Have You Conquered Yourself?

Sometimes in the heat of battles between people, ideas, and institutions we become lost in the narrow focus of our best efforts. For example we might be so emotionally attached to an specific outcome it can blind us from seeing both reality and the best solution. We might have too much of a vested interest in "being right" or doing things the way we've always done them versus doing something new or doing the right thing.

“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles." --- Buddha

To conquer yourself one must first know them self. Without knowing our emotional tendencies and hot buttons introduces an emotional bias to any situation and is as effective as it would be to put on a blindfold before you go sightseeing. In these situations if we truly intend to produce the most effective and efficient answer, then we need to focus on the parts of the equation that we DO have control over, ourselves.

“Conquering others takes force, conquering yourself is true strength." --- Lao Tzu

High performance is about getting through all the fog that's from your past and stepping into your greatness, the real you. Stepping into your own personal clarity and power allows you intentionally perform in full capacity. It's not about who you were or how you did things before, it is about deliberately and intentionally creating who you see yourself to be.

The process of growing into yourself is really all about the Law of Unfolding.

Read this powerful passage from the 1917 classic the 'Conquering Yourself' manual to gain a better understanding into this Law.

All progress of the individual is a matter of inner unfoldment. Life moves from
within, outwards. The germ or vitality is always at the center, not on the surface. The growth of the tree or the plant, of the animal or the fruit, is not that of adding on the outside, but a supply from the inside.

The individual determines his own position in life, according to the amount of
intelligent effort exerted. It is for this reason, that people NEVER WILL BE EQUAL, because there are those - the majority - who will not work to acquire this Inner Power

You, then, must rank among the Great, or the mediocre.

You have the conscious right to determine who you are at any given moment, no one can tell you who you are. You have the power to choose whether you will remain in the mediocre or rank amongst the great. No one can give this power to you, it is your birth right. However you can build a support team that can help you unlock your potential, and that alone could be all the difference.

During your growth you must constantly remember to exercise patience with yourself. Love yourself. Nurture yourself as if you were an acorn waiting to be fully expressed as a tree. Don't beat yourself up for being a seed, celebrate your unfolding greatness of what you will grow into. Be you. Be great. Make your move.

Did You Claim Your Gift Today!

Did you know the special gift everyone has available to them today but only for a limited time?

The Answer Is: A New Day

THE ESSENCE OF A NEW DAY

This is a beginning of a new day. You have been given thisday to use as you will. You can waste it or use it forgood. What you do today is important because you areexchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes,this day will be gone forever; in its place is somethingthat you have left behind...let it be something good." - Successories Quote

What is so huge, gigantic, top secret, incredible that prevents you from taking a hold of your gift? I challenge you to drop me a line and explore new possibilities.

I want to see you take back your day!

I believe in you. I know there is a new day available to everyone and I'm here to help those who want to wake up to it. Claim your gift today!

Humbled by your greatness,

mailto: successsensei@gmail.com

Are You Accountable?

Many times when we are presented with a new idea, whether it be a new company target, friend/family request, or group goal, it is often stated as in the subject of "we". Two such examples would be "we can make a difference together", or "we can accomplish this goal".

The question is: Does the word "we" have and advantage or disadvantage versus using the words "I" or "you" when it comes to accountability.

The answer: Absolutely Yes, Yes, Yes!

The biggest problem with stating things in the "we" mentality is that it excludes the "I", "you", and "me" from the accountability side of the equation.

The word "we", suddenly becomes the perfect justification for the excuse of "if 'I' don't do it, where it is a job for 'we' or 'us', then I bet somebody else will pick up the ball."

The following short story describes what really happens when we turn our heads and cop out from personal accountability.

This story is about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Are you picking up balls and running with them regardless of who "owns" the problem. If they are on your team then why not?

Excerpted from Mel Gil's book "Uncommon Sense" below is a list of personal accountability excuses to be aware. Try to avoid using any of them as they are all poor excuses for not completing a job and the more often you catch yourself using them, the more aware and accountable you will become.

1. I'll try
2. If ____ then ______
3. I forgot
4. It's not my fault
5. I had no choice
6. I can't
7. I had no control
8. I'll wait and see
9. I don't know
10. It's not my job
11. That's the way I am
12. Nobody told me

Do you drink to enjoy yourself?

I had a talk with a coaching candidate who was looking to understand why they felt the need to drink socially but not regularly, unless of course they were out in social frequently.

At that moment I was cautious with my answer, I mean if we fully knew the underlying cause about any addiction it would likely cease to be addictive by definition right?

Regardless, the first thought that came to mind is that drugs and alcohol are a perceived enhancement for a deficit inside ourselves that we both consciously and subconsciously are experiencing in a situation.

Please allow me to explain. My belief comes from the observation and personal experience of drinking to break free from the "normal" or habitual way of being. The way we behave repeatedly become what is referred to as our conditioning. Whatever you want to call it, we often seek drugs and alcohol as the medium that brings out an altered and ultimately more desired state.

The hidden problem with this strategy is that the demonstrated solution (drinking or drugs) is just an illusion. The illusion is that you, or anyone else for that matter, requires something external to complete us or augment our experience. When it comes to drinking, the false belief is that we require alcohol to loosen us up, allow us to have fun, and make the experience much more enjoyable.

The downside of these fantasies is that for a small time we actually may see results, that is, we actually might think we are more socially functional by having the drink. Often, if only for a short time we are right, and the enhancement gets us through the stress or awkwardness of the situation.

Humans see things when they believe it, hence the phrase "I'll believe it when I see it" or "Seeing is believing". This becomes a problematic factor of human nature because now we "see" our actions (drinking) produce result and then we start to "believe" it is the answer. This only ensures that it will become that much more difficult to stop the no longer desired behaviour.

In our drinking example in order to get past the next social situation that they feel inadequate, you either use the alcohol as the crutch again or you will need to either come up with a brand new plan. The brand new plan is a feasible option only if given enough time and resources to commit to action, if either are missing then the effort is futile and you are highly likely to choose the path of least resistance which is the way you did it last.

So how do you combat this downward spiral of illusion? You must become conscious of the "positive intent" behind your actions. Every action we do is motivated by either a conscious or subconscious desire. When we detach ourselves from judgement about our actions, we make room to become aware of the positive intent behind our behaviour. Only when we have become clear about what this is can we empower change.

In our example of drinking the positive intent could have been "feeling confident and able to speak in public". With that desire identified the person could finally begin to seek alternative solutions to bringing them that feeling. For example they could join Toastmasters or a local speaking club, or join a networking group to expose themselves to others in a different setting.

There are many ways to beat your behaviour and with the right support you can do it! How are you currently identifying and empowering your desired change in your behaviour now? I'm definitely curious, drop me a line and let me know what works for you or if I can help.

Here to serve and humbled by your greatness!

Looking for a bonus holiday gift?

Looking for action to make the most of this new year? Take this challenge!

Take 3 minutes out of your hectic schedule today to just breathe, observe yourself, your thoughts, just be. If you have never done this or do this infrequently it will probably feel a little uncomfortable for a while, you may not even see the point and stop after a brief moment, either or is still great. If silence is still too foreign for you, take those 3 minutes and repeatedly tell yourself that you are loving, loveable, worthy and deserving.

I realize fully that sometimes life "seems" to have a nasty way of getting in the way of our goals and higher aspirations. I've been to the point of dire frustration when just as things seemed like they were breaking through "something" else would go wrong. I've been caught up watching the successes of others who get more far easier and wondered "why not me?". I would set goals and then not have the desire or willpower to follow throught and then feel like the only idiot on the block who can't get their poop in a group. I thankfully learned that it is postively pointless and painful to associate my success with my self worth.

For many years, so many years I used to almost feel embarrassed by not being able to achieve what I wanted. I've been blessed to be able to see through the illusion and now the things I want to experience come easily and effortlessly. I've been on both side of the fence my friend, and this is why I am offering the people who are looking to break-free or break-through in 2008 an special holiday gift. Take a moment to e-mail me at successssensei@hotmail.com with the subject line "Re: Send Me My New Years Gift" and I will send over 7 simple yet extremely powerful tools for immediately increasing willpower, self-confidence and awareness. Send your e-mail over right away, as I will be packaging these gems into some material and possibly charging for it, so get yours while the gettings good!

Click here to take advantage and empower your future now!

Want Some Advice From a Billionaire??

Happy New Year People!

It's funny that no matter where you are, who you were, who you want to be, or who you are now today, today for us all my friends, is a new day! No matter how tall or small, how rich or how poor you are this moment is yours and I'm glad your spending it with me.

Oh yes I almost forgot to mention the other small change that came along with today... Officially it has now become no longer fashionable to date things with the year "2007". Some remain unaware of this change, you can spot some of these elusive rebels by looking for tell-tale signs of forehead slapping actions and the classic "oops"-scribble-initial-blush when writing out cheques. Ok ok, let's not pick on anyone who must be the originators of the phrase "not with the times", since time is all relative and the anyone might be one of your relatives :p

And speaking of time, I thought the time was right to share some timeless advice that I learned recently from talking to a Billionaire. He boiled his success and his resiliency to be able to build and rebuild his fortune to just 3 points, they are in order they were given to me:

1. The only opinion that matters of you is your own.
2. Everything is a choice, choose wisely.
3. Find forgiveness, start with yourself.

I believe all three are essential elements requires to balance yourself in harmonic order with the natural vibrations of good health and good fortune. Since today is a new day regardless of whether you celebrated it last night or not, and it also remains true that you have been blessed with another day to acknowledge your gifts and the things you take for granted.

Go for it. Don't hesitate or wait to be great, just be it. I believe in you!