and more than others value it as well.

“The contents of your house or apartment have more value to you then they do to anyone else — you chose them, you use them and they meet your individual needs. However, according to the endowment effect, you value them for reasons beyond the functions they serve: you value them for the simple fact that they’re yours.“

———— Some Beginning Steps to Creating Order ————

So the main psychological counter-strategy Palladino suggests for handling these tendencies is called re-framing: using affirmations to change the perception you have about a particular action

Re-framing is a powerful technique that can be used for many different issues, but in this case let’s focus on getting organized and losing our attachment to material objects.

Try saying things to yourself like:

>> “When my desk is clear, my thinking is too.”
>> “I’m creating space – space to work, space to relax and space to breathe.”
>> “I like feeling free. I own my things, they do not own me.”
>> (for sentimental objects) “These memories are in my heart, where they matter most.”
>> (for sentimental objects) “I’m grateful I had this, and I look forward to what comes next.”

There’s also the science of Feng Shui to consider: the ancient Chinese discipline of orienting rooms and environments in order to channel and cultivate particular energies.

You can literally rearrange a room – everything from the objects and furniture (and how they’re are angled towards each other and towards the windows and doors) to the color of walls, etc. – to facilitate things like peace of mind, better relationships, spiritual growth, wealth and fortune, health and wellbeing and much more. It’s really a deep subject to look into…

I studied a bit of Feng Shui back in the day to help me organize my last apartment (I used to give a lot lectures there), and one of the basic tenets I’ve learned is to ELIMINATE MESS AND CLUTTER, because it interrupts the currency and flow of chi throughout the environment.

Besides clutter, be sure to clean your living and work space regularly: wipe down your desk, dust off your books, organize your closet, clean your shower and mop your floors on a regular basis.

Once you get into the habit, it becomes a relaxing exercise in and of itself, and you’ll wonder how you ever operated without the clarity and focus you feel from being in an ordered, chi-energized space.

Also, apply these principles to your digital form of clutter as well: take the time to make it easy for yourself to find what you need on your computer and don’t let the fact that it’s non-physical distract you from the fundamental essence of what we’re building on here.

I also suggest you use the GTD (Getting Things Done) method, or some personal variation of it. You can find out more about that here.

Lastly, check out this short video with organization expert Julie Morganstern building on the concept of “Shedding.” If this doesn’t convince you to get rid of all your old junk (which we all have by the way), I don’t know what will…

Thanks for checking this out…hope it helps.

Peace,
+B

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>> More on Chinese Feng Shui Principles
>> My Archive of Dope Online Resources for Productivity & Organization
>> See below to “Share the Knowledge” w/ some of your friends, and
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The 7 Samurai Principles: Virtues of Bushido Code

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:59:54 +0000

Harmonics: “Liberation” (that old Outkast joint on Aquemini)
Download audio file (liberation.mp3)
Peace,

“As a samurai, I must strengthen my character;
As a human being, I must perfect my spirit.”
~ The Sword of No-Sword, Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu
by John Stevens

Inazo Nitobe, author of the book Bushido: The Soul of Japan, defines these samurai ethics as “military knight-ways: the ways which fighting nobles should observe in their daily life as well as in their vocation…in a word, the precepts of knighthood.”

Let’s build on them (Click images to zoom in. All calligraphy by Nadja Van Ghelue):

I: GI (Right Action, Duty)
It’s a little hard to tell, but this symbol has two parts: the upper half representing a sheep (a symbol of beauty in Ancient China) and the lower half a halberd (axe)…and so it’s taken as a symbol of understanding after conflict.

Gi means to do the right thing

II: YUUKI (Courage)
The upper symbol here is yuu, which means courageousness, and the bottom symbol is ki (chi), meaning energy. Together they represent the fundamental force of strength.

Yuuki means brave, courageous energy.

III: JIN (Benevolence)
Like the last two virtues, jin is also represented with two parts. The one on the left is a character meaning human, and the two strokes on the right is a character meaning two. Together this represents treating others with love, a basic tenet of Confucianism.

Jin is the unity and benevolence that unites one human being to another.

IV: REI (Politeness, Morality)
“…(this) is a modern abbreviated form that doesn’t reveal much of the ancient character: it’s a sacrificing vessel used for worship and religious offerings. The character actually means rite or ceremony but in a broader sense, respect.

Rei too is essential in Confucianism: In society rei governs your actions towards others – a fundamental politeness very much related to jin.

Rei is often translated with morality, but since morality has other connotations it suggest politeness.”

V: MAKOTO (Truthfulness)
The character on the left represents speech (it’s actually a mouth that’s producing words); the character on the right (the Kanji sei) represents accomplishment and success.

So makoto means truth in word and action, and in a deeper sense it means to truly follow the laws of the Universe.

VI: MEIYO (Honor)
The upper symbol here is the kanji mei (Kanji is a modern part of Japanese writing that originated from trade with the Chinese, by the way) meaning reputation. The lower symbol is again a mouth, but this time the kanji yo, meaning praise or admiration.

Meiyo means to enjoy a good reputation (establish honor).

VII: CHUUGI (Loyalty)
“Chuugi has two characters: the first is ‘chuu’ which means to be sincere and loyal: it’s meant to express the true meaning of loyalty. We see a heart and on top of it the symbol for middle. Chuu could be understood as no conflict in the heart – faithfulness and alignment within.

The second kanji is gi, which again means right action or duty.”

“One should not be envious of someone who has prospered by unjust deeds, nor disdain someone who has fallen while adhering to the path of righteousness…” ~ Imagawa Sadayo (1325-1420)

Peace,
+B

What Exactly is “The Matrix” Anyway???

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:26:34 +0000

Peace,

Here’s an e-mail I sent to a good friend of mine a few years back…it covers a few of my spiritual beliefs and sociological ideas. Let me know what you think…
Download audio file (power.mp3)

“I remember you asked me this a few weeks ago, but I didn’t answer back then because I wanted to take the time to break it all down…

To be honest, I know you’re probably not going to really understand what I’m about to say to you until later on in life, but I was thinking about you, and I remembered this, so I said to myself, “Aite, go ahead with it Bryan…”

———— Breaking it All Down ————

To answer your question, from my perspective, the Matrix is:

“The psycho-social, bio-chemical, and electro-
magnetic manipulation of human consciousness…”

Psycho-social meaning everything political and sociological , from the oppressive government systems that most activists focus on to the hidden corporate legality those government systems operate off of…

It also means things like mass media information control, which we’ve already discussed, and our present method of education, which actually serves to deaden intelligence rather than awaken it…

For instance, even the way we were taught to read was originally intended only to teach deaf children – it’s called ‘The Look-Say Method’, where they say ‘B is for boy,’ and then they show you a picture of a little boy, or ‘T is for table,’ and then they show you a picture of a table, and so on. None of this has anything to do with etymology, word roots, or the deeper science of language itself (which would develop a child’s mind power 6 or 7 levels beyond where it’s currently conditioned to be), and similarly, almost nothing in our education system has anything to do with the cultivation of real, intelligent, independent thinking at all.

Some good books to read on this psycho-social aspect are “The Thousand Year War in the Mideast and How it Affects You Today by Richard Maybury and The Creature from Jekyll Island by Edward Griffiths.

Bio-chemical meaning everything related to your health and the synthetic chemical engineering that interacts with it (i.e. effs you up) as well as the planet earth as an intelligent ecosystem.

Examples include: genetically modified foods, processed foods, fluoridation in the water systems, chem-trails in the air and much, MUCH more (see the work of Leonard Horowitz for more).

And electro-magnetic meaning everything technological and it’s harmful (mostly unknown) effects. Cellphones, laptop computers, microwaves, television screens and other devices are all examples here – they all operate by emitting electro-magnetic frequencies (EMF waves), which are known to cause memory problems, bone problems, cancer, brain tumors, and more.

This is why I rock a Q-link: there was an even an experiment done where they cooked an egg by putting it in between two cell phones that called each other. (Click the image below for a breakdown, and see the work of Nick Begich at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuktvnKLsVU)

———— Bringing it All Together ————

So all of these elements overlap one another, and coalesce to create a more complex, covert dynamic of oppression that pervades throughout almost all aspects of human experience….people have all these problems going on – psychological, financial, health, relationship, etc. – and have no idea of all the unseen factors that are encouraging them.

Without any awareness of this concealed network of oppression, human consciousness (as a collective) diverts away from it’s natural, God-directed mandate of evolution.

Understand that our DNA is actually meant to download information from the Sun. In fact, the word helix itself comes from the Greek “helios” which literally translates AS “Sun.”

Specifically, each human being represents a series of star-constellations harmonizing together, which is why true astrology is so spot-on: because we’re each a unique physical projection of galactic intelligence.

(Remember in the sovereign thought video, where I went from the nature scene to the universe picture back to the DNA image? This is really why…it’s so hard because there’s so much I want to tell people, and there’s so much we don’t talk about – but I know I have to take it slow…)

To be honest with you, I’m not sure if we can really “escape the matrix” as they say, unless we were to create our own alternate reality, which I haven’t figured out yet.

However, we can begin to alter the Matrix instead. While we may have been born into a world that’s “jacked up,” we have the ability to transform and transcend the environment we inhabit…as children of the Creator, we have the ability to create ourselves.

So for me, this becomes the whole game right here: just as a child is not to stay a child forever, but eventually become a man (woman) and father (mother) himself, so too are we to become Creators in our own right.

Begin to look at the limitation and oppression of this physical world as a mechanism actually put in place by the Creator himself (the Original Mind) in order to encourage us closer towards that Infinite Intelligence (Supreme Consciousness) known as “God” ourselves.

(It reminds me of how they say smart parents don’t spoil or shelter their children: they let them go, allow them to suffer the consequences of their actions, and face the hardships of life because if they didn’t, the child would never mature. It’s the only way we can learn responsibility.)

I think we can only overcome the matrix when we look at it from this evolutionary perspective…that we can only deal with these problems when we dedicate ourselves to transforming our human consciousness into God-consciousness; we can only escape our suffering when we aim to be divinity incarnate.

In this fashion, the whole game of life is to become like God, where life doesn’t seem so bad anymore, and it actually gets to be kind of fun.

It becomes genuinely joyful, and so the destructive activites most people partake in to create the illusion of joy become unnecessary. You don’t have to drink to “lose your inhibitions,” because your psychological growth has taken care of that; you don’t need to smoke to “drop something deep,” because you’re already on the path of mind elevation.

Things are changing very rapidly in the world now. I’m sure you already see the dangers that lie ahead and the need for change on a fundamental level. Know that only those who dedicate themselves to self-refinement and the perfection of their potential will be able to find joy and create a positive, fulfilling life.

So alter the matrix by gaining knowledge, developing a lifestyle in accordance with that knowledge (how you eat, how you think, etc.), and dedicating yourself to higher levels of spirituality.

Trust me, it’s worth it…,
+B

p.s: What do you think??? Does this accurately cover everything, or is there something I left out? Leave a comment below to add-on…

>> The Empire of Illusion: More Insight into How This Matrix Works…
>> Metaphysical Thoughts on Knowledge, Orginality & Matrix Manipulation
>> See below to “Share the Knowledge” w/ some of your friends, and
>> Check out the latest from the blog, “Today’s Transcendence…”

The Simple Way to END STRESS On Mental & Emotional Levels…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:05:43 +0000

Peace,

There’s what’s known as the Serenity Prayer:

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

and then there’s the Stress Prayer:

“Grant me the stubbornness to struggle against things I cannot change, the inertia to avoid working on the behaviors and attitudes that I can, and the foolishness to ignore the difference…most of all, grant me a contempt for my own human imperfection and the limits of what’s logically possible.” (adapted from Neil Fiore)

———— Some Basic Points ————

1.) Criticism, humiliation or other forms of pain in our past cause us to develop phobias (fears in response to certain things, in this case certain types of work), and these phobias are what block us from taking action.

2.) PROCRASTINATION IS PUTTING OFF WHAT YOU FEAR: it’s a phobic response to work associated with anxiety, and it’s also addictive because, in a sense, it actually rewards you by lowering the tension that anxiety creates.

Besides the terror of anxiety, worry and overwhelm, there’s also:

>> the fear of failure (rejection, inadequacy, etc.) and, interestingly,
>> the fear of success as well, because success raises expectations

(i.e: you fear that you’ll have to work even harder to maintain that level of success once you reach it, and eventually fail under that pressure)

The best way to handle stress and anxiety in general is by letting go of the things you don’t control (what’s referred to as “healthy boundary functioning”).

The best way to handle stress in regards to a specific task (something you do control because it’s your responsibility) is by de-constructing the stressful approach you’re taking towards that task…

———— Stress Originates Psychologically ————

Stress DOES NOT come from the task itself – it comes from the mental construct you have of the task or the method you’re using to get it done.

We get stressed by thinking of goals in vague, intimidating and overwhelming ways: we tend to have two-dimensional, kindergarten perspectives about our goals as if they’re these mega-huge superstructures that we’ll somehow magically “do.”

We tend to ignore the natural path of trial and error between where we are and where we want to be, and experience anxiety and stress as we attempt to instantly make that transition.

Niel Fiore, in his book The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination, uses a client of his as an example:

“As an eager and productive new lawyer, Joel found great satisfaction in working on depositions and briefs that he could do quickly. However, he shied away from more complicated cases, and his fear and procrastination began to get in the way of his advancement in the firm.

Whenever he was forced with an important or risky case, his physical and emotional reactions were so strong that he felt stuck…unable to do anything. His worrying resulted in insomnia, indecisiveness over small issues and an excessive use of coffee and alcohol. He worried about making a mistake, about his inability to handle the case, about how much work he’d have to do to just adequately complete it, and about his devastation if he failed. In his own words:

“I get so intense about the possibility of losing the case that I stop myself from ever starting the necessary preparation. This makes me so anxious that I can’t decide how I’m going to handle it: how I’d approach the opposition, where’s the best place to start and so on.

Then I get so frightened that I’ll make a mistake on my choice of what to do that I waste additional valuable time. Eventually, my nervousness and procrastination leave me unable to find time to take depositions and meet court dates…”

——— Wisdom and Solutions ———

From this, we can learn three major “thinking faults” we all seem to share. Look to see which ones apply to you:

1) We assume we should know the right place to start, so we get indecisive and look for perfection from the very first step. We forget that there are almost always multiple adequate ways to start something and that, even if there weren’t, it’s always better to just get into the flow anyway.

We get caught in the trap of perfectionism and right-or-wrong thinking…once we assume that everything has to be perfect from jump all the way through, we either never get started or never gain enough momentum to finish.

2) We enhance that initial anxiety by assuming we should be able to start and complete a project without any anxiety at all. Our self-criticism builds on the initial worry itself, with inner-dialogue like, “I need to discipline myself. I should know better already…” and

3) We get additionally self-critical in the sense of “I should be done already,” or “How will I ever finish if this is all I can come up with?” We’re constantly comparing our imperfect progress with an imagined, fully-complete ideal.

So…

1) Solve the first issue by giving yourself permission to make mistakes: whenever you catch yourself in your perfectionist urge, just STOP and remind yourself it’s okay to do things wrong.

In fact, the next time you start working on something, start with the INTENTION of doing things wrong just to get yourself out of the perfectionist habit and get yourself into a flow.

2) Solve the second issue by anticipating anxiety and stress in the first place. Understand that it’s completely natural to experience a certain level of stress because you’re learning a new way of doing about things. Like I was telling a friend on facebook the other day:

“So on one hand, if you’re like most of us, you’re probably not only in the habit of procrastinating, but you SEE YOURSELF as a procrastinator as well…

This takes more then just some knowledge or insight to change… don’t expect to just transform because you understand it now. You’ll have to spend some time working on yourself and making minor improvements OVER TIME.”

3) Solve the third issue by remembering the Chinese wisdom, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

I got scared and intimidated A LOT when I first started writing my book…one of the things I told myself to get through it was:

“If I can write sentence, I can write a paragraph, and if I can write paragraph, I can write something the length of an article. If I can write something the length of an article, I can write something the length of a chapter, and if I can write something the length of a chapter, I can write something the length of a book…”

And when I first start drumming, I never focused on becoming as good as everyone else around me (I used to rehearse with “The Cadets of NYC” a highly-advanced drum corp based out of New York).

I just focused on learning one thing a week: we rehearsed on Sundays, so throughout practice I’d just silently observe all the other players and choose one cool thing I was going to learn before the next rehearsal.

Throughout the week, I just concentrated on mastering that one thing and before I knew it, I built up an arsenal of cool songs and tricks I could do almost perfectly without effort.

Similarly, stop looking at your goal as a single skyscraper you need to leap in a single bound, and start mentally sub-dividing it into smaller, more manageable pieces of work.

If you have a deadline to meet, break the project down into realistic segments of work that actually feel “accomplishable” and give those segmented tasks miniature deadlines themselves.

For instance, if you’re goal is to create a video and upload it to youtube,

Step 1) Make an outline of what you want your video to contain
Step 2) Record the footage (or choose the images in the case of a slide-show)
Step 3) Make the audio content (or choose the background music)
Step 4) Edit & Finalize the video
Step 5) Create a youtube account and upload the movie file.

This is a major component of “The Now Habit” and “GTD” (Getting Things Done): focusing on the next action that can be done in the present moment…

“When you learn to look at projects this way…instead of facing a large, looming, impossible task, you’re now facing small units that you can actually see yourself accomplishing.” ~ Niel Fiore, Ph.D

Peace,
+B

p.s: Burn the thoughts, beliefs and attitudes of the happiest, most effective people into your mind and you’ll feel how THEY feel, do what THEY do and get the same results that THEY get! Click here to find out how EASILY…

>> Overview of the Conquer Yourself series
>> The 5 STUPID THINGS Intelligent People Do (Preventing Their Success)
>> See below to “Share the Knowledge” w/ some of your friends, and
>> Check out the latest from the blog, “Today’s Transcendence…”

ON COMPULSIVE EATING: The Secret to Getting Free…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:50:07 +0000

Peace,

Here’s another classic resurrection, an excerpt from When Food is Love: Exploring the Relationship Between Eating & Intimacy, by Geenen Roth.
Download audio file (air.mp3)

This lady gets deep, so check it out…and keep in mind that THIS IS ALL FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER:

———— On Compulsive Eating ————

“Compulsion (as in compulsive eating) is despair on the emotional level: the substances, people, or activities we become compulsive about are those that we believe are capable of taking our despair away…

All we ever wanted was love…we didn’t want to become compulsive about anything. We did it to survive…we did it to keep from going crazy. Good for us.

Food was our love, and eating was our way of being loved. Food was available when our parents weren’t. Food didn’t get up and walk away when our fathers did. Food didn’t hurt us. Food didn’t say no. Food didn’t hit. Food didn’t get drunk. Food was always there. Food tasted good. Food was warm when we were cold and cold when we were hot. Food became the closest thing we knew of love.

But it is only a substitute for love. Food is not, nor was it ever, love itself.

Many of us have been using food to replace love for so many years that we no longer know the difference between turning to food for love and turning to love for love. We wouldn’t recognize love if it knocked us over…Not because we are ignorant, but because if we’ve never been loved well, we don’t know what love feels like…what love IS like.

It follows that if we have not been loved well, we can’t love ourselves well either. (So) Compulsive behavior, at its most fundamental essence, is a lack of self-love, it’s an expression of a belief that we are not good enough…

(Further on, after an anecdote about a writer friend of hers who finally realized that her fear about not writing good enough was really disguising a fear of not being good enough as a human being…)

We begin eating compulsively because of reasons that have to do with the kind and amount of love that is in our lives or that is missing from it. If we haven’t been loved well, recognized or understood, we re-arrange ourselves to fit the shape of our situations. We lower our expectations. We stop asking for what we need. We stop showing the places that hurt or need comfort. We stop expecting to be met, and we begin to rely on ourselves and only ourselves to provide sustenance, comfort and pleasure. We begin to eat…and eat.

(Another anecdote about a girl named Trina, who lived with a Grandmother who beat her everyday for 8 years straight. Geneen links this to Trina’s compulsive eating disorder and outlines the subconscious beliefs she acquired by being in that situation.)

————— Love & Compulsion Cannot Co-exist —————

LOVE AND COMPULSION CANNOT CO-EXIST…

Love is the willingness and ability to be affected by another human being and to allow that effect to make a difference in what you do say and become.

Compulsion is the act of wrapping ourselves around an activity, a substance or a person to survive, tolerate and numb our experience of the moment….

Love is a state of connectedness: one that includes the vulnerability, surrender, self-valuing, steadiness, and a willingness to face – rather than run from – the worst of ourselves.

Compulsion is a state of isolation: one that includes self-absorption, invulnerability, low self-esteem, unpredictability and a fear that if we faced our pain it would destroy us.

Love expands; compulsion diminishes.

Compulsion leaves no room for love. — which is, in fact, why many people started eating compulsively in the first place: because when there was room for the love, the people around us were not loving. The very purpose of compulsion is to protect ourselves from the pain associated with love…

It is my belief that we become compulsive because of wounds from our past and the conclusions we drew at that time about our self-worth: conclusions about our capacity to love and whether, in fact we deserved to be loved at all.

>> Our mother goes away and we decide that we are unlovable.

>> Our father is emotionally distant and we decide that we need too much.

>> Someone we are close to dies and we decide that there is no reason to love anyone because it hurts too much at the end.

We make decisions based on our pain and the limited choices we had at that time. We make decisions based on how we made senses of the wounds and what we did to protect ourselves from being more wounded in that environment.

At the age of six or eleven or fifteen, we decide that love hurts and that we are unworthy or unlovable or too demanding, and we live the rest of our lives protecting ourselves from being hurt again. And there is no better protection than wrapping ourselves around a compulsion.

In many of my workshops, there are participants whose parents were alcoholic; there are participants whose parents died or left during childhood without a warning; there are participants who were beaten or raped; and there are participants whose losses, abandonments and betrayals were subtler and had to do with any combination of unavailable fathers, possessive mothers and families in which uncomfortable feelings were denied and repressed.

As children we have no resources, no power to make choices about our situations. We need our families for food, shelter and love or else we will die. If we feel that the pain around us is too intense and we can not levae or change it, we will shut it off. We will — and do — switch our pain to something less threatening: a compulsion.

As adults, it becomes OUR OWN task to examine the decisions we made long ago about our self-worth, our capacity to love and our willingness to be loved, for it is from these decisions that many of our beliefs about compulsion and love take root.

It’s impossible to be obsessed with food or anything else and to be truly intimate with ourselves or another human being; there simply isn’t enough room. Yet all of us want intimacy. We all want to love and be loved.

Once we had no choice; now we do.

The decision to be intimate, like the decision to break free from compulsive eating, is not something that is given to you. Intimacy is not something that just happens between two people; it’s a way of being alive. At every moment, we are choosing either to reveal ourselves or to protect ourselves; to value ourselves or to diminish ourselves; to tell the truth or to hide…

Intimacy is making the choice to be connected to, rather than isolated from, our deepest truth at that moment.

In every workshop, I hear, “So when is the magic going to begin???” and I say, “When you take the step, when you make the choice.”

For those of us who are used to waiting for someone to bring love to our lives, the discovery that being intimate is a choice that we make at every moment is as close to magic as anyone ever comes… ” ~ Geneen Roth

Peace,
+B

p.s: Need to start embracing healthy foods and habits that will transform your health, lift your emotions, and fill you with energy? Develop unstoppable self-discipline and motivation to achieve your health goals??? Click here now to FINALLY take total control over food!

>> Great Videos of me and my nutritional consultant on Holistic Health…
>> Get your copy of “When Food is Love” on Amazon.com now
>> Some Thoughts on Overcoming Depression
>> See below to “Share the Knowledge” w/ some of your friends, and
>> Check out the latest from “Today’s Transcendence.”

VIDEO ARCHIVES: Classic Sessions from Yours Truly…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:57:54 +0000

Peace,

Here’s a collection of some classic videos I shot back in the day…it’s pretty interesting to see how far you’ve come looking back over old work.

Also, check out the categories section (right below “Bryan’s Program Library”) to see how I’ve organized the blog so far. One category is specifcally called Video & Audio Content, w/ videos, mixdowns and radio sessions from yours truly and others. Enjoy:

————Video Archives ————

Peace,
+B

p.s: If you like this blog and would like to support what I’m doing, click here (or on anything under “Bryan’s Program Library” to the right). They’re affiliate links, so I’ll get a commission if you “cop” something, and they’re also the same programs that changed my life.

>> Check out my Youtube Channel
>> One of my best received videos EVER, “The 4 Elements”
>> See below to “Share the Knowledge” w/ some of your friends, and
>> Check out the latest from the blog, “Today’s Transcendence…”

How to Master Your Inner-Game & Remove Your Inner-Critic FOR GOOD…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:09:40 +0000

Peace,

An old-school resurrection from the Conquer Yourself series…
BGM: “Splendor” by Freddie Joachim:
Download audio file (splendor.mp3)

——— The Athlete’s Inner Game ———

In Gallwey’s classic, The Inner Game of Tennis, his main point was that the inner critic is the number one obstacle of focused play. In sports psychology, this principle extends to all types of athletic performance, and for our purposes here, to all fields of life itself.

Remember the graph from last week’s post on Native American wisdom?

The goal is to stay in the middle, but the inner-critic either shifts you to the right by creating tension and anxiety (“I need to do better”), or to the left by robbing you of the joy of the game (“I’m not good enough,” feelings of boredom, etc.).

Since the goal is focus, and the obstacle is the inner-critic, conquering yourself has both an internal and external process:

*INTERNALLY, you’re dealing with self-talk (your subconscious mind and self-worth…see Session 2 for more on this) and

*EXTERNALLY, you’re dealing with “attention-management” (present-mindedness, building concentration etc….see Session 5 or seven for more).

Further, there’s what I call “the two ironies”:

*EXTERNALLY, the irony of technology: tools meant to make us more productive actually end up making us LESS productive…see my post on email), and

*INTERNALLY, “the irony of knowledge”,: information meant to make us more successful can actually end up making us FEEL less successful (see my post on intellectual discipline for more).

Think about it: whenever you want to improve in anyway, part of that process is getting the knowledge you need in order to improve. But, because of the inner critic, the knowledge can eventually turn into a sort of law-book that you use to incriminate yourself with for not following.

When a basketball player gets coaching on how to improve his free throw conversion, he expects himself to make more shots. When someone overweight gets advice on improving his nutrition, he expects himself to control his diet, and when a procrastinator gets insight on improving his productivity, he expects himself to be more efficient.

These expectations aren’t bad in and of themselves, but when the inner-critic isn’t kept in check, expectations create an atmosphere of anxiety around performance (this is one reason why a lot of young people end up quitting sports…I know I did).

This is where the term “ignorance is bliss,” comes from. It’s bliss in the sense that it relieves you of the responsibility to improve. That’s why my upcoming book I say:

“Knowledge is a burden until you transcend with it.

Knowledge can cause you to feel frustration, because if you know something and you fail to act up to that level of knowing, you KNOW that you caused your own suffering.

But knowledge can also cause you to feel Supreme, because if you know something and you DO act up to that level of knowing, you know that you can improve your life, and ‘bring it all within the domain of an exact science…’

So when you gain knowledge, what you experience as a result of that gain reflects your level of responsibility. If you’re responsible and self-disciplined, you’ll like knowledge, because it shows you how strong you can be. If you’re irresponsible and lack discipline, you’ll dislike knowledge, because it shows you how miserable and weak you truly are.

Knowledge is power, and as we all know from Spiderman comic-books, “with great power comes great responsibility…”

There’s a lot of deeper psychology involved here – we could get into a discussion on how the inner critic is really an outgrowth of fear, and how fear is really a genuine part of you who’s goal is to keep you safe – but the main idea I want to get here is that unless you deal with your inner critic, even the knowledge you need will be turned against you.

Taken too far, the actual field or endeavor you want to improve in becomes associated with pain, embarrassment and personal inadequacy.

——— Shifting from Inner Tension to Optimal Experience ———

Dealing with this from the internal perspective, I already gave you some tools in Session Three. The majority come from a section in my upcoming book called “Self-Worth vs. Success: 3 Steps to Liberation” which you can download here: http://www.dotheknowledge.com/downloads/book-preview.pdf

On the other tip though, dealing with this from the external perspective (attention-management), here’s another section called “Mihalyi’s Flow“: http://www.dotheknowledge.com/downloads/book-preview2.pdf

Mihalyi refers Hungarian Psychologist Mihalyi Csikzentmihalyi (pronounced “Me-high, Cheek-zent-mee-high”), who’s responsible for the concept of “Flow” (or “Peak Performance”). This is an athlete’s ideal state of mind…most of the mental training they do is geared towards bringing to this point. Advice like:

“Don’t bring life’s worries onto the field,”
“Don’t get distracted by all the pregame hoopla,” or
“Don’t psyche yourself out” (i.e: get intimidated by a better opponent)

All aim at eliminating the mental habits that keep athletes from “getting in the zone” so that they can perform at their best.

But athletes aren’t the only ones who enter flow: artists, musicians, mathematicians, carpenters, actors, businessmen and people from all walks of life also have periods of time where they “zone out” and get lost in the joy of a creative challenge. The trick is twofold:

1) Freeing yourself from tension-creating thought (like being strictly results-oriented), and

2) Challenging yourself just beyond the perimeter to your potential…

In describing flow, Mihalyi says:

“Every flow activity…had this in common: it provided a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality. It pushed the person to higher levels of performance and led to previously undreamed states of consciousness…(and) In short, it transformed the self by making it more complex.
In this growth of the self lies the key to flow activities.”

To help yourself enter the flow state, you’ll need what’s referred to as “a suspension of disbelief.” It’s what happens whenever you watch a good movie: even though you know it’s not real, a part of your brain purposefully forgets that in order for you enjoy the experience. Essentially, you enter flow by bridging the gap between the logical and the creative part of your brain (the right and left hemispheres), and this only happens when you let go of judging or evaluating your experience at all.

A good example of this is writing, where you would enter flow by taking on a “first draft mentality”: when you begin, tell yourself that there’s no need to critique anything because it’s only your first time through. In fact, because it’s only your first time through, there’s no need for it to even make sense.

“Students entering Harvard, for example, are brought to a special section of the library where the rough drafts of famous authors are kept – this exercise has quite an impact on young writers who previously thought that the work of genius arrived complete in a single stroke of inspiration.” ~ Niel Fiore

(I do this all the time, and I attribute almost all of my writing to this one skill. Later tonight, I’m going to look around for some copies of my rough drafts to give you an idea.)

Just as whack ideas are crucial to the generation of great ideas, poor performance is crucial to the generation of excellent performance. Eliminate the whole concept of “mistakes” from your mind and replace it with the concept of GENERATING ENERGY. Taking up the first draft mentality will you enter into a state of flow where creativity comes naturally…

Here’s that book excerpt link again: http://www.dotheknowledge.com/downloads/book-preview2.pdf

You can also enter into flow with relaxation techniques.

Peace,
+B

p.s: So instead of having just more information but no real faith, no drive, no will, no persistence, no determination…and thus no achievement, now you can have all those things and more with ALMOST NO EFFORT. Click here to discover more now…

>> Native American Wisdom for OVERCOMING ADDICTIONS
>> Tips for Handling Email Overload…
>> See below to “Share the Knowledge” w/ some of your friends, and
>> Check out the latest from the blog, “Today’s Transcendence…”

Why Self-Development NEVER Works for Most People…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:09:38 +0000

Peace,

The above diagram is called “The Cone of Learning,” developed by Bruce Hyland (and based on Edgar Dale’s “Cone of Experience,” created in 1946).

I think it’s self-explanatory, but here’s Robert Kiyosaki on it in his book, “Rich Dad’s Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money,” as it applies to financial education…

———— Educations Biggest Mistake ————

“The primary reason most people are afraid of changing is because they’re afraid of making mistakes, especially financial mistakes. Most people cling to job security because they’re afraid of failing financially.

Also, the reason most people turn their money over to financial planners is because they hope the financial planner won’t make mistakes, which – ironically – is a mistake…

To me, our education system’s biggest problem is that it teaches kids not to make mistakes. When children inevitably do make mistakes, the system punishes them rather then teach them to learn from it.

All intelligent people know that we learn by making mistakes: we learn to ride bicycle by falling off of it first, and we learn to swim by jumping in the water. So how can people learn about money if they’re afraid of making a mistakes???

…(the diagram) explains why so many kids dislike school, find it boring and fail to retain most of the information after years of sitting in a classroom.” ~ Robert Kiyosaki

What do you think??? Leave a comment below letting me know how this applies to you or anyone you know, and how this diagram can help turn things around…

Peace,
+B

On Building Concentration (NEW VIDEO)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:36:49 +0000

Peace,

———— From the Reader Mailbag ————

“Hey Bryan,

I was listening to one of your podcasts (believe it was on getting focused). One of the thing I’ve learned about my self, is that I’M EASILY DISTRACTED, and can be a procrastinator.

As I was trying on some of the concepts, I realized my biggest distraction are my own thoughts. It’s easy for me to eliminate physical distractions, but I’m confused about how to handle my own mental and emotional ones…any thoughts??? Thanks for your time.

Peace & Blessings.” ~ K.T. from Oakland, CA

———— My Response ————

“Basically, you’re talking about building concentration…you took the show’s advice a step forward by bringing it to the mental plane, so I’m glad to hear from you.

Concentration is a muscle to develop: it gets stronger the more you set up situations that intrinsically force it to do so.

Like with physical muscles, you train your concentration by exercising it PAST it’s normal comfort zone, and then allowing yourself a period to rest (the renewal period is key). So cycle back and forth between training your concentration by force, and then relieving it to relax and go as it may…

For example, I find:

- reading (physical books, not online),
- writing, and
- meditating

…some of the stronger concentration demands, but you might have other things in mind.

However, one of the first things I do when I get up is let my mind wander. Like you, I love to just sit there and think, it’s therapeutic.

DO NOT fall into the trap of thinking that your natural capacity to wonder is a bad thing, because it’s a gift (my work wouldn’t exist without it). Just know that – like a child – it needs recreational time AND disciplined time.

Here’s a few old-school blog posts that go more in depth…

>> Native American Wisdom for OVERCOMING ADDICTIONS…
>> The Disease Our Entire World is Suffering From
>> How to GET FOCUSED (Radio Show, Videos, etc.)

Enjoy, let me know what you think and I’ll get back at you soon…

Peace,
+B”

ps: I DON’T CARE IF YOU ARE LAZIEST PERSON WHO EVER
DREW A BREATH…if you just can’t get yourself to do what you need to do, if your willpower and persistence always seems to fizzle out, then check out the new paradigm in personal growth. Click here to learn about it now.

Native American Wisdom for Getting Focused & OVERCOMING ADDICTIONS…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:23:05 +0000

Peace,

An “old-school resurrection” from the Conquer Yourself series…
Harmonics: “Know Your Enemy” by Yoko Kanno
Download audio file (enemy.mp3)

——— Native American Wisdom ———

A Cherokee elder once told the children of his tribe, “A battle is happening within me – a terrible battle between two wolves.

One wolf is of fear, anger, guilt, greed and senselessness; the other of faith, peace, truth, love and reason…This same battle is happening inside of each of you, and inside every other person as well.”

The children thought for a moment and one asked, “Which wolf will win?” to which the old Cherokee replied, “The one you choose to feed.”

This is a lesson in the power of attention: the importance of “attention management” and concentration in the development of our character (and in turn, our ability to create the results we want for ourselves…CHARACTER COMES FIRST)

Like I said in session 4, we’ll need more then just one blogpost to really build on concentration. I actually don’t mind using several parts of the series for it because since we live in a digital age of distraction and attention deficit disorder, concentration is one of our most vital assets…

There’s a section on this in my upcoming book where I say:

“You’re not bubble gum; you can only stretch so thin…(therefore,) begin to regard your goals as living things that depend on you (and you’re attention) for their cultivation.”

Even though at some level we all intuitively know that we need to focus in order to progress, we still tend to forget this because of the frenetic pace of our society.

Not only are we conditioned for constant interruption, scattered thinking and hyperactivity, but even further, as we gain new technologies that allow us to be more productive, those same technologies alter the dynamics of how we interact, and end up creating more demands for our time and energy then ever before.

“Got a new cell phone? Good – now your boss can reach you on your day off. Wireless PDA, huh? Even better – expect to get e-mails all the time too.
Mini-PC??? Word…we’ll just instant-message you those files then.

Basically, we’re juggling a schedule of constant demands and always-on electronics. We’re actually re-wiring our brains for what the technology industry now calls ‘continuous partial attention.’

…In this digital age of distraction, we function at new levels of
stimulation and anxiety: the internet spews information at us like a fire
hose, but to digest information we need to sip it through a straw.”
(adapted from Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D.)

So that’s one thing I’ll cover over the next few days with you: a plan to overcome distraction and information overload in this digital age. While it’s easy to talk about developing concentration and living in the present moment, rarely do we find wisdom on that updated enough to help us manage our time and attention in the reality of this technological world.

———— Upcoming Science ————

Another concept we’ll cover is Sports Psychology: the mental tools and cognitive methods professional athletes (specifically those Olympic heads) are trained to use to help them perform at their highest levels.

For instance, in the book Find Your Focus Zone (the joint quoted from above), Lucy talks about the upside down U-curve used in Sports Psychology to graph the nature of being “in the zone” – of having the the optimal level of focus needed for peak-performance.

The y-axis charts the level of attention and the x-axis the level of stimulation… how “into it” the athlete is feeling.

If stimulation is too low and in “underdrive,” (like when athletes start to train months before a race or competition), they use strategies to psyche themselves up.

On the other hand, if stimulation is too high and in “overdrive,” (like when an athlete is actually at the event nervously waiting at the starting line), they use strategies to calm themselves down.

So it’s kinda hot because there are so many parallels here that we can relate to. I tend to procrastinate most on a project when I feel that “I have plenty of time,” and then get hyper-stressed over it when I realize that the deadline is right around the corner.

(I’ve heard of this sports psychology thing before but never really looked into it. I’ll get back to you with the good stuff I find.)

Besides that, there’s also the Samurai metaphors and what not (which I haven’t really got into yet – so far we’ve been building on overcoming procrastination, improving concentration and building up your sense of self-worth), and I also want to talk about addictions.

I’ve been doing a little research here and there on it, but nothing too serious yet. What I’m looking for are ways to overcome addictions without drugs, surgery or any other form of “treatment.”

Fundamentally though, I feel like none of us are ever really “addicted” to any bad habit: historically, addicts were slaves given to Roman soldiers as a reward performance in battle, and so eventually, any person who was a slave to anything became known as an addict…

We call ourselves addicts when in reality, we’re simply just unconsciously devoted to or dependent on some external thing, which is different then being enslaved to it, feel me?

I believe that all habits are learned, and that we have bad habits (so-called “addictions”) for actually GOOD reasons. For instance, a person may use drugs to give themselves a false sense of self-confidence, which is essentially a healthy desire, just an UNHEALTHY way of meeting it.

And so it I see it as the same with all addictions: addictions persist when we lack other, healthier means of satisfying the needs they unconsciously fulfill.

Peace,
+B

“I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to battle my greatest enemy – MYSELF…”
~ Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887…

p.s: “Burn the thoughts, beliefs and attitudes of the happiest, most effective people into your mind and you’ll feel how THEY feel, do what THEY do and get the same results that THEY get!” Click here to learn more…

A Last Message on CONCENTRATION…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:10:37 +0000

Peace,

Didn’t think I’d be blogging for the rest of 2010, but I just stumbled onto something powerful and had to share it with you…

But I HAVE NO IDEA WHO WROTE IT – just found this random paper cleaning up the office this morning, read it, and realized that it builds on one of my favorite concepts…concentration. Knowledge this:

————A Last Message on Concentration ————

When Thomas Edison was once asked how he was able to accomplish so much with his time, he said,

“It’s simple: you and I both have 18 hours a day in which to do as we choose. You spend the 18 doing a number of unrelated things; I doing just one, and some of my work is bound to amount to something…”

If you want to be successful in any field, there is one rule to observe: concentrate your efforts. Get one thing in your mind. Learn to ignore all the distractions and temptations along the way. Then, put all the power you have into forward motion…

If you’ve read Ralph Wald Emerson, you’ll know that he wrote two essays that apply to success, one titled “Power” and the other titled “Wealth” The main theme in each is, again, concentration. Emerson said,

“Stop all miscellaneous activities. Do away with distractions, other duties, property cares, chores, errands, diverting talents and flatteries – all are impossible…”

Elsewhere he quotes Emerson as saying, “The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil dissipation.”, which is pretty dope, because I never thought of it in that context (almost spiritual). There’s more there too, but with one last jewel…

Whatever you choose to spend your time on, spend it well. Whatever you wish your goals are, make sure they are UNIFIED. Only the specialized become truly successful.”

Peace,
+B

How to Develop PERSISTENCE: On Being Proactive, Overcoming Apathy and more…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:11:57 +0000

Peace,

Check this out…just finished mixing it down not too long ago:
Download audio file (proactive.mp3)

right-click HERE to download the mp3

Of course, it’s part of some business training for online publishing, but the main idea is applicable to almost anything.

“Most of us spend most of our time in RE-ACTIVE mode: we wake up, check our voicemail and look through our email…we look to see who wants us to do something.

‘Who’s snapping their fingers for us to behave? Who wants some attention? Who’s got a fire that we need to put out???’

And that’s how we direct our lives: looking to see who else has something for us to do, rather then asking ‘What has to be done?’ ~ Eben Pagan

Peace,
+B

ps: I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE LAZIEST PERSON WHO EVER DREW A BREATH…if you just can’t get yourself to do what you need to do – if your willpower and persistence always seems to fizzle out – then check out the new paradigm in personal growth. Click here to learn about it now.

Bryan’s “Recommended Scroll” of the Year: EMPIRE OF ILLUSION by Chris Hedges

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:11:51 +0000

Peace,

“We ask…to be fed lies. We demand lies. The skillfully manufactured images and slogans that flood the airwaves and infect our political discourse MASK REALITY, and we do not protest…”

“The worse reality becomes, the less a beleaguered (annoyed) population wants to hear about it, and the more it distracts itself with the squalid pseudo-events of celebrity break ups, gossip and trivia. These are the debauched revels of a dying culture.”

“A culture that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion DIES…”

———— Book’s Outline, etc. ————

The book has 5 chapters, each covering a different aspect of our societal illusion. Here’s the table of contents:

Ch. 1 – The Illusion of Literacy,
Ch. 2 – The Illusion of Love,
Ch. 3 – The Illusion of Wisdom,
Ch. 4 – The Illusion of Happiness, and
Ch. 5 – The Illusion of America

Here’s Chris in person breaking things down…

Peace,
+B

ps: Get your copy personal copy of Chris Hedge’s “Empire of Illusion” here. All Amazon links on this page (or anywhere on the blog, really) are affiliate links: that means that by coping stuff through here, you’ll also be supporting DoTheKnowledge.com. Thank you…

Are Our Schools Concentration-Campuses for Mental Destruction???

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:32:51 +0000

Peace,

“The purpose of the foundation (the General Education Board) was to use the power of money, NOT to raise the level of education in America, as was widely believed at the time, but to influence the direction of that education…

The object was to use the classroom to teach attitudes that encourage people to be PASSIVE and SUBMISSIVE to their rulers.

The goal was – and still is – to create citizens who were educated enough for productive work under supervision but not enough to question authority or seek to rise above their class. True education was to be restricted to the sons and daughters of the elite. For the rest, it would be better to produce skilled workers with no particular aspirations other than to enjoy life.”

That was G. Edward Griffin in his classic The Creature from Jeykll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve (speaking on Rockefeller’s General Education Board founded in 1903). Here’s another one for you…

“Independent, self-reliant people are a counter-productive anachronism in the collective society of the future.

In modern society, people will be defined by their associations – the groups they belong to – NOT by their own individual accomplishments. In such a world people who read too well or too early are dangerous because they become privately empowered. They know too much and they know how to find out what they don’t know by themselves…” ~

That’s by John Duey, the creator of the Duey Decimal System (the classification method you use when you go to look for things in any library).

What a lot people don’t know is that John Dewey didn’t just create the Dewey Decimal system, he was also one of the most influential cats in educational reform around the turn of the 20th century.

———— The Main Ideas ————

Now I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, I just want to make the point that if you want to take your thinking to the next level – if you want to fundamental changes in your life and contribute to the world in a positive way – you have to take your education into your own hands, and stop relegating knowledge and learning to compulsory education only.

We’re at the point now where many children subconsciously associate learning with coercion and intimidation, and then carry that association with them into their adult life. This is beyond unfortunate because the people who are successful and influential (people who do unfold their potential and become an asset to the communities they’re apart of) are life long learners – they embrace the power of knowledge and they’re constantly learning because they initiate the learning process on their own accord.

Which is, again, what Recommended Scrolls is all about…

———— More Great Resources ————

Here’s a dope read, entitled “Are Our Schools Concentration Campuses for Mind-Destruction???”: http://www.mind-trek.com/reports/misc/minddest.htm

I’ve also recently been reading Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad’s Conspiracy of the Rich, which is what mostly inspired this post today. You can check it out on Amazon here…

“One of the greatest sins of our current educational system is that it doesn’t teach you about money. Rather, it teaches you how to be a good employee and to know your station in life.

…some would say this is by design. For instance, in his book, The Creature from Jekyll island, Griffin quotes form the first occasional paper of the General Education Board, entitled “The Country School of To-Morrow,” written by Frederick Gates:

“In our dreams, we have limitless resources, and the people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. The present educational conventions fade from our minds; and – unhampered by tradition – we work for our own good upon a grateful and responsive rural folk…for the task we set before ourselves is a very simple as well as a very beautiful one: to train these people as we find them to a perfectly ideal just where they are…”

“The school system was not designed to teach children to think for themselves, nor was it developed to just support the present-day notion that we can all be free. In actuality, our current school system is based on a Prussian model that was developed to do just the opposite: to teach children to obey orders and do as they’re told. Compliant and obedient students become employees who are content to work for the rich or become soldiers who sacrifice their lives to protect the wealth of the rich…” Johnathan Taylor Gatto (author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, named New York City Teacher of the year three times and also New York State teacher of the Year).

“Now, you may or may not believe that there’s an intentional conspiracy against teaching about money in the school system. But what you can NOT deny is that our schools should receive a failing grade when it comes to financial education. Whether purposeful or not, our system’s lack of teaching and instruction on money is a driving force behind the financial oppression many people in our country are facing today…” ~ Robert Kiyosaki

Leave a comment below letting me know what you think…

Peace,
+B

ps: If you like this blog and would like to support what I’m doing, click here (or on anything under “Bryan’s Program Library” to the right). They’re affiliate links, so I’ll get a commission if you “cop” something, and they’re also the same programs I used DAILY to stay focused, motivated, self-disciplined and ON-POINT.

Is the Self-Help Industry a SHAM??? (“Deceptive Intelligence” at it’s Worst…)

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:22:43 +0000

Peace,

…because quite a few people seem to think so.

And I’ve been thinking about coping Steve Selerno’s book “SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Has Made America Helpless…“ because the excerpt I checked out a few days ago is off the chain.

Selerno’s main thesis? That the self-help industry is really “deceptive intelligence”: that, at the root of it all, the self-help industry is led mostly by fraudulent (sometimes even narcissistic or pathological), so-called experts who just spit raps about feel good psychobabble to SOUND knowledgeable and convincing…

While I wouldn’t go so far as to attack the entire industry and everyone involved in it, I would say that the overall direction is capitalism at it’s worst.

Think about it:

1.| They stack bread by hustling the most desperate & anxious people (people actively looking for this stuff),

2.| They feign psychological, psychiatric, scientific or ancient spiritual knowledge to sell their information, and

3.| They perpetuate a sense of dependency in their followers….

If you really look at it, you’ll see a bit of merit in that position. Here’s some quotes form the book:

“The term self-help was not coined as a synonym for psychobabble. It has a long, rich tradition of usage in connection with far more reputable practices in the realm of law. Legal self-help refers to situation-specific remedies available to a complainant directly – that is, without involving lawyers or even courts.

This facet of American jurisprudence, in marked contrast to the type of self-help this book mostly tackles, has always been about action, not words. Remedies of this nature are formal step-by-step procedures designed to bring about lawful satisfaction for the individual. Properly handled, they enjoy full courtroom standing, should they later be challenged by those on the receiving end.

Some of America’s most familiar legal instruments include self-help provisions. Depending on the state in which you live, your auto loan may contain a clause that stipulates your banker’s right to simply come out to your driveway and retrieve your car the minute you fall into arrears on payments.That’s self-help…” (emphasis mine)

“Even in psychiatric settings, self-help didn’t (and doesn’t), always refer to the softer, frothier stuff of Drs. Phil and Laura. Serious-minded clinicians use the term to describe efforts by mentally or emotionally impaired patients to live independent, productive lives. A sizable contingent of the psychiatric industry is engaged in this cause, and legitimate practitioners bristle at the pejorative ring the term ‘self-help’ has acquired in recent decades…”

You’ll also similar ideas on blogs like The Salty Droid or BeyondGrowth.net…

———— As an Example ————

A lot of people make a lot of money doing this: a lot of people capitalize off of America’s general state of unhappiness and depression by creating instant-gratification models of self-improvement, self-obsession and ultimate bliss – and that’s why some of my recent post (the one on intellectual discipline and the other where I asked 3 serious questions) have been coming from…from this mindset of the industry being crooked.

Think about “The Secret” for instance – the big craze we saw dominating the industry and entire SOCIETY (I even seen ‘law of attraction’ billboards in the hood) not too long ago:

1.) It’s not really “a secret” at all: the main ideas have been made publicly known (at least) as early as the late 1800′s with something called “The New Thought Movement” and books like “The Science of Getting Rich”

2.) Spiritual teachings are geared almost COMPLETELY towards selfish, materialistic ends: you can manifest a very expensive car, your perfect dream partner or whatever else you desire…ideas like world peace got mentioned last. None of it is spirituality or self-awareness for its own sake (only as a means to get what we want), and

3.) It’s self-justifying and self-contradictory: you can’t challenge it to see if it’s valid or not, because that’s just you not believing!

This is the ultimate in delusional thinking. Tell a believer of “the secret” that it’s nonsense and they’ll tell you that you lack faith. The logic shields itself from any criticism whatsoever.

This is sad because people who don’t experience the magical results end up blaming themselves, thinking that there’s something wrong with them personally as to why they’re not seeing changes…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the power of a positive attitude and using your mind to get a clear picture of your goals, but I think the overall thrust of the movie implies that imaginary, delusional THINKING (as in thinking in and of itself) is enough to create drastic changes and turnarounds in life.

I understand the power of the subconscious mind, but I also believe that problems have practical solutions, and that if we’re going to solve them, we have to sober up and start taking more sober, realistic readings of reality…

What do you think? Overall, is the self-help industry is actually making us help-LESS??? Why or why not, and if so, what’s your way of separating the medicine from the poison???

Leave me a comment below and share your thoughts…

Peace,
+B

WHY PEOPLE DON’T CHANGE (A Powerful Story on Habits & Routines…Aesop’s Fables Style)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:44:10 +0000

Peace,

Here’s a short fictional story that makes A LOT of sense…think of it like another episode of Aesop’s Fables or something:
Download audio file (routines.mp3)

*right-click HERE to download this mp3

Wyatt Woodsmall – the dude breaking this down – is an NLP consultant well-respected in his field. You can check out some of his works here.

“Everything is hunted, and what allows it to be hunted are its ROUTINES. A hunter, knowing this, then begins to reflect on what are it’s OWN routines and what allows it to be hunted…” ~ Wyatt Woodsmall

Peace,
+B

INTELLECTUAL DISCIPLINE: How to Become a More Action-Oriented Person (& Escape the Mind-Trap of “Intelligence…”)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:52:56 +0000

Peace,

“I only read 2 books a year, because it takes me about 6 months to fully implement everything I learn from one…” ~ can’t recall

Earlier this week I did a post called, “The 5 STUPID THINGS Intelligent People Do (That Keep Them From Success…)” and it got a great response, so let’s follow that up with a more in-depth concept I’m developing called “Intellectual Discipline.”

Now I didn’t invent the term or anything, I’m just fleshing it out to give it more utility (rather then just sound hot).

———— Break it Down ————

I initially dropped this on the classic blog talk radio show, “Recommended Scrolls: Keys to Stepping Your Knowledge-Game Up” Listen:
Download audio file (intellectual.mp3)

*download this MP3 by right-clicking here

Since the show was me doing a series of book-reviews, this was an introductory precaution to not “O-D” just because I’d be mentioning a lot of hot titles…

Basically, with intellectual discipline, you’re going from being a student to being a scientist: you’re going from being conceptual and research-oriented to being experimental and action-oriented.

One of the first things you’ll realize when you start approaching knowledge like this is that, before, you were “learning” far too much and (ironically), at the same time not REALLY learning anything at all.

The basic idea here is simple: DISCIPLINE yourself to not get so excited about the research, and FORCE yourself to constantly implement what you’re learning in order to get real-world feedback and results.

———— Some Examples ————

1.| Always think action: whenever you’re reading or studying something, constantly ask yourself “How can I act on this?” and actually DO SO before you start studying again…

I don’t mean jump up right as you’re reading, but make an action-plan as you read and fulfill those tasks before you sit down to read again.

Some people even say, “For every hour of learning, spend TWO hours of implementation,” which I think is kind of thugged-out.

I don’t use an exact ratio myself, but I think in segments: I know I have to act on one chapter before I move on to the next, so I compartmentalize it like training sessions

2.) Read purposefully: before you read anything, remind yourself of what your purpose for reading it is before you even start, and let that be your “search engine” as you move through the pages. Create a mind-map if you have to in order to note down what you’re going to act on…

3.) Don’t get excited: if it applies, let go of the delusion that any book, video or audio product contains a “grand secret” or some “universal knowledge” that’ll make all of your problems go away.

In my blog post about dating a few months back, I said “stop idealizing women,” and I’m going to flip that here again and say STOP IDEALIZING INFORMATION. Remember that most of your learning is going to come from your own personal experience, so don’t let a simple title (or anyone who sells information) get you hyped-up.

———— Some Last Thoughts ————

Remember that we’re living in the digital age…

Not only can we deceive ourselves into thinking that consuming information is the same as actual know-how, we also have UNLIMITED ACCESS to said information in the first place. That’s what makes intellectual discipline so critical now more then ever.

Once you get into this habit – the habit of orienting yourself towards gaining skills, not gathering information – you lose your dependence on all of the new “teachers,” “gurus,” “life coaches,” “consultants” and “experts,” coming to theaters near you.

(Notice how they’ve been popping up all over the place??? It’s going to be getting even worse…trust me.)

They’re not going to like this: what I’m trying to put you on here is enough to put a lot of people out of business. Think about it…

(I’m not saying that anyone who has anything to teach is untrustworthy, just that feeling like you need THEIR information to take YOUR life to the next level is unhealthy.)

Lastly, Intellectual Discipline will also give you an appreciation for the depth and complexity of what you do choose study (provided it’s quality information). It’ll literally take you, your life and your respect for learning to an entirely new level…

Remember, always think action… In fact, leave me a comment below letting me know how you’re going to use THIS…

Peace,
+B

On WRITER’S BLOCK: The Best Technique for Unleashing Your Creativity

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:48:47 +0000

Peace,

I want to talk to you today about writer’s block, because I got a pretty cool technique that I use for it all the time.

The funny thing is I never really realized that I used it, until I heard this business trainer I’m learning from mention it as a “technique.: (That’s called “unconscious competence”L when you know something but you don’t actually know that you know it.)

Check this out:
Download audio file (writing.mp3)

Peace,
+B

ps: If you’d like to EFFORTLESSLY sweep away distractions, procrastination, negativity and frustration… and replace them with an alert, creative, laser-like focus that’ll help you rack up one impressive success after another, click here now…

The 5 STUPID THINGS Intelligent People Do (That Keep Them From the Success They Deserve…)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:58:06 +0000

Peace,

So I stumbled on this short booklet the other day, The Triumph of the Stupid: How Your Intelligence & Creativity Are Keeping You From the Online Success You Deserve…” by Mark Widawer.

Technically, it’s about internet marketing (how to build a successful publication business online), but it’s also very practical and could be generalized to encompasses A LOT more.

It’s a pretty simple book: he breaks the stupidity down into 5 simple things, so let’s get right into it…

note: A lot of this applies to me as well…there’s nothing wrong with recognizing your own shortcomings, so as you read, make sure you don’t project this on to anybody else. Apply it to yourself.

———— The 5 Stupid Things (Abbreviated) ————

STUPID THING #1: Trying to Be Everything to EVERYBODY…

Smart people tend to be very creative, and this seems to be the root problem…

What I mean is that they tend to use their creativity in ways that create unnecessary challenges for themselves.

Specifically, rather then specialize in solving one particular issue, they’re more apt to aim at solving large-scale, generalized concerns.

Think of the field of medicine: as it turns out, cardiologist who hone in on one demographic (post-menopausal women, for instance) tend to have A LOT more success then general practitioners.

If you had a problem with acne, who would you go see? Most likely a dermatologist, NOT a general doctor.

But if you’re a creative, intelligent type, you’ll tend to want to have broad knowledge and expertise…you’ll want to find a genius solution that’ll solve EVERYTHING for everybody.

If you’re a creative, intelligent type, you’ll be more likely to write the book “The Universal Science to Everlasting Health,” rather then “5 Simple Steps to Lose 25 lbs. in 25 days….”

This is a recipe for failure because NOT EVERYONE THINKS AS ABUNDANTLY & AS DEEPLY AS YOU DO.

People generally aren’t concerned with universal keys, abundant, abstract thinking or anything else a long those lines…they’re concerned with getting their problems solved, so if you don’t get specific with the solution, you’ll just get bypassed.

“Oh, ‘Universal Science’ huh? I’ll get back to that later when I have time…”

In fact, being too general takes away from your credibility. People doubt it when someone comes off as knowing everything.

Take this guy Mark Widawer for instance…his book is about the 5 stupid things intelligent people do when trying to succeed ONLINE. (I’m the one who extracted it to a more general level…it’s a problem intelligent people have because we tend to look at the root of things.)

So the solution???

SOLUTION: Find your circle. Stop being so much of a generalist and find a specific problem and a specific crowd, and then speak to just that…

STUPID THING #2: Making Simple Things Complicated…

Smart people like to make things more complicated then they need to be…it turns us on for some reason.

The more complex something is, the more mental work it takes to understand it (which is enjoyable if you’re intelligent) but the less APPLICABLE (action-oriented) it becomes (which is bad for success).

This is especially bad if you’re in a teaching position of some sort, because people won’t respond to you.

SOLUTION: Keep it Simple Intelligent. Grossly oversimplify and break things down to their most essential parts…stop using your intellect to avoid taking action

STUPID THING #3: Doing to Many Things At Once…

Smart people LOVE multitasking. They love to to keep their plates spinning with several things because they love the entertainment, excitement and stimulation.

It’s not just because of the (false) notion that it makes us more productive, but because “we’re smart enough” and we think we can handle it.

Multitasking actually WASTES energy and leaves nothing complete. Let me prove it to you…

Even deeper, smart people are always jumping from one project to another: once we have something conceptually laid down and the only thing left to do is actually work on it, we don’t.

Instead, we re-exercise our creative, intelligent muscles and try do start an entirely different thing. It gets us excited…

SOLUTION: Do one thing at a time. Discipline yourself and get focused on taking action. For more about productivity, click here.

STUPID THING #4: Always Doing Something Different…

Besides always starting different projects, smart people are also always responding differently to specific problems and tasks.

Smart people think they’re too smart for routines that don’t require thinking. It feels mechanistic to them…

Hence, smart people don’t know the power of CREATING SYSTEMS: they always try to think their way through problems and through their work rather then create automated process and routines for whatever may come up.

They assume that every new task or situation requires new thinking. It’s actually pretty funny…

Think about it: think about the last argument you had with your partner, everything you did yesterday and everything you did the day before that. How much of that was new???

As much as we’d hate to admit it, we’re all creatures of habit. Pretty much everything we do can be reduced down to a ritual or routine that requires almost thinking at all.

But smart people don’t see it like that: they feel like if they don’t have to “figure something out,” then something is wrong.

(This was me for a long time: seeing something step by step – in a book or a classroom for instance – felt like an insult to my intelligence.)

You’ll notice that when intelligent people run businesses or organizations, they’re always “firefighting”: they’re always stuck figuring out day-to-day level issues and they get stressed out playing the dramatic hero because they don’t create systems to handle problems…they treat each one like a new jigsaw puzzle instead of looking for the pattern.

This is also why they have a problem delegating work: they assume that only THEY are smart enough to do x,y and z, so they never think of the simple steps they could even get a “stupid” person to do.

SOLUTION: Start thinking “how-to.” Start describing some of your daily tasks as step-by-step, robotic (yes, I said it) processes, and LEAVE THE THEORY OUT.

Look at About.com or Expert Village on Youtube for examples.

Remember, different personality types learn in different ways (it’s not less intelligent). There’s actually four different learning styles I’ll blog about later…it’s pretty interesting.

STUPID THING #5: Thinking that “Knowing” is the Same as Doing…

This is what made me start a website in the first place. here’s what Widawer has to say:.

“We smart people are too smart for our own good. It’s plain to see.

We’re so smart that we think simply knowing what to do is a reasonable substitute for actually having DONE the work..

Ask yourself: how many books, courses and video lectures do you have that you’ve never completed???

…it’s sad. For some reason, we tend to think that because we’ve purchased a book on basket weaving and that it’s sitting on the shelf, we know how to weave baskets.

Or maybe we do get around to reading the book. every single last page. Does that mean you know how to weave baskets???

NO, it doesn’t…

You’ve got to do the work – you need the experience. You have to feel the weaver in your hands and understand what it feels like to route the weaver up and down through the stakes.

…and how to finish the base. And curve the weavers up to build the sides… and that special way to weave a handle so that it’s strong enough to lift the basket, but doesn’t look out of place.

Again, YOU NEED THE EXPERIENCE. You’ve got to come up against obstacles and find ways to deal with them in order to truly understand what it takes. (That’s where true knowledge comes from.)

In Spanish, there are two very different words for “to know.” The first one is “conocer,” which means to have knowledge of something (as you might know a phone number or some facts.)

The other Spanish “to know” verb is “saber,” which has a much deeper menaing. For you to “saber” skiing, for example, you’d know how to ski. I could drop you off at the top of a lift and you’d ski down.

When you “conocer” something, you’re familiar with it. You’ve heard about it. You’ve read about it, etc.

But when you “saber” something, you have experience of that thing, You know HOW to do it because you actually have.

Reading about skiing is very different than knowing how to ski.

Maybe that’s why one of the sayings of Spanish-speaking children is “Del dicho al hecho, hay un gran trecho,” which means “From the saying to the doing, there is a big gap…”

Likewise, far too many people invest in education only to leave the books, ebooks, CDs and DVDS on the shelf, collecting dust. They buy a program, do nothing and see zero results.

It’s a tragedy…

They’d be better off had they never invested in the program in the first place. Quite honestly, the person who made the program who’d have been better off too (real teachers want a high batting-average of customer success stories, so if someone doesn’t do well with a our teaching products, it’s a strike against us.)” ~ Mark Widawer

So…

SOLUTION: Go to your bookshelf (or hard-drive) right now and take off one of the smaller books.

Think about the reason you haven’t read it yet (or why you stopped) and then weigh that against the reason you got the book in the first place.

Is it still worth it? If not, toss it. But if it is, finish it to get some “conocer” and then go out and get some “saber”. Start with something small but meaningful…

and lastly…

STUPID THING #6: Thinking They Know Every Damn Thing…

I know I said five, but bump that: this is important…

Smart people – like young people – are the ones who argue back without experience.

They think so well that they think they can think through an experience without actually doing it.

Read that again. This is like stupid thing #5 to the third power.

So when you tell them something that doesn’t fit their way of viewing the world, their immediate response is to rationalize it off as wrong.

Since their so smart, they can actually convince themselves that their right (and not even realize it). When someone informs them of what they’re doing wrong, rather then listen and try to work differently, they stay trapped inside their own intelligence.

In fact, smart people don’t even like THE IDEA of learning something from someone less intelligent then them. It’s like it’s beneath them or something…

I put a facebook status up the other day that said:

Don’t let this be you…

SOLUTION: Shut up. Realize that if you knew as much as you thought you did, you wouldn’t be in the position you’re in now, and that that’s okay…

When someone says something to you, respond by paraphrasing FIRST. Say, “If I understand what you’re saying…x,y,z.” (Most people never get affirmed like this, by the way…they’ll love you for it.)

In fact, spend a month or so not even giving your opinion unless someone asks for it.

Also, when someone breaks something down to you (especially if its about psychology) think about how it applies TO YOU, not to whoever they’re talking about or to somebody else you know.

Thanks for reading ~ now get out there and stop being so intelligent!

Also, before you go, leave a comment below and tell me what you think. Which point resonated the most? Did I leave anything out???

Peace,
+B

ps: Are you lazy? Unmotivated? Scattered? No strong purpose? Got you covered. Discover how to make positive thought and behavior modification virtually automatic by clicking here…

>> How to Get Focused & STAY THERE… (Videos, etc.).
>> Check out Mark Widawer’s Blog..
>> See below to “Share the Knowledge” w/ some of your friends, and
>> Check out the latest from the blog, “Today’s Transcendence…”

ORGANIZING THE BLOG (Here’s the Progress So Far…)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:39:00 +0000

Peace,

Alright so I’m making some serious headway on organizing the blog…the new homepage will have:

1.) A brief overview of the latest post…
2.) Links to navigation pages based on major subjects, and
3.) Possibly a video introduction to the blog in general.

Check out a sample of what one of the navigation pages will look like below (I just finished the one for the Blog Talk Radio archive).

Here’s what I’m thinking about as far as the major subjects (everything will be categorized as one or more of the following):

A) ON PRODUCTIVITY: things on getting results, setting and achieving goals, managing time and other direct tips and techniques for personal efficiency,

B) ON MOTIVATION: things on self-empowerment, inspirational sessions and other posts to help get “amped up,”

C) ON PSYCHOLOGY: all the deeper concepts and strategies on emotional well-being, the subconscious mind , and anything else “heavy” like that

D) ON HOLISTIC HEALTH: think nutrition, how to raise your energy, some of the stuff I do on circadian/ultradian rhythms, etc. etc.

E) VIDEOS

F) RADIO (see below), and

G) CLASSICS: anything else that wouldn’t fit, like dating advice, my comments on the conscious community, the tools I use to build this website or more about me personally…

I think that’s a pretty good structure (although it’s kind of difficult seeing how everything overlaps). For the new theme, I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to use, but definitely something with A LOT more whitespace: something that looks a little bit more mature and less “woo-woo” (although I’ll probably keep the whole nature aspect to some degree).

Check out the first archive page (for the Blog Talk Radio sessions) here.

Leave me a comment below to let me know what you think. Are those some good categories, or do you think an important section is missing/unclear??? I’m open to suggestions…

Peace,
+B

ps: If you like this blog and would like to support what I’m doing, click here (or on anything under “Bryan’s Program Library” to the right). They’re affiliate links, so I’ll get a commission if you “cop” something, and they’re also the same programs that changed my life.

Motivation is SPIRITUAL ENERGY, Purpose & Direction: Here’s How to Find It…

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:07:29 +0000

Peace,

Here’s an excerpt from the book I’m currently reading, “The Power of Full Engagement: How Managing ENERGY, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance & Personal Renewal,” co-authored by Jim Loehr and Tony Scwartz. It’s the start of chapter 7:

———— He Who Has a Why to Live ————

“The quantity of energy we have to spend at any given moment is a reflection of our physical capacity, but OUR MOTIVATION to spend that energy is mostly a spiritual issue.

Spiritual energy is a unique force for action in all dimensions of our lives – it’s the most powerful source of motivation, perseverance and direction…we don’t define “spiritual” in the typical religious sense, but rather in simple and elemental terms: the connection to a deeply held set of values and to a purpose beyond our self-interest…

Spiritual energy is sustained by balancing a commitment to others with adequate self-care. The capacity to live by our deepest values depends on regularly renewing our spirit – seeking ways to rest and rejuvenate and to reconnect with the values we find most inspiring and meaningful.

So when we lack sufficient spiritual energy (i.e: motivation) we must find systematic ways to go deeper…systematic ways to challenge our complacency.” ~ end quote

———— One of These Systematic Ways ————

…is reflection on tragedy, guilt or remorse. Often times, we find our “Powerful Why,” our deepest values and our method of contribution by reflecting on (and processing through the emotions of) sorrow and regret.

The authors give the example of “Gary A”: a bond trader suffering with apathy and detachment from his work…someone who was hungry to do something more with his life then increase his net worth.

When Gary consulted with the authors, he realized that his lack of passion was related to his regrets about being being a poor father.

“Gary and his wife divorced ten years earlier, and while they shared custody of their two daughters, his travel schedule and long hours limited his time with them.

Both daughters were now in their twenties, living in different cities, and his regrets ran deep, especially about the lost opportunities to connect with them through their shared love of sports…

This realization almost immediately led him to come to the idea of coaching kids. It may of been too late for him with his own children, but the possibility of coaching came to him as a way to make a contribution and feel fulfilled.

So he took up a coaching position at a local orphanage (where many of the kids could use a Father figure of course) AND, after succeeding with that, he also took up a mentoring position for the younger traders in his company…something with A LOT of parallels to coaching he never realized before…

“For the first time in two years, he started to look forward to coming to work, and to feel a sense of mission. The rewards that he derived from his mentoring – both at work and with his basketball team – gave him back far more energy then he expended…”

I think the jewel here is that the entire idea sprung out of his regret about his relationship with his own children. I blogged about a book called “The Secret of the Shadow: The Power of Owning Your Whole Story” that goes in-depth on this.

So in a sense, tragedy, grief, remorse and guilt can actually be hidden keys to a higher level of motivation and purpose, but we need to courage to embrace those “shadows” if we’re ever going to discover that…

Peace,
+B

ps: How much is fear of failure holding you back??? If fear of making mistakes, fear of criticism and embarrassment, fear of loss, or fear of risk keep you from doing, saying or going after WHAT YOU WANT, this may be the most important message you read before this year is over. Click here for more…

How to Use the “Socratic Method” ON YOURSELF (Powerful Questions for Progress & Success)

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:16:38 +0000

Peace,

This one goes really in depth, so check it out:

Harmonics: “Take a Little Hand” by Gabriela Robin
(this song is HOT…play it).
Download audio file (gabriela.mp3)

———————

“…You’ll see this same principle in something called the ‘Socratic Method’ too – the power of posing the right questions to your subconscious mind. But what I want to do here is give you an idea of the entire process so you can form exercises and techniques like this for yourself. Check out these examples….

** What would you love to make happen with your life while you still have it?
** If you were to accomplish this thing, what’s the first change you need to make, starting now?

Do you see where I’m going? Here’s another:

** What goal would you tackle, right now, if you knew you couldn’t possibly fail?
** What would you need to have more of in your life to get there? What would you need to have less?
** What daily habits would you need to introduce to substitute others?

or:

** What has worked for you in the past when succeeding at something?
** What can you learn from your last big setback that will benefit you now?
** What are the greatest lessons you’ve learned in life so far?
** What do you keep saying to yourself that actually blocks your progress?
** What could you start saying to yourself to empower you?
** What have you been tolerating from yourself that needs to STOP?

and for good measure, here’s a few more:

** What is life asking you to do differently?
** What habits and actions could you incorporate into your life, starting today, to make this change?
** On a scale from 1 to 10, how do you feel about taking those actions?
** What could you do to raise the number on that scale?

Catch the drift? You basically ask yourself a question that pin-points the essence of the issue your dealing with, and then answer it. If the answer doesn’t motivate you and provide clarity, then question that question, question the assumption that the question relies on, or question the nature of your response. Just go on with the process repeatedly until you find an answer or a technique that makes you feel clear and more in control of the situation.

Here’s a few of my answers from that last set:

>> I need to take my morning meditations more seriously.
>> I need to create a better support structure (friends and family) to encourage me with my work.
>> From my past, I’ve learned that dedication and complete absorption into a goal, regardless of what anybody thinks about you for following it, is a prerequisite for success.

(Sit down with a pen & paper to write the answers out long hand, because physical handwriting activates a different part of your brain and attaches you to what you’re writing down on a different level.)

The bottom line is that your mind is extremely powerful, and once you make a habit of using it like this – using it to actively solve your issues – you’ll be surprised at the wisdom and ingenuity you have bottled up inside of you. Not only will you get some answers, but you’ll also get some confidence in your ability to create action strategies and plans to help you get through challenges and make the most out of life.

And another thing: don’t expect this to automatically solve whatever it is you’re going through. I’m introducing you to this as a life-skill that can help you for the rest of your life, not as a quick fix. So, the first few times you do it (if you’re like most people and you don’t have some mega motivation-giant sitting inside you), you’re going to feel good and clear at first, but after a while, you’ll fall back into your old habits and routines, so you’ll need to do it again…and again…and again.

Things are going to get muddy again and you’ll need to re-focus, that’s just the reality of it: asking yourself powerful questions is not going to create ultimate change the first time around because (guess what?) nothing creates ultimate change the first time around.

If you’re weight training or exercising, you’re not going to get buff or lean the first time you finally get yourself to go to the gym. If you’re trying to use healthier, more natural beauty products, you’re not going to look young again the first time you put the stuff on, that’s just how it is.

If you’re just learning how to cook, trust me: you’re first meal probably isn’t going to come out too tasty, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the effort, and it definitely doesn’t mean you should give up.

I’ve had this website up since 2007, and look, I still don’t get hundreds of people looking at my blogposts everyday or anything like that (some websites get up to 1000 new visitors daily). What if I just said:

“Maaaan…eff it. My websites not getting any traffic, so what’s the use???“

You need to learn to persist and to stay dedicated to things, even when they look like they’re not working and other people tell you it doesn’t make sense (with some exception of course). This is especially true when you’re making change to an entire system – a lifetime of habits and routines, a conditioned set of beliefs or an ingrained overall structure (in the case of a relationship or an organization).

So don’t get it twisted: I still have to take time out to power question myself and reflect on things too…I have to because I’m constantly learning new things and facing bigger challenges, and I bet you’re probably doing the same in your own way.

This is why it’s important to not set too many large scale goals for yourself when you’re just starting something. When most people set out to “conquer themselves,” attain self-discipline or otherwise improve their life, they expect some revolutionary, magical shift to take place that’ll instantly improve all the different aspects of their life…just because they made a decision. It doesn’t happen & then they get discouraged and beat themselves up over it.

So don’t think like that: don’t think that just because you’ve made the decision to change that you can somehow undo years of habits, routines and conditioning. Take it easy on yourself when developing will-power and self-discipline, because if you don’t, you’re just like the dude who walks into the gym for the first time and tries to bench 400.

For research, I’ve been reading this book called Power of Will: A Practical Companion Book for the Unfoldment of Selfhood through Direct Personal Culture, written by Frank Channing Haddock in like, 1919 or something (it’s really powerful to read old scrolls like that by the way). He builds on willpower and self-discipline in-depth: how to develop it and how that development relates to the individual (or the Soul…hint, hint: it has a lot more to do with physiology – controlling your body from the inside out – then you might think). In there he says:

“The giant trees of California were once puny saplings – the slow lapse of time has drawn nature into their mighty hearts…”

I want you to remember that anytime you feel like you’re not progressing like you should. Remember that we live in a “quick fix” society – a culture that programs us to look for instant gratification in all things. But if you want to make changes in your life, you have to program YOURSELF to stick with things for the long term, and create a “direct personal culture” of persistence and dedication…

Here’s a few more:

** What would you like to be acknowledged for so far in your life?
** What could you give yourself more of so that you can give more to others?
** In what way are you a better person now then you were at this time last year?
** What books could you read, people could you call and talk to or websites could you visit on line to support where you’re trying to go?

Peace,
+B

More Classic Jewels from the Archives of “Today’s Transcendence…”

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:05:39 +0000

Peace,

I’m going to be spending the rest of today getting the blog organized and coming up with a better navigation system, so for now enjoy these great classic posts.

I’m actually thinking of changing the blog’s entire theme (visual design) too…looking for something more lightweight. Let me know if you have any questions.

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Understanding & Overcoming Procrastination…
A great, quick exercise to put procrastination into prospective…this simple imagination technique will help you see how procrastination originates from our sense of self worth psychology, and let you know what you can do to bring it to an end. It’s part of a productivity series I did a while back called “Conquer Yourself.” Knowledge this (i.e: see more) >>

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Holistic Health & Wellness Tips for Overall Well-Being
Here my good friend (and nutritional consultant) Hondo Solomon & I go in-depth with techniques, tips, advice & insight on how to transition into a healthier lifestyle…if you’ve meaning to get your diet together, thinking about being vegetarian or just need some motivation for living the healthy life you deserve, THIS IS IT. Knowledge this >>

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Is the “Conscious Community” Really that Conscious Anymore??? (Knowledge as a Form of Self-Deception)
“I noticed a tendency for people – particularly in the conscious community – to use what they learn as a facade… as a way of appearing to have self-esteem, personal progress and overall togetherness all while avoiding their real life problems…to use knowledge in the same way many use television, sex, or drugs: as an escape from/denial of their personal situation. Knowledge this >>

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Going “From Niggas to Gods” (The Book that Changed EVERYTHING for Me)
Covers my favorite book of ALL TIME…the one “recommended scroll” I can truly say changed everything for me: from opening my perspective and freeing my mind from the negativity I was engulfed in to creating an entire metamorphosis in my character, THIS BOOK IS IT. There’s also an audio excerpt of me reading from it, so knowledge this >>

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WHAT DO WOMEN WANT??? (Bryan’s Take On It)
This was the first really well-received blog post I ever did (62 likes in one day actually) by covering a little something I put together called “5 Steps a Brother Can Take to Improve His Dating Life….” You’ll love it: it’s humorous, insightful, practical AND it has a lot of sisters “adding-on” in the comments section with their own unique perspectives. Knowledge This >>

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A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding & Activating the 7 Chakras (Blog Talk Radio)
Another great resource page: an audio session of mine on the Eastern concept of “The Seven Chakras” from a beginner’s perspective. It’s an IN-DEPTH overview with tons of research material, related video-training, the entire blog talk radio audio for listening and download and MUCH more… Knowledge this >>

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Ego-Tripping: How, When & Why “Feeling Yourself” Can Actually Be a GOOD THING
“Unless you plan to go live on a mountain-top somewhere, realize that a healthy ego is a healthy thing, because success in this world (in your career, family, close relationships etc.) requires it, and the results it creates are your birthright…you’ll NEVER feel fulfilled in life until you truly love who you are in a fundamental way.” Knowledge this >>

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Dual-Self Journaling: An Easy Writing Technique for Overcoming Fears
A great journaling technique I came up with based on some Queenbridge MC’s. Ultimately, you already know everything you need to, but most fear comes from being disconnected with that more intuitive part of your mind, so this’ll help you re-establish that connection. Do the knowledge >>

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Mind-Mapping: The #1 Creativity Technique for Producing Great Ideas FAST…
This is fire: what makes mind-maps so hot is that they replicate the your actual, real-time thinking. While normal note taking techniques are “linear” (they suppose that you’re thinking is already sequentially like “first I’m going to do this, then I’m going to do that,” etc.), mind-maps are “HOLISTIC.” Knowledge this>>

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A 3-Point Formula for Enhancing Your Self-Discipline
This one is a VIDEO, and my first seriously well-received one at that: it’s an engaged discussion with me explaining to my friend the principles I used to stay discipline, focused, energized, reliable and committed to my work. There’s actually 2 parts to this post: the 2nd is a Q&A where I point out all the different things that might be robbing you of your energy. Knowledge this >>

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8 Principles to Empower Yourself (& Live in a Reality Other’s Treat w/ Respect)
A little self-explanatory of course, but these short, quick principles will help you create a “paradigm of power“: an aura around you that’ll give you more influence, make people respond to you, give you momentum towards your personal goals and much more (think of it as a rapid-fire motivational session). Knowledge this >>

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Health Success & Great Relationships: The Fundamental Life Skill that Makes them ALL Possible
Here you’ll find a deeper level science for self-empowerment – the principles, precepts, insights and practical techniques to help you fully utilize the greatest asset you have at your disposal: your very own mind. It’s a 4-part series to strategically using your mind power for results in ALL the key areas of life. Knowledge this >>

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The #1 Simple, Automated Tool I Use EVERYDAY to Stay Motivated & ON-POINT…
Taking the mind-power skills to an even higher level, this post is about an easy tool I use to (get ready) virtually automate my own success. Here I talk about “Success-Conditioning Software,” because unless you find a way to do all this at the subconscious level, nothing you learn will work

Let me repeat that: if your deep-level subconscious mental blueprints aren’t built for success, NOTHING you learn, NOTHING you know and NOTHING you do will make much of an actual difference…EVER. So do yourself a favor and check this out now >>

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Not sure where to start??? I’d say go with one of the last two (Health, Success & Great Relationships or the Success-Conditioning Software) because they really provide the fundamental understanding that almost EVERYTHING we cover here (self-development, mind-elevation and personal growth) is based on…

Also, “How to Get FOCUSED: Tips, Techniques, Exercises, etc. etc. “ on Blog Talk Radio just finished up recently too…you can check it all out here.

Peace,
+B

HOW TO BRING YOUR GOALS TO LIFE: The 4 Dimensions of Focused Success…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:52:05 +0000

Peace,

Knowledge this:
Download audio file (life.mp3)

You can click here to download the mp3. Also, since this is my first time explaining this technique and concept, make sure to leave me a comment below…

Give me some feedback on how you’re going to use what you learned (and don’t hesitate to ask if anything wasn’t clear).

———— Resources Mentioned ————

Here’s the mind-map diagram for you to print out and follow yourself. You can download it here as a pdf (Adobe Acrobat) file.

Here’s a video discussing values by Lex Sisney. Another great exercise:

Here’s an Amazon link to the book I’m reading, The Power of Full Engagement: How Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance & Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.

And here’s the “Get Your Mind Right” software I mentioned later on in the recording…the #1 tool I use daily to stay motivated, focused, self-disciplined and ON-POINT. Click here for more details.

Don’t forget to leave me a comment below…

Peace,
+B

p.s: JUST PLAIN LAZY??? Now you can end fear, RADIATE CONFIDENCE & have willpower like steel…

If your willpower and persistence always seem to fizzle, then join people from 54 countries now using the new paradigm in personal growth. Free Course. Click here for more…

Three SERIOUS QUESTIONS I’d Like Your Help With…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 20:44:09 +0000

Not in the mood to read??? Click the play button to listen instead,
or *click here to download the mp3

Download audio file (questions.mp3)

Peace,

So, 2011 is going to be a serious year for me. Since I’ve spent the last few years working on getting myself focused and disciplined, I now have a lot of faith and my upcoming success…

But, like always, with that higher level of accomplishment comes a higher level of conflict, and, even deeper, what I’ve found is that as you reach a certain levels of development, what you used to think was unconscious inner-conflict (i.e fear) actually becomes a set of conscious philosophical dilemmas.

What happens is you learn to consult with your own intelligence so that you don’t proceed in a direction (or move at a pace) that’s not right for you.

So here’s a few questions I’ve been “marinating on’ for the last few days that I’d like your opinion on:

I.| Do power and influence natural corrupt the person who acquires them? Is “evil” inherent in the process of gaining power, or is it a type of consciousness independent of power itself???

II.| Is persuasion ethical? Can you justify using persuasion (i.e. psychological control of another person) if it results in positive behavior??? And

III.| Is the use of video destroying our intelligence? I know this is a little out there, but what I’ve realized is that the style of a learning-video (the teacher’s character) DETRACTS from (and supercedes) the substance of it (the actual ideas themselves), so what I’ve been thinking is that trend towards online video (including educational sector of it) is leading to the EXTINCTION of critical thought (while on surface, seeming to progress it).

So I’m about to go more in-depth with each one but remember that I’d like your opinion on this: nothing’s too deep or too shallow, or too long or too short. I’d just really appreciate it if you left me a comment below.

———— On Power & Influence ————

QUESTION #1: Does power and influence naturally corrupt the people who gain it? Does the acquisition of power inevitably, slowly and gradually alter someone’s perception of the world, causing them to BE-come what they original planned to OVER-come???

The analogy here is that last Star Wars trilogy, “Revenge of the Sith,” where you learn the history of Darth Vader and actually come to sympathize with his character and his personal conflict…you find out that what eventually came to be “evil” began as an honest and authentic (albeit confused) desire for good…

I’m asking because as I see what’s possible with what I’m doing here, and as I get better at focusing and disciplining myself to actually do it, I notice a couple things happening.

One is that I’m stepping into a position of power and influence, and people are beginning to accept my ideas on faith without actually THINKING about them themselves…

…so my mind immediately goes to those classic quotes about how “power corrupts absolutely” and to fables (or actually history) who attained a position of power and mis-used or abused it.

Since I’ll be in a position of leadership and influence that I’m unfamiliar with, my fear is that I’ll unexpectantly change because of the pressures, demands and dynamics of that position.

Basically, I don’t know what’s going to happen and I’m worried that it might be something BAD…

I was talking to a friend last night about this, and she came up with historic examples of powerful people who used it for good (Malcolm X, MLK, Huey P., etc. etc.), but it still didn’t completely free me from the fear.

Another friend recommended the book “Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior” (Hawkins), which I haven’t checked out yet…

On a deeper note, supposing this to be true – supposing that power DOES naturally corrupt – doesn’t that cause people with positive intentions to relegate power to those with evil ones???

In other words, if we want the world to be a better place, we need people with good intentions to have power, but if people with good intentions assume or believe that power naturally corrupts, then they’ll never seek it and it’ll AUTOMATICALLY go to people with negative ones.

It’s been eating at me for the last 2-3 days…

———— On Persuasion and Psychology ————

QUESTION #2: Should someone use persuasion to get someone ELSE to take a positive action? How can someone with that skill judge the ethical extent to which he’ll use it???

Besides getting better at disciplining myself and (thereby) transitioning into a position of power, I’m also becoming more aware of how psychology and motivation work in other people…

Here’s an example (this is kind of ill, but bear with me…it’s the perfect way to explain):

So I was watching some video-coaching the other day (on how to grow your business if you sell information…books, consultation etc. ), and the guy explained how you need to stop selling information and start selling RESULTS instead…

Not only do you want to frame the product as a result (in the marketing), you also want to get the person consuming it (reading the book, watching the video, or whatever) to ACT on you gave them (so that they can actually get the result you sold them on).

So if you want them to act, you can’t just educate them on what specifically to do, you also have to “motivate” them (read, use psychology ON them) to push them into action….

In other words, you use your understanding of psychology to gain leverage over the other person and get them to do the things your suggesting they do, (rather then just say, “do this, do this and then do this….”)

So, as an example, he advised someone who sells weight loss and exercise information to say, as a headline in their advertising:

“Lose your weight or LOSE YOUR HUSBAND to that skinny bitch at the office…”

See what’s being done? Once he found out that the typical client was a married, overweight woman, he leveraged her subconscious fears of cheating, divorce and abandonment to get her attention…

…but it was to do something positive! (*Lose weight, exercise, eat healthier, etc. etc.) So even though it is jacked up, it can be argued to be a “win win” situation for everyone involved.

Now of course, that’s going a little bit too far…I used this just to exemplify the science. Truth is, we all do this to some extent or another (do or say things to influence someone else’s behavior), but it’s the boundary I’m concerned with.

What I’m really asking here is, where do you draw the line??? Once you have drawn a line, how do you know you’re not getting too close to unintentionally crossing it?

Even further, mixing it with the power and influence piece of above, when you’re in a position of power and have this skill, what kind of road are you headed towards???

I literally know of people who, right now, can send an email out to a list of about 300,000+ subscribers, say “Hey, I just put this video up: come check it out and let me know what you think…”, and then send them to a video where they use a series of psychological levers (mixed in with some actual knowledge and valuable material, of course) to get them to buy something.

Whether the product is actually helpful seems besides the point: I’m concerned with the ethics and the path the person doing it is heading towards…

Which leads into my last question…

———— On Video and the End of Literacy ————

QUESTION #3: Should I really be using more video? Are there side effects to this trend that I’d be encouraging? Does it simple allow me to connect with audience more or does it DETRACT from the content of the actual ideas (and therefore inhibit true learning)???

This is an interesting one cause you often hear people bigging up video as an online revolution (an ALL-POSITIVE thing), but to me, there’s two problems here:

1.) Video is contributing to our age of an attention-deficit society, and

2.) Video places STYLE over SUBSTANCE…

When your watching video, you’re really more impacted by the person’s CHARACTER rather then the material itself…in fact, if you think about it, that’s where your attention automatically goes by default.

Someone who has a ton of great ideas and insightful information, but who’s boring or unattractive will never get anywhere near the same type of response as someone who’s energetic, lively, charismatic or any of the other traits salesman or entertainers typically have (even though their actual ideas may be mediocre at best).

The simple medium of video DETRACTS from the overall purpose teaching implies. Not only are most videos crafted to ADAPT to our society’s inattentiveness, but the simple act of having a video-emphasis ENCOURAGES it…

For instance, the more video I do, the more I get responses like:

“What’s that pendant you’re wearing around your neck?” or

“I really loved your video and your energy…I’m just wondering: how did you get to be so knowledgeable at a young age??? What’s your story?”

…or other comments that have absolutely nothing to do with the material.

And the LESS I get responses that actually question or inquire into what I’m saying (responses that show the viewer is actual thinking THEMSELVES, rather then just being entertained).

Video distracts attention away from the raw knowledge (by placing it on the character, the setting, etc.) while reading forces attention to go in-depth with it (because there’s nothing else to focus on but the knowledge itself).

So in my view, the advent of online-video is helping us become the first ever literate but still IL-literate society, and since I want to encourage critical thought and introspection, I’m not so certain if I want to hop on that bandwagon…

———— Concluding Thoughts ————

These are just some of the issues I’m currently tackling…the internet (being an intangible medium) can be a highly-leveragable platform for subtle mind-control, so thought-leaders in this forthcoming world have a lot of ethical questions they need to pose to themselves about how they’re going to do their thing…

Again, these are just SOME of the philosophical dilemmas I’m dealing with now…it’s what happens when you learn how to set and achieve goals: a whole new world of drama, conflict and decision making opens up.

Wyatt Woodsmall (an NLP practictioner) said “You’re never going to solve all of your problems, you’re only going to inherit more sophisticated ones.”

I used to think my problem was that I couldn’t get myself to do anything, but now that I got that covered it seems so insignificant.

It’s a lot like when an older guy looks back on his high school years when he THOUGHT his big problems were getting a girlfriend, impressing his boys and what have you. It’s a whole new world of meaning…

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think…

Peace,
+B

The “Five C’s” AT THE ROOT of Most Sleep Problems…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:32:04 +0000

Peace,

Some research I stumbled onto yesterday…I was checking out the sales page for Think Right Now Intl.’s “Tranquil Sleep Now” program, and a lot of the points they made made sense.

I have a couple friends with (so-called) “sleeping disorders,” and actually couldn’t sleep AT ALL last night myself, so luckily this article clarifies why. Knowledge this:

———— The “5 C’s” Behind Most Sleep Problems ————

“If you’re like most people, you try to live life all at once and you bring it all with you into bed, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

Look at what you do when you turn off the lights:

>> You play the day’s events over and over in your mind.
>> You mull over mistakes and disagreements.
>> You think about a deadline racing up.
>> You worry about your kids’ grades.
>> You dwell on PROBLEMS. Money problems. Family problems. Work problems. Health problems. Marriage and relationship problems.

Factor that all together, and it’s no wonder sleep is elusive. As the sleeplessness goes on and on, the frustration keeps mounting up:

>> You get down on yourself for being a failure at “sleep”
>> You soon dread going to bed
>> You feel powerless over your sleep problems
>> You just assume you won’t be able to sleep
>> You don’t know how to relax anymore
>> You can’t get comfortable in bed
>> You resign yourself to being an insomniac
>> You don’t think you’ll EVER get a good night’s rest
>> Your mattress is too hard and the pillows too soft
>> You have terrible nightmares, so “what’s the point?”

But why, with so much on the line, do these issues take over your mind when you’re trying to fall asleep???

It’s just the way we’re wired…

Most of the 50,000 thoughts that pop into your mind every day are AUTOMATIC. They’ve been with you for decades (perhaps even a lifetime) – they’re the by-product of conditioned negative thought patterns that have hijacked your natural sleep processes.

That’s why just saying “STOP!” to yourself won’t do the trick. And blaming yourself because you don’t have any “internal discipline” won’t either…”

The healthiest, most effective way to correct your sleep problems is to change the unsupportive mental patterns (beliefs, thoughts, attitudes) that lurk behind them.

Sleeping pills and herbal remedies don’t change the underlying causes of sleep problems one iota. Tranquil Sleep Now! does—safely, effectively, and permanently.

It’s as simple as that…”

———— Where to Go For More ————

That particular excerpt stood out to me, but there’s a lot more too. Click here to find out…

The main headline says:

Also, I joined their affiliate program back in the Spring, so if you choose to invest in anything there, you’ll also be donating to the work I do here at the same time.

Remember, I’ve been using they’re programs since 2007 to stay focused, motivated, fully-engaged and ON-POINT. Click here for more on how I got “put on” to Think Right Now International, and click here for more about the “Tranquil Sleep Now!” Program

Peace,
+B

RELAX: 3 Simple Guided Meditations, Soothing Music for Peace of Mind & More…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:24:48 +0000

Peace,

An “old-school resurrection” from Lifestyles of the Calm & Focused. Enjoy…

———— Simple Meditation ————

Odd as it might sound, I don’t like talking about meditation too much because it’s so cliche (and feels kind of soft). Here’s a few that I do use on the regular though, albeit unconsciously…

For a deeper breakdown of meditation, more resources etc. etc., check out the resource page for my classic radio show on the Chakras. This post is a set of short audios that’ll guide you through a meditation yourself.

The first is a basic one I do all the time – at least 2x a day (try this with headphones if possible):

Meditation Exercise 1
Download audio file (meditation.mp3)

The second and third are specific NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) exercises that I blogged about before. They’re meant to help you with your self-image and self-esteem, but since they’re visualizations they’ll also help you relax and focus as well:

Meditation Exercise 2:
Download audio file (ideal.mp3)

Meditation Exercise 3:
Download audio file (timeline.mp3)

———– Natural Harmonics ————

And here’s some the music I listen to to calm myself down as well…what a good friend of mine calls “Nature Music.”

She hits it on the head with this term because that’s exactly what these types of songs do: put you back in touch with your natural state of relaxed awareness, deeper thought and overall clarity.

I know a lot of people who have the whole “classical music” approach, but there’s also a lot of cats you can listen to with a more uptempo but still relaxing vibe.

Try doing youtube searches for composers and artists like Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoko Kanno or Illaria Graziano. Here are some examples:

NOTE: use video2mp3.net to download anything on youtube as an audio file…

You can also do a youtube search for terms like “relaxation music” “meditation music” or even certain films (the soundtrack for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a great example).

———— Chi-Spheres ————

Lastly, try using “Chi-Spheres”, or Chinese Health Balls. I got my newest pair in Chinatown on my last trip to New York, but I’m sure you can find some on amazon.com or wherever else online.

Some brief web research I’ve done says:

“The Chi Ball is one of the simplest and most effective ways of sending healing energy and attunement…”

“They’re generally heavy and within each is bell mechanism that produces a lovely and therapeutic sound while exercising…”

“According to the traditional Chinese theory of ‘Jung Luo’, there are various acupuncture points within the palm of one’s hand, (so) when exercising with the balls, those acupuncture points are stimulated…”

“It’s good for:
>> blood circulation,
>> bone health,
>> muscle relaxation,
>> memory,
>> good sleep,
>> relieving stress,
>> staying calm,
>> and much more…”

Technically, “Chi Ball” refers to an ancient Chinese martial art healing technique, but these are called “Chinese Health Balls.”

Not only do these help me relax, they also help me avoid headaches and similar pains related to excessive computer work as well…

Thanks for checking this out…

Peace,
+B

ps: Can’t sleep??? IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT…if you have trouble falling asleep (or staying there), don’t beat yourself up over it. Sleep problems are an outgrowth of our overstressed, modern culture – making it almost impossible to avoid. Click here for more help…

How to GET FOCUSED: Simple Tips, Techniques, Exercises (Radio Playback, Videos, etc.)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:52:09 +0000

Peace,

Here’s the audio playback from last night’s call, “How to Get Focused: Simple Tips, Techniques, Insights, Exercises, etc. etc.”, my final Blog Talk Radio show (at least for 2010).
Download audio file (show11-24-10.mp3)

*click HERE to download the mp3…

And here’s some of the feedback thus far…

———— Resources (Videos, Tools, etc.) ————

(I.)The video series that started it all: here my friend Barry Black and I build on how to “get focused” in depth…

(II.) A great mind-mapping tutorial for drastically raising your creativity…

(III.) A great exercise for discovering your unique strengths…

(IV.) The Dual-Self Journaling concept explained in detail: the greatest technique for drastically eliminating the (subconscious) fears holding you back…

And (V.) the “Get Your Mind Right” software I mentioned later on in the call…the #1 tool I use daily to stay motivated, focused, self-disciplined and ON-POINT. Click here for more details.

———— Background Harmonics ————

And just cause, here’s some of the music from last night’s call too:

“Brooklyn Zoo” by ODB
Download audio file (odb.mp3)

Prodigy’s verse from “Self-Conscious”:
Download audio file (prodigy.mp3)

“Time & Attention in this Digital Age” by Merlin Mann
Download audio file (e-mail.mp3)

A verse on Fatherhood by Papoose
Download audio file (papoose.mp3)

“A Tale (Manchusen Mix)” from the Cirque du Soleil OST
Download audio file (cirque.mp3)

Peace,
+B

ps: Instead of having just more information but no real faith, no drive, no will, no persistence, no determination…and thus no achievement, now you can have all of that and more with almost NO EFFORT. Click here to find out how…

Technology is Making Most of Us OBSOLETE…Here’s How to AVOID the Failure, Rejection & Insignificance Bound to Become the Norm

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:12:35 +0000

Peace,

NOTE: this is one of my deeper post, so I’m about to get “sociological” on you, but stay with me: this is about the future, both your’s personally and our’s together as a society…

FIRST, listen to this…it’s part of a free audio book I give away to people who sign up to get 2 (also free) chapters of my upcoming book:
Download audio file (fme4b.mp3)

*download this mp3 by clicking here

———— Excerpt from the Reader Mailbag ————

“Simply put, we’re not prepared for the future; we’re not ready for the great transition into an information economy (the so-called “digital age”).

Part of what I’m doing stems from the fact that, as a society, we’re MASS-MIGRATING into a new type of reality: a purely abstract, virtual world that’ll change EVERYTHING about how society operates…

I not trying to get all Sci-Fi on you, but we simply don’t have the skill-sets (or MIND-sets) needed to position ourselves favorably in the coming world and to avoid becoming obsolete.

I’m not talking about just knowing how to “surf the net,” I mean an entire WORLDVIEW…an understanding of the new phase of society we’re transferring into (the social dynamics of it).

There’s this Chinese proverb that goes “At the other side of a crisis lies opportunity…” and that’s how I feel.

This is probably the main thing right here: reframing what most of us see as a terrifying, hyper-technology crisis into an opportunity for community empowerment (economically, politically and culturally) on a whole new level.

There’s a concept I’m developing called “The Great Transition” you can find out more about by clicking here.

————Two Pieces of the Puzzle ————

As I see it, the solution is a two-fold process:

1.) Setting up structures to NULLIFY the negative effects that this virtual reality will bring (look up stuff like Neo-Luddism, books like “You Are Not A Gadget” by John Lanier, “Empire of Illusion” by Chris Hedges, etc.), and

2.) Setting up structures to adapt to and ACCENTUATE the positive effects (look up terms like “information society” or “knowledge economy”…you’ll also find some of the more philosophical internet marketers – people like Seth Godin and Eben Pagan – talking about this.)

Peace,
+B

ps: Your friends look up to you for your ambition. You need to live up to them so they don’t think you’re a fraud. Here’s how…

YOU NEED TO BUILD WALLS FOR YOURSELF: Tips for Handling Digital Overload…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:51:43 +0000

Peace,

(NOTE: tomorrow I’ll be hosting another great Blog Talk Radio program called “How to GET FOCUSED…” which’ll be a continuation on the video series from last week. Click here for more details.)

Check this out: it’s an audio clip from Merlin Mann (blogger and creator of the “Inbox Zero” concept) on how to handle high-volume email overload. He makes A LOT of great points:
Download audio file (e-mail.mp3)

*click here to download this MP3

Listen closely about 3 minutes in – soak in his overall world-view about time and attention and how it all works.

& here’s the original video this is from:

Peace,
+B

p.s: I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE LAZIEST BUM WHO EVER DREW A BREATH…if you just can’t get yourself to do what you need to do – if your willpower and persistence always seems to fizzle out – then check out the new paradigm in personal growth. Click here now.

How to Find Your Unique Talents & Strengths (Great Video Exercise)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:07:49 +0000

…because this is one of the secrets to a life well lived.” ~ Lex Sisney

Peace,

Today I want to build on developing your talents into strengths: not just “the laws of success” or “time-management,” but the laws of managing (and DEVELOPING) your unique “Core-Compentencies” so that you get the most “return on your investment” (of energy, obviously).

Specifically, you have things that YOU’RE particularly “nice” at: specific skills, activities, understandings or whatever that you’re so proficient at, you don’t even realize you’re proficient at it (because it comes so naturally).

THIS is where you need to place the precious, additional “success-energy” you have, because this is what gives you the leverage you need to succeed. Essentially, you need to take your talents, turn them into STRENGTHS, and then focus them towards your biggest opportunity.

STOP doing things that you’re not, to some degree, inherently “feeling” as you’re doing them. (If you can’t stop immediately, think about weaning yourself away from it gradually).

It’s just like a relationship >> if you’re not feeling the person, it’s only a matter of time until…y’know.

Try the quick exercise below. Homeboy might seem kind of quirky, but he knows what he’s talking about:

Peace,
+B

ps: If you like this blog and would like to support what I’m doing, click here (or on anything under “Bryan’s Program Library” to the right). They’re affiliate links, so I’ll get a commission if you “cop” something, and they’re also the same programs that changed my life.

(3 NEW VIDEOS) How to GET FOCUSED: In-Depth Question & Answer Session

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:45:34 +0000

Peace,

Let me know if you have any questions…

DOWNLOAD as >> FLV | MP4 | WMV

Also, I’ll be doing a blog talk radio show on all this next week, Wednesday, Nov. 11th @6pm eastern time (click the green link for more details).

Leave a comment below letting me know what you think, and see the below for some more great material…

Peace,
+B

MAN-UP: A 3-Step Framework for Mature Masculine Power…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:48:43 +0000

Peace,

I just finished up a seminar for Freshman males at ODU called “MAN-UP: A 3-Step Framework for Cultivating the Mature Masculine Power YOU KNOW You Have Inside of You…”

It was fire, and I’m working on the videos now, but here’s the resources as promised (*videos, powerpoints, radio shows and more):

———— Resources, Links & More ————

First off, here’s the Powerpoint Presentation >> click here to download it for Office 2007 >> or here for the older 97-2003 version

Also, this was one of the major “glyphs” used during the seminar, something I call “The Tree of Life-Science”:

*click image to zoom in; right-click & “save as” here to download…

…this tree is a symbol saying how success at each level depends on the health of the level below it (the fruits, trunk and underground, invisible roots, respectively). It’s like a “visual thesis statement” for the entire seminar.

Next, here’s a link to the “Get Your Mind Right” Software I mentioned towards the end. Just click the image:

Like I mentioned, this is the #1 resource I use to stay focused, motivated, positive and ON-POINT. Do yourself a favor and check it out now…

Of course, like always, here’s a link to the “Recommended Scrolls” – the different books you’ll see mentioned throughout the presentation. These are all tight reads

>> Double Your Dating: What Every Man Should Know About Success w/ Women
>> The Inner Male: Overcoming the Hidden Roadblocks to Intimacy
>> The Dragon Slayer w/ a Heavy Heart
>> From Niggas to Gods
>> The Alchemist, and
>> The Way of the Superior Man

Here’s the episode of that “In the House” sitcom from back in 95 w/ LL Cool J:

Not only is it FUNNY, but it’s also one of the best PRACTICAL depictions of mature masculinity I’ve ever seen on “the dummy-box.” Watch it, and pay attention to how LL’s character (the landord) contrasts with that of the ex-husband’s…

And lastly, here’s a link to the classic blogposts that go further in-depth with each level:

>> WHAT DO WOMEN WANT??? (Bryan’s Take On It…)
>> The Dynamics of High Self-Esteem: Insights & Techniques for Greater Confidence
>> Why Real Men NO LONGER EXIST (& Why the Boy Inside You Must Die)
>> Health, Success & Great Relationships: The Fundamental Skill That Makes THEM ALL Possible…

Don’t forget to check out the “Get Your Mind Right” software mentioned above. This is really the greatest resource I could recommend to you.

(*I’ve signed up as an affiliate partner with them, so if you do happen to get anything while you’re there, I’ll probably get a small commission for it.

Even if you’re not interested in copping anything though, trust me and check it out now. There’s tons of powerful, FREE information there guaranteed to help you “get focused”: dotheknowledge.com/think)

I’ll have those videos up soon, so be sure to check back on this page (you can sign up below to stay updated).

Peace,
+B

Ego-Tripping: How, When & Why “Feeling Yourself” Can Actually Be a GOOD THING…

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:33:54 +0000

*Another “old-school resurrection” from back in July
(Harmonics: the instrumental to “Slippin” by DMX…)
Download audio file (slippin.mp3)

Peace,

Had an interesting discussion with a friend on Skype the other day. Check it:

Me: “So go ahead and shoot, but please nothing boring…if I had a quarter for every lame, straight-out-of-essence-magazine question I get asked ;)”

My Homegirl: “My question was, what is your relationship between you and your Ego?”

Me: “Oh it’s real good – we do the naughty everyday…

Alright, seriously Queen:

My ego is a tool like my physical frame…it needs to be kept healthy and developed.

The way I see it, once the ego is in order (i.e: self-esteem is high), that streamlines the process of a productive life, healthy relationships and self-knowledge in the spiritual sense

Does that answer your question? (I wasn’t too sure what you meant exactly, so I just ran with my first thought) I meant to ask you something similar actually…”

———— From My Own Studies ———–
And here’s something from one of my current scrolls, Norvell’s Dynamic Mental Laws of Successful Living, called “Your Ego Determines Your Drive“:

“Even your ego has two opposing forces: those of low value or high value; a feeling of importance or unimportance, and your Ego determines your drive and the direction in which your decisions are made in the future.

If you have been trained and educated to believe that you’re important, that you’ll become successful and that you have a magnetic and charming personality, then your Ego will have a drive in the direction of success. However, if you have lacked education or training of this higher sort, if you were born in a poor family that had no advantages of comfort or luxury, if you were told over and over when you were a child that you were no good or that you would never amount to anything and that you would be poor all your life, then it’s possible that your Ego-drive will be in the direction of failure, unhappiness and poverty all your life as well…” ~ Anthony Norvell

———— From My Own Work ————

and lastly, here’s something from my upcoming book, Doing the Knowledge: Ascending into Action:

“Don’t think of what we’re building on here as traditional ‘self-improvement.’ Instead, look at it as ‘Ego Exercise‘ or better yet, ‘Character Conditioning.’

Just as physical conditioning develops your vitality and body-form; character conditioning develops your personality and self-image…it’s the same principle applied to an alternate plane: with a strong, healthy, and well- conditioned self-image, you’ll carry life out with finesse – you’ll take on the challenges life projects at you as if it’s a walk in the park.

If you think about it, terms like ‘self-improvement’ and ‘self-development’ are really misnomers, because the True Self – the spiritual being that you really are – comes from an Eternal Source..so in what ways can this Eternal Self ever be improved or developed???)

Still however, your levels of persistence, personal integrity, vision, kindness, humility, emotional intelligence, humor, knowledge, patience and forgiveness (towards both yourself and others) can all be improved and developed, and likewise, your self-talk – the internal dialogue which dictates all these things – can be improved and developed as well.

Remember, regardless of the circumstances contained in your present, and regardless of the history contained in your past, YOU control the destination contained in your future.

In your life, you’re the sole-controller, so free yourself from what happened and start taking charge of what IS happening. Today is the first day of the rest of your life, so clean the slate mentally and start building something right and exact in the here and now.

After all, the ‘you’ that you dislike is not even the real you anyway – it’s only a garment that holds your essential spirit, and just like the wardrobe in your closet can change, so too can the character which adorns your soul…”

(That was all from a section called “Self-Worth vs. Success:
3 Steps to Liberation.” You can get 2-full chapters from my upcoming book at bottom of this post…

I call this positive growth “ego exercise” because that’s what’s actually happening: you’re “ego” is exercising and developing in a positive direction…

To be clear, I think the ego is a healthy thing, and I don’t think you should try to “transcend” it (as in, try to operate without it at all) for any extended period of time. Instead, you should learn to integrate more spiritual concepts INTO your personality as you face life’s challenges.

Some of those more spiritual concepts to incorporate include what I call:

>> Fundamental Intimacy: A pervasive feeling of love, compassion, empathy and consideration for everyone around you (“just cuz”), and

>> Embracing Death: Being at one with the idea of your own mortality (like the ancient Japanese Samurai were) and living in the present moment at all times…

Unless you plan to go live on top of a mountain somewhere, realize that a healthy ego is a healthy thing, because success in this world (in your work, career, family, close relationships etc.) requires it, and the results it creates are your birthright.

This is why most of the posts here at Today’s Transcendence have to do with self-worth, NOT mystical or philosophical truth. Don’t get me wrong, I’m mad philosophical myself, but I’ve learned that none of that stuff really helps long term UNLESS you really love who you are in a simple, fundamental way.

While it’s easy to mouth off new-age jargon (and sound deep enough to even deceive yourself), the real work is handling your psychological issues and going through a serious process of emotional healing.

So if anyone ever accuses you of being overly confident, arrogant or anything else along those lines as a result of you doing this work, but you know that you’re heart is in the right place (i.e: you know you’re not better than anyone else and you only want the best for other people), don’t sweat it.

In fact, chances are that their confidence isn’t too high and you just make them more aware of it, so don’t let that stop you from doing you…

I’m not saying that you should be inconsiderate or rigid to constructive feedback; only that as you grow along the lines of what we build on here, you’ll find yourself liking yourself a lot more. This’ll show to others who might not be at that place yet, so you can expect to eventually get challenged on it.

Think about it like this: most of the subconscious beliefs we’re conditioned to have about our ego (symbolized by popular phrases like “ego tripping,” “she swears she’s all that,” “he’s feeling himself,” etc.) ARE ACTUALLY INHIBITING YOU FROM DEVELOPING YOUR OWN SELF-WORTH; from gaining the self-love, self-confidence and other personality traits essential to your own success…

After all, if you don’t like yourself, who will? If you don’t feel good about being in your own reality, how can anybody else???

Just a thought…leave a comment below to let me know what you think.

Peace,
+B

The Popular MYTH of 8-Hour Sleep…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:19:17 +0000

“Rest is for the weary; sleep is for the dead…”
~ Doctor Who (of British Science Fiction)

Peace,

While I agree with the popular idea of how important sleep is (the link between sleep-deprivation and symptoms of ADD, etc.) I disagree with the idea that people, on average, literally need 8 hours of sleep.

Based on my own experience, I think the 8-hour-story is only a popular myth, and that most of us would do better if we stopped focusing on how many HOURS of sleep we got (the quantity) and started focusing on how well we slept in and of itself (quality).

Now I’m no doctor of course (and you should only seek advice on this from medical practitioners you trust), but I’m actually going to go against the social norm here and state that YOU PROBABLY DO NOT NEED TO GET 8 HOURS OF SLEEP EVERYDAY.

I know this sounds crazy, but I was put on to this by reading the book Powerful Sleep: Secrets of the Inner Sleep Clock by Kacper M. Postawski (also known as “How to Sleep Less & Have More Energy Then You Ever Had Before“).

In it, the author breaks down that it’s not how long you sleep that matters, but the type of sleep you’re getting instead. You do this by first understanding how sleep works on a deeper level.

Essentially, sleep is a cycle composed of 5 stages:

>> a “zoning out” period (or “alpha brain wave state”) that’s like the doorway to sleep,

>> a period where we experience something called “sleep spindles” and “K-complexes” (these suppress brain activity to keep you tranquil so you can actually fall asleep…you’re very wakable during this stage).

>> two periods (stages 3 & 4) of deep sleep (delta brain wave state). This is when you’re officially “knocked out”: respiration reaches it’s lowest point, blood is re-circulated through your body to help nourish and repair muscles, etc.

>> and the last period is called REM sleep, which stands for “Rapid-Eye-Movement.” This stage is also known as “dream sleep“, because it’s believed that most of our dreams happen during this time.

So the cycle goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2 REM, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2 REM, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2 REM, etc. etc., with each cycle taking about 60 to 100 minutes.

(click images to zoom in…)

The most important parts of this cycle are stages 3, 4 and REM. (Being deprived of deep sleep causes nausea, drowsiness, muscle aches and prevents your immune system from functioning, while being deprived of REM sleep mainly causes problems with concentration.)

———— Your Body’s Internal Clock ————

Now, your ability to properly go through this sleep cycle is determined by another cycle known as Circadian Rhythm or simply, “The Body Clock”.

You may have heard of this before…it’s basically your body’s temperature cycle:

The book goes really in depth, but basically, because most of us have no idea of the body clock and its needs (and thus completely ignore it) it throws our sleep cycle out of control, and in that situation, NO amount of sleep will do you any good, because you’re not entering REM and deep sleep in the right way.

However, once you understand the sleep cycle and body clock, and learn how to integrate the two (nowhere near as complicated as it sounds) you’ll find that there’s no need to go through the sleep cycle 7 or 8 times just to feel rejuvenated.

In fact, once you set your lifestyle up to cater to those deeper physiological needs you’ll find that you feel even more rejuvenated, energized and awake, and you’ll have even MORE time to do the things you need and want to do…

The days will start too feel so open that it’ll feel weird in a good way…almost like you’re cheating the system.

Some basic parts of the Powerful Sleep Program are:

>> getting enough Sunlight (lots of it)

>> getting the right amount of exercise

>> taking power-naps that coordinate with your circadian rhythm

>> eating the right foods at the right time of day.

>> and some other cool things you can do…

I really do recommended you check this book out. It’s an easy, short read too: Click here to check out “How to Sleep Less & Have More Energy Then You Ever Had Before” (the first few chapters are FREE).

What do you think though??? I was interested in this technique because I knew it would help my productivity SOAR (which it did), but I actually feel more alert, awake and ON-POINT with this sleep system then at any other time in my life.

Leave a comment below letting me know if you’ll try it or not, or what kind of sleep works best for you. If you found this interesting, use the buttons below to share with your friends…

Peace,
+B

9 Classic, Lesser-Known Books GUARANTEED to Take Your Mind to the Next Level…

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:01:11 +0000

Peace,

Here’s an audio interview I did a while back with my friend El Rasun called “Recommended Scrolls,” where we covered 9 classic (and for the most part almost completely unknown) great reads that transformed the way we think and behave for the better…

Click the play button to listen now, the image for a cool slideshow and on anything in the amazon-widget below to buy or find out more:
Download audio file (scrolls2.mp3)

right-click here to download this mp3

*click on the image above for a cool slideshow effect

Also, since I’ll be preparing to do a live seminar this Thursday, this week’s radio show will be a replay of Getting Your Dreams Back & Finding the Courage to MAKE THEM ACTUALLY HAPPEN (w/ Barbara Hofmeister)

Leave a comment letting me know what you think about any of the books above. Which one catches your interest most???

Peace,
+B

The Friendly Way to “Keep People in Check” (ASSERTIVENESS SKILLS 101: Step-by-Step Formula)

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:56:01 +0000

Peace,

*Here’s another “old-school resurrection” from back in April. It’s an excerpt of Find Your Focus Zone: An Effective New Plan to Defeat Distraction & Overload, which follows an initial post (on OVERCOMING FEAR) you can check out here.

———— Assertiveness Skills 101 ————

I was watching pre-schoolers being interviewed on television about events
in the news one day, and when one child was asked, “Why do you think people
go to war?” he replied: “Because they don’t use their words…”

Assertiveness skills are ways to use you words so you can stand up for your rights WITHOUT stepping on the rights of others…

Since they let you express yourself effectively (without bullying others or letting others bully you), assertiveness skills help you get your needs met without passive-aggression or losing your temper. Here are some examples:

Your boss refuses to listen to your ideas about a project…

>> Passive-Aggressive: you don’t say anything, but stall on getting it ready.
>> Hostile-Aggressive: You blow up and quit your job.
>> Assertive: You suggest a team meeting to discuss it.

Your significant other makes plans that involve you without consulting you first…

>> Passive-Aggressive: You go along with the plans but act coldly.
>> Hostile-Aggressive:You blow up, slam the door and leave.
>> Assertive: You decide independently what it is you want to do. Whether or not you choose to go, you discuss the issue with your significant other.

Your child won’t turn the TV off when she’s supposed to…

>> Passive-Aggressive: You don’t want to stop what you’re doing, so you let her keep watching; but you feel resentful and snap at her the rest of the night.
>> Hostile-Aggressive: You yell at her and threaten to ground her for a week.
>> Assertive: You walk into the room and matter-of-factly ask her if she wants too turn the TV off or if she’d rather you turn it off; and then you follow through.

———— The Science of Making a Request ————

But it’s hard to use your words to solve problems when you’re mad.

When your mad, your amygdala (a part of your brain’s “limbic system” responsible for processing emotions) diverts your brain’s resources in order to keep your anger burning.

Your focus gets narrowed, and you get quicker to think things like
“This guy is an a-hole,” rather than “I wonder if there’s another way to do this. Maybe I can talk to someone else on the team.”

So to help you put your words together when you feel provoked like that, here’s a formula – a template for writing your own script:

1: State the facts,
2: Say how you feel,
3: See through the persons eyes, and then
4: Ask for what you want.

So let’s say you need to talk to the stubborn boss:
1: That new software project has complications and costs not listed in the current proposal.
2: It’s hard for me to jump on board, because I’m concerned about them.
3: I understand you believe it has a strong potential for success.
4: Let’s schedule a team meeting and see what everyone thinks.

This time you’re the frustrated parent with a TV-loving child:
1: It’s 9 pm and the TV is still on; we both know that it’s time to turn it off.
2: I don’t like having to enforce a rule you know is up to you to keep.
3: I know you want to keep watching and that it’s been a tough day.
4: Do you want to turn it off or would you like me to do that for you?

And now you’re the significant other who wasn’t consulted:
1: I see you’ve scheduled us again to play golf with the Duffers. I’m OK with going this time.
2: I want you to know, though, that I don’t like it when you say we’ll go without talking to me first. I feel left out, as if I don’t matter.
3: I know you’re just trying to be sociable and plan nice things for us to do.
4: Next time Chip or anyone else asks you, would you say that you need to check with me first.

Step 3 helps diffuse the situation: when you make an honest attempt to see the conflict through the other person’s eyes, that person feels validated, just as you would if the other person tried to see it your way. This decreases the other person’s defensiveness and also keeps the rational part of your brain in charge.

HOWEVER, BE CAREFUL NOT TO START STEP 4 WITH THE WORD “BUT.” With that one tiny word you alter the entire sentiment of the message and undo what you said in step 3.

With the word “but,” you’re no longer validating the other person’s viewpoint…instead you’re saying “I see your point of view and now discounting it…”

~ Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD.
—————————————

Peace,
+B

>> Buy the book “Find Your Focus Zone.” on Amazon.com
>> Uncovering, Understanding & Gaining Freedom from Deeper-Level Fears
>> Healthy Selfishness: Get the Treatment You Deserve WITHOUT Feeling Guilty
>> “Share the Wealth” with a friend below, and
>> Check out the latest from the blog, “Today’s Transcendence…”

How to STAY Motivated…CONSISTENTLY (Radio Playback, MP3 Download & More…)

Bryan Ogilvie — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:11:54 +0000

Peace,

Here’s the audio playback from last night’s call, “How to STAY Motivated…CONSISTENTLY”
Download audio file (show11-3-10.mp3)

*right-click & “save-as” here to download the mp3 IN FULL…

And here’s some of the feedback thus far…

Next week THERE’S NO SHOW, but I’ll be doing a live seminar at Old Dominion University. If you’re in the region (“Hampton Roads,” VA), get at me for more details…

———— Resources for the Call ————

Later on in the call you’ll hear me mention Think Right Now Intl’s Accelerated Success Conditioning Program “Unstoppable Motivation Now!”

For more details about how it works, click here, or click here for more about Think Right Now Intl. itself (I’ve been using their stuff since 2007, mind you).

Also, here’s the blog on discovering purpose, the series on mental habits and the diagram and audio clip about negative people. Check out ALL of these…their THAT serious.

Here’s some great videos (two from me, one from Eben Pagan):

And lastly, don’t forget to check out the recommended scrolls STOP SETTING GOALS If You Would Rather Solve Problems by Bob Biehl and The Dragon Slayer w/ a Heavy Heart by Marcia Powers.

Don’t forget to check out the details for Unstoppable Motivation Now! too. At least take a second just to see what it’s about, cause it’s really the most powerful resource I can recommend.

———— Background Harmonics ————

And just for your listening pleasure, here’s some of the music from last night’s call too

“Keep Their Heads Ringing” by Dr. Dre
Download audio file (dre.mp3)

“Nas is Like” by Nas
Download audio file (nas.mp3)

“Back & Forth” by Aaliyah
Download audio file (aaliyah2.mp3)

“Don’t Sweat the Technique” by Rakim
Download audio file (rakim.mp3)

Peace,
+B

How to STAY Motivated…CONSISTENTLY

Bryan Ogilvie — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:01:47 +0000

Peace,

So later tonight will be the live broadcast of “How to STAY Motivated…CONSISTENTLY” on Blog Talk Radio, and it’s going to be dope. Here’s the description:

An in-depth strategy session with tons of SELF-Motivation tools on how to get focused, like…

>> how to make yourself to take the right actions in the moment (when it counts),

>> how to overcome the “invisible barrier” that prevents so many of us from fulfilling our potential, and

>> the best tips and techniques I PERSONALLY use to keep my head in the game…

…and more. It airs tonight @ 6pm eastern time, sharp. You can listen in live here or simply call (347) 215-8122 from your phone.

———— Here’s the Resources ————

Later on in the call you’ll hear me mention Think Right Now Intl’s Accelerated Success Conditioning Program “Unstoppable Motivation Now!”

For more details about how it works, click here, or click here for more about Think Right Now Intl. itself (I’ve been using their stuff since 2007, mind you).

Also, here’s the blog on discovering purpose, the series on mental habits and the diagram and audio clip about negative people. Check out ALL of these…their THAT serious.

Here’s a classic two-part video “A 3-Step Formula for Self-Discipline”:

And lastly, don’t forget to check out the recommended scrolls STOP SETTING GOALS If You Would Rather Solve Problems by Bob Biehl and The Dragon Slayer w/ a Heavy Heart by Marcia Powers.

Don’t forget to check out the details for Unstoppable Motivation Now! too. At least take a second just to see what it’s about, cause it’s really the most powerful resource I can recommend.

Peace,
+B

A VERY Funny Story About Online Dating…

Bryan Ogilvie — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:36:02 +0000

Peace,

So apparently, for some reason, some people have the impression that I’m some mega-serious dude who’s always analyzing things.

It’s my fault though: with all the hardcore science and quotes I put on facebook, it’s no wonder people think I walk around like Minister Farrakhan or something, which isn’t the case at all…

Ask any of my friends: I’m usually as silly and ridiculous as the situation allows for.

So today, here’s a funny story about online dating. There’s not a lot of wisdom in here (unless you go looking for it of course), but I guarantee you you’ll be rolling by the end.
Download audio file (dating.mp3)

*download the mp3 of this here

Peace,
+B

Negative People SUCK…Energy Out of YOU (Diagram/Breakdown)

Bryan Ogilvie — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:28:50 +0000

Peace,

So first, check this out…

Powerful, right? Maybe not statistically, hard-data proven, but it resonates somewhat, doesn’t it? Here’s the explanation:
Download audio file (maroney.mp3)

*download the mp3 here

It’s from JP Maroney, and you can watch the full video tutorial here:

Here’s a few quotes to finish off with…

“The two things that determine a person’s success: (1) The THOUGHTS that occupy your mind, and (2) The PEOPLE with whom you associate…”

“Look at a person’s past and it will help you predict their future – unless they experience a significant emotional event.”

“Watch what people do, rather than listen to what they say, and it will tell you the kind of person they are…”

Don’t forget about this Wednesday’s class, “How to STAY Motivated…CONSISTENTLY” at 6pm eastern time. Get the details you need here.

Peace,
+B

Bryan’s Classic Lecture on TIME-MANAGEMENT…

Bryan Ogilvie — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:05:14 +0000

Peace,

Here’s some great audio clips from a presentation I gave to some activist friends back in college.

It’s me back in my formative years (I’d change A LOT if I could now), but this is really what started it all. I remember us having so much fun that night and feeling so good about what I had to share…let me know what you think.