Two Lessons from Mind Gurus

“Knowledge is learning something everyday. Wisdom is letting go of something everyday.”

-Zen Proverb

 First of all, my sincere apologies to my blog readers. For the past three weeks, I've been off the blogosphere due to urgent projects and exams. Despite this fact, my blogging friends have really made development in their blog content and I'm really impressed. This means I've got a lot to catch up on.  

 Okay, in those three weeks of no blogging, I did something fulfilling and I'll be sharing the results with you. I stumbled on a Mind Training Course online which didn't catch my fancy at first. Well, because it had to do with the mind, I registered. After two weeks, what did I get in return? A highly empowered and knowledgeable human being. I feel good right now, seriously.

Are You Nurturing Your Production Capability?

Nurture Your Production Capability

"Make every thought, every fact, that comes into your mind pay you a profit. Make it work and produce for you. Think of things not as they are but as they may be. Don't merely dream but create!"

- Robert Collier

"Use what you have to get what you want"- This is a popular quote that has been misused, misunderstood and underutilized by many people, including me. Society has made us believe that in order to make a name for ourselves, we have to follow the crowd and do what they do. This gives us the illusion of living the life when in actual sense, we're on the same bus with millions of others who are doing the same thing we do, using the same resources we use and heading for the same destination. When the journey finally ends, there will be no room for significance and this snaps us back to reality.

Excerpts From Great Minds- What Does Socrates Mean?

"An unexamined life is not worth living."

- Socrates

Hmmm... This quote sounds kind of harsh, right? I don't think anyone likes to hear that they're worthless. But, in the actual sense, I don't think it really means that.

Personal development gurus always talk about separating time to do some self examination. The reason for this is simply to know what you're made up of (spiritually, mentally, psychologically, etc.). I'm not talking about purpose here but just self knowledge. What do you have on the inside of you and what can you offer to the society? 

Worth simply means value. You only regard something as valuable if it's of use to you.
Take this scenario as an example:

A New Year Theme- Do You Have One?

“Your problem is to bridge the gap between where you are now and the goals you intend to reach.”

- Earl Nightingale

It seems like just yesterday when we celebrated 2011 as a new year, how time flies. It feels good to know that we passed through and experienced all the joy, troubles and challenges and now have the opportunity to say goodbye to all that and start anew. Like this year, we start every other year expectant and hopeful that the year would be the best year ever. As we know, this is not how the year always turns out to be.

Every year comes with a couple of life assignments for you to take home. These assignments present their own form of trials but your job is to complete and present them at the end of the year for assessment.

How did you do in your previous assignment? Did you achieve all you set out to do?

As for me, the answer to the above question is no, but I had a pretty good grade. It's a ritual for us as achievers to set New Year resolutions for ourselves. In 2011, mine didn't live to see the first of February. Why?

You Create Your Future (Part 3)

 "You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration"

-James Allen

 The Laws of Creation (Part 3)
We have finally come to the last part in this series. In part 2, I explained that no matter how confused you may be about what you want to create, a time will come when it'll all seem clear to you (Law of Illumination). You also got to know how critical it is to select the kind of people you interact with (Law of Environment) and how you must know when and when not to do certain things (Law of Times and Season) on the road to creating your future. To understand this last part, you should read the previous laws of creation if you haven't.

In this post, you'll get to know the final laws that led to the creation of the earth and how you can apply them in your life.

You Create Your Future

 "You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration"

-James Allen

The Laws of Creation (Part Two)
In my last post, I explained the importance of the 'how?' question and how it's related to forming the future you desire. I also introduced the laws of creation and explained the first three laws: The Law of The Source, The Law of Confusion and The Law of Meditation. If you missed out on that post, you can read part one of the series here.
I explained that you need to know where your vision is coming from (The Source), you need to think about the vision (Confusion) and you need to speak positively into your future (Meditation). Now, I'll be explaining the Laws of Illumination, Environment and Season.

You Create Your Future

"You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration"

-James Allen

The Laws of Creation

In my last post, 'Empower Your Vision with Skill', I talked about the importance of vision and applying what you know (skill) to what you have seen (vision) so you can get what you want (purpose) in a more refined way. But one important question is 'how?’

Whatever knowledge you have most times determines what you do when faced with challenges. It then depends on how you apply it, your skill that determines if you come out 'alive'.

Like the 'why' question, 'how' is also one question that requires principled answers. It's just like a kid asking you how to fish. Telling this kid the way to hold the hook and swing it won't answer the question. But giving him answers like the kind of bait to use, the time of the day to fish and the part of the river to fish from would make things a lot easier. The same thing goes when you're faced with the question of how to achieve your vision. You need to know the principles, the laws governing the whole process so you know what to do when you ought to do it.

This post is simply a product of a seminar I attended recently and in the next few sentences, I'll be sharing with you what's called the Laws of Creation.
You would agree with me that this world we live in didn't just emerge out of thin air. It was 'created' through vision, for a purpose by someone who knew He had the power to create it, just like we have the power to create our own world. Let's see a few laws on which this world was created.

1. The Law of the Source
The question here is who are you and where is your vision coming from? Is your vision as a result of your mind playing games on you or is it from a much higher power, a realm beyond your control? You really need to know the source of your vision so that you can decide if it's worth the investment. God had a vision of the earth He wanted to create and it was definitely from no other higher source other than Him.

2. The Law of Confusion
Sounds strange right? "And the earth was without form and void" (Gen 1:2). According to the Oxford Dictionary, void means 'completely lacking something'. Without form simply means not having any particular shape or arrangement. Whenever I feel that something is missing in anything I find myself doing, I can go haywire trying to find out the problem. What does this mean? You're bound to be confused when that vision first arrives. The question, ‘where do I start?’ fills your mind and you start wondering whether you're on the right track. Regardless of how confused the beginning appeared to be, God made something out of it. You'll do the same.

3. The Law of Meditation.
"And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Gen 1:2). This is just like strolling a few blocks to 'get some air' or to 'do some thinking'. I do this sometimes and it does help clear out all that confusion. What this really means is Think. Arrange all those broken pieces of thought and make a decision.
After thought comes action. "And God said..." (Gen 1:3)
Talk positively to the future you're about to create. This is called 'positive affirmation'. The world was created first with words, so start with that.

I'll be dividing these laws into parts (series) so you don't get overwhelmed all at once. In the next post, you'll get to know the next three laws (i.e. The Laws of Illumination, Environment and Season).

Creation may be based on laws but is everything in life based on established laws or principles? I'd love to hear what you think.

For this glorious festive season, I'll be giving away two quality ebooks by a respectable author for free. The first one, Power, Purpose and Service which goes for $9.68 on Lulu will be available for free download from the 24th to the 30th of December and the second, Droplets From Above, which goes for $7.10 on Lulu will be available for free download from the 30th of December to the 3rd of January. Don't worry, I'll write the reviews so you know what you're downloading.

Who would I be giving them to?
The download links would be specially sent to
•    my email subscribers,
•    followers on Google Friend Connect,
•    Networkedblogs followers and
•    Deep-Think's Facebook fans.

So if you want a copy, well I guess it's simple to get yours. Make sure you check this blog at that time so you don't miss out on any 'extra stuff'.
This is just my way of saying, 'Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year in advance!’ Enjoy the season!

EMPOWER YOUR VISION WITH SKILL

"Be sure that as you scramble up the ladder of success, it is leaning against the right building"

-Stephen Covey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Over time, I've heard some really interesting ways of how people discovered their purpose and how they ended up achieving it as if by magic. One thing I got to discover was that when you know the purpose for which you were created, your life seems to be 'engineered' in that particular direction. Out of these stories, there's one I really like which I would share with you. Sometimes we feel we know what is good for us not knowing that there's a higher power that knows better.

A young man once asked God to reveal to him what he would be in future. After constant prayers, God finally gave him a revelation. In his dream, he saw himself washing clothes. Being that the job of a 'washer man' is not considered a 'noble profession', he rejected the vision and prayed again. The following day, he dreamed again but this time, he was ironing the clothes he washed the previous day. That was the last time he prayed for purpose.
He went on to study Electrical engineering in the University and was really good at repairing machines. Sometime after graduation, a friend realized how skillful he was and gave him a few 'damaged' appliances to repair, one of which was a machine used for cleaning carpets. This young man repaired it fast and decided to sell it, but buyers were not forthcoming. Instead of dumping the machine, his business acumen awoke on his inside and he started a 'DRY CLEANING' business. All he had to do was get more damaged machines from his friend, repair them and use them in his business. Today, he not only washes clothes but suits, carpets, upholstery and more. Oh, and he's rich too.  

The reason why many of us who know our purpose tend not to appreciate it is because we can't see the future in it. Most of the time, visions and revelations are given to us raw; it's left to us to refine it.

One of the best ways to add value to what you do is to become someone of value. The young man in that story didn't want to bring himself down to the level he saw in the dream. Instead, by developing himself and learning something new, he unknowingly brought the purpose up to his level. Not everyone is lucky to discover purpose through dreams or visions but one thing is certain- we all have a purpose for which we're here on earth. It's up to you to determine how you achieve it. You create your own future, so start modeling it now so it becomes a MASTERPIECE later.

How did you discover your purpose? Was it through a vision, reading a book or just interacting with friends? Are there any steps you know in living a fulfilled life? Your comments are welcome.
Don't forget to share this post with friends using the links below.

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe here and receive new posts straight into your mail. 

Ebooks you might want to check out:
Change Your Mind, Change Your Life
Power, Purpose and Service

What's Your Default Setting?

"Belief creates the actual fact. The greatest revolution of my generation is the discovery that individuals, by changing their inner attitudes of mind, can change the outer aspects of their lives."
- Anonymous

There are various ways to find out exactly the kind of person you are or the kind of people you deal with. One of the easiest ways is to know your immediate reaction to situations. It's just like carrying out a study on malaria symptoms. In order to know how a patient would react to the malaria disease, he must be a malaria patient first. You don't know how you would react to particular situations until you're in one yourself.

Like phones and many other electronic gadgets, we as humans also have a 'default setting'. This simply means that action we take or that attitude we go back to whenever we're faced with challenging situations. It's usually the first thing that comes to our mind to do even before the option of a second thought becomes visible.

Our reaction to situations is often influenced by our emotional and mental states. Our actions are sometimes so reflex that over time, they become a part of us without our knowledge. It's at this point that such actions become our default actions when faced with similar situations.

Understanding ourselves better is really important, especially if success in life, business and relationships is our main goal. It helps us know which emotions to suppress and which ones to build. Living a life governed by negative emotions only makes us do actions which we would only regret later.
Listed below are a few situations which we, at one time have found ourselves in.

1. When faced with a challenge, do you see it as outside your scope, or as an opportunity to learn something new? Seeing it as outside your scope only means that you're saying, 'I can't do it'.

2. When you're offended, do you DESTROY or do you chill out and think? When I say 'destroy', I don't really mean the things around you but that relationship you have with your 'offender'. This used to be my default action until I realized that I had broken more relationships than I had at the time.

3. When you fail, do you give up and stay down or do you try to get back up? Giving up makes you a quitter and in the future, you'll end up blaming others for your failure, forgetting that you're the major cause. This is one of the major 'symptoms' of negative emotions- refusing to accept responsibility.

These are just a few of the many circumstances that help us define and restructure our attitudes.
If you realize that keeping or restoring default settings would only make things worse, then activate the new ones. You'll be better that way.

Do you think it's possible to completely change your default setting? What default action do you regret and how did you rid yourself of it? I'd love to hear your comments.

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe here and receive new posts straight into your mail. 


Ebooks you might want to check out:
Change Your Mind, Change Your Life
Power, Purpose and Service

You Need A Drive

"I will always prepare so that when my time comes, I will be ready."
-Abraham Lincoln.

According to Physics, a body remains in a state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by a force. That is a law that has been in existence for quite a while now and it's straightforward too. When you stand on a spot and are pushed, you no longer stay on that spot but move a step forward or backward.

I've always regarded that quote by Abe Lincoln as a powerful one. The strange thing is that I had seen the quote countless number of times but I didn't value it until I needed it. A year before I went to the University, I was what you would regard as 'premature'. I didn't know my left from my right and had no idea what I wanted out of life.

Watching my mates go to school while I stayed at home for that whole year was really discouraging but I later realized that it was worth it. It was at this time that I sat down and did a lot of self-examination. I needed a lot of things to take along to the next level and one of them was a drive. That's when that quote above became a really good friend. It applies to everything in life like relationships, death, career, marriage, wealth acquisition, business, academics and so much more. It talks about one thing, which is preparation and it has totally become a part of my life.

Choosing a drive can be tricky, especially if you don't know where you're headed in life. It's just like a cab driver asking for your destination and you say, 'anywhere'. He's not going to waste his fuel on you.

Knowing where you're going would help you choose the right vehicle, be it a car, minivan, chopper or jet. From experience, a drive should be chosen on the following two criteria.

1. It must be internal.
Choosing your spouse, girlfriend or money as your drive would only bring you back to square one in the end. Why? Well, they won't be there forever. They’ll leave you one day and then what happens? You start searching for another one. The good thing about internal drives is that they stay with you until you die or you no longer have use for them. They are not influenced by external occurrences but by your final destination.

2. They should be derived from something you love or enjoy doing.
I found this quote from a book. Reading is a part of me and I'm never compelled or forced to do it. It's just like being inspired or getting a feeling of satisfaction whenever you play the guitar or piano. Having a drive to help others achieve this same feeling would make the route to your destination simple.

It's never too late to get a driving force. The most important thing is getting one and using it's instructions to guide you. Whichever one you chose, just make sure that you're ready to abide by its code of conduct. Feel free to use mine if you wish.

Do you have a drive? What other ways do you think a drive can be acquired? Let's hear your thoughts, your comments are welcome.

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe here and receive new posts straight into your mail. 


Ebooks you might want to check out:
Internalized Motivation
Change Your Mind, Change Your Life
Power, Purpose and Service

Your Personality- Is It Good For Business?

We all have personality traits unique to us. By the end of this article, you'll get to know how you can use your personality and those around you for your business success.

We are all different and have qualities unique to us. In case you don't know, there are ten personalities, each having their own qualities. Four of these include the Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic and Phlegmatic. The combination of these, which I call the 'Personality Mix’, makes ten. Some of these temperaments have some qualities which are so not good, especially if you want to start your own business. So how can you use your qualities and employ those you don't have for your business success?
In a previous article, I gave a list of some of the positive and negative qualities of these traits. Now, I'll be relating these traits to business so you'll know the kind of partners and employees you should have.

1. The Sanguine
People with this personality are cheerful, playful and creative. A CEO who is a pure Sanguine would be creative but could be unserious some times. Without thinking, he could tell his employees to do things or carry out any idea that comes to mind. If you're such a person, you'll need someone to analyze your sometimes crazy ideas and another to caution you when you play too much. A Melancholic is known for careful thinking and analysis. Making such a person a partner or team leader would make you look less stupid to your employees. A Choleric is like a Sanguine but is very good at giving out instructions and getting the job done. Your business is sure to get more fruitful with this guy around.

2. The Choleric
This is the goal-getting, no-nonsense personality. Someone with this personality is sure to have a productive business but a not so-good relationship with the employees. Not everyone likes a 'bossy boss'. Having a Phlegmatic partner or team leader is sure to create a cool and calm atmosphere while a Sanguine juices it up with creativity and life.

3. The Melancholic
This personality does a lot of thinking before taking action. When I say thinking, I mean a lot of it. What's the use of thinking a lot and acting little, you'll practically get nowhere. If you have such a personality trait, a Choleric as a partner will push you as a business owner to take more action. Also a partner or team leader with a Phlegmatic personality will help you know what needs to be analyzed and what should be discarded. You don't have to think about everything, you know?

4. The Phlegmatic
A person with this personality will make a good business owner but would need some backup. Your nonchalant attitude towards things could be an asset or a weakness, depending on the situation. Being that you might not take some important things seriously, you'll need someone with a Melancholic personality to help you with your to-do list. You'll also need an action figure, but be careful. Someone with a Choleric personality might overshadow you and end up gaining your reserved respect from your employees. I'm sure you don't want that, do you?

If your business is on a low budget, you could just get someone with the personality mix that you require and you're good to go.

The Best Way To Get Rid Of Negative Emotions

As I said before, negative emotions should be your greatest enemies if your goal is to be successful and happy. By now, you know the causes of negative emotions and how to get rid of them. If you don't, you can read the article here. Do you know that the last cause that I'm about to mention now is one that each one of us has been guilty of at one time or the other?

The last cause of negative emotions is one of the greatest super villains of all time. Why do I say this? It avoids you from taking critical decisions and traps you so that it's hard to get free. This worst cause is the act of blaming other people for our problems. I wonder if it's possible to entirely stop blaming because I still find myself in the act sometimes. Getting rid of it might not be easy but it can be suppressed to a level where it has no power over you. Blaming others is so bad that even when you're fifty, you can still keep blaming your parents for things they did or did not do for you.

Luckily for us, this can be stopped by accepting responsibility for your actions and circumstances. You are where you are because of you and not someone else. The moment you realize that no one else is responsible, you automatically take charge. All the other three causes can be stopped and you can take control by simply accepting complete responsibility for your life.

How To Get Rid Of Negative Emotions

Negative emotions and success don't belong on the same team. In this post, you'll get to know the negative emotions and how to erase them so that your goal can be a success.

The reason why you do what you do now is because at the end, you want to be successful and happy. But do you have the right state of mind to achieve this? If success and happiness are your ultimate goals, then negative emotions should be your greatest enemies. Negative emotions hold you down and remove all the joy that was once present in your life.

To be truly happy and successful, your most important goal should be to free yourself from these emotions. I must tell you, it's not easy but it's possible if you learn how.
The negative emotions of fear, jealousy, hatred, revenge, greed, superstition and anger don't just occur on their own. They are caused by four factors, some of which most of us are guilty of. These emotions stop the moment you eliminate these four factors. Let's see a few of these factors.

1. Rationalizing and Making Excuses
This is simply defending an unacceptable action with an acceptable explanation. It's like trying to make an ugly duckling look like a swan. You create an explanation that sounds good even when your action was the direct opposite. This act keeps your negative emotions alive. The antidote for this factor is to refuse to rationalize and stop making excuses for your actions.

2. Oversensitivity
You'll realize that almost everything you do is to earn the respect of others or to avoid losing their respect. As a result of this, you end up being too concerned about the way people treat you. For some, their whole self-image is determined by the way other people interact with them. They base their value and self-worth on the opinions of others. If those opinions are negative, the negative emotions come into action. Whenever you begin to feel inferior or depressed, realize that this is the cause and learn to rise above the opinions of others about you. Start developing your own personal value and self image.

3. Justifying Your Feelings
Justifying that you are entitled to feel a particular way can make you negative. For example, you get failed for a test which you put a lot of effort into. Thereafter, you become angry with the examiner and you justify your anger by describing all the reasons why you shouldn't have failed. You even go as far as taking the matter up with higher authorities. As long as you do this, your negative emotions take control of you. The moment you say, "Well, I've failed this test but I'm not the first one to fail it. I'd better start preparing so I can pass the next one," your emotions disappear and are replaced with positive emotions that keep you focused on the goal. You become more effective once you stop justifying.

From now on, refuse to justify your actions or make excuses. Apologizing for a mistake makes things a whole lot better. Every time you blame someone or rationalize, you trigger negative emotions which don't affect the other person but you. You give that person power over your emotions, leaving you angry inside. If success is still your goal and this is not what you want, then I guess the answer is quite simple. Just don't do it. 

In my next post, you'll get to know the best way to get rid of negative emotions.

How else do you think we can get rid of negative emotions? I'd like to hear your views in the comments.
Don't forget to share this post with friends.
If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe here and receive new posts straight into your mail. 

Personalities- The Four Major Temperaments.

We all have personality traits unique to us. By the end of this post, you'll get to know four of the ten human temperaments and the category you belong through identifying your qualities.

A lot of people look at themselves and say, "How I wish I was born differently." I used to fall in this category of self esteem 'crushers'. Do you? It took a lot of self reassuring and examination for me to realize that I can not change who I am, but I can make the best out of it. How?
Psychologists have really done a great job studying the human being in order to know why we act the way we do. The result of their research is what we now know as 'temperaments'. In no particular order, I'll be introducing you to four of the temperaments and you'll get to know what category you belong.

1. The Sanguine
I love these guys because it's never a dull moment around them. Their mere presence seems to brighten things up. Some of their many qualities include: extroverts, optimistic, appealing and cheerful personality, sincere, creative, good sense of humor, sympathetic and have really good memory. If you've got that cheerful smile and attractive personality, this is where you belong.

2. The Choleric
If it's not done their way, then it's not perfect. Some of their qualities include: extroverts, go- getters, optimistic, born leaders, dynamic and active, confident, love productivity, can be violent, strong-willed, efficient in emergencies and goal oriented. It's really easy for people in this category to make enemies.
The Sanguine and Choleric are both extroverts having a lot of other qualities in common. Now let's take a look at the temperaments of the introvert.

3. The Melancholic
These guys see the world from a perspective different from that of the previous temperaments. The Melancholic are introverts, deep thinkers, strict, analytical, principled, sensitive to art or music, perfectionists, faithful and can be pessimistic some times. I'm so sure I fall in this category. If you love analyzing things that sometimes don't need analysis, then you're with me.

4. The Phlegmatic
If you want someone who'll say yes to practically everything you say, then have a Phlegmatic as a friend. They are cool, calm, easy going, patient, kind, introverts, good listeners, sympathetic, peaceful, have a dry sense of humor and always find the easy way out.  

Having one personality doesn't mean that you're glued to it all your life. It's possible to develop qualities in other desired personalities. Developing these qualities gives you a cool personality mix. You can have more than one temperament in different proportions but you can't have all. That would make you a freak. So, whatever qualities you choose to acquire, make sure they're in line with your goals so that you can make the most of them.