Post on 08-Apr-2015
Contents
About The Authors ix
Foreword xiii
We Were All Born To Win 1
The Miracle Of The Mind 5
The Three-Week Metamorphosis 25
The Power Of Imagination 33
You Deserve Wealth - It's Yours To Have And Enjoy 55
Gary's Law - Without Apology To Murphy 71
Our Words Can Sink Us Or Send Us To The Stars 75
Goals - A Road Map For Life 93
We Need Balance - In All Things 97
Goal-setting In Action 103
Eliminate The Seven Specters Of Fear 137
Make Certain Of Winning 159
For more information regarding Gary Haseldine's
products and services, including audio programs,
speaking engagements, personal success coaching
and psychotherapy counseling, please visit his
website at www.GaryHaseldine.com
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ary Haseldine is a dynamic personal
development specialist, professional speaker and
author, clinical psychotherapist and corporate counselor.
He is the founder of Haseldine Winners International and
co-founder of the Ian Baker-Finch Albatross Golf
Program.
G
For more than two decades, Gary has spread the principles
of Psycho-Cybernetics, the science of self-image
reprogramming, showing that every human being has the
capacity to re-write negative conditioning and enjoy a high
self-concept. Gary recognized the importance of
goal-setting, guided relaxation, creative visualization and
Repetitive Auto Suggestion as the major keys to achieving
greater success and balance in all areas of our lives. Using
these elements, he developed his highly effective
Imagination Power High-Performance program.
In recent years, Gary has become a magnet for sports
people and top-level executives and professionals who have
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IMAGINATION POWER
'hit the wall'. He has been success coach to many
high-profile and elite sporting personalities and teams such
as the West Coast Eagles, Sam Mackinnon, Margaret
Crowley, Stan Alves and Ian Baker-Finch, and his
experience is now being called on by the Victorian Golf
Association, the Victorian State Amateur Golf Squad and
many amateur and professional golfers.
Many successful people find ways to give something back
to their communities, Gary Haseldine is no exception. He
regularly takes time out from his busy schedule with
corporatist and sports-people, to uplift, inspire and give
hope to disadvantaged young people from around
Australia who register with Youth At Risk. This wonderful
program has a very high success rate in helping the
unemployed and sometimes, seemingly unemployable, to
get work.
In the corporate world, Gary has been directly responsible
for dramatically improving sales and profitability,
empowering and motivating staff and developing positive
cultural change in many diverse organizations such as
Esanda, Armaguard, National Foods, Fuji Xerox, Siddons
Proline, AMR Harvard, Vic Roads, ANZ, and The Flight
Centre. Results have been spectacular.
As a product of his own product, Gary certainly walks the talk. His motto is:
"Success is only a thought away"
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
T^\avid Pincombe is a successful talkback broadcaster
1^ and journalist who has spent most of his working life
as a writer and ton-air1 communicator. He is a passionate
believer in the efficacy of goal-setting and Imagination
Power. David believes our lives reflect the thoughts we think.
IMAGINATION POWER
Foreword
XIII met Gary at a time in my life when I really needed to build
my self-image and my self-confidence.
The awareness he gave me was a huge help. It allowed me
to reorganize my life and instead of focusing on my
weaknesses, I started to focus on my strengths, and on my
goal setting and goal achieving, not only for my golf, but for
my life in general.
When I embraced the concepts of Gary's Imagination
Power, things turned around for me and I've never looked
back.
What sets Gary's book apart is that he doesn't tell you what
to do, he shows you how to do it.
I have
made
this
progra
m a
perma
nent
part of
my
organi
zation
and
future
plans,
and
know
that
great
things
lie
ahead
for all
of us. I
encour
age
you to
do the
same.
Ian Baker-Finch
X l l l
IMAGINATION POWER
WE WERE ALL BORN TO WIN
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968)
f you choose to believe that the very first experience
we ever have sets the pattern for the rest of our lives,
then it is absolutely accurate to say that we are born to be
winners.
I
After all, the sperm that carried us won the frantic race to
fertilize the egg, against odds that we could justifiably assess
as prohibitive. In that first crazy scramble to create and
prolong life, our sperm beat the rest of the field. We started
life A WINNER. So, what causes most people on the face
of the earth to spend their lives in self-doubt, wrestling with
poor self-images that seem to sabotage them at every turn?
What is so curious is that the first, undeniable winning
experience seems to make no impression whatsoever on
most of us. We simply emerge into the world bawling for
attention - and then take on all of the negative, loser-based
IMAGINATION POWER
ideas that others are happy to pass down to us from the
depths of their own experience.
As we come into the world posed like a winner, there no
reason that we should accept losing as a natural way of life.
How do you manifest the winner in you? START
THINKING LIKE A WINNER.
WHAT IS A WINNER?
The answer is simple. A winner is someone who is never
beaten spiritually, no matter how massive the odds. The
winner knows that they are the only person who can control
the thoughts that come into their mind. Nobody else has
the right to control those thoughts. The winner also knows
that they make the final decision on any matter in life. Sadly,
if we allow others to dictate our thoughts we give them the
keys to our own personal bus and say, "Go on! Drive. It's
all yours! I own it, but you're in control."
MY THOUGHTS GIVE ME FREEDOM
One of the greatest historical examples of people refusing
to accept the judgments of their overlords was that of the
Jews leading up to, and during, the Second World War.
Adolf Hitler's Nazi hordes might have intimidated the
Jewish people physically, but were unable to control them
as a people - as thinkers. The warlord can control,
intimidate, murder, beat, terrify - but he can NEVER own
WE WERE ALL BORN TO WIN
another's thoughts. Victor Frankl, the Jewish-German psychiatrist, told of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp in his book Man's Search For Meaning. He said, "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances - to chose one's own way." Frankl and his fellow internees couldn't have had a worse set of circumstances, but they emerged triumphant - their thoughts intact.
Our thoughts are ours and ours alone. No other human can ever control them. Whether we choose to make them winners' or losers' thoughts is up to us.
THINKING AS A WINNER
IS BEING A WINNER
Now, with your permission, let me show you how you can tap into the power of your magnificent imagination. Let's bring out the winner in you. SUCCESS IS ONLY A THOUGHT AWAY.
IMAGINATION POWER
THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
"The body is only a vehicle that carries
around our brain."
Thomas Alva Edison
ur world depends heavily on technology. We are
surrounded by thousands of examples of how
computerization impacts on our lives. It seems that almost
everything relies on computers. Elevators, escalators, air
conditioning systems, jet planes, motor vehicles. The list is
endless.
O
We are 'swimming' in a sea of technology which permeates
day-to-day life.
Yet, as wondrous as the modern computer is, there is
another that is much more remarkable. This amazing device
is as old as mankind and has an infinitely greater capacity
than any electronic computer ever developed. It is the most
wonderful of all creations - THE HUMAN BRAIN - our own
IMAGINATION POWER
personal ABOVE-THE-NECK COMPUTER. Not only is it
limitless in its capacity to store and process information, but
it also houses the most remarkable software ever developed
- THE HUMAN MIND - software so stunning in its genius
that it has been responsible for every great and enduring
invention in history.
The men and women who developed computer technology
used the world's greatest creative device - the human mind
- to develop a mighty servant that was originally so large
that the first mainframe computers occupied whole floors
of office buildings. Now, the computer is compact. We can
carry the laptop version from place to place without
discomfort.
Innovations in technology deserve applause. They are
wonderful and serve us splendidly. But before we get too
carried away with computers and their magnificent
software, we need to remember that every computer and
every software program ever designed was the product of
human invention, a fertile creation of the HUMAN MIND.
Our ABOVE-THE-NECK COMPUTER is small and
portable, too. It goes wherever we go. It is a marvelous
servant that houses our every thought. Its software can be
magnificently creative or horribly destructive. The choice is
ours. The capacity of the human mind to achieve, or
destroy, knows no limits.
THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
American motivator Bob Moward describes the brain as
"the fastest working, coolest running, most compact and
efficient computer mechanism ever produced".
That is not a scientific description, but it IS a powerful
assessment of the world's most efficient and complex
computer hardware.
Millions of people spend much of their lives studying the
latest developments in computer technology. They get
excited over every trend. Innovations are keenly discussed.
Billions of words are written every year about computers
and their software.
But how many of the experts who breathlessly follow the
latest IT discoveries have even the most fundamental
understanding of the two most powerful computing devices
the world has ever known - THE HUMAN BRAIN and its
amazing software THE HUMAN MIND? Most people simply
take this ingenious creation for granted.
ABOUT YOUR BRAIN
Physically, the human brain is unimpressive! Dr Richard
Restack, who wrote the books The Mind and The Brain
says, "Weighing just under 1600 grams (about 3 lbs), the
human brain in its natural state resembles nothing so much
as a soft, wrinkled walnut."
IMAGINATION POWER THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
If you were asked to bid for it at auction, based on the value
of its appearance, you would not even raise your hand. If
it were a house, it would be, at best, on appearance value,
a buyer's opportunity.
The brain might not be much to look at, but it is the most
valuable house in the world because of the information it
stores. Its complexity is amazing. Very simply, it is a
collection of nerve cells called neurons. The human brain,
together with the rest of the nervous system, begins
developing about 25 days from conception, and during its
growth develops about 250,000 neuron cells a minute.
When we are born our brain contains more than 100 billion
neuron cells. The exact number is uncertain. According to
Dr Restack, as we age, we lose up to 50,000 neuron cells a
day, but there is no cause for concern because it seems we
were given an over-abundance.
Neurons have a nucleus, a long stem, the axon and an
extensive number of branching fibers called dendrites which
reach out to other neurons. Neurons send signals to other
neurons by electro-chemical change (neuro-transmitters).
Brain researcher Dr Paul Maclean discovered three levels of
development in the evolution of the brain, all of which
co-exist in the human condition to this day.
They are:
1. The Reptilian Brain which controls our survival
instincts. Whenever we perceive that we are under
threat, this part of the brain swings into action. It
controls the responses of fight or flight. Do we stand
and engage the enemy or do we flee? The decision is
made in this part of the brain. The Reptilian Brain also
oversees our search for food and shelter.
2. The Pale mammalian Brain. This is known as the
limbic brain and oversees our ability to experience
emotions such as love and hate.
3. The Neomammalian Brain, also known as the Cortex.
This is the highest developed of the three levels.
According to Dr Maclean, "The cortex is a kind of
problem-solving, memorising device to aid the two older
forms of the brain in the struggle for survival." He compares
the cortex to a computer that has the ability to look into the
future and anticipate the consequences of actions.
In the cortex lies the capacity to reason, to speak languages,
deal with symbols and organize a culture.
Dr Maclean believes that the development of prefrontal
fibers was the most auspicious stage in the history of
biology. These fibers give us the insight to plan for the needs
of others as well as for ourselves.
IMAGINATION POWER
This is a very basic description for the most complex
mechanism ever known. We may never truly understand
how it functions, but science has conscientiously chipped
away in one experiment after another and, step by step, has
revealed the enormity of the brain's seemingly limitless
power.
THE HUMAN BRAIN AT WORK
Just how powerful is the human brain? Nobody knows. But
we do know that there is no greater device in the world for
processing information.
Watch a footballer leap above a pack to take a high mark.
As he soars into the air, climbing up the backs of the other
players to meet the flying ball, the crowd in the stands rises
with a roar. The spectators don't stop to think of the lightning
fast calculations that go into the mark. All they care about
is what they see: a lithe athlete bounding into the air at
shoulder level and snatching the ball out of the sky.
This is a perfect example of the human brain at work. In a
millisecond it has calculated the trajectory of the ball, its
height, angle and velocity and transmitted that information
to the player as he makes his run to the right spot and
launches himself into space at precisely the right moment.
His brain also tells him that, when he reaches a certain
height, he will be able to grab the ball and fall to the ground
with it safely in his grasp.
THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
The capacity of the human brain to process information is
taken for granted. To most of us, things just happen. Of
course they don't, but they seem to. In truth, we just don't
realize what we've got. A shrewd, somewhat cynical
observer once said that if we spent as much effort and
money on the inside of our heads as we lavish on the
outside we would realize far more of our potential.
I believe every person is a genius and that we are all born
with the potential to trigger massive intellect. Our brain has
the capacity to be infinitely more effective than the limits we
place on it. Scientists suggest that we use as little as 10 per
cent of our brain's capability for creative thought. This
unlimited mental power is inherent in all of us, even those
who would never consider themselves to be 'smart'.
OUR BRAIN RECORDS
EVERYTHING WE DO...
EVERYTHING? Yes, everything. It's like a giant library.
Even when we are forgetful and can't recall a name or fact,
it is there in our filing system. The brain never forgets. We
have perfect memories; it's the recall that can let us down.
Everything we hear, see, smell, taste and touch is recorded
in our brain. In fact, by the time we are 50 years old, we
have taken in more than 70 trillion bits of information, all
stored away ready to come up if and when needed.
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IMAGINATION POWER THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
70 trillion bits of information! We know we are living in the
information age, but that is amazing. What do we do with
it all?
Obviously, we could not possibly act on all of this data. If
we did, we'd end up in a screaming heap!
Fortunately, our wonderful brain has a screening device -
the Reticular Activating System - and awareness of this filter
and learning to control it is, what I believe to be, one of the
SECRETS TO SUCCESS.
THE CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND
Dr Richard Restak asks, "Are we anything other than our
brain? Is the brain the mind?"
Questions like these, he muses, may remain forever
unanswerable.
So let's call this all-powerful ABOVE-THE-NECK
COMPUTER, the mind/brain mechanism.
What we have been led to believe is that we do have a
conscious and a subconscious mind.
The Reticular Activating System only allows information
that is consistent with our value system to go from our
conscious mind, where we receive it from the world around
us, into that part of our mind/brain mechanism that
functions at the unconscious level. Some call it the
subconscious mind, others the bio-computer. I like to call it
our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND because that is exactly
what it does. It creates the information it receives.
Think of the CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND as an obedient
servant who only carries out our valued conscious thoughts.
This faithful worker is there to do our bidding and does so
impartially and without judgment. The interesting and
perhaps, slightly frightening thing is that once we have let
our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND know what we value, like
a well-trained marine, it is carried out to the letter. There is
no possibility of rejection of the idea or thought. The servant
becomes the ultimate master. The order to act becomes
your life.
OUR LIFE SCRIPT ALL DEPENDS
ON THE ATTITUDES OF
MUM AND DAD...
In politics, they call this the 'Mother's Milk' theory. It means
that we usually vote the way our parents do because of their
early influence and we carry most of their attitudes and
prejudices with us through our lives.
Why? Between the ages of one and about seven, we are in
a completely suggestible state. Our baby minds are
receptive to all information. The critical factor effected by
the Reticular Activating System is not fully functional at this
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stage and we absorb the events that take place in our tiny
world like a sponge. We are effectively programmed by the
people around us. We take on board their opinions about
everything, including us, whether they are positive or
negative. This becomes our belief system, whether it's the
truth or not, and ultimately how we think about the world
around us and about our world within. This surrounding
sea of influence includes our parents, grandparents,
brothers and sisters, extended family, neighbors, peers,
early teachers and authority figures such as priests and
ministers.
Consider the child who is nurtured by loving, positive
parents and who is fed a diet of abundance that accentuates
the child's goodness and inherent worthiness for success.
These parents and significant others transmit only loving,
supportive, confident messages to the child, like this:
You are beautiful.
You're so clever.
We love you.
You're great at reading.
You're a genius.
You'll always be a success.No matter what happens, we'll be there for you.
As a result, we have found, in most cases, the individual
grows to adolescence and adulthood with a healthy, deeply
rooted sense of their own worth and the value of the people
around them. Children raised in such a loving,
THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
confidence-boosting environment usually become very
stable adults. They are constantly told they are good and
deserving of the best.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
Sadly, the people who are given empowering information
are very much in the minority. Most of us are fed a diet of
negatives from the moment we are born. In fact, this process
starts before the moment of birth. Every experience during
our mother's pregnancy is etched in our memory. Before
the water breaks, we are already being programmed.
Our parents might love us dearly, but they are working from
the scripts they have inherited. If they utter negatives such
as "There's never enough money to go around", or "You
just can't win", they do it because that is what they really
believe deep down in their minds. They do not realize that
they were programmed by parents who were programmed
by their parents to think in this negative fashion and that
they are simply carrying on the family tradition. What are
your childhood recollections? Were you told how
wonderful, clever and successful you were? Or do you
remember words like these:
You're so clumsy. You've got two
left feet. You'll never amount to
anything. You always fail at math.
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IMAGINATION POWER
You're nothing but a no-hoper.
Don't do that, you idiot.
You're not as good as your brothers and sisters.
You realize you were a mistake, don't you?
When we are young, we accept the things we are told
without question. They are spoken by our parents or some
other authority figure, so they MUST be right. In those early,
formative years we let other people write our lifetime scripts
and we can carry things such as lack of self love and low
self-confidence to our graves in the mistaken belief they are
our own ideas.
By the time we are 11 or 12, our parents, school teachers
and our living environment can have combined to write a
negative, struggle-driven software package that is taken in
by our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND as the truth and acted
on.
Our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND does NOT judge the
information that is fed into it. It simply processes it.
Whatever the data, negative or positive, that is the direction
we will take for the rest of our lives.
NEGATIVE INFORMATION IS
NOT A LIFE SENTENCE
We can escape from a negative prison by changing our software program.
THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
Most people believe they are unworthy or not good enough, or that they were born to be ordinary. Worst of all, they embrace the belief that they have to battle, that life is a series of ups and downs, mainly downs.
If we think that way then THAT IS OUR TRUTH. Our
CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND does not care. It simply
accepts the data we feed it and works, on our behalf, in that
direction. It never says, "Hey, hang on! This information is
flawed. You can do better." It just does its job. If we inform
it that we are not worthy, based on the information we hear
as a child, then our trusty servant calmly heads us in the
direction of being abject and miserable.
But what happens if we suddenly throw up our hands in exasperation, as so many people have done, and decide that we don't like the direction our lives have taken? What happens when we choose to change the software program we've been given.
The MIRACLE OF THE MIND occurs.
We are blessed with an intelligence that allows us to
question the quality of the information that we have been
given by the influential people in our lives. Were they right?
Am I really hopeless and not worthy of success? Is money
really hard to get? Is it true that I will never amount to much?
Must I accept the information that I am a failure in so many
things when I would like to be able to do them all well?
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The answer to all those questions is NO. We do not have to
accept the so-called wisdoms handed down by others when
were little children.
The good news is that we CAN change the negative thought
patterns that may have dogged us through our lives and we
can do it very effectively.
Dr Bobbe Sommer, who wrote Psycho-Cybernetics 2000,
says, "Anything that has been learned can be re-evaluated
and challenged and anything that can be challenged can be
re-learned with new information or data to replace the old."
What a powerful statement of truth.
Like an editor, we can re-write the scripts of our lives to
follow the goals we set for ourselves and by repeatedly
experiencing those desired outcomes mentally, we can
make them happen.
Our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND does not discriminate
between a real experience and one that is vividly imagined.
If we fill the imagined script, our most desired outcome, with
lots of emotion and clear detail, our mind takes it on board
as reality and acts on it as if it were already in existence.
For those people who were saddled early with negative
scripts, this is the ideal opportunity to re-work expectations
of lack and unworthiness into living dreams of success and
abundance.
THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
What we feed the mind is what it creates.
Think also of the mind as a transmitting device that radiates
signals into the universe. If we are thinking negative,
unhappy thoughts, our mind sends them out into the ether.
The great thinkers all believe that what we transmit is what
we magnetize, with the result that when we send out
negative, unhappy, unworthy vibrations, that is what we
receive in return.
Yet, when our transmissions are happy, successful and
abundance-filled, those are the conditions that return to us.
That really is the way it works.
AN UNHAPPY CHILDHOOD
I have spent 30 years re-programming my mind to
overcome the negative effects of an unhappy childhood in
which my brothers, sisters and I were mentally and
physically abused by our father. Our domestic environment
was unbearable. My self-esteem was very low, based on my
father's insistence that I was 'a no hoper'.
In my late teens, I joined the Royal Australian Air Force,
more to escape from home than anything else, and
surprised myself by becoming dux of a training course. I
was bemused. Being dux of anything did not compute with
the image I had of myself as a loser because I had hardly
ever passed an exam at school.
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Soon after enlisting I was posted to Butterworth in Malaysia
and that was the beginning of my metamorphosis. I decided
to learn taekwondo. My instructor was an ex-Korean army
officer called Choy. Mr Choy not only showed me the finer
points of the martial art, he also passed on his knowledge
of Asian philosophy.
AND he introduced me to the greatest book I have ever read
- Psycho-Cybernetics, by Dr Maxwell Maltz.
When I read the book, I realized that Dr Maltz and Mr Choy
had much in common. They taught the disciplines of goal-
setting, guided relaxation, creative visualization and
Repetitive Auto Suggestion. I was enthralled. Immediately,
I began the huge job of re-programming my mind to
become the person I wanted to be.
After leaving the air force, I enjoyed a succession of top jobs
in the sales field. I was a successful sales manager and often
applied the lessons of Psycho-Cybernetics in dealing with
my sales teams. On many occasions, salespeople with low
self-image became star performers with the help of clear
goals and the power of their imagination.
The results seemed astounding at the time, but I now know
that a total turnaround in attitude is normal, once people
embrace the Psycho-Cybernetics principles without
restraint. Imagination Power is massive.
THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
Dr Maltz was a renowned plastic surgeon in the United
States. He derived great joy from changing people's
appearances, but was nonplussed when, on many
occasions, patients said they could see no difference,
despite the new beauty that looked back at them from the
mirror.
Why would people refuse to believe that they were now
beautiful or beautiful again after facial injuries or defects
were corrected? Dr Maltz reasoned that the problem was
much deeper than physical. These people had suffered
psychological scarring that was preventing them from
acknowledging their 'new' faces. Even though he changed
their faces for the better, some people would behave in
exactly the same way they did when they had an 'ugly' face.
Working with the principles of Cybernetics (steering)
developed by the scientist Dr Norbert Weiner, and his own
observations, Dr Maltz helped countless of his patients to
become happy with their new look by teaching them how
to improve their self-image. In fact, on many occasions he
never performed a physical operation.
The key was not in changing the person's face, but in re-
programming their self-image.
This meant putting a completely new software program into
the mind/brain mechanism, a program of clearly visualized
positive images that were so realistic that it was as if they
actually existed.
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IMAGINATION POWER THE MIRACLE OF THE MIND
Remember, our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND does not care
what information we feed it. Whatever we program into the
mind/brain mechanism, it takes and processes the
information appropriately. So, if it is given only abundance,
happiness and success messages to deal with, it will react
appropriately and steer us on the path to those three desired
outcomes.
Of course, the opposite is also true, so it pays to make sure
the data is, at all times, that which we desire most of all.
As Dr Sommer, a disciple of Dr Maltz, has said, we can
challenge the negative scripts that we have absorbed as
children and replace them with new, positive, exciting
visions that are our own ideas.
Soon, we will deal with the 21-day Imagination Power plan
that uses the capacity of the CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND
to help us achieve desired outcomes.
Remember, the mind/brain mechanism is a computer of
unequalled capacity. We need to feed it the proper data.
Does our mind reside in the brain? Who knows? What we
do know is that when we program our ABOVE-THE-NECK
COMPUTER with the things we want, our CREATIVE
LEVEL OF MIND does everything it can to steer us in the
right direction.
I leave the last word in this chapter to Dr Maltz, who said in
Psycho-Cybernetics,
"The self-image is the key to human personality and
behavior. Change the self-image and you change the
personality and the behavior. But, more than this, the
self-image sets the boundaries of individual
accomplishment. It defines what you can and cannot do.
Expand the self-image and you expand the area of the
possible. The development of an adequate, realistic
self-image will seem to imbue the individual with new
capabilities, new talents and literally turn failure into
success."
IMAGINATION POWER
THE THREE-WEEK METAMORPHOSIS
"In most cases, a person who has had some
freakish feature corrected by surgery, experiences an
almost immediate (usually within 21 days) rise
in self-esteem, self-confidence." Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics
WENTY ONE DAYS! That is all it takes to start
the process to enhance all the good productive
habits and attitudes a person has; to strengthen all their
strengths. Three short weeks! About the time that many
people take for their annual holiday.
T
Except this is a three-week 'holiday' that can change your
life for the better.
Why 21 days?
Dr Maltz observed that it took about 21 days for a patient
to become accustomed to their new look after surgery. He
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IMAGINATION POWER
also noted that when people who were troubled by negative
thoughts performed creative surgery on their thinking
patterns, they began to experience a dramatic life
improvement within the three weeks.
It would be foolish to suggest that everything would be
perfect after 21 days. What happens after the initial
programming period is that we reinforce the messages that
we have started to give our minds with continuing repetition
of the pictures that we have painted of how we want our
'new' life to be. I call this system of reinforcement Repetitive
Auto Suggestion.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The answer is so simple that millions of people have failed
to grasp its significance. If we are unhappy with the way our
lives have panned out to this minute, we can change them
by re-programming our ABOVE- THE-NECK COMPUTER
with a complete set of new information, based on the things
we desire to have in our lives most of all. We set our goals
and then feed that data into our CREATIVE LEVEL OF
MIND as if the targets have already been achieved.
If life has been filled with everyday worry, difficult
relationships, financial hardship, less than perfect health,
and if you are in a job that grinds you down and gives you
little satisfaction, you might be at the point of desperation.
THE THREE-WEEK METAMORPHOSIS
Many deserving people give up the ghost because their
negative early life scripts have bogged them down to the
point they are sinking fast into psychological quicksand
without any apparent hope of salvation.
Fortunately, every human being is engineered to ascend to
a state of happiness. However, because of the negative
social engineering of their early environments, most people
end up becoming very successful at being
UNSUCCESSFUL. The sad bottom line to so many human
stories is that people accept their 'lot' and never attempt to
rise above their early psychological conditioning.
Thanks to pioneers such as Maxwell Maltz, Napoleon Hill,
Abraham Maslow and a host of others, as well as the
greatest philosophers who ever lived, including Jesus,
Buddha, William Shakespeare, Goethe and Henry David
Thoreau, we now know that we are all engineered to
overcome the life script that we have been handed as a
'birthright' if we are unhappy with it.
The HOW is amazingly simple. If we do not like the story
pre-written for us by others, all we have to do is RE-WRITE
IT. We take control of our own lives. Take the P away from
PRE-WRITTEN and you change the word to RE-WRITTEN.
You also change the circumstances of your life.
Jesus said, "As ye think, so shall ye be." Shakespeare stated,
"There is nothing, either good nor bad, but thinking makes
it so."
IMAGINATION POWER
All that we are is the thought (the software) that powers our
ABOVE-THE-NECK COMPUTER. Nobody has the right to
tell us what thoughts we are allowed to program. That is
something over which we have total control. Our thoughts
give us complete freedom of choice.
We can either choose to stay as we are because it is easier
to linger in a 'comfort zone' no matter how much we dislike
it - OR we can opt to re-write the script and change our lives
totally for the better.
And, that is where an understanding of the 21-day metamorphosis is essential.
The Macquarie Dictionary defines metamorphosis as: 1.
Change of form, structure or substance, as transformation
by magic or witchcraft and 2. Any complete change in
appearance, character or circumstances.
It could not be clearer. Complete change. A total reversal of
old patterns and habits that have bothered us, replaced by
new, healthy, dynamic attitudes that completely reform our
lives, not over six months or a decade, but within a very
short time. In some cases, the effects of the change in
thinking are felt almost immediately. Most people notice an
improvement within the stipulated three-week period.
Others say that their biggest changes occur outside the 21
days as the regular use of Repetitive Auto Suggestion begins
to take effect.
THE THREE-WEEK METAMORPHOSIS
We are the sum total of the things about which we think all
of the time. We've talked a lot about how our thoughts are
negative and drag us down and how we need to change
them urgently. But here's a way to prove it to yourself; try
this small experiment.
Select an area in which you lack confidence and in which
your inner messages are always based on poor self-belief.
Re-write the message. Tell yourself often that you are very
positive and successful. Repeat this message many times a
day - perhaps a hundred times - for 21 days. At the end of
the 21-day trial period, you will be amazed by the real
change in your attitude. You might not yet be a gold medal
winner, but you are well on the way to overcoming a
behavioral pattern that has long held you back. Your self-
confidence has increased and you are responding to the
positive, empowering messages you are sending yourself.
Repetitive Auto Suggestion is dynamic. The more the
message is repeated in those first 21 days, the more your
CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND works on the new
information. Once the mind accepts the information that is
programmed into it, it cannot reject it. It can only act on the
new data.
Changing a statement from "I'm no good" to "I am worthy"
begins a process that effects total change of attitude as long
as the message is repeated over and over.
IMAGINATION POWER
Work at the new programming during the first 21 days - and
in the days that follow - until the mind flows fully with the
new thought pattern and embraces it as normal.
Repetition is the mother of skill.
This story reflects that fact.
A young tourist was visiting Melbourne for the first time and,
being a music lover, wanted to see the famous Melbourne
Concert Hall. He walked along St Kilda Road but, because
he had misread his directory, could not find the building.
He saw an elderly man walking along the street, carrying a
violin case and thought, Surely this man will know because
he is a musician. He stopped the man and said, "Sir, could
please tell me how to get to the Melbourne Concert Hall?"
And the old gentleman smiled and said, "Certainly, son.
PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE."
If you want to change an old, negative, pattern into one that
takes you to the peak of success, practice the change by
Repetitive Auto Suggestion.
Repetition of the message is the surest way to effect
successful change at a virtuoso level. It is a certain way to
ensure practice makes perfect.
THE THREE-WEEK METAMORPHOSIS
People who have worked with me on the Imagination Power
program say that they experience definite positive changes
in their lives once they have completed the first 21 days.
HOW TO DO YOUR PRACTICE
Allow yourself about 15 to 20 minutes every day. Relax your
body. When the muscles are soothed and comfortable, the
mind becomes relaxed too. Once you have become deeply
relaxed, it is time to clearly imagine the results that you want
to achieve as if they are already an established fact.
See yourself making the big sales; hitting cover drives with
ease; kicking goals; presenting a powerful speech to a large
audience enjoying your performance; writing a successful
book; making lots of money. Whatever the scenario, see it
vividly, hear the sounds that go with it and experience the
feelings that accompany your success. Be elated! Be
amused! Be confident as you see yourself doing the things
you dearly want to do. Forget about the things that have
happened to you until now. Focus on what you want, not
what you don't want.
Commit to this creative visualization for at least 20 minutes
every day and you are certain to experience positive results
quickly. Once you have established the new thought
patterns, concentrate on them, not only when you do your
20 minute Imagination Power visualization, but at any time
of the day when you find a few spare minutes to picture
30 31
IMAGINATION POWER
yourself as the happy, dynamic, successful human being
you want to be.
We have included a set of relaxation exercises in the next
chapter that you can use to prepare yourself to visualize at
your deepest level. Use these powerful, calming exercises
as an aid to seeing your mental movies.
Most important - give yourself 21 to 28 days for a powerful
start and then you are certain to include Repetitive Auto
Suggestion as a vital part of your everyday life and enjoy
the changes brought about by Imagination Power
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
"When the will and the imagination are in conflict,
the imagination will always win."
Emile Coue
verything we do in life is based on the power of
our imagination. Success or failure, happiness or
sorrow -all are experienced because of the way we
use our imagining faculty.
E
It might seem innocuous to people who have never
creatively harnessed their imagination, but the ability to
'dream' constructively is the most empowering talent we
have. As human beings, we are endowed with the most
advanced subjective imagination, far ahead of any other
living creature on earth.
We are all able to imagine our futures by using our
ABOVE-THE-NECK COMPUTER and developing such an
33
IMAGINATION POWER
empowering program of creative visualization that we can
actually construct the futures we want for ourselves.
Dr Maltz, known as the father of self-image psychology
showed that anybody can change negative past
conditioning by constructively and systematically using their
imagination to re-write the negative scripts of early life with
a set of new, positive, empowering outcomes.
He likened the mind to a teleological device such as a
guided missile which, once aimed at the target, regularly
strays off course but constantly corrects and changes back
to its original direction until it hits the bull's eye. The guided
missile is a completely target-directed instrument.
Life is like that. When we have a clear goal and we visualize
it happening one or more times every day, we become so
focused we begin to steer automatically towards our desired
end result.
We are created as goal-seekers. We can choose our own
program of goals, we can set the targets ourselves and we
can always make them positive.
It is the combination of goals and our creative imagination
which delivers, in tangible form, our most precious dreams.
The wonder of visualization is that, when it is done with
emotional commitment, it powerfully impels us towards our
desired goals at a rapid rate. As we set goals and vividly
imagine them being achieved, amazing things begin to
MENTAL MOVIES ARE THE
BASIS OF GREAT CHANGES
When we were children, the games we played seemed so
real to us. Our imaginations functioned at full throttle. We
did everything as if it were actually part of a real event. It is
a wonderful, childlike quality. Yet, as we grow older, we are
often called childish if we dare to dream.
Children up to about eight years old use their subjective
imagination extensively. They really live their play.
A REAL RACING DRIVER
Years ago, when I lived in Perth, my next-door neighbour
built a billy cart (soapbox) for his six-year-old son. Young
Mark was wildly excited. He painted the billy cart bright red
and, after fashioning a plastic ice-cream container into a
driver's helmet, he painted that red, and himself too! As six
year olds do!
His dad and I watched him ready the billy cart on a downhill
grade and let it go. Well, you could hear him a mile away
making the sound of a racing car. He flashed past us at
great speed and braked to an impressive halt. We were all
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
happen. Opportunity knocks. The telephone rings. We are
made wonderful offers we cannot refuse.
IMAGINATION POWER
delighted. The cart was a success and a six-year-old boy
was very happy.
I hurried to congratulate him.
"Mark," I said, "What a fantastic billy cart and you drove it
so well!"
He looked up at me, his eyes shining and he said, "My
name's not Mark. I'm Nigel Mansell and this...", he pointed
proudly at the cart, "is my red Ferrari."
Childlike imagining is a wonderful thing.
Sadly, as we grow up, our capacity to create vivid, exciting
inner pictures is gradually stifled by the education system,
parents, peers and institutions.
In his book, A Whack On The Side Of The Head, Roger Van
Ouch told the story of an eight-year-old girl who was
chastised by her teacher for coloring the grass grey and
the sky red in a school art project.
The teacher told the child that what she had done was
wrong, declaring that the grass should be green and the sky
blue. But the girl said, "Miss, that's how I see them when I
wake up early in the morning." The young mind had a vivid
memory of night slowly lifting from grey grass and the red
appearance of the morning sun in the sky.
The little girl's imagination pictured these conditions vividly
when she was asked to draw grass and sky. She had painted
her first waking memories. The teacher fortunately realized
what she had done - that there was more than one right
answer.
The good news is that we can return the use of this most
powerful success tool, our imagination. It never leaves us
completely, but lays dormant awaiting our return.
PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON -A
LITTLE BOY STOPS DREAMING
Years ago, a respected American news magazine revealed
that the hit song Puff The Magic Dragon was written about
drugs. According to reports the article surprised Peter
Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, who actually wrote Puff and
had intended no suggestion of drugs at all.
The song is a beautiful, wistful look at lost childhood. As
Jackie Paper grew older, he no longer visited Puff the Magic
Dragon, a splendid figment of his wonderful, little-boy
imagination. Jackie had lost the joyful, childlike skill of
imagining. Puff was his daydream friend. As Jackie grew up
and drifted away, Puff slipped into his cave, perhaps waiting
for another little boy to come along and be his playmate.
Jackie Paper vividly illustrates the sadness of losing the very
thing that takes us to the height of creative achievement. It
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
37
IMAGINATION POWER
is one of the first casualties of 'growing up', of our
education. If we have lost the knack of using our
imagination, we need to re-discover it. It might be childlike
but it is certainly not childish to have dreams and to vividly
imagine their happening.
The ability to see ourselves in the act of making our dreams
come true is the basis of all great accomplishments.
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "Imagination rules the
world." He imagined all his battles before they were fought
and he almost did rule all the world around him.
As we touched on earlier, the amazing power of the
imagination lies in the fact that our mind/brain mechanism
cannot tell the difference between a real experience and one
that is vividly imagined. The same physical processes occur
in both scenarios. The same neurons in the brain fire up,
the same messages are sent out to ready the individual, both
physically and mentally. Take a moment to remember a time
when you thought you heard something go bump in the
middle of the night. How did you feel? Alarmed? Whether
it was a burglar or next door's cat, your mind could not tell
until further investigation - you were ready for danger at
that moment.
Most of the world's leading golfers use imagination
whenever they play. Golf is the most disciplined and
mentally challenging game. It requires high self-control and
the ability to see it happening.
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
The great Jack Nicklaus, in his book Golf, My Way,
describes how he imagines a successful performance. He
says, "I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having
a sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head. It's like a colour
movie. First, I 'see' the ball where I want it to finish Then
the scene quickly changes and I 'see' the ball going there -
its path, trajectory and shape - even its behavior on
landing. Then, the next scene shows me making the kind
of swing that will turn the previous images into reality."
In the same way, footballers shooting for goal from a
standing start will kick the ball successfully in their minds
before they actually put boot to leather. Experiments over
the years have shown that mental practice in such things is
almost as effective as actual kicking practice.
BELIEVING IT IS SEEING IT!
How many times have you heard someone say sceptically,
"I'll believe it when I see it?"
What these people mean is that when they physically see
something in front of them they will finally be convinced
that it is really happening. St Thomas asked to see the
wounds in Christ's hands before he would believe.
Dr Wayne Dyer, in his fine book You'll See It When You
Believe It, stressed the value of believing that something was
not only possible but already in existence IF you could see
it in your imagination. He believed that if you developed a
39
IMAGINATION POWER THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
picture of abundance and concentrated on it, the condition
of plenty would take hold in your life. He urged non-
resistance to the idea of abundance because our cultural
conditioning to regard scarcity as the norm has prepared
us to accept much less than we are worthy of receiving.
Dr Dyer believes that thought is much more than something
we do. It is, in fact, us. So the thoughts we think, the
scenarios we imagine, become us. This powerful
philosophy is an inspiration for us to increase the use of our
creative imagination to improve every facet of our lives.
THE RIGHT BRAIN AND ITS
IMPACT ON IMAGINATION
During the 1980s Professor Roger Sperry won a Nobel Prize
for his split brain experiments and research. He found that,
while the left side of the brain handles logic and language,
the right brain deals with sensory images.
Professor Sperry saw the right brain as the seat of our
imagination - our human success centre. He also found that
very little work and training is given to the right side of our
brain - our education system concentrates mainly on the left
- the three Rs, reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic. We are taught
mainly what to think, not how to think.
( i
In his book, The Right Brain, Thomas Blakeslee backs this
up, saying that our success in the world is largely determined
by the extent to which the intuitive (right) side of the brain
has accidentally developed.
"While the schools ignore and even discourage intuition, it
remains a necessary element of creative thinking and the
key ingredient for success in all fields."
The RIGHT intuitive side of the brain houses the
imagination which will either drag us down to failure or, like
Napoleon (at least until his second and final surrender), will
take us to great heights.
Albert Einstein maintained that "imagination is far more
important than knowledge". His famous 'thought
experiments', based on intuition and imagination rather
than laboratory work, propelled us beyond the world of
Newton into a relativistic universe. Einstein said,
"Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
IMAGINE YOURSELF AS A
SUCCESSFUL INDIVIDUAL
As Henry Ford suggested, we can do anything that we think
we can. Conversely, we also hypnotize ourselves into
believing that we can't do things and, sure enough, we find
those things totally impossible. It is all a matter of belief.
IMAGINATION POWER THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
In my presentations, I show people the power of the
imagination in a small, on-stage experiment, in which I ask
four members of the audience (one a woman) to lift another
large audience member off a chair, each using only their
index fingers locked together.
When they first attempt the lift they find it impossible. The
man is too heavy to budge.
Then, I place the sitting man under hypnosis and tell him
that he is a feather and very light. I ask him to see himself
floating towards the ceiling. Once this state of mind has
been accomplished, I hypnotise the other four and tell them
that the sitting man is a feather.
The instruction is: Lift the sitting man (feather) again, using
only your fingers as before.
RESULT: They easily elevate the big man off his chair as
high as their arms can take him. The task, which had earlier
been impossible, is very easily achieved. Interestingly, the
woman, at that given moment, is every bit as strong as the
three men lifting with her.
This proves conclusively that you can do anything you
believe you can do. The possibilities are limitless.
What happened?
Is this a case of a hypnotist manipulating people's minds?
Certainly, the idea that the big man was a feather was
implanted in all five minds from an outside source - me.
However, the five subjects decided they would accept the
information. They took it of value, it entered the CREATIVE
LEVEL OF MIND and they acted on it accordingly.
Acceptance of the information - that is the key. If we believe
we can do a certain thing and see it happening in our
wonderful imagination, we are well on the way to getting it
done.
So why not take this hypnotic experience a step further and
become expert in self-hypnosis, a state in which we create
our own set of beliefs in our potential by vividly imagining
a desired goal as already achieved.
Sales people do this in role-playing. Every time a sales
manager takes the team through this experience, they are
working with their creative imagination. This is active
self-hypnosis in a very raw form. It is even more effective if
the participants in the role plays relax deeply before they
start playing their parts because relaxation is an important
ingredient in successful creative auto suggestion and
visualization. The mind always works better when the body
is relaxed. The conscious critical factor is quietened and the
CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND is more susceptible to
information which it accepts easily and is better able to act
on.
IMAGINATION POWER THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
RE-SCRIPT YOUR MENTAL MOVIES
FOR MAXIMUM SUCCESS
The wonderful thing is that we can replace, in our
imagination, an unfortunate, real-life experience and its
traumatic after-effects with an artificial positive scenario that
changes our inner perceptions and then our actions.
Take the case of one of my old air force friends, Ken, who
had trouble with math. In fourth grade, his teacher told him
that, because he was slow in understanding a particular set
of problems, he was hopeless at math. She then confirmed
this belief in his mind by ignoring him and helping only
those who were quick and had an immediate understanding
of what was being taught.
Years later, Ken was due to leave the air force and found
that he needed to master some math to get the job he
wanted, yet he was still saddled by the belief, implanted all
those years ago by his teacher, that he was 'hopeless' at the
subject.
I shared with him what I had learned about creative
visualization and suggested that, for a short period every
day, he relax and visualize himself as a capable
mathematician. He was not to worry about the detail. What
he sees is himself able to do the math required. And, sure
enough, through the use of his creative imagination for a
few weeks, he developed a belief that he was capable of
learning the math he needed to know. All of a sudden, the
details took care of themselves, he enrolled in some tutoring
and was confident in applying for the job he really wanted.
When we keep the picture of the desired result clearly in
mind, we set the wheels in motion that help us to make our
goal happen.
The all-important ingredient is seeing it happening and
experiencing the emotions of success.
EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE IS
A MAJOR FACTOR.
Seeing and emotionally experiencing is a certain formula
for believing. Together, they are a strong recipe for success.
SEE + FEEL + BELIEVE = POWERFUL SUCCESS.
HOW TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION
This is a simple exercise, taking just a little practice. When
we undertake a program of creative visualization - of
Imagination Power - we make a contract with ourselves to
concentrate on our goals daily - to 'see' them in the process
of happening.
Creative visualization inspires belief. The important thing is
to persist in seeing the achievement of your goals daily.
IMAGINATION POWER
These experiencing sessions only take about 20 minutes. As
you progress, you notice that as you go about your daily
life, you are beginning to think automatically in much the
same way as you do during your special visualization
sessions. Your CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND is steering you
in the right direction.
It is a known fact that it takes a minimum of 21- 28 days to
form a new behavior, to create a new habit. So, as we've
said before, dedicate three weeks, or preferably four, to
doing your Imagination Power program. The longer you do
it, the more the process confirms the new thinking and
implants it more firmly and forever in your mind. Really
emotionalize the experience for startling results.
CREATE YOUR OWN PERSONAL
CINEMA
Maxwell Maltz called this the 'Theatre of the Mind'. It is easy
to do. Simply picture a small, cozy theatre with a big screen
and settle back to watch your own, individually produced
mental movies. Create a soft, comfortable easy chair for
yourself and sink into it mentally as you enjoy your special
movies. You are the writer, producer, director and star of
this vitally important production. Roll the cameras.
ACTION!
As mentioned previously, it is important to be relaxed
during your imagining sessions. At the end of this chapter,
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
I have included a relaxation script which I suggest you
record on an audiocassette so you can play it whenever you
want to visualize your goals. You are a unique, special
person who deserves the best from life. This is a perfect way
of ascertaining that only the best happens.
As an example, say you want to be highly successful in sales.
You begin your Imagination Power program by writing your
goal down and then you read the goal. When you are
settled, in a quiet comfortable place, play your recording,
relaxing deeply. Then focus on seeing yourself achieving
the goal. See it happening NOW.
Experience the elation you feel when you see yourself
making sales that are well over target. Feel the buzz of
earning a large income. See yourself enjoying a very
satisfying lifestyle. Picture the benefits to yourself and your
family. Imagine how your success enables you to contribute
beneficially to your community.
Feel the joy of achievement as you visualize.
It is important to be as detailed as you can. Get a picture of
yourself winning the company sales award or winning a bis
contract for your own business and be clear about things
such as your surroundings. Experience sights, sounds and
emotions.
IMAGINATION POWER
REMEMBER PAST SUCCESSES
This is a vital ingredient in successful imagining. It raises
your self-image so that you have the self-belief to achieve
what you want.
We have all enjoyed wins in the past that gave us a deep
sense of personal satisfaction.
What happened at that time? Remember it vividly. How did
you feel then? Enjoy re-capping the emotions that flooded
over you. Was the elation dizzy? Re-live it.
Our past successes can be used in Imagination Power as a
foundation for newly imagined accomplishments.
Colin, a business associate of mine, played football as a
young man. On his own admission he was never a great
footballer, but one day he took a 'screamer' mark during a
junior match many years ago.
He was playing on the wing, his opponent was a head taller
and they had been having a close tussle all day. Then, in
the third quarter, the ball was delivered high from downfield
and, without realizing the breathtaking implications of what
he was doing, Colin launched himself into the air until he
was sitting high on his opponent's shoulders and plucking
the ball out of the air for a brilliant mark.
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
The small crowd roared its appreciation and to this day this
otherwise non-achieving footballer who, incidentally, has
been an high achiever in his chosen field, calls up that
wonderful experience when he needs to remember a
success. Of course, he has had plenty of successes since then
but says cheerfully that soaring like a young hawk to take a
spectacular mark still gives him a special pleasure each time
he recalls it.
Because we all enjoy successes at a variety of things, we
should have plenty of positive information to recollect as
part of our Imagination Power program. It doesn't matter
whether the events were of monumental importance or just
a collection of small successes. The fact remains that they
were successes and, as such, should be remembered with
feeling.
These joy-of-achievement recall exercises benefit us at a
deep level. They stir memories of success and then re-
establish them in our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND.
Every time we remember past success, we re-ignite the
feelings we had at those times, in the present moment.
Think like a winner at all times.
SO YOU'VE NEVER BEEN SUCCESSFUL?
Some find it hard to remember even small successes. They
are so unused to thinking of themselves in that light, they
48 49
IMAGINATION POWER
block out even the tiniest positive achievements. If this is
you, the solution is to think of seemingly unimportant events
as huge successes. For instance, passing your driving test,
getting your first job, getting married, having your first baby,
passing an exam, getting picked for the school choir, being
born. Also, you can set small, daily goals that can be easily
attained. Tick them off as you achieve them - remember
these past successes as vividly and emotionally charged as
you can in your imagination and this will become part of
your success mechanism.
We can literally trick the mind. So, when we plant new
experiences, that is exactly what they are. They not merely
daydreams. The minute we think and believe these positive
thoughts, we are on the road to achieving our dreams.
EMOTION IS A VITAL KEY
When we bring deep feelings into our visualization, we activate a most important force that works for our benefit.
How would you feel if you had written an internationally
best-selling book and opened your mail to a cheque for
more than a million dollars? Would the elation surge up
through the top of your head and into the universe? Would
you feel like jumping in the air? Would you rush out and
buy the most expensive bottle of champagne for a major
celebration? These are the kinds of feelings we need to
experience in our minds. In anticipation.
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
Emotionalize your visualization. Be happy and excited
when it is appropriate.
You CAN see your future with telling effect. Don't wait until
tomorrow. Start this minute. You have everything to gain.
YOUR RELAXATION SCRIPT
Record this on an audiocassette.
I would like you to sit or lie down. If sitting, place your feet
squarely on the floor in front of you.
Hands resting on your lap, palms up or palms down.
Close your eyes and take a breath. Now breathe just a little
deeper.
Now think of the top of your head and, as you do, that part
of the body is becoming relaxed. This relaxation flows down
over your forehead and the lines on your forehead are
slowly disappearing as you tell each little muscle to relax
and let go.
Take a breath and go deeper.
Think of all the small muscles in your face, surrounding the
eyes. Relax the eyes. As you relax your eyes, your eyelids
feel a little heavy.
50 51
IMAGINATION POWER THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
This relaxation now goes down to your jaw.
From your jaw, down to your neck, and all the way to your
back and spine.
Now the top of your head, face, jaw, neck and spine are
completely and utterly relaxed.
Take a breath and go deeper, deeper than before.
Relaxation now goes all the way to your shoulders, arms,
hands and fingers. Take a breath in, and breathe out.
All the cells in your body are now becoming healthier and
healthier.
Relaxation continues down your chest to your stomach and
all the way to your legs. Your legs now feel a little heavy, as
you go deeper and deeper into this wonderful deep
relaxation. This relaxation is very natural and you are
feeling warm, relaxed contentment.
Your thighs, your calves, feet and toes are becoming very
relaxed as you go deeper and deeper - breathe in now, and
breathe out.
Your head, shoulders, back, chest, stomach, legs, feet and
toes are now completely relaxed.
In a moment, you are going to use your CREATIVE LEVEL
OF MIND.
Every time you use your CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND, you
become more relaxed and confident.
Every time you use your CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND, you
become more relaxed and confident.
Every morning, you wake up with a very positive attitude
and this remains with you all day. And if, through the day,
you come in contact with any disruptive circumstances or
people, you recognise them immediately. This makes you
even more determined to be more positive and therefore
makes you stronger in every way. Love harmonizes your
mind and your heart is filled with joy.
You believe completely in yourself and your own abilities.
As you apply the principles of mind control, which you do
for the rest of your life, you also help others reach their
pinnacle of success. For a few moments you see yourself as
you really are - a confident, successful, happy, relaxed,
composed, dynamic, energetic, self-reliant and productive
individual. You give thanks for your satisfying and fulfilling
life.
On the count of five, you will come out of this deep, relaxed
state and you will be full of life and energy.
One awakening. Two
more awake. Three even
more awake.
53
IMAGINATION POWER
Four nearly awake.
Five fully awake.
Open your eyes.
HOW TO GET RESULTS
Make sure you use your recorded relaxation every day for
28 days.
Have no doubt, it will enhance your life, regardless of how
successful you feel you are.
YOU DESERVEWEALTH - IT'S
YOURS TO HAVEAND ENJOY
"The richest man in the world is the one who has a
good time earning his daily bread."
Jerry Gillies, 'Money Love'.
ealth is not simply money. It is the happiness
and satisfaction we enjoy in our lives every day
we are on earth. Being rich is having the infinite capacity
that some people have for extracting absolute joy from
everything they do - from the first waking stretch of the day
on arising to enjoying that last delectable yawn and
drifting off to peaceful sleep.
W
All the riches in the world can't buy those simple pleasures.
We only need to make the choice. Feel rich and you become
wealthy in abundant ways.
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IMAGINATION POWER YOU DESERVE WEALTH - IT'S YOURS TO HAVE AND ENJOY
Another thing that money can't buy is true friends. Of
course, dollars can let us buy a type of friendship based on
what our money can do for others, but a small group of
sincere friends is worth all the money in all the banks around
the globe.
Of course, MONEY itself is a major ingredient in the
composition of personal wealth but we must remember that,
in itself, it is only a reward for service. We all deserve to have
and enjoy as much honestly earned money as we can
accumulate.
Abraham Lincoln once said that humans were fortunate
creatures because we have the capacity to be as happy as
we make up our minds to be. We could borrow that
beautiful, simple philosophy and relate it to money in the
same way as Lincoln did to happiness.
We are all as happy or as rich or as 'anything else' as we
make up our minds to be. It is up to us. Nobody else can
make the decision. And it is very hard to understand why
Australians, who grow up surrounded by abundance in all
directions, ever choose to condition themselves to a poverty
mindset.
There was a poignant sequence in the Australian movie The
Big Steal in which one of the major characters, a young
fellow, was telling his father that he had started to save for
a Jaguar motor car. It was what he wanted above all things.
The young man grew more and more passionate about the
car of his dreams. As he pointed out its multitude of features,
his father became more restive. He had his own picture of
where the family belonged. In fact, the father was coming
from a vastly different mental space than his son.
He had been driving an old family Nissan Cedric sedan
around for years and the sparkling Jaguar in all its sleek
glory did not fit in with his picture of the world.
For years, he had been planning on passing on the old
family car when he no longer wanted to drive it. THAT was
his picture.
Sadly, he looked at the lad and said, "Son, that car's not for
the likes of us."
TRAGEDY!
The young man had bright, young man's ideas. He was
striving to break away from the limitations of his family
environment. But his dad was determined to tie him to all
those ideas that had held back the family for generations.
Sadly, too many people work on the principle that "if it was
good enough for our oldies, it's good enough for us and it
should be good enough for our children".
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IMAGINATION POWER YOU DESERVE WEALTH - IT'S YOURS TO HAVE AND ENJOY
Why? Locking ourselves into a negative personal script
because it has been a way of life in the family and among
our social group is a most wasteful exercise.
The best policy that anybody can adopt about wealth and
all the living conditions that accompany it, is to always
remember that we each have a number of talents we can
sell for financial reward. For the time being, just remember
the only reason that we think in terms of limitation in any
part of our lives is that we allow it to happen. WE GIVE
OURSELVES PERMISSION TO STAY BROKE. It all comes
down to the way in which we think.
The greatest sin we can commit in life is to doubt our own
capacity to achieve whatever we want.
HOW CAN I GET WHAT I WANT -
AND WHEN I WANT IT
When it comes to money and things associated with it, those
who 'think rich' never ponder whether making money is
possible, nor do they ever doubt their capacity to find the
required amount.
Recently, when a group of people was discussing Australia's
controversial Goods and Services Tax, some began to
complain that the new tax system would be the ruin of small
business. There was a rumble of assent. Everybody in that
'«
group was locked into a negative, poverty mindset about the tax. Well, in fact, all bar one.
One woman, who until then had said very little, waited until
everybody else made their contribution and then said, "I
don't know why you're all getting so worried. We're all in
small business and we have two options. We can grumble
or we can do something about it. Personally, I'm just going
to find new ways to make money."
This dynamic young woman was absolutely spot on. She
knew that it was no good sitting around muttering about
how cruel the new regime would be. The fact was that
neither she nor any of the others was quite clear on how
the tax would ultimately work out. However, one thing she
was determined not to do was waste valuable energy on
worry. She came from a powerful, positive space.
This is unlike some Australian venture capitalists, who have developed an international reputation for conservatism bordering on the negative.
YOU HAVE TO THINK POSITIVELY
WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY.
In the United States, venture capitalists don't allow
limitations to cloud their thinking. They look for the most
positive ways of marketing a proposed new product that will
58 59
IMAGINATION POWER YOU DESERVE WEALTH - IT'S YOURS TO HAVE AND ENJOY
make money for everybody and give the public another
buying option.
The approach is, "Great idea! Let's see how we can make
it work."
Australian businessmen, who have negotiated financial
arrangements with local venture capitalists, say they
encounter a totally different attitude in the land down under.
They believe that the attitude here in Australia is, "Yep, great
idea. Now, let's look into it and analyse any possible
problems."
The message is clear. Don't hold your breath waiting for the
poverty thinkers to harpoon your financial project. Sadly, it
levels the finger of blame at a local industry that is showing
its lack of imagination power and instead should be thinking
in terms of abundance.
I USE THIS PHILOSOPHY -IT
WORKS EVERY TIME
I have had so many personal experiences of this positive
wealth policy working at every level, that when people
admit they are negative about it, I can help them see a
situation through personally and professionally.
Fortunately, after a badly limiting family attitude based on
the belief that money is hard to get, I met Mr Choy and took
his advice to read Psycho-Cybernetics. It was the best thing I had done until that time. Dr Maltz impressed me so much that I totally absorbed his uplifting beliefs and I do not regret a minute of it.
My first experience in business showed me the need to have a healthy dose of self-belief regarding money because it acts as a buffer against disasters of all sorts.
SELL IT FOR $99 - YOU
WON'T GET ANY MORE.'
After returning to Melbourne from Malaysia, I discovered an overseas personal development program that, in thought, was very effective. After testing it carefully, I rang the developer who agreed to let me represent him in Australia.
The program consisted of a book and a kit of five cassette
tapes. It was powerful, to the point, easy to understand and
follow and deserved to succeed. When the developer gave
me the agency he said, "I don't think that you should sell
the set for over $99.1 think that's all you'll get for it."
I was amazed. Here was a fellow who had created a
powerful, positive, self-help program that worked and he
was placing limits on the sales price because of self-doubt.
Fortunately, I took no notice of his financial advice and sold
61
IMAGINATION POWER
the kit for $195, although I sincerely believed it was worth
a whole lot more.
I soon brought in a salesman and he recommended a
business manager and, before you knew it, the pair had torn
my business apart with the help of my supplier, who
obviously decided that he would throw his support behind
the superior numbers. We had been doing extremely well,
selling plenty of product. Unfortunately, without my
knowledge, the money wasn't going into the bank accounts
set up by my company. In fact, my company was broke.
As it became obvious that they had destroyed my business,
I had three options. I could get nasty and level blame or I
could give up the ghost. I preferred option three: I could get
started again and write off the losses.
Losing heart was not my policy. I was not inclined to feel
sorry for myself. I knew I needed to get out and get stuck
into it again straight away. There was no time to coddle
regret or to indulge in acrimony.
My success as a distributor of the $99 tapes was a complete
reversal of all the habits I had learned during my early family
life. It proved that the sorts of negative things I had learned
as I grew up CAN be turned around and changed
completely.
It reflected the philosophies of Dr Maltz to a'T'. It again bore
out the observation of Dr Bobbe Sommer that "anything
YOU DESERVE WEALTH - IT'S YOURS TO HAVE AND ENJOY
that has been learned can be re-evaluated and challenged. Anything that can be challenged can be re-learned with new data to replace the old".
There was no point in me raging at the others and
threatening prosecution. As time went by, it became
increasingly obvious that other, more serious crimes were
occupying the attention of investigating police and that
there was little chance we would ever end up in court.
So I shook my head, like a boxer who has just taken a good
shot, and used my energy to get straight into another
business. It was a case of getting back into the saddle
immediately after a big fall so I didn't have time to build an
unhealthy fear of the things that might go wrong.
Since that time, whenever I have encountered adversity that
has unseated me briefly, I have made it a point to return to
action immediately. I use my own imagination power to
eliminate the stress and live by my own philosophy: NO
MATTER WHAT, SOMETHING GOOD COMES OUT OF
EVERYTHING. And it does!
MONEY IS A REWARD - IT
SHOULD NOT CONSUME YOU
I have counseled countless people who spend most of their
time focusing on money and the one thing they have all
IMAGINATION POWER
found out is that the more they are prepared to let go of
their money fixation, the more money they make.
Money is only a reward and it gives us greater freedoms,
but, of itself, it NEVER makes us happy. It certainly won't if
it is the only thing on which we concentrate. Once we stop
thinking about money and start balancing our lives, we find
that money flows to us in abundance.
The famous motivator, Bob Proctor, believes we should stop
thinking lack and move ourselves into a prosperity
consciousness. Proctor says that, under such conditions,
money flows towards us "so fast it makes your head spin".
Whenever you have a need to raise dollars urgently,
remember to always ask yourself ONE vital question:
"HOW CAN I EARN THE EXTRA MONEY THAT I NEED
TO AFFORD THIS?"
Then, concentrate on the all important job of enjoying
living. Life always finds a way if you ask that question
positively.
CONCENTRATION ON A GOAL
STARTS THE PHONES RINGING
Years ago, a good friend, Phil, and his wife Marg decided
to save money for a deposit on their own home. They were
sick and tired of renting and wanted their three children to
YOU DESERVE WEALTH - IT'S YOURS TO HAVE AND ENJOY
enjoy a large, leafy property, away from the centre of the
city, where they could come and go with ease.
The decision was urgent. Both had been country-raised and
were keen to live in a semi-rural environment. The problem
was that they had no cash. Although both had jobs, they
were unable to save any more than about $3000 a year
after allowing for the expenses of a young, growing family.
Marg decided that it would be ideal if they could bank that
$3000 for three years. It would at least give them the basis
of a deposit on their own home.
But, Phil said, "Why should we concentrate on $3000 a
year when we can put all our attention on saving a much
greater figure." He wrote a goal to save $20,000 in the
ensuing 12 months.
Marg was aghast but decided that she would support him
in every way she could.
The important thing here was that my friend focused on the
goal with a sort of 'relaxed ferocity'. Every chance that he
had he read the goal thoroughly and visualized their new
home.
At first, he did nothing to make anything happen; he simply
visualized up to 20 times a day about the goal.
About three months later, the phone rang. It was a long-time
friend, offering him the chance to do a column in a weekly
64 65
IMAGINATION POWER YOU DESERVE WEALTH - IT'S YOURS TO HAVE AND ENJOY
newspaper. Fee: $100. Of course, the answer was YES. The
paper then asked him to write some feature articles. Here
was extra money.
While all this was going on, my friend continued to visualize
his goal with the same easy intensity. He estimated that
there were days in which he could almost smell the gum
trees on the property, so real was the goal in his mind.
Meanwhile, his writing was continuing to open doors. The
editor of a major newspaper rang, offering a weekly dolumn
and the opportunity to write 'break-out' stories and feature
articles. Then, a radio station manager he knew well offered
him four weeks at a good fee to run a talk program during
a period of change at the station.
His profile had grown so much that a couple of small firms
asked him to do small but profitable public relations projects
for them.
The telephone RANG and RANG and RANG.
At the end of the year the couple had saved $23,000. The
family did without nothing. They soon had their home in a
semi-rural, outer-suburban location.
The beauty of this goal was that:
1. Phil concentrated NOT on money but on the property.
2. He gave the goal his total focus.
3. When the job offers flowed in, he was happy to tacklewhatever came.
4. He put aside all past fears and doubts about hiscapacity to earn enough money - and JUSTVISUALIZED
5. Because of his focus on the goal, he was able to
regularly visualize its attainment, without doing it
formally. His mind was always occupied with buying
the property. As a result, he was totally absorbed by
the need to earn the money for the deposit. It was
always in his mind and he found imagining for such a
good cause a very easy task.
RESULT: An small avalanche of money. Phil now admits
that if he had set his sights higher than the $20,000 goal,
he would have achieved the targeted figure, no matter what.
When you set high goals and vividly see them happening,
you admit cheerfully that there is no such thing as limitation.
All borders and boundaries are disengaged.
Just think about it for a moment.
If you are making your living in accounting it does not mean
that you cannot sing songs and play a guitar in a band on
weekends, or spruik outside stores, or telemarketer, or
work in the neighborhood bottle shop or do any number
of other things that can earn you an extra dollar.
IMAGINATION POWER
It all depends on how you think. The part-time job does not
have to be a demeaning, enslaving occupation that fills you
with dread. There are plenty of things you can do to earn
an extra dollar that fill you with personal satisfaction while
they add to your income.
I once saw one of the senior managers of a local
supermarket delivering pizzas and pasta part-time for a
nearby fast-food outlet. He told me that he was aiming to
pay off his family mortgage much quicker than the agreed
25 years because it would mean a considerable saving. I
admired his dedication. He had a worthwhile goal and was
completely focused on it. Certainly, it meant giving up
periods of his free time, but he was happy to work instead
of loaf because it was in a very good cause.
We all deserve to be wealthy. It is just a matter of reaching
out and claiming our share of the abundance that surrounds
us. The choice is ours, as the words of this rhyme so
succinctly warn us.
I bargained with life for a penny, And
life would pay no more, However I
begged at evening, When I counted
my scanty store.
For life is a just employer, He gives
you what you ask, But once you
have set the wages, Why, you must
bear the task.
YOU DESERVE WEALTH - IT'S YOURS TO HAVE AND ENJOY
I worked for a menial's hire, Only to
learn dismayed, That any wage I had
asked of life, Life would have
willingly paid.
SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO ASK FOR out of life? Plenty?
IMAGINATION POWER
GARY'S LAW -WITHOUT
APOLOGY TO MURPHY
"Anything that can go RIGHT - WILL!"
urphy's Law might be all right for those people
who are prepared to flounder from one
disaster to another, but people who set clear, dynamic
goals and focus on them with complete commitment
and positive expectancy, find that - THINGS JUST
KEEP ON GOING RIGHT.
M
The proof of this philosophy came home to me most
resoundingly in 1999 when we took a party of enthusiasts
to Singapore as part of our Ian Baker-Finch Albatross
golfing program.
The tour, with financial benefits going to that excellent
charity, the Youth At Risk program, attracted a keen
IMAGINATION POWER GARY'S LAW - WITHOUT APOLOGY TO MURPHY
response. Top golfer Mike Harwood was the celebrity
professional. We were flying economy which meant we
would miss out on the special hospitality the airline offered.
One of our keenest members, Jonathon McCleery, said that
it would be great to get our party into the first-class lounge
before the flight.
We were so positive about having a good time that we must
have sent out a special energy.
When we arrived at the airport in a group and I took the
tickets to the departure lounge, the young woman at the
desk formally invited us to be Singapore Airlines guests in
their first-class lounge!
Jon's wish was granted. We had a wonderful time.
To show you just how good things accumulate if you are
focused on them, 'Gary's Law' continued when we reached
Singapore. We were staying at the five-star Beaufort Hotel
and, because we were arriving very early in the morning,
we expected to spend a lot of time in the foyer waiting for
our rooms to be made ready.
But the great run of good fortune continued. When we
arrived every member of our party was able to go straight
to their room and enjoy a nap.
When you live your life in a wave of positive thoughts, good things just fall into place. When you expect good things to happen, they do!
Say to yourself every morning before you start the day -
SOMETHING FANTASTIC IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO
ME TODAY.
Focus on your goals and see what happens. Things that
might not have worked for you before, suddenly click - and
you forget that other people deal constantly with a thing
they call bad luck.
So, Murphy, old negative chap, try again. As a setter of
powerful, positive goals I just can't agree with you.
IMAGINATION POWER
OUR WORDSCAN SINK US ORSEND US TO THE
STARS
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug
used by mankind." Rudyard
Kipling
he words we use every day determine our present
and our future. They send explicit messages to
our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND, which acts on them
without discrimination. If they are negative and poverty-
based, those are the sorts of conditions we can expect in
our lives. But, fortunately, the opposite is also true. When
we regularly use dynamic words, our life paths follow the
positive theme those words set for us.
T
We set the agenda by the words we speak and the thoughts
we think, so it makes sense to use empowering language
74 75
IMAGINATION POWER
every day and to eliminate all negative words and
expressions from our daily speech.
BECOME A CHAMPION AT ...
RIGHT TALK
Taking control of the language we use is a MUST if we want
to make our lives abundantly successful. Careless use of
words can sink us without trace. We need to harness the
words we use to our own benefit.
Australians have a habit of expressing negatives in what
they believe to be a positive way.
An example is the reply, "Not too bad", when someone
asks, "How are you?" This is negative because the mind,
being so precise, swoops on the word 'bad' - processes it as
a disempowering statement - and "not too bad" is the way
we feel for the rest of the day. It is impossible to have a
'good' day unless we implement some powerful RIGHT
TALK to get ourselves back on to a positive track. I
guarantee that, after you have read this, you will become
very aware of the negative frame of mind of most of the
population. You will hear, in response to "How are you?"
-"Ask me tomorrow", "Could be better", or even, "I can't
wait for the weekend". What a tragedy when that is said on
a Monday morning; it is going to be a very long, gloomy
week for that person. For our good health and well-being,
we need to re-program such negatives into abundant
OUR WORDS CAN SINK US OR SEND US TO THE STARS
positives that benefit us in the present and help us to build a better life in the long term.
ABSOLUTELY INDESTRUCTIBLE
Years ago, I approached a teller at a major bank to effect a
transaction. I greeted her with the usual "Good morning,
how are you?" Inevitably, her response was, "Oh not too
bad, how are you?" Seizing the opportunity with glee, I
replied "ABSOLUTELY INDESTRUCTIBLE THANK
YOU". Her reaction was amazing. She literally stepped back
a couple of paces as if I were an alien from another planet.
I thought she was going to raise the safety screen. The look
on her face showed that she was not well equipped to deal
with such unadulterated positively.
She said, "Are you all right?"
I said, "I'm fine, thank you", collected my paperwork and
left.
The following day I went into the bank again and, as I stood
in the line, she looked up and noticed me. I made sure I was
called by her and I said, "How are you?"
A big, bright smile flashed on her face and she said, "I'm
very well, thank you." So I had had an effect.
She then started to ask about my totally positive attitude
and we had a short and very dynamic conversation. Later,
76 77
IMAGINATION POWER
she talked to others on the staff and, after some weeks, I
was approached by management to do our High-
Performance program for a hundred staff in a financial
subsidiary.
It all happened because I used abundance language -
RIGHT TALK - and hit the right note with a staff member.
They had been talking about smartening up their service
skills and their approach to customers. The program
changed the culture of the organization for the better.
I just happened to be in the right place at the right time using
the RIGHT TALK.
Coincidence? No. That is the way it works for us when we
use the right kind of language. Unfortunately, it works with
exactly the opposite effect when the words we use are
disempowering. What we put out into the world is what we
magnetize. We draw to us the same sorts of vibrations we
send out.
The person who employed me to do the staff training, Joe
Sirianni, wrote a testimonial in which he described my
course as the first that had ever given the staff the tools to
be positively self-motivated.
OUR WORDS ARE VITAL FOR ...
• our health
OUR WORDS CAN SINK US OR SEND US TO THE STARS
•wealth
•peace of mind
•spiritual growth
•family well-being.
Again, all these life elements are dependent on the words we use and the thoughts we think. If we are known by the company we keep, then we are also defined by the words we use.
Simply uttering the statement, "Ah, you just can't win", when something goes wrong, sets you on a losing streak. Exaggeration? No. Making that statement sets off a rush of negative vibrations. The mind, which delivers to us what it sees as consistent with our desires and beliefs, goes out of its way to deliver us situations in which we "just can't win". Utter this debilitating phrase often enough and you might as well throw in the towel.
RIGHT TALK WITH MAYO
That highly respected medical establishment - the Mayo
Clinic - in Minnesota, USA - has confirmed the powerful
impact of words in a long-term study by one of its
psychiatrists. DrToshihikoMaruta found that when we build
ourselves up with the appropriate self-talk and say positive
things to other people, we assist our own good health. The
research was conducted over many years and determined
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IMAGINATION POWER
"that pessimists had a 19 per cent higher likelihood of
premature death than optimists".
The research showed clearly that mind and body are linked
and that attitude has a powerful impact on the final outcome
- death.
The researchers interviewed 839 people in the '60s and
re-visited them 30 years later.
They came up with a list of DOs that people such as Dr
Maxwell Maltz had been advocating for decades.
These included:
• Positive auto suggestion which programs the
subconscious and aids recovery from illness.
• Saying affirmations aloud for more positive effect.
• Using the imagination as well as the logical brain. When
we visualize ourselves recovering from illness, the results
are better.
• Practising positive thinking last thing at night. The
subconscious works on it during your sleep.
NEGATIVE LANGUAGE IS DETRIMENTAL
to our HEALTH, our WEALTH... and everything else in our
lives.
OUR WORDS CAN SINK US OR SEND US TO THE STARS
It locks us into a failure pattern that can only be changed
when our words become abundantly positive and
coordinated with a powerful goals program and strong
visualization which puts our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND
into action. As we have said, the use of negative talk is as
disempowering as failing to set clear goals. In each case we
are setting our own agenda on a subconscious level because
the mind chooses to follow our language.
WORDS CREATE INNER
CHEMICALS FOR BIG
SUCCESS - OR FAILURE
Start using only powerful words such as MAGNIFICENT, SUPERB, SENSATIONAL, FANTASTIC, TREMENDOUS, TERRIFIC, GREAT and MARVELLOUS and you begin to produce in your body a set of chemicals that trigger a feel-good response.
Endorphins and encephalin spurt into your system and impel you to bigger and better things. Conversely, when we think only negative thoughts the body produces nor-adrenaline, a chemical that leaves us more stressed and depressed.
The choice belongs to us. Which do we prefer?
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IMAGINATION POWER
THEY'LL WONDER WHAT YOU'RE ON
For a start, people might be a little bewildered by your
effervescence, but after a while they tune into your positive
energy. It's not strange to hear a usually quiet, conservative
person respond to a vibrant word like 'fantastic' in similar
fashion, even if their nature is not normally expressive.
But, if people ask what substance you're using, just tell them
ENDORPHINS. This natural stimulant, which is produced
in the human body, is our own energy juice. It is 50 times
more powerful than morphine. The more we create a high
vibration by the use of positive, stimulating language, the
better we are prepared to go on to a natural high and the
best way to do this is to avoid self-destructive phrases and
replace them with high-energy, positive ones. Give it a go!
THROW OUT WHAT
DOESN'T SERVE YOU
This means any self putdown words and phrases you use
to beat yourself up.
If you stub your toe, refrain from calling yourself an idiot. It
could happen to anybody. If you misplace your car keys,
avoid the temptation to abuse yourself. Instead, be as calm
and focused on finding the keys as you can. Say to yourself,
"I always find my keys." Sure enough, you'll find them
exactly where you left them. All the name calling only sends
OUR WORDS CAN SINK US OR SEND US TO THE STARS
us in a negative direction. Certainly, it might release some
anger, but if that anger is directed at ourselves or anybody
else in an orgy of name calling, it is totally wasted energy.
We're told that a regular clean-out of old and unneeded
clothing and other household and office items is good
therapy. It clears not only the living and working
environment but also empties the mind of unnecessary
concerns. As the unused material is cleared, there is more
room to move and the mind is clearer.
We need to use this exercise with the words we use IF we
are saddled with a welter of negative words and phrases
that don't serve us.
Expressions like "not bad" and "life is tough", as well as
every sort of self putdown, have to be removed from our
daily conversation if we are to enjoy the sort of success and
happiness we deserve. However, it is not enough to
eliminate the negative words and sayings. We need to
replace them with a whole new range of positive,
empowering words and phrases that give a psychological
lift to ourselves and others.
If we don't do this, we are left with a void that longs to be
filled. Make it a point to have a new, abundance- filled word
or saying ready to replace each worn-out, old,
self-sabotaging negative that you cut loose - and feel the
difference.
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IMAGINATION POWER
ANDREW CHANGED HIS
WORDS - AND HIS LIFE
Andrew Webster is one of Australia's brightest young golfing
talents. Yet, when we first met in late 1999, his results belied
his abilities. When he came to see me in my rooms the
reason why was immediately obvious. Andrew was using
negative words. He was suppressing his great potential
because of a lack of enthusiasm. His language was
disempowering. It was certainly a case of feeling "not too
bad".
I judged that Andrew was a very likeable young man who
needed to take a much more positive direction in the way
that he used words and who needed to define his life goals
and then see them happening.
Despite his negative language, Andrew was keen to succeed
and embraced the concept of RIGHT TALK. Before long he
was answering enthusiastically when people greeted him
and had committed himself to a demanding goals program.
He also visualized daily.
The results have been magnificent. Andrew changed his
self-talk and changed his life. Since walking into my office
he has won many important championships and is seen as
a future professional champion. In seven months, he blazed
a trail of successes in Australia, New Zealand, the US, UK
and Europe, and makes a huge impression wherever he
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OUR WORDS CAN SINK US OR SEND US TO THE STARS
plays. People love his positive attitude and his developing excellence on course.
Recently, when on an overseas tour with two other young
players, Andrew would retire for half an hour every day to
work with his Imagination Power tape. The other two
laughed about this dedication to the visualization ritual but,
after seeing his excellent performance in the tournament,
both have now embraced the Imagination Power program.
As motivation coach for the Victorian Golf Association, such
stories always give me a buzz. It means that the message is
getting through to young golfers who realize that their sport
is one that requires enormous self-discipline and the ability
to see themselves actually putting the ball in the cup.
Like any goal, that is the secret. Forget the obstacles. Concentrate on the ultimate result - and empower yourself by using only RIGHT TALK.
THE DAMAGE OF SELF-DESTRUCTIVE
PHRASES
Have you ever felt that you were going backwards in life? That every time you took a step forward, you compensated by going two or three steps back?
We have all experienced this sort of situation at least once
in our lives. When it happened to you, did you like the
feeling? Is that a definite NO? Let's face it, no one in their
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IMAGINATION POWER
right mind would say yes! Surely, we would not deliberately
choose to live our lives that way. It would be too painful.
Yet, that is what we do unconsciously when we use self-
destructive words and phrases. This sort of language
sends us backwards at a rate of knots. The damage can be
unlimited if we continue to use the negative words and
sentences.
We also inhibit our feelings of inner confidence and
positively. NEGATIVE LANGUAGE shrinks us spiritually.
Years ago, Dr Maxwell Maltz wrote, "Not only do we incur
emotional wounds from others, most of us inflict them upon
ourselves. We beat ourselves over the head with
self-condemnation, remorse and regret. We beat ourselves
down with self-doubt. We cut ourselves up with excessive
guilt."
When things go wrong, the best policy is to use the sort of
language that avoids self-flagellation. Beating ourselves up
does nobody any good.
Instead of saying "I always screw up", we can instead say,
"I can learn from this experience." Certainly, this takes
self-control, but when we make the decision to change our
language to RIGHT TALK, we can effect enormous positive
changes in our lives.
OUR WORDS CAN SINK US OR SEND US TO THE STARS
CONSTRUCTIVE CARING
As discussed earlier, the words said to us when we were
young, suggestible children have made us what we are
today. We must remember that our words can make or
break another person. We are all familiar with terms such
as 'a cutting remark' and to give someone a 'tongue
lashing', so we know that words can hurt. One I really dislike
is 'constructive criticism'.
What we need to do is care in a constructive way. Criticism implies that we have found fault in somebody and are concentrating on their weaknesses. Caring in a constructive way relates to their strengths.
CONSTRUCTIVE CARING is a much more positive way to
approach any perceived fault in somebody's kit of skills.
People respond far better when they know that we CARE.
This is very important if you have children. It is bad enough
to install negative messages in your own mind, but it would
be a tragedy if you were to share those messages with your
children. Their young minds do not have a conscious critical
state and will take in everything as the truth, regardless of
whether it's true or not. Our words can affect their lives
profoundly, so think twice before you speak. Better make it
positive.
And for ourselves, it is better to shrug your shoulders and
just get on with living rather than indulge in self-
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IMAGINATION POWER OUR WORDS CAN SINK US OR SEND US TO THE STARS
punishment. After all, other people will occasionally take
the opportunity to lash you with criticism, so why do it
yourself?
ACCENTUATE THE AFFIRMATIVE
Nobody would argue that affirmation is the most powerful
of all forms of self-talk.
You can create affirmations for any area of your life where
you want to improve or change. As long as you word your
affirmations in the positive, present tense, you are on the
right track.
Why the PRESENT tense?
The mind doesn't recognize the future because that's exactly
what it is - the future. It never comes because when the
future things that we plan for occur, they happen TODAY.
TOMORROW NEVER COMES. TODAY is always in the
present moment and that is the only time we live.
A good example is, "I always wake up with a positive
attitude."
Here are a few more:
• I break sales records and earn a magnificent income of
... (Specify amount).
• I own clear title to a beautiful four bedroom home by...
(Specify date).
• I deliver my speech calmly and with authority. The
audience gives me a warm, friendly reception.
You can frame an affirmation about anything. As long as it
is worded in the present it is bound to be effective IF it is
regularly repeated with emotion. Add real feeling to your
affirmations and you increase their effectiveness. Also, the
more you say your affirmation, the deeper it is installed in
your mind.
Back in the '60s the American psychologist, Dr Murray
Banks, was a huge international favorite. He sold his
important message to the public with humor.
One of the sayings he stressed in his talks and books was,
"Repetition is the mother of skill."
There is no better way of saying that the more you repeat
positive affirmations to yourself, the quicker and more
powerfully the message is installed in your CREATIVE
LEVEL OF MIND.
SOME THINGS THAT HELP
Write your affirmations on a 3 x 5 card and keep the card
with you all the time. You can also put other copies in the
IMAGINATION POWER
bathroom, in the car, on your desk or wherever you want
to put one.
You can also record your affirmations on tape and listen to
them whenever you want. This is very effective when you
add some baroque music, which super-learning people use
to enhance memory. The excellent effect of the music is that
it relaxes you as you listen to it and, whenever you are
relaxed, you absorb information at a much deeper level.
DISPLACEMENT AND SUBSTITUTION
Paul Meyer, of the Success Motivation Institute, describes
the effect of constantly repeated affirmations as displacing
old, negative ideas and substituting dynamic success
messages.
He talks about a bucket full of water and a pile of pebbles.
We see the water as all the negatives in our lives. The
pebbles are all copies of a positive idea. One by one we
drop the pebbles into the water.
At first, the pebbles have very little effect, but as they
increase in number the prevailing presence in the bucket
becomes pebbles, not water. Gradually, the pebbles
completely displace the water and the good idea has firmly
taken hold.
What's the state of your bucket? If it causes you disquiet,
then now is the time to start dropping positive pebbles into
OUR WORDS CAN SINK US OR SEND US TO THE STARS
it at a rapid rate. You have nothing to lose and everything
to gain.
Now is a great time to start!
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IMAGINATION POWER
GOALS - A ROAD MAP FOR LIFE
"Which way should I go? "she asked
the Cheshire Cat.
"Where do you want to go?" replied the cat.
"Oh, it really doesn't matter," answered Alice.
"Then, it really doesn't make any difference where
you want to go," grinned the Cheshire Cat.
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
o you want to be a major success in every part of
your life? Of course, the answer is YES. We all
want to be successful. It is a natural desire. The unfortunate
thing is that most people want to be happy and successful
without having a really clear idea of just HOW happy and
HOW successful.
D
Where do you stand? Are your goals specific? Or are they
cloudy and uncertain? Are they in balance? Maybe you
don't have any goals at all. If that's the case, I suggest you
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IMAGINATION POWER
develop a set of clear, specific life goals straight away,
because people who have no end destination usually end
up going nowhere.
Those who have a set of specific goals always arrive
somewhere. Even if their ultimate destination is not always
the one that they originally set, very often it can be far better.
Consider the case of Christopher Columbus.
If you want to be precise, Columbus blew it. He set out to
sail to China and ended up discovering the Americas. He
had a definite goal - to reach China. The important thing is
that he did arrive somewhere. The fact he did not reach his
original goal becomes insignificant when you realize that
the discovery of the New World enriched his Spanish
sponsors and himself to a limitless degree.
Over the years I have seen thousands of people whose lives
were unhappy because they had no major objectives. When
we worked to set clear goals and they concentrated on them
single-mindedly, they began to travel in new, exciting
directions.
GOALS - WITHOUT THEM YOU'RE LOST
GOALS - A ROAD MAP FOR LIFE
holidays and their weekends than they put into setting clear targets for their lives.
The mind demands to have goals to aim for; it has been
engineered as a goal-seeking device. If we don't deliberately
set a clear, precise program of goals, our CREATIVE LEVEL
OF MIND automatically puts in place for us a bunch of
targets that are hit or miss. These are the products of our
early conditioning, which is negative in most cases.
Set goals to cover every area of your lives. We must do this or our goal-setting program is incomplete. We must have balance.
You would not head off on a long driving trip anywhere
without a detailed set of road maps. You would plan your
journey meticulously, leaving nothing to chance. The
problem is that most people spend more time planning their
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IMAGINATION POWER
WE NEEDBALANCE - INALL THINGS
"Balancing is the discipline that gives us flexibility.
Extraordinary flexibility is required for successful
living in all spheres of activity." M Scott
Peck in 'The Road Less Travelled.'
o be a successful goal-setter, it is important to achieve
the element of balance.T
96 Often, it's tempting to focus totally on one or two important
targets to the detriment of other areas of our lives which also
need our attention.
How often have we seen people so committed to achieving
a career goal that they forget completely their spouse,
children, parents, close friends and colleagues. They are so
blinkered that they find little or no time in their plans for
these people who are part of the very fiber of their lives.
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IMAGINATION POWER WE NEED BALANCE - IN ALL THINGS
It is always disturbing to counsel a highly targeted individual
who is so consumed by one or two goals that they forget
the other ingredients that could make them totally
successful.
Life is not simply about setting and getting goals such as
career or money. Every life is a complex interweave of vital
areas that all contribute to its overall success.
I believe there are EIGHT categories we must tend to as we
aim for our goals. They are:
1. FAMILY
2. SOCIAL
3. SPIRITUAL
4. PROFESSIONAL
5. MENTAL
6. PHYSICAL
7. FINANCIAL
8. PERSONAL
Each of these elements fits into each of the others - and our
lives are never complete unless we include all of them in our
goal-setting in a balanced way that serves us as a whole
human being.
I have been amazed to see fathers who were so committed
to success in their professional and financial lives that they
completely lost contact with their families.
A close friend of mine, Vic, told me of an incident that shook
him and that bears out completely the need to develop a
healthy balance in life.
Vic was called in by a highly successful colleague and asked
to do a marketing job that would place him even more
prominently in the public eye. They allowed two hours for
the meeting and chatted on a pleasant, sunny Sunday
morning at the friendly client's luxurious home in one of
Melbourne's richest suburbs.
The meeting was highly productive. After an hour and a
half, they were in good spirits, with the client agreeing with
everything Vic wanted to do. He knew the project would be
an easy one because the other man was totally committed
to reaching out for greater fame as a means of increasing
income and giving him far greater financial flexibility.
They were sipping morning tea and enjoying 'the buzz'
which comes when good ideas are flowing, when there was
a light, almost apologetic knock on the door and a little boy
looked in.
Immediately, the client's demeanor changed. From warm,
comradely good humor, he switched to stern, paternal
aggression.
IMAGINATION POWER
What did the child mean by interrupting the meeting? How
dare the boy disturb his father without making an
appointment?
WITHOUT MAKING AN APPOINTMENT?
Vic said he was stunned by the attitude. The client obviously
loved his son, but had no idea of how to express that love
and, as a result, was missing one of the most vital ingredients
in his life - the warm rapport of a father-son relationship.
Fortunately, Vic was able to report that the client later
admitted he had his family situation all wrong and began
to place a far greater emphasis on communicating with his
wife, the son and a little daughter.
But, on that morning, Vic left that beautiful home, shaking
his head sadly. He did not like what he had seen.
He was deeply impressed by the little boy, who was
unfailingly polite and who obviously hero-worshipped his
father, but totally bemused by the 'need to make an
appointment'.
SUCCESS IN JUST ONE LANE -
IS NOT SUCCESS AT ALL
If we are brilliantly successful in one or two parts of our lives
and we do well in those to the detriment of the others, there
WE NEED BALANCE - IN ALL THINGS
is no doubt we are not really successful at all. Yes, maybe we are a success in our career and in our bank balance, but to limit ourselves to those two categories and to ignore the others is wrong.
There is room for improvement. That wealthy young man turned his back for a time on family warmth and walked away from the spiritual side of his nature to compartmentalize his life. If it didn't fit with what he wanted to focus on at the moment, he preferred to ignore it completely.
He was TOTALLY OUT OF BALANCE, something he came to realize. Too often, when we focus exclusively on professional and financial targets, we forget to treat ourselves as a person. As a result, we behave like a robot, driven by the need to complete tasks, rather than a human being who is thoroughly enjoying living every minute of their life.
THE IDEAL BALANCED LIFE...
could be something like this:
You are a relaxed, goal-targeted human being who has set a clear program of concise goals in every area of your life. You frame a strong professional goal, with a set of strong financial rewards.
IMAGINATION POWER
These financial and professional targets give you the
opportunity to set associated family goals that can be
included in the overall package. As a dedicated goal-setter,
you combine your career and money goals with social,
spiritual, mental, physical and personal aims.
BALANCE IS EVERYTHING
GOAL-SETTING IN ACTION
A totally balanced approach to life can guarantee us great
success if we are prepared to focus on the integrated goals
with total commitment.
ALWAYS remember your family and always give yourself
quiet time. Share your success with those you love. The
sense of accomplishment is even greater when many
benefit.
Enjoy life, and life will enjoy you!
"While you're thinking about it, somebody else is
doing it." - Danny Mitrovski
A SIX-STEP ACTION PLAN
THAT WORKS ALWAYS
merican psychologist and motivational speaker
Denis Waitley published his winning formulas in
his book Seeds Of Greatness. I can remember reading the
book and thinking, Wow, I'm on the right track, because I
was using exactly the same techniques based on my
study of Psycho-Cybernetics.
A
What caused my excitement was the fact that Dr Waitley had been busily working with America's Olympic athletes and was renowned as a major mentor at the very top level of US sport.
IMAGINATION POWER
He wrote that he was deeply impressed by the training
methods that Bulgaria and the then Soviet Union and East
Germany used to prepare their athletes for Olympic
performance. These Iron Curtain countries placed great
faith in high performance through auto-suggestive therapy.
In those days, coaches in the Communist bloc instructed
athletes to listen to classical music while they listened to their
goals on tape. The psychology was that the individual
would enjoy and focus on the soothing music and the goal
statements would become subliminal - but the goals would
be still audible and recognisable.
Dr Waitley commented that the rhythmic beat of the
classical music appeared to provide a relaxation mode for
the brain, making it most susceptible to visual and audio
suggestion and allowing the right, imaginative hemisphere
to respond to the goal affirmations. He wrote that while our
right hemisphere seems to house all our negative,
subconscious feelings about ourselves, our repeated goal
statements may literally change the way we view ourselves
and thus alter the direction of our lives.
Affirmation stimulates the mind in the right direction. Rather
than letting our minds be programmed by the daily news or
the soap operas, we can set our own agenda and re-
program ourselves. Dr Waitley says that when we set
strong goals we know where we are minute by minute, day
by day, year by year.
GOAL-SETTING INACTION
He asserts that things don't just happen. We make life happen for ourselves and our loved ones. There is a huge difference between goal-achieving actions and activities that are just tension relieving.
Dr Waitley's action steps are worth printing here because his is a proven formula that has WINNER written all over it for anybody who follows each recommendation assiduously.
1. Set short-range goals that build toward your
long-range purpose. It is much more effective to
establish goals for the month, six months or one year
than to project too far into the future. Specific time
limits are important measuring devices.
Set goals that are just out of reach, but NOT out of sight.
Surround yourself with motivated individuals who
reinforce your goal program and help to keep you
'on-line'. Review your goals with experts. Seek
guidance from people who are proven successes.
Reward yourself by setting prizes in advance that you
can enjoy when you have accomplished your goals.
Determine to treat yourself to a night out, a trip away,
some new clothes, a bottle of fine wine - or anything
that sweetens your ultimate sense of achievement.
5. Only share your goals with people who care about you
and want you to succeed. Avoid negative people,
cynics or anybody who doubts the effectiveness of
2.
3.
4.
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IMAGINATION POWER
goal-setting and creative visualization. Dodge losers.
They drag you down. Seek the company of winners
and listen to what they have to say. Ask their advice;
they are always happy to help. Give misery-mongers
the cold shoulder. They want you to stay in the same
rut in which they are wallowing.
6. Don't rely on governments for your future security.
Make sure you pay yourself a sum of money every
month over and above your expenses. This is YOUR
money. You are your own best social welfare system.
These steps make great sense. Live by them and you are
sure to succeed beyond what you would today call 'your
wildest dreams'. The truth is that goals are DREAMS that
we have while we are awake. And as we said earlier, the
good thing about goals is that we write the scripts ourselves.
In the previous chapter, we defined the eight areas I believe
should be considered to develop a balanced set of goals.
Let's look at them in a bit more detail.
1. FAMILY
Goals that cover the family should be given high priority
always. After all, many of us are working in our profession
to feed, clothe, shelter, educate and entertain our children.
All these things are vitally important to us.
GOAL-SETTING INACTION
We should also be keen to give our spouse the very best we can offer and we need to be mindful of their best interests at all times.
Family also includes parents, brothers and sisters, cousins and grandparents if we are fortunate enough to still have them with us.
With one in three marriages breaking down these days,
writing family goals together is a powerful way of keeping
relationships strong. It is important that at least some of our
week is spent in communication with our family and in
preparing to give them the very best we can. Never be too
busy to hug your children, cuddle your spouse, chat with
other members of your family and commit yourself to their
best interests.
More importantly, tell them every day that you love them.
A strong sense of family devotion can sustain us when things
get really tough.
2. SOCIAL
An active social life is very important for our continuing
mental stability. Regular contact with friends and friendly
acquaintances does us a power of good, so a goal of
communicating with them is an essential part of the
balance.
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IMAGINATION POWER
Enjoying social outings with happy people is a wonderful
way to spend time that takes our minds away from business
and refreshes us. The willingness to embrace the company
of others enthusiastically can stimulate us. Other people can
be so interesting and have much to offer.
A dinner party or a barbecue could be the introduction to
a completely new and wonderful set of friends.
Joining a new club or getting more involved in a club in
which we have been a long-time member is another great
way to spend our leisure time.
3. SPIRITUAL
Here we give ourselves time to search for inner happiness.
This is the plane on which we love others, recreate our own
lives in meditation, prayer and relaxation, and renew our
commitment to ongoing communication with the great
universal power.
Some balance their lives every weekend by attending
religious services where they pray to their God on bended
knees and offer worship.
Meditators say that stillness and silence are among the most
rewarding and fulfilling pastimes. Getting out into nature is
the answer for others.
GOAL-SETTING IN ACTION
Whatever method you choose, opening your spirit to the
wonderful contentment that life can bring is another part of
a balanced approach.
4. PROFESSIONAL
Many find that when they integrate this important element
with the others, they are much more successful
professionally than they had dreamed possible.
This is the part of life where most people consider that 'they
make it'.
To increase their chances of professional success, people
can take on higher education, shoot for promotion or join
a professional organization that increases their ability to
network.
Many people in corporate and professional life find
themselves out of balance in jobs that they have grown to
dislike, but stay because the money is good and they fear
there is nothing else out there for them. I always recommend
in these situations that they actually leave the job because
they are doing themselves and the organization a disservice.
Boldly make the move, write a goal to find another position
about which you are passionate. It will happen! When you
enjoy what you are doing, you never work a day in your
life.
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IMAGINATION POWER
5. MENTAL
Thought is probably the greatest gift we have been given.
As we discovered earlier in the book, our thoughts create
our world.
Over the centuries poets, playwrights, authors and
philosophers have waxed lyrically about thought and the
important role that control of our thoughts plays in our lives.
To stay forever young mentally, we need to constantly use
our wonderful minds. In fact, personal development is a
MUST in every life. Those who read and stay always curious
about what is going on around them remain sharp and
tuned in to life.
Many years ago I met Ed, a chap from Adelaide. I remember
him telling me about his elderly mother who lived in an aged
people's home and was barely able to use her hands
because of chronic arthritis. But, daily, she worked on
difficult cryptic crosswords and amazed the nursing staff
with her ability to solve the toughest clues.
The senior nursing sister told Ed that his mother's beautifully
tuned mind gave her an extended life which she welcomed
every day. The woman passed her love of puzzles to her
family, all of whom are cryptic crossword enthusiasts.
GOAL-SETTING IN ACTION
Ed told me, "She was always learning, right to the end. Her
decision to go was made because her body could no longer
support her wonderful mind."
That story shows the enormous value of staying mentally
active. Those who want to get involved in the world around
them can attend seminars, extend their reading, and get
involved with people who think deeply and laterally and
who love to share their knowledge and experience with
others.
6. PHYSICAL
Staying active ensures that our minds have a fit and
dynamic body as a vehicle.
Physical fitness is a major ingredient in the BALANCE we
need for a highly integrated and successful life.
If this element is lacking, the simplest form of exercise is
walking and we can start straight away. An easy, relaxed
walk sends the blood coursing through our system and
makes us feel just great. Once we have started to put on
physical condition, we can play golf, go to the gym, do yoga,
run, swim, cycle or play a team sport.
Add to this an awareness of the best foods to eat every day.
Food is the fuel of the body. We would be naive if we
continually fed ourselves non-nutritious food while knowing
no ill
IMAGINATION POWER
that it makes us feel bad. So it's wise to embark on a healthy
eating program
All this contributes to weight maintenance and looking and
feeling good. To be fit, trim and healthy is reward in itself
as we give our bodies the sort of support that they need.
Last, but not least, I believe good personal hygiene is an
essential part of our health and well-being.
7. FINANCIAL
When we include our financial goals as part of an overall,
holistic package, we are well on the way to living a fully
balanced life. We all need to have goals to earn money. A
healthy high self-image has us knowing that we all deserve
to earn what we are worth. What we need to do is set our
own personal value on our services and aim for it as part
of our goals' program.
It is also important to have goals for what we do with the
money we earn. One of best books I have read on this
subject is a simple little story called The Richest Man In
Babylon by George Clason. The book emphasizes the
importance of this aspect of our financial lives. Putting away
a portion of our earnings for investments such as property,
shares and savings to create a strong asset base is part of
the financial balance.
GOAL-SETTING IN ACTION
8. PERSONAL
Powerful self-esteem is one of the most rewarding elements
we can ever enjoy in our lives. We are all born with the right
to self-love, but as we know now, many of us have been
given the wrong life plan because of the misinformation
transmitted to us from the moment we are first laid in our
cradles.
The beautiful thing about people who enjoy high
self-esteem is that they are never ego-centered. They like
themselves and, as a result, also like other people.
Helping somebody else is always a great thrill, particularly
when we are able to use our greatest personal skills to do
the other person a good turn.
Some of the happiest people I have met are those who do
this without thought of reward. Find the things in life that
give you deep personal satisfaction and the balanced
picture is complete.
AT THE TOP ... GOAL-SETTERS
An extensive research conducted many years ago at
Harvard University found that only three per cent of people
had set clear, written dynamic goals that gave them a
definite set of life targets.
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IMAGINATION POWER
The survey, of past students, found that only three per cent
of respondents were wealthy, 10 per cent were comfortable,
60 per cent made a living and 27 per cent needed support
to survive.
Researchers discovered that the three per cent had clearly
visualized their written goals every day. The next 10 per cent
had some goals in mind but were not as enthusiastic about
focusing on them daily or creatively visualising their
achievement.
As for the rest, none had goals of any sort. The main
objectives seemed to be survival and security.
Goals focus our attention. According to US motivator
Walter Gagehot, the mind will not reach towards
achievement until it has clear objectives. He said, "The
magic begins when we set goals. It is then that the switch is
turned on, the current begins to flow and the power to
accomplish becomes a reality."
MARGARET PROVED THE VALUE OF
POWERFUL GOALS IN LIFE'S RACE
Champion Australian athlete Margaret Crowley is living
proof that clearly set goals focus the mind and help us to
raise our level of performance.
Some years ago, Margaret attended a program I conducted
at BHP where she was a member of staff. During the
GOAL-SETTING INACt&N
program she told me, "I am a very good athlete, but I'fed
that I need help to achieve some of my goals. I am not
winning some of the major races I should be winning."
Together, we set her some specific goals, one of which was
to lower her times without concentrating on the people
around her. The rest is history. She won the Australian 800
and 1500 metres championships, was selected for the
Commonwealth Games and ran in the World
Championships. Also, she won Olympic selection, made the
final of the 1500 metres in Atlanta and finished fifth. By
then, she had lowered her overall time by 11 seconds, all
because she set clear goals.
The important thing to remember is that Margaret focused
on her goals to the exclusion of what other people were
doing around her. She did not seek to match their
performance, only to improve her own. As a result, she was
very successful. Her mind was totally occupied on achieving
her goals. Her concentration on the end result took her to
peak performance.
OUR SELF-IMAGE MUST BE
CONSISTENT WITH OUR GOALS...
or we will never achieve them. Millions of people set targets
that they would dearly love to achieve but sabotage
themselves because their inner view of who and what they
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are and what they deserve is inconsistent with the result they
desire.
This causes great pain and people will often say in
frustration, "Oh, setting goals doesn't work. I've set plenty
and they never happened. What's the use?"
It's easy to understand them being so disillusioned. How
many times do you have to try and fail before you stop
believing in something? But the answer lies in changing the
self-image, NOT in giving up setting goals. Build up the
self-image, first using your imagination power, and you start
achieving your goals very quickly.
TEAM GOALS ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT
During the '80s, a new philosophy began to emerge at the
uppermost levels of team sport in Australia. Successful
football clubs got involved in comprehensive goal-setting
programs. They set team and individual goals for
achievement and brawny AFL footballers spoke openly to
the media about the need for goals as a vital ingredient in
achieving that Holy Grail - the premiership cup.
It was a logical step. After all, in Australian football, rugby
league, soccer, basketball, hockey, netball and so many
other team-oriented ball sports, the object of the exercise is
to score goals. In the rugby codes there is also the incentive
of going over the try line. So, it made sense to construct a
GOAL-SETTING INACTION
program of personal and team-based goals aimed at turning
the team into the best in its competition.
In 1997, AFL great Stan Alves coached his team St Kilda
from the bottom of the league ladder to the grand final. One
of the most important things he used was goal-setting. We
were privileged to give Stan some guidance during that year
on how to improve his goal-setting. He told us that our
techniques had really helped him to encourage his players
to focus more on their own game and enhance their ability
to contribute to the team at all times.
The example set by successful sporting clubs has been
followed by all sorts of organizations. Corporate Australia
has recently become much more committed to company
goals.
When companies set powerful goals from the top and
management encourages the team to become involved in
the process of setting and achieving powerful targets we see
the great strength of the 'trickle-down' effect.
In committing everybody in the company to the goals'
program, the management is not only managing, it is
exhibiting leadership by becoming inclusive. The message
is explicit, "We know that you are important to the success
of this company and your input is both desired and
appreciated."
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THE COMPANY BOOSTED
PERFORMANCE AFTER SETTING
CLEAR-CUT GOALS
Jan Koelmeyer is a man of action. As Victorian state
manager of Siddons Proline (Zenith Tools and Ramset), he
responded positively when we suggested a goal-setting
program as an aid to increasing sales. After his sales team
did our High-Performance program, Jan reported an initial
sales improvement of 18 per cent.
That figure increased dramatically over 12 months,
ballooning to a 33 per cent rise in sales in that time.
Jan recommended the program to head office in Sydney
and again there was an instant sales improvement with
figures immediately up by 15 per cent. In Queensland, the
story was the same. But the improvement in Western
Australia, where the sales team had not made budget for
five years, was even more dramatic. After setting a schedule
of powerful goals, the sales team leapt 15.3 per cent over
budget in six months.
The sales staff picked up the spirit of goal-setting both
professionally and personally and embraced it
wholeheartedly. They knew they had nothing to lose and
everything to gain. Their performance has been nothing
short of sensational since.
GOAL-SETTING INACTION
The Siddons Proline story proves the value of clearly stated
goals, repeated often. When these goals are written down
and visualized, they develop great power. It is not all right
to carry your goals around in your head; that's just wishing.
It is essential not only to write them down but to read
regularly the well-constructed goals in a way that gets you
involved in the words and their meaning.
In recent years, I have seen many other companies turn
around their sales story by adopting a serious approach to
goal-setting. Why? Because, first, our High-Performance
program enhanced everyone's self-image and instead of
being in conflict, the staff were in harmony in achieving high
goals.
Add clear visualization and high self-image to positive
written goals and you have a sure-fire formula for success.
THE KEY IS RELAXATION
When we are relaxed, we absorb information better. We
need to be committed to slowing down our heartbeat and
relaxing into the sort of mental rhythm that helps us visualize
our goals happening.
We can do this by using guided relaxation, relaxing music,
sounds of nature or mantras, to name a few. Relaxation
creates an inner environment that is much more open to the
suggestions that we are determined to plant in our
CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND.
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POINTS TO REMEMBER
As we've said earlier, the mind cannot tell the difference
between a real and vividly imagined experience. So, by
creating a program of relaxation and visualization, you are
repeatedly driving home the message that you want your
mind to accept your goals. Installation of the new goals
requires the same sort of spaced repetition as any other
learning. The more we repeat the desired goal, the more
certain it is to happen.
The Bedouin have a proverb, "Beware of what thou desire
for thou shall surely achieve it."
If we take time to think about this statement, we will quickly
realize that what we desire means the thoughts on which
we focus. The mind takes our dominant thoughts and gives
them to us.
HOW IAN BAKER-FINCH
REFRAMED HIS LIFE
What do you do when you have achieved your most desired
goal much earlier than you thought possible?
That was the dilemma facing Ian Baker-Finch after he won
golf's prestigious British Open at the age of 30. On that day
at Royal Birkdale he reached the pinnacle of success. It was
the one achievement he had dreamed about, the ultimate.
GOAL-SETTING INACTION
Then, everything fell apart! In Ian's mind, he had done it
all; there was nothing more to do. The British Open had
been his Holy Grail and it was his. His game, which had
enthralled the sporting world, then began to unravel. He
couldn't do a thing right. Experts said his swing was all
wrong, so Ian went from coach to coach, searching for the
right formula, the perfect swing that would take him back
to the top.
When we met, we had only talked for a little while before I
knew the answer. Having already achieved his major goal
in life, Ian had completely lost direction. He needed to re-
think his goals and to make sure the targets he set were
those he really wanted.
The question was: Now that you have achieved your most
precious goal, do you have any more mountains to climb
on the golf circuit? The answer was that Ian needed new
challenges. So, we discussed the possibilities and he set a
new program of powerful goals that required his complete
concentration.
Ian already had a very successful business focused on golf,
including building beautiful golf courses around the world.
This had created a conflict in his professional goals. He
decided to concentrate on the business of golf instead of the
playing of golf in tournaments. This led to a role in the media
and recently he won a major contract as principal analyst
on the American golf circuit for a major network. Until then
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this, the top job, had been the exclusive preserve of former
American golfers. This Australian winner broke the pattern.
If you find yourself in a similar dilemma to Ian, it is time to
set another goal that is just as important to you as the first.
If you have never had a goal, it is even more vital to set one
straight away that you deeply want to achieve.
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
That's how quickly things happen when you set clear,
definite goals and concentrate on them. Back in 1992,1 left
Perth, having been ripped off by an unscrupulous business
partner. My worldly possessions were in my pocket - a wallet
containing $1000. That was it.
As I waited in the departure lounge for the call to board the
aircraft, I wrote a clear goal that I was determined to achieve
within the next 12 months.
It was to fly first class every time I was booked interstate or
overseas to do a seminar or program. I sat for a few minutes
and closed my eyes. I visualized the goal in detail and
conjured up the feelings, sights and sounds I would
experience. We were called aboard and I headed towards
my seat - 32A. As I passed through first class, I saw a fellow
lounging in his seat and I said, "I'll be there very soon." He
gave me a disdainful look. As I reached my seat, the flight
attendant asked would I mind changing, because a friend
of the man who occupied the seat next to mine wanted to
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travel with him. I said I didn't mind at all and then saw that
the friend was a man of great international renown. It was
none other than the Dalai Lama, who thanked me gently
for allowing him to have my seat in economy. The flight
attendant then led me through to the Dalai Lama's seat -
IN FIRST CLASS. You should have seen the look on the
face of the fellow who had looked up at me so disdainfully.
I sat in first class, with a grin 40 miles wide, secure in the
knowledge that the achievement of my goal started at that
moment.
Was it a coincidence - no way! And it hadn't taken 12
months, it had taken just 12 minutes!
Since that time, wherever possible, I have always flown
anywhere to do seminars in first or business class because
that is how I want to fly.
Set the goal and GET it.
Analyse Your Thoughts...
When we talk about the inner world, there are a lot of
different thoughts, or different minds ... Those
thoughts and actions which ultimately bring
happiness, they are positive. Those thoughts and
actions which ultimately bring suffering,
they are negative.
... Then Focus on the Positive
Through mental training you can increase these
positive thoughts and can reduce negative
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thoughts. I can tell you with conviction, through
effort we can change our mental attitude.
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
HOW TO WRITE YOUR GOALS
This is a simple process that requires us to use the right
words in economic form to always stir ourselves into action.
We write each goal in the positive, present tense as if it has
already been achieved. Always start your goals with I AM
or I HAVE rather than I will or I want. Of course, when
writing goals with others, such as family or teams, you
would use WE ARE or WE HAVE.
Setting goals is not difficult, but many people seem to find
it hard to translate the goal to paper. For those who don't
enjoy writing, I have developed a simple format that makes
framing and reading the goals very easy.
Here are some examples you can use. Simply fill in the
appropriate goals and deadlines in the spaces provided. If
you write your own goals, make sure you keep them
positive. Focus on what you want, not on what you don't
want.
GOAL-SETTING INACTION
FAMILY GOAL
Date.
By the.
I__________________ have improved my relationshipwith my wife and two children, as they are more important
to me than my business or social commitments. I keep in
touch regularly with my family unit, which includes my
brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews and
my parents and grandparents. I love them all very much in
my own way.
This now comes to fruition or something better because of
my belief, desire and persistence to myself and others.
I give thanks
Signed___________________________
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IMAGINATION POWER GOAL-SETTING INACTION
FINANCIAL GOAL MENTAL GOAL
Date. .By the. Date. .By the
have earned a minimum of
I save 10 per cent of what I earn for future benefits. I spend
my money wisely. I plan carefully to invest my money.
This now comes to fruition, or something better, because of
my belief, desire and persistence to myself and others.
I give thanks.
have studied hard and
have passed my exams easily.
I read books to improve my learning for life, listen
powerfully and absorb verbal lessons and learn new skills
to help me in the future.
This now comes to fruition, or something better, because of
my belief, desire and persistence to myself and others.
I give thanks.
I
Signed_Signed_
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IMAGINATION POWER GOAL-SETTING IN ACTION
PHYSICAL GOAL PERSONAL GOAL
Date. .By the. Date. .By the:.
I___________________________have lowered my golf
handicap by two strokes by becoming more relaxed when
I play and by seeking the right advice to improve my game.
This now comes to fruition, or something better, because of
my belief, desire and persistence to myself and others.
I give thanks.
believe in myself.
People are attracted by my empathy towards them and this
encourages me to help others achieve their goals.
This now comes to fruition, or something better, because of
my belief, desire and persistence to myself and others.
I give thanks.
I
Signed_Signed
T)ft 129
IMAGINATION POWER GOAL-SETTING IN ACTION
SPIRITUAL GOAL SPIRITUAL GOAL
Date. .By the:. Date. .By the:.
am very happy, relaxed and
calm within myself.
This now comes to fruition, or something better, because of
my belief, desire and persistence to myself and others.
I give thanks.
I __________________have taken a more active part in
my church and have become a religious leader to my family
and friends.
This now comes to fruition, or something better, because of
my belief, desire and persistence to myself and others.
I give thanks.
I
Signed_Signed
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SOCIAL GOAL
.By the:.
I____________________enjoy meeting and mixing with
friendly people and have joined a social club which suits
my personal and business interests.
This now comes to fruition, or something better, because of
my belief, desire and persistence to myself and others.
I give thanks.
Signed_
GOAL-SETTING INACTION
You will notice the words 'this now comes to fruition or
something better' at the end of each goal. These words are
commanding your CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND to start
working on the goal immediately and for there to be NO
LIMITS to what you achieve.
The words 'I give thanks' are to reward yourself
psychologically - giving yourself a pat on the back for going
for the goal. Always sign your goal - it is a contract to
yourself - and a signed contract is always honored.
These goals can be copied on to 3 x 5 cards and taken with
you everywhere. Once you have achieved a goal, tick it off
and, like my friends Stan and Judy Alves, file it away in a
special box bought especially for the purpose. Or you could
start a goal book, in which each goal you set, and are
working on, is written clearly. In the book you can use the
opposite and following pages as a step-by-step guide to
your progress in achieving the goal.
This is a powerful and exciting way of setting and getting
your goals and I know of many people who have adopted
the goal book and recorded their progress every day. It is
also a wonderful way of increasing commitment to our goals
by keeping them together in one volume.
Writing the goals confirms them in our minds. As most
people have a visual component, the written word is very
effective. We read, consider them valuable and CREATE
them.
Date.
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HOW MANY TIMES SHOULD
WE READ OUR GOALS?
As many as you want! The more the better. Constant
reading and visualising of our goals confirm them in our
minds in such a way that they are an integral part of our
lives.
IS THERE SUCH A
THING AS TOO MUCH?
What? Too much of a good thing? Of course not! We can
never remind ourselves enough of the importance and
desirability of our goals. If we read the goals 15 times one
day and are so busy the next day that we only get time to
read them twice, we can be relaxed because we will have
absorbed the message thoroughly yesterday.
Our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND will select the priority
goal. Of course, the principal life goals are those on which
we concentrate with the most enthusiasm and desire The
other goals support these main life targets and are often
related to them.
Remember, also, that GOALS are our road maps to clarity
in our lives. We have a clear picture of where we want to
go and look at it regularly. Those people who have made it
to the top in life are those who have a vivid picture of what
they want to have achieved by the time they die.
GOAL-SETTING IN ACTION
Centuries ago, St Thomas a Kempis put it magnificently when he said, "A man is not only happy, but wise also, if he tries during his lifetime to be the sort of man he wants to be found at his death."
What a wonderful goal that is!
Now, once you have set down your balanced program of
goals, you will very likely say to yourself, "How am I going
to achieve them?" I find that most people want the evidence
first. It's a bit like the person who says, "I'll go on a diet
when I start losing weight!" Listen to people who are goal-
achievers. They trust their CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND
with absolute conviction. They do not go looking for the
answer over their shoulders. They always wait for the
answer in silence.
The great philosopher Goethe summed it up thus,
"The moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one
that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream
of events issue from the decision, raising in one's favour, all
manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material
assistance that no one could have dreamt would have come
their way."
The examples of goals mentioned earlier in the chapter
should give you a good start in effectively setting your own
program of powerful goals. Follow them carefully. Read
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them daily, sit back for a few minutes and relax, using your
own relaxation recording or playing classical music softly in
the background, and vividly visualize the outcomes you
desire.
Now, GO AND LIVE YOUR DREAMS. You DESERVE IT. ELIMINATE THESEVEN SPECTRES
OF FEAR
"If you do not conquer your fears, you will pass
them on to your children."
Martial arts master to Bruce Lee in the film
'Enter the Dragon'.
any human beings are literally paralysed by fear
for much of their lives. This paralysis sometimes
takes a physical form and fear affects their muscles and
bones so badly that they can do nothing that requires
movement. This is an extreme effect but, unfortunately, it
does happen.
M
You need only look at the tortured lives of those who suffer
from conditions such as agoraphobia to understand the
extent to which fear assumes massive power in somebody's
life and renders its victim totally unable to function normally.
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Most people who give in to the paralysis of fear lapse into
a sort of frozen mental state. What is paralyzed is their
thinking. They know what has to be done to improve their
lives and take them on to another level of achievement and
satisfaction, but they are so scared of doing anything that
lifts them from their comfort zone that they remain stuck
where they are. These people are rendered ineffective by
their fears and they have little or no chance of success.
They never take chances to improve their lives for a variety
of reasons such as fear of what others will say or dread of
temporarily risking income in the pursuit of happiness and
achievement. Another reason is that they fear upsetting
their families and their peer group if they dare to be different
and that they will be disliked if they are successful. Deep
down in their imagination, they really don't believe they
could ever be truly positive.
These people cannot see that life has massive abundance
to offer them and that if they try things they can improve
their lives beyond even their wildest dreams. Most have no
clearly written, specific goals. Ask a person, immobilised by
fear, what they want to achieve in life and there will always
be some vague, airy-fairy response such as "I just want to
be happy", or "I want lots of money".
When clients admit to this debilitating fear, I suggest that
they burst out of their comfort zone and make a bold effort
to confront their fear by attempting the task that scares them
most of all. This is because the worst thing that can happen
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
if they do not succeed is that they go back to where they
were in the first place. In most cases, things simply cannot
get worse. They just stay the same.
FEAR is a MONSTER that can tear our lives apart - IF we
let it. The choice is ours.
We can either succumb to the tyranny of fear or we can grab
it with both hands and take control of it AND our lives.
People who achieve great things also feel fear, but they are
prepared to take the risks required to reach their goals. And
therein lies the secret of conquering fear. Remember, IF we
have the courage to meet our fears head on with a clear
plan and are prepared to imagine ourselves achieving our
goals, we always succeed.
ONCE THERE WERE SIX ... BUT, NOW ...
That great motivator and student of human nature,
Napoleon Hill, talked about the six most dangerous
enemies as far back as the 1930s in his landmark book Law
Of Success.
He listed these six basic fears as:
1. The Fear of Poverty
2. The Fear of Criticism
3. The Fear of 111 Health
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4. The Fear of Loss of Love
5. The Fear of Old Age
6. The Fear of Death.
To these I have added the most modern of all fears - the
FEAR OF CHANGE. As change happens rapidly in our
modern world, many are poleaxed by fear of the lightning
fast newness that happens around them. Yet, many of the
changes are highly desirable. Why do we fear them? The
answer is simple!
BECAUSE THEY ARE NEW and we do not understand
them and we doubt our ability to cope with them.
FEAR CHOKES OUR CREATIVE SPIRIT
Dr Maxwell Maltz reminded us that our fears stem from our
beliefs which cause us to evaluate our environment. The
subsequent evaluation sparks an emotional reaction.
He wrote, "It follows that if our ideas and mental images
concerning ourselves are distorted or unrealistic, then our
reaction to our environment will likewise be inappropriate."
It is important to know that what we believe is the truth in
our minds may not be the truth in reality. Maltz and
Napoleon Hill believed that we can change anything in our
lives for the better by using our amazing imagination power;
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
that anybody can conquer fear of any sort and turn any
crisis into an opportunity for success.
THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
(AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM)
1. THE FEAR OF POVERTY
This most confronting of all fears is the one people find most
intimidating. It can literally render us incapable of
functioning effectively as a human being. It has been the
reason behind suicide, murder, depression, physical and
mental debilitation, unreasonably eccentric behavior and a
host of other negative reactions.
The dread of poverty can snap a person awake in the
middle of the night, bathed in a cold sweat. It can cause the
mind to go haywire with worry and choke off all creative
thought. It destroys initiative and completely nullifies the
success instinct - IF we let it. The fear of poverty is the most
suffocating of all fears. The belief that we might be destitute
in our old age and dependent on the Government and our
families can reduce us to a quivering wreck. We all like to
feel we are important and independent. Poverty would
atrophy our individuality and leave us at the mercy of
others. So, we worry about being impoverished and the
minute that we let our fears run wild, we start the process
of a descent into poverty that we fear so much.
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SOLUTION
The fear of poverty can be overcome if you have set a
program of clear, definite goals and have the courage and
persistence to follow those goals single-mindedly. We also
need to develop the knack of imagining ourselves achieving
our goals and seeing the advantages this brings. If you can
see it in your mind, it already exists out there somewhere,
just waiting for you to claim it.
The mistake most people make is to concentrate on poverty
and its horrors, rather than on the condition they would
rather enjoy. The answer is to focus on abundance and fix
your attention on having plenty of everything.
When this happens, you start to see an amazing turnaround
in your attitude.
BOB INHERITED A POVERTY SCRIPT
Years ago, I was sales manager for a directory company, a
job that required me to train and motivate my team. One
day, at a meeting, I asked the sales people to write on a
whiteboard the amount of money they would earn during
the next 12 months.
One wrote $80,000, another wrote $60,000, yet another
$65,000. The average was about $60,000. Then, one man
staggered us all by writing ... $20,000.
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
I was surprised and so concerned that I asked him if he
would like to discuss the matter with me in private because
$20,000 was much lower than my expectation of him.
After all, his yearly retainer was $15,000 and there were
excellent commissions if he made target.
The man, whose name was Bob, said he was happy to
explain himself in front of the group and then proceeded to
admit that he had never been able to make more than
$20,000 in his life and was convinced that $20,000 was the
best figure he was capable of achieving. Sadly, he was
locked into a false belief about himself created by the
negative scripts of his early life.
I reminded him of Henry Ford's words, "If you think you
can or think you can't, you're right."
Then, I decided to help him set his goal. I asked him to
return to the whiteboard and write the figure - $40,000.
He was stunned. "There's no way I could earn that," he
said, shaking his head.
Bob wrote $40,000 and then he and I framed his goal in
explicit terms. This was then transferred to a 3 x 5 card
which Bob would carry with him everywhere as a reminder.
I told Bob that creatively visualizing himself achieving the
target was a vital ingredient in making that $40,000 happen.
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"You have to read your goal from the card every day, then,
relax, close your eyes and visualize yourself going on a
holiday, buying a new car, investing in your future, or any
number of other positive outcomes."
Bob came to my office 30 minutes early every morning
before going out to see clients and followed my advice. We
did this before the other members of the sales team arrived
at the office.
After 10 months, I had new members on the team, so I
organised another workshop and asked everybody to
nominate their financial goal. When I talked about goals,
Bob was quickly on his feet.
"They don't work," he declared.
I asked him to write on the whiteboard how much he had
earned compared with his $40,000 goal and he wrote -
$32,500.
I said, "Nearly a year ago you told me that you could never
earn more than $20,000. Now you have an income that is
$12,500 greater than your initial expectation, simply
because you set clear goals and saw them happening.
Before this, you were aiming at the top of the trees and you
weren't even getting off the ground. By aiming at the sky,
you've now reached the top of the trees."
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
Suddenly, Bob saw the light. That was the start of an
amazing performance that now sees him earning well over
$100,000 a year.
Set the goal clearly and dissolve all fear. Don't worry about
getting the evidence first. Just see it happen. Relax and let
your CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND work for you.
2. FEAR OF CRITICISM
This fear is developed in our earliest years. Children aged
between one and about seven are given a program of
thoughts, beliefs, misconceptions and insecurities. At that
tender age we have no control over the information that
goes into our CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND. If we are told
by loving parents that we are wonderful and worthwhile and
that the world is a great place, we start life with a powerful
defense against the fear of criticism. Children of loving,
nurturing parents, who transmit positive messages, usually
have such high self-esteem they are impervious to the nasty
things others say.
However, most of us are from parents whose inherited
messages have been negative. These thoughts are taken in
by our young minds rather than the high self-esteem
messages we should be receiving. That is an ideal breeding
ground for fear of criticism.
If you have endured and been hurt by criticism and other
putdowns during your young life, you need to re-assess this
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as an adult and realize that it was only somebody else's
mistaken opinion.
Industry cashes in on people's fear of being put down. The
fashion world changes its ranges every year and those who
don't follow slavishly are OUT. People rush to buy the latest
trendy gear rather than endure the critical comments of their
peers.
SOLUTION
Remember, criticism is only somebody else's opinion and
that what they think really should not matter to us at all. Of
course, other people's views do matter if we do not enjoy
healthy self-esteem. This condition is obvious if we are
always upset because other people disapprove of us in any
way.
I have a friend, Ron, who tells people who criticize him not
to bother because what they think is of no interest to him at
all. He tells them that he respects their right to think of him
however they choose, but that is their business. What
matters most to Ron is what he thinks of himself.
That is a healthy attitude. Like me, he had a difficult
upbringing. His father was a hard, critical, angry man who
made his young life a misery. He had a tough time at school
under the control of teachers who beat and belittled him.
Yet, as he grew up, he realized that he did not need to keep
others' negative attitudes.
ELIMINA TE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
Ron spent time creatively visualising the sort of person he
wanted to be and has finally overcome the early negatives
that crushed him as a boy and during his formative and
early adult years.
The secret is to improve the self-image, set a goal picture
and see it happening. Sound familiar? With the help of your
imagination power, this is a magnificent combination. It
overwhelms the flood of negatives that swirl around in our
minds because of poor conditioning and finally becomes
dominant over the fear of criticism.
3. The FEAR OF ILL HEALTH
The horror of being sick is very real to so many people. They
see others who are obviously ill all around them and the
disadvantages of illness are spelt out in vivid detail. For the
worker there is a potential loss of income associated with
illness and, also, the possibility of pain, a condition most of
us dread. Those who are seriously ill lose control of their
lives because they are forced to depend on others.
Fear of ill health causes people to feel unwell, even if they
are not. Their ills are psychosomatic. Again, the focus has
settled on the outcome that is least desired. If you say to
yourself, I always get a cold in August, guess what happens?
Your mind seeks and searches until it creates the cold in
August. Be careful what you wish for!
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SOLUTION
Always see yourself as healthy and strong. Look after your
body by eating the right foods and by doing regular exercise.
Write the affirmation: Every day, in every way, I get better
and better. Memorise this and repeat it to yourself regularly
every day. Think well and you will be well.
4. FEAR OF LOSS OF LOVE
This condition can be seen in relationships of all types
involving both family and friends and can also include fear
of the loss of control or power. It is caused by very low
self-image. Those who suffer from this fear do not like
themselves.
It causes all sorts of horrible responses - from insane
jealousy, homicide, suicide, depression and inability to
function as a normal human being to total slavery to
another's wishes.
Some fear that someone richer or better looking will win
their beloved from them. Others become co-dependent.
Often, when we begin to become more successful, there will
be someone in our circle of friends who will belittle us and
try to prevent us from moving away from them. If we have
this fear, it is easy to succumb to peer-group pressure and
give our dreams away.
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
MARION FOUND THE ANSWERS TO A
THOUGHTLESS FATHER'S WORDS
A couple who had been coming to me for counseling asked
me to help a relative who was deeply distressed and often
suicidal. I told them I would only see her if she made an
appointment and visited my rooms, which she did. She was
suffering from depression, which had increased in intensity
over recent years.
The problem was not money. She was very wealthy. But
wealth is no protection from the negatives of the past.
Despite her considerable fortune, she was unable to cope.
The reason stemmed from an event that occurred when she
was five years old. Marion was a member of a large family.
She and her brothers and sisters gathered with their mother
to welcome home their father who had been away.
When he arrived he greeted each child and then, looking
at five-year-old Marion, said, "Who is this?" He genuinely
did not seem to know.
That experience scarred the little girl deeply. She really
believed that Daddy didn't love her and she suffered from
this fear from that moment on. Over half a lifetime later, and
under hypnosis, I convinced her to pour out her anger at
her father as if he were still alive and actually in the room.
After some hesitation, she really warmed to her work and
the anger flowed from her. The experience purged the fear
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she felt. We replaced the fear with new, powerful loving
information and the problem has been non-existent since
then.
Again, the truth in our minds may not be the truth in reality.
SOLUTION
To overcome this fear, develop the habit of self-love. You
are all you have control over. Using the principles of
Imagination Power, re-program yourself so you can rise
above the trials and tribulations that life throws your way.
Detach yourself from fear of loss of love and acknowledge
that the fear is only in your imagination. Develop the
courage to let go of relationships that do not serve you as
a worthwhile human being. There are other lovers, friends,
business partners and soul mates out there in the world. Put
out the positive energy to attract them into your life and
watch them appear!
5. THE FEAR OF OLD AGE
Like ill health, old age can cost us our essential freedoms.
The perceived need for us to stay young and wrinkle-free
promotes a vanity that makes us seek magical preparations
that 'keep us youthful' and 'appealing' to others. This is a
by-product of the fear of old age.
For men, it is related to the sex drive. We take potions that
supposedly make us more virile and keep us young. The
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
male preoccupation with virility has caused the decimation
of many animal species as insecure men rely on rhino horn
powder and other similar products to maintain and increase
their libido.
Women seek to stay younger longer as a means of retaining
the attractiveness they think keeps them appealing.
Cosmetic companies have made billions of dollars by
trading on this fear of old age.
SOLUTION
Accept yourself. There is no reason why men cannot turn
their strong sex drive into areas other than physical sexual
activity. Man can transmute his drive into his work, family,
community and a deep and satisfying relationship with his
marital partner. A powerful self-esteem creates a sense of
purpose in everything we do.
Women who have deep self-love radiate a powerful inner
glow that attracts people to them, even when they have
passed their blushing youth. This creates a beauty that more
than matches the attractiveness they enjoyed when they
were younger.
The character of the mind never grows old. Those with this
marvelous quality even seem to grow younger as they age.
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6. THE FEAR OF DEATH
Dying is the last act we perform in this life. We fear this
inevitable act because we do not know what lies beyond it.
Is there a heaven and a hell? Do we come back to earth
again in another form? What if there is nothing on the other
side of death?
These questions vex us and fill us with fear. Most people
avoid thinking about their death; it is not a pleasant topic.
Many religions trade on people's fear of death. They
promise vast rewards in the after-life if we observe their
teachings in this one. Many Bible-thumping preachers trade
on our fears and make a very healthy living.
Fear of death is universal.
SOLUTION
Focus on LIFE. Live it to the full. Set goals, picture them
happening and enjoy the achievements. Make life so
exciting and enjoyable that when death comes we embrace
it as something that must be done as part of the life we live
to the utmost.
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
GEORGE RELEASED HIS FEAR OF
DEATH
George had a massive fear of death from bowel cancer. The
horror of this insidious disease had gripped him since he
was 12 years old when one of his uncles remarked at a
family function that the men in his family tended to die from
cancer of the bowel. His young mind seized on this negative
information and he was immediately plunged into a panic
that manifested itself in painful ways. As he grew older, he
began to bleed regularly from the bowel, yet one medical
check after another found no reason for the bleeding.
He came to me when he was 35, convinced he would be
dead before 50. Under hypnosis, he remembered the party
and his uncle's comments.
I asked who was the uncle and he said, "My mother's sister's
husband."
"But he is not even related to you, except by marriage. As
a 12-year-old, you accepted him as a blood relation, but he
is not. The family to which he was referring is unrelated to
yours by blood. What are you worrying about?"
The look on George's face told it all. It was as if a huge
weight had been lifted from his mind. The fearful young
man who literally crept into my office almost bounded out.
The bleeding stopped immediately and has never recurred.
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Sadly, George's experience proves that we often respond
negatively to false beliefs. When the new, true belief was
installed in his mind, he reacted just as definitely, but in a
much more empowering way.
7. THE FEAR OF CHANGE
Everything seems to be in a state of change. The speed with
which the world is moving scares many who are unable to
cope. In the 20th Century, we experienced more change
than in all other centuries combined. We should be
conditioned to an ever-changing world by now, but most of
us still have trouble coping with everything going on around
us.
We have difficulty even adjusting to the simplest changes,
such as a new job, house or neighborhood. We fear
change because it forces us to re-jig our lives. What we must
realize is that ALL change is positive. What is negative is the
fearful way we react to it.
SOLUTION
Develop the habit of confidence so that you know that
whatever does change, you'll have the ability to handle it.
Remember your successes and replay them often in your
mind. If you have been successful in the past, it is impossible
for you not to be successful in the future. Focus on the
positive outcomes of any change.
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
TO OVERCOME ALL FEARS...
• Concentrate on what you want, not on want you don'twant.
• Set a program of goals you can aim for with an absolute
passion. The hotter you are to achieve your goals, the
more powerfully you imagine them. While you are
focused on definite objectives, you don't have time to be
paralyzed by fear. In fact, keen goal-strivers will tell you
that fear has taken a back seat in their lives.
• Through the process of re-programming, your
CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND develops strong,
productive habits and pushes aside the weak,
unproductive ones that amplify the fears.
• Remember, the more we repeat messages of any kind to
ourselves, the more they become part of us. We need to
make sure that the messages we repeat are the positive
ones. You are all-powerful and fears are weak. Eliminate
them from your life.
• Add some comedy to your life. Laughter really is the bestmedicine. Lighten up and live longer.
• Feel the fear and do it anyway!
YOUTH FEEL THE FEAR
A couple of years ago, during the course of my work, I was
introduced to an extremely worthwhile charity, Youth At
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Risk. I believe that if it is within our power, we should give
something back to the community in which we live. At the
time, I was looking for something I could support in a
philanthropic way, not only financially but by using my skills
to be of some real help. Along came Lyn Johnson who has
been responsible for setting up Youth At Risk in Australia
from scratch. The group, now supported by Ford Australia
and the ANZ Bank, among many other fine sponsors, is
providing a week-long intensive program for young people,
all of whom are unemployed and some of whom have less
than desirable backgrounds. The aim is to give them the
skills and groom them for future employment, provide
mentors and ultimately help them get jobs. It works; the
group has a 65 per cent success rate.
We make our contribution on the first day of the program
and every time we go there we meet beautiful young people
who suffer from the fears we've been discussing. Most have
done it tough and their wonderful young minds have taken
on board all the negative scripts from their sad past. It is our
job to help them overcome their fears and to take on the
belief that each of them is one of nature's greatest miracles,
a person of immense worth who can make a contribution.
KB has an horrific story - the worst - but she has come
through and changed her thoughts from negative to
positive. She is now an avid supporter of Youth At Risk and
makes an invaluable contribution to all the programs. She
is also a talented speaker and poet and we are privileged to
include one her poems here.
ELIMINATE THE SEVEN SPECTRES OF FEAR
ANGEL
An angel wearing heavy clothes;
The devil wraps himself around like a snake removing
breath.
You're the prey in the conflict your world contains!
Play the fiddle child;
Don't dance to your demons.
Enticing bass vibrating through your lost wandering soul;
Undress the stained past, carried upon a bowed back,
Close your bleeding hand. Raise, like a victor.
That within the heart and soul, right now,
in this point of time;
Struggles, cries for nurturing love.
Courage hidden, use for it I see buried
behind downcast eyes.
Angel use those wings to uplift yourself, for
look into the past,
Reflect;
Remember all those who you've uplifted yourself.
You are never alone,
No matter how dark the night may seem.
FOLLOW THE TEACHER'S LEAD
Dr Maxwell Maltz was a true educator. The word educo is
Latin for teach and to bring out the best in people. Often
the education system fails to live up to this high ideal
because of the confining limits it sets. Dr Maltz created
Psycho-Cybernetics as a means of helping people realize
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their gigantic personal potential. He did not believe in limits,
but he urged us to dehypnotize ourselves of all the false
beliefs we have accumulated since childhood and to
remember that we can re-write any script we have been
bequeathed.
Take Dr Maltz's lead. Set some blue sky targets that you can
aim for with absolute enthusiasm and you will say goodbye
to unnecessary fear forever.
MAKE CERTAIN OF WINNING
fASSOCIATE WITH
SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE
"I'll get by with a little help from my friends."
John Lennon and Paul McCartney
e are given strength or we are weakened by the
company we keep. If you question the truth of
that assertion, just consider the number of times people
you know have been drawn into trouble because of a
friend or a family member. The reverse is also true. Life is
replete with examples of people who succeeded
beyond the expectations of others because of the
powerful, positive influence of somebody close.
W
A negative friend can drag us down without meaning to
because we take on their disempowering energy and accept
it as our own. A group of 'down' people can drain us of all
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strength the minute we enter their company. Some people
are like that. They carp, criticise and pour cold water on
brilliant ideas and toss up obstacles to whatever we suggest.
With friends like these, you do not need enemies. They
sabotage you at every turn.
When this happens, it is time to change your friends. A
personal 'spring cleaning' is well and truly in order.
So many human beings find themselves in this sort of 'bad'
company but are too scared to 'cut' the ties because they
mistakenly believe they will be unable to find new friends.
In reality, finding new friends is a very simple process. We
simply leave ourselves open to the prospect of meeting new
people and before we know it they materialize in our lives.
Being 'open' is the answer. The important thing is to move
away from the 'friends' who do not enrich us and seek the
company of those who do.
WHEN YOU CHANGE YOUR NEGATIVE
FRIENDS - YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE
FOR THE BETTER
It makes sense to seek the society of people who inspire and
enthuse us, rather than those who drag us down. Walking
away from so-called friends who are always negative and
who find fault in everything is a gigantic step forward.
MAKE CERTAIN OF WINNING
Making yourself available for strong, positive, creative friendships could be the beginning of a new life.
Like attracts like. Gravitate to successful people and you
soon find that their success rubs off on you. What's more,
people who have made it to the top in their chosen field are
usually willing to share the secrets of their success with
others.
Those who are successful rarely feel threatened when
somebody asks, "How did you do it?" They are entitled to
bask in a little glory as they tell somebody else how they did
it. Another point to remember is that most human beings
like to help others.
When I was a boy growing up in country Western Australia,
I never mixed with those whom I considered negative. Even
at school, I avoided the popular 'heroes' who spent most of
their time criticizing others. Nobody told me that I was better
off to shun their company. I did it automatically because I
never felt comfortable with them. It did not matter how
much my other schoolmates urged me to be a part of the
gang, I was never tempted.
It might seem that I had developed a special knack for
discrimination at a very early age, but I can't claim credit for
anything unique because we all have that gift if we are
prepared to listen to our intuition.
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In their thirst to belong, so many people attach themselves
to a crowd, no matter how negatively its members behave.
They do themselves no favors. Either they break away
from a group that does not serve them or they wallow in
negativity by association.
SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE SHARE
THEIR IMAGINATION
People who make it to the top in their chosen field have
proved that they know how to use their imagination. That
is why they are successful. So, when we ask a person who
has succeeded in their career for advice, we are asking them
to share their imagination with us. The effect of this on our
own lives and careers should be very telling.
If a highly successful person agrees to be your mentor, you
are able to tap into their imagination and their vast wealth
of past experiences. You also access their capacity to see
things that have so far eluded you.
It is important to immerse yourself in a stream of successful
people whose positive influence floods into your life in a
beneficial way.
The goodwill of others can be an important ingredient in
our own success. Many motivators encourage people to
actively model the lives of those who have been highly
successful.
MAKE CERTAIN OF WINNING
Many people join lodges and other sorts of networks as a means of gaining access to successful people and usually benefit from this.
WE ARE KNOWN BY THE
COMPANY WE KEEP
An example of the disempowering effects of spending time
with negative, unimaginative people is the drug culture.
There, you are immediately aware that the biggest problem
confronting anyone who wants to break free from drug
dependency is the nature of their surrounding peer group.
This holds true for those who do not take drugs but are
regularly in depressing company.
The only course to take in these cases is: THROUGH THE
NEAREST DOOR IN THE DIRECTION OF FAR AWAY.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE...
A well-known and highly talented Australian golfer came to
me for counseling. He had realized that if he were to ever
reach his great potential, he needed to change his attitude
to life and to absorb the philosophies of other successful
people.
After working with me for five weeks he asked me to caddy
for him in an important tournament. I was delighted to help.
And I was even more pleased by the form he showed as we
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enthusiastically played his round. By the first nine he was
five under and ended up winning the tournament by three
strokes. As we walked around the course from hole to hole,
we chatted animatedly, discussing the positive aspects of
everything from the weather, how well he was feeling, the
importance of keeping his mind on the ultimate target - the
cup - and a host of other empowering things.
His mind was totally focused on winning the tournament.
His attitude was totally 'UP'.
The following week, a friend caddied for him in another
tournament and the result was the complete opposite. By
the 12th hole he was 10 over par. The caddy and a group
of other close male friends, all of whom had had a few
drinks, walked the course with him and destroyed his
purpose with their derogatory chatter. The last thing he
needed was to be surrounded by these negative influences
but they succeeded in dragging him down. In the space of
a week he had gone from quality chocolates to less than
boiled lollies.
Yet, he was the same person with the same winning talent.
The difference was the lack of focus and the standard of the
company he kept in that disastrous second tournament. A
tippling caddy is bad enough; the fact the other members
of the entourage engaged in negative 'knocking' banter
made it even worse.
MAKE CERTAIN OF WINNING
Later, when we discussed the disgraceful behavior of his
friends, the young man admitted that he was ashamed of
what had happened and that he would be much more
selective in future tournaments. He was and has re-
established his authority under match conditions. He made
that decision himself after discussing with me the
importance of focusing on positives.
Today, he is well and truly back on track and shooting
excellent golf. His name will one day feature in the biggest
tournaments worldwide because he has fantastic ability -
AND he is not scared to cut loose any friends or colleagues
who do not meet his high standards for success. Whingers
are never winners, and winners are never whingers!
YOU NEED TO BE TOUGH MINDED TO MAKE IT TO THE TOP
If a friend drags you down by constantly questioning your decisions or your abilities, no matter how successful you are, you need to ask, "Is this person a real friend? What would I lose if I severed the ties that have so far bound us together?"
A true friend wants only what is best for us, even if it disagrees with their own expectations. As an anonymous scribe once wrote, "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
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CLOSE FRIENDSHIPS CAN BE OF
GREAT MUTUAL BENEFIT
It's amazing how much positive energy can be created when
close friends put their heads together to solve problems,
develop ideas or come up with solutions to matters that
have vexed one or both of them.
Napoleon Hill said that if you put two or more minds
together to work on the same subject, you actually created
another, separate mind over and above the total of those
confronting the problem. This is the COLLECTIVE MIND
which exists because of the energy generated by minds
working together in harmony.
He called this the MASTER MIND principle. Powerful,
positive good always comes from such cooperation.
I can attest to this. My personal friendships with AFL football
great Stan Alves and golfing legend Ian Baker-Finch are
based on this simple but effective philosophy. We have
worked together on some great ideas - and answers always
come.
Don't for one minute believe that this sort of mental
harmony is exclusive; it is open to everybody. If you doubt
me, consult a positive friend when you next confront a
problem and work it through together. You'll also find
yourself solving problems and developing exciting ideas.
MAKE CERTAIN OF WINNING
JIM LIVES UP TO HIS
OWN GOOD ADVICE
Internationally famous writer/motivator Jim Rohn urges us to consult highly successful people when we need the best advice. He is living proof of how these people are usually generous with their time.
Some years ago, I heard Jim speak and after his talk I sought
him out to have a chat about his attitudes. A friendly man,
who has an obvious appreciation of his fellow human
beings, Jim went out of his way to help me gain a greater
understanding of the speaking business and give me great
moral support.
MY FIRST MENTOR...
was my sergeant in the RAAF His name was Jim Ovendon. He became a second father to me and welcomed me into his family. His influence and leadership have been invaluable.
I met Jim on a tour of duty in Malaysia. That was also
where I met Mr Choy, the Korean karate master who
pointed me in the direction of Maxwell Maltz and Psycho-
Cybernetics.
These men took an interest in a keen youngster and gently
guided me with sound advice and non-stop
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encouragement. Again, these are successful human beings
who wanted to share their success. I am so glad I met them.
Is it a coincidence that 'Jims' seem to come into my life as
mentors? Dr Jim Goulding, a man of great mental wealth
and founder of the Australian Academy of Hypnotic
Science, has been another mentor in my life. Jim passed on
to me his incredible knowledge of hypnosis and this has
helped me to help others, guiding them to the source of their
own power. Remember, SEEK THE COMPANY OF
THOSE WHO HAVE TASTED SUCCESS - and you will
soon enjoy the fruits of their advice and support.
To all my mentors, I deeply thank you. A
LAST WORD
MAKE CERTAIN OF WINNING
So what are you going to take of value from this on?
Make certain of winning and remember: SUCCESS IS
ONLY A THOUGHT AWAY
moment
And finally, I would like to ask you this very important
question.
If your CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND cannot tell the
difference between a real and an imagined experience, is
totally impartial to all the thoughts it receives, and only acts
on whatever you take of value, what is the difference then
between POSITIVE and NEGATIVE thinking, to your
CREATIVE LEVEL OF MIND?
Think about it for a moment. Wonderful, you got it! The
answer is NOTHING.
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