Review your life

Our Greatest Fear by Marianne Williamson

2009-04-16T04:55:00.000-07:00

After I attended The Breakthrough Seminar with John Demartini in June last year, I received the part of a speech in the mail.

From the first time I read it, I loved it! I laminated it an pinned it up in my bathroom, where I have read it several times a day since.

And although I read it so often, I never really FELT what it meant until now.

My point is, there is a difference between reading something and truly feeling something. There's a saying that goes "To know and not to do is not yet to know."

I have always known what this speech means to say, I cognitively processed the words and I understood what they meant. But only know do I really FEEL what this speech means, because I practice what it preaches. I know do, therefore I know.

Here is the speech, as delivered by Nelson Mandela at his inauguration in 1994, originally written by author Marianne Williamson in 1992.

Our Greatest Fear

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

My Journey - One Year on...

2009-04-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Pretty much one year ago, I began to see glimpses of where my life could go; what I could achieve, how much happier I and fulfilled I could be.

They were only glimpses, little pieces of the picture which I would be able to see if I was in the right frame of mind: inspired, creative, open to possibilities.

AsI set to exploring the paths personal development has to offer, I began learning. Learning about human psychology and behaviour, society and myself. And so, as I surrounded myself with more people who were on the same journey as I, the glimpses started to form a whole picture.

The picture was blurry, bits and pieces kept changing as I was exploring what I wanted out of my life. But it was one picture - a whole picture/. Bits and pieces, passions and interests were coming together.

At times I was frustrated, so impatient to get there, to achieve my goals, without even knowing what they were.

Today I am calm and serene - yet excited at the same time.

Because now, one year after starting my journey, I have a vision. It is grand. Its is unrealistic. It is exciting.

I know now, deep within myself, that life has something in store for me. That I was born to achieve great things, and help others do the same.

It may take years to achieve this grand goal of mine - yet in my mind, I am already there.

In the endm it truly is about the journey, what we learn and how we develop along the way.

And I am looking forward to many more years of enjoying this journey called life.

Even if you can't understand the lyrics of the song, enjoy it! It sums up how much more there is to life, even if the journey is difficult at times.

My recent publications

2009-02-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

You may think that I have become lazy again and am neglecting my blog. Not true!

Quite the opposite, in fact! I have been busy writing online articles for some German Websites. Great practice for writing, keeping my German skills up and getting feedback from awesome editors!

Even if you can't read German, marvel at some of my stories below:
Background story on the Victorian Bushfires
Shark attack at Bondi Beach
Divers survive seven hour ordeal on Great Barrier Reef
Floods in North Queensland (Wombat Magazin)
Floods in North Queensland (Klima Magazin)
First Australian Solar Institute founded

So, there you go! They're mostly news stories, but with my participation in the Sydney Writer's Centre feature writing workshop, more features aren't too far away!

Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed

2009-02-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

As you know, I am currently reading Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed by Dale Beaumont and Shaun Stenning. The book was given to me at the Smart Online Profits Systems Workshop I attended last weekend, and is part of the Secrets Exposed series by Dale Beaumont. Each book of the series focuses on a different topic and collates the knowledge of a variety of experts into one book.

I have to admit, I haven't finished the book yet, but I already wanted to share some thoughts with you.

Firstly, I am totally blown away by the concept of the Secrets Exposed series. As a writer, and someone whose dream has always been to publish a book, I marvel at this 'outside the box thinking' that allowed Dale to publish 15 books in the last few years!!

You may think "Well, if he published that many books in such a short time, they can't be very good". I disagree. If you have a look at the books, you will see they are very good. What has allowed Dale to publish this many books, is a new and innovative way of creating content.

Instead of writing the whole book himself, he finds a variety of experts on the topic, offers some incentives to be part of the whole series (for example cross-marketing opportunities), and lets them write the content. Their contribution is guided by the questions he provides and, of course, the book is edited as a whole to make it flow nicely.

I haven't read any other books of the series yet, but what I like about Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed, is that it includes such a wide range of people who have succeeded on the internet in a variety of ways. Entrepreneurs in the book vary from marketing experts and software creators, to eBay and eBook sellers. Their background varies just as much: from internet geek to initial technophobe.

And this is exactly the point Dale and Shaun are making with the book: No matter who you are, no matter what your knowledge and experience, if you decide to make money on the internet, there is a way that will suit you. This makes the book really encouraging for those of us who are looking for opportunities to take action.

I will share my favourite stories in a few days when I have finished the book.

Sydney Writers Centre - Feature Writing Workshop

2009-02-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

Sydney Writers Centre - my mission of learning continues!

When I saw the feature writing course at the Sydney Writers Centre, I knew I had to attend! As luck would have it, the course that ran in November was already full when I came across it. I was still overseas when the two-day intensive course ran in January. And last night MY course finally started! You can imagine how excited I was after waiting for 3 months!

And my expectations were definitely rewarded! The 2 hours went by way too quickly and I can't wait for next week! Judy Skatssoon, the presenter, is great! She is energetic and knowledgeable and makes everyone feel like they have something to offer.

We talked about everything from news and feature article characteristics, to the history of New Journalism, and market characteristics. But what impressed me most were the article ideas we came up with, simply by brainstorming some of the newspapers and thinking outside the box. I love seeing how an individual's knowledge, experience and background influence the way they interpret an article and come up with new angles!

Well, the course will be running once a week for the next 5 weeks and cover topics such as finding ideas, interviewing, writing and structuring, pitching and selling, and maintaining contacts and much more.

Iam off working on my article ideas! Will keep you posted on my progress.

Smart Online Profit Systems

2009-02-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

The Smart Online Profit Systems workshop came to an end on Sunday night. I must say, this was one of the most worthwhile seminars / workshops I have attended in a long time!

Initially, I came to this seminar because I had some spare time and I wanted to learn about search engine optimisation (SEO). I can tell you, I learnt a lot more than that!

The two days were absolutely packed with Shaun's and Sean's expertise, teaching us everything they know about the internet: SEO, email marketing, social media and of course their SMART system for online business (S= Selecting your passion; M= Market research, A= Affiliate Marketing, R= Results, T= Taking it to Market)!

Although I had never seriously thought about online business before, now I am changing my mind. What I learned in such a short time frame this weekend, makes me believe that it is far from impossible to keep up with internet developments! There are so many possibilities out there and they are increasing every minute!

What I found most intriguing about the workshop were the presenters: Shaun Stenning and Sean Rasmussen. They surprised me with their ethics and integrity in every aspect - their respective businesses, the workshop, dealing with workshop participants and clients.

It turns out, Internet Marketing is not the dog-eat-dog world I had always imagined it to be! Well, I have decided to find out more about it! My first step will be the book Secrets of Internet Entrpreneurs exposed by Dale Beaumont. Expect a review soon!

Internet Marketing Seminar in Sydney

2009-01-31T03:03:00.000-08:00

I have been inspired to post again - this weekend I am attending a fantastic Internet Marketing Seminar in Sydney: Smart Online Profit Systems.

And let me tell you what: those guys (Shaun Stenning and Sean Rasmussen), can really motivate you to get off you bum and make something happen! Even if it's just the first blog post after a few months!

It's Saturday night and we are only half way through the seminar. Yet I really felt like telling you about this energising, adventure-packed seminar!

Unlike many other events I have been to, this one is purely professional. Shaun and Sean are both successful - and wealthy - internet marketers. They have teamed up for this great seminar series 'from Aussies for Aussies' to teach the tools of the internet trade to anyone who is interested and committed.

And they have certainly proven themselves today. Sean was being challenged to build a new webpage on his blog and rank it as high as possible on Google. And guess what? He smashed all expectations by getting his page to a number one Google ranking for the key phrase Internet Marketing Workshop Sydney - in less than one hour! 55 minutes to be exact.

Well, Sean has had a lot of time to learn! He has made his fortune with affiliate marketing online and has had an amazing journey! He quitt his full-time job in 2005, after learning the ins and outs of Internet Marketing for 2 years whilst also working 12 hour shifts as an electrician. Now that is commitment! If you are interested in reading more about his amazing journey and how he now makes over $100,00 online per month, check out his eBook Year of the Affiliate. I know I will!

Reviews Preview

2008-09-18T17:58:00.001-07:00

I have so many books lying around, some have been read, others are still unread…. So I just wanted to give you a little indication of what’s to come. If you are particularly interested in a review, leave a comment and I will prioritise it for you!

Of course I am also open to suggestions, so if you think something essential is missing or if you have recently read a book that I might be interested in, let me know and I will get my hands on it!

Seminars:

Unleash the Power Within (UPW) with Anthony Robbins
Wealth Flight Experience with Roger Hamilton

Audio Sets:

The Power to Shape your Destiny (Anthony Robbins)

Books:

Health and Fitness:

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto
The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer and Jim Mason

Personal Development:

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
The Riches Within by John Demartini

Wealth:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Your Life Your Legacy by Roger Hamilton
Wink and Grow Rich by Roger Hamilton
Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas
Turning Passions into Profits by Chris Howard
How much is enough? By Arun Abey and Andrew Ford

Breakthrough to Success with Chris Howard (Seminar)

2008-09-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

Another weekend seminar with the title Breakthrough… Where is the individuality these days? It seems the marketability of the name counts more!

I am not one to judge the book by it’s cover, or the seminar by it’s name, so I turn up. Although it’s already Friday and the seminar is already in full throw, none of the ladies helping with the registration seem surprised. Later I find out that only half of those who registered actually turned up over the three days, which is explained by the fact that most attendants got their tickets for free (me included).

As I’m entering the seminar at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, everyone is filling in the page “Where am I most stuck in my life and why?” This seems to be the basic theme for the first day, with the following days exploring everything from negative emotions, to limiting decisions, to goal setting and strategic visioning.

Chris Howard claims strategies like affirmations and visionboarding are old-fashioned and only engage a small part of our conscience and subconscious. His explanations make sense, and instead Chris banks on more modern concepts, mainly neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). NLP techniques and qualifications are quite common among professionals like coaches, trainers and presenters all over the world. NLP aims to engage all senses, including feeling, smelling, hearing and seeing and thus is better positioned to effect long-term change in person. The concept is based on the assumption that the brain makes connections and associations which form habits that continue to affect our lives.

As a general (or should I say personal) example, we may associate chocolate with pleasure and relaxation. If we can rewire our brain to see the empty calories, the fat and sugar or even the exploitation of cocoa growers instead, we may be able to kick the choccy addiction for good. We wouldn’t want to chocolate anymore because of our negative associations.

Back at the seminar, we are busily writing down `where-we-are`s and `where-we-want-to-be`s in relation to health, family and career and analysing our values.

After a quick dinner break, in which the food court is so swamped it is nearly impossible to find a salad (did we just review our health?), we return to find the Australian version of Chris, Peter Shaw (Lead Trainer and Master Coach in Australia), on stage presenting for the rest of the night. This swap continues throughout the seminar and Chris is noticeably absent in the early mornings and late evenings….
Many people are unimpressed with Peter at first, but I warm to him throughout the weekend and by the end I am even looking forward to hearing him.

The main content of the seminar is similar to most personal development content: How can I perform at my best as often as possible, or even all of the time? How can I create wealth? How can I build better relationships?
The techniques used are slightly different. Chris has been heavily influenced by Hypnosis and similar techniques that engage the subconscious. At times I feel like I have landed in Little Britain a la ‘Look into my, look into my eyes. Don’t look around the eyes, look into my eyes!’

But it’s not nearly as scary as it sounds: Chris addresses everybody as a group and people can be as involved or detached as they like. But, as Chris constantly reminds us, only if we ‘play full out’ will we get the best from the seminar.

One technique in particular resonates with me: getting rid of limiting decisions.
Limiting decisions are decisions, or life circumstances that prevent us from moving forward. Mostly, we are unaware of these decisions and in some instances they indeed seem like the true life circumstances to us. Basic examples which were volunteered by seminar participants were themes like “I’m poor”, “I’m not deserving of wealth” or “I’m not good enough”. We discuss with a partner what that particular decision has cost us in our life so far and why we are absolutely committed to releasing and changing it.

The release process that follows guides us back in time to the moment we made the respective decision and we eliminate it. We envision colours, sounds, and smells, as we eliminate the decision from our life as if it never happened. Then we move back into the present noticing all the opportunities that we missed and the many that are to come. We conclude with a new empowering decision.

This process is repeated after later on and while the first process absolutely changed my way of thinking about a particular issue, the second one looses me along the way. It may have been the mood, the particular issue I was contemplating or the time of day.

In any case, I can see and feel the powerful results that can happen if you ‘play full out’. I feel happy and relieved; tears are streaming down my face uncontrollably while I am laughing out loud. The feeling is fantastic and I am bubbling with new ideas.

In the rest of the seminar we use similar imaginary journeys to set goals (by venturing into the future and dropping a certain image in the future time stream) and to rid ourselves of negative emotions.

Since Friday night, we keep hearing, from both Chris and Peter, that the best is yet to come. By Sunday (also dubbed Transformation Day) I am beginning to wonder whether there was any point in turning up to the previous sessions at all if we are still waiting for the best.
As the day goes on this reference leads to Chris’s sales pitch of his continued programs (for the special price of X for seminar participants only). This is pretty annoying for participants who don’t intend to sign up for additional courses particularly since we have had to endure continuous pitching of other courses and programs since we started the seminar.

Although I find the end of the seminar to be a let-down, it was well worth investing the time to come here. Particularly memorable are my personal little breakthrough, the new techniques and information and some interesting new people.

As for my choccy addiction, I still enjoy a good piece every now and then. And if all the hypnosis techniques should fail, I just brush my teeth. That does the trick every time…

Flow: The classic work on how to achieve happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Book)

2008-09-13T01:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, Flow: The Classic Work on how to Achieve Happiness has been catapulted to the number 1 spot on my Favourite Books list! That said, it took me about three and a half months to finish the whole thing. It’s not an easy read, but if you stick to it and if you’re willing to use your brain and imagination, it is worth every little bit of effort you put in.

To give you some background, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a professor and former chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago. For the past twenty years he has been involved in research relating to the concept of Flow and decided that his findings should be accessible to people outside academia as well. So he started writing and publishing outside of academia, for laymen (and laywomen).

Let me explain the concept of Flow that is at the basis of Csikszentmihalyi’s work: Flow experience is the total involvement with life, an experience that strikes the right balance of challenge and skills, that makes us learn and grow within ourselves. This can be any experience or activity: reading, playing chess, rock climbing, weaving, dancing, or any other experience that involves you entirely.

Csikszentmihalyi notes that his book aims to present the general principles that generate flow in people’s lives rather than insider tips on how to achieve happiness. It draws on many studies conducted by Csikszentmihalyi and his colleagues and uses concrete examples of how other people have transformed boring and meaningless lives into lives full of enjoyment.

According to Csikszentmihalyi, there are two main strategies that can be adopted to improve the quality of life: to make external conditions match our goals or to change how we experience external conditions to make them fit our experience better. A combination of the two would be an ideal path to improve life experience.

Although occasionally flow experience may occur by chance, it is much more likely to occur from a structured activity, or from an individual’s ability to make flow occur.

The following elements would need to be existent to create flow conditions:

challenging activity that requires skills
merging of action and awareness
clear goals and feedback
concentration on the task at hand
a sense of control
loss of self-consciousness
transformation of time.

If all of these conditions are met, the subject is much more likely to have a flow experience. Some activities are designed to be enjoyable and are thus much more likely to produce a flow experience, these include games, dancing, reading and so on. On the other hand an individual’s ability to create a flow experience for themselves is based on their ability to control psychic energy and direct their experience of outside events. For example, if an individual is focused on the activity itself, rather than the outcome, a flow experience is much more likely to occur.

Throughout the book, Flow is described in various circumstances:

Physical activity, or the body in flow
Mental activity or the flow of thought
Vocational activity or work as flow
Social activity , or flow in solitude or in company
Tragedies transformed by flow.

In the chapter that studies flow and vocational activity, Csikszentmihalyi makes a very interesting observation: most people have most of their flow experiences while they are working or on the job and least likely to experience flow during their leisure time. Yet people wish to spend less time at work and more time doing leisure activities. This raises several important questions about our society and people today: Are we so impressed by societal values and opinions, that we think we have to hate our jobs? That we think it would be preferable to do nothing all day and never grow our skill set or our mental capacity? And what would our society, or even humanity in general look like, if all of us remained in a state of complacency?

Csikszentmihalyi asks similar questions in the last, and in my opinion best, chapter of the book, The Making of Meaning. Here, all the threads weaved throughout the book come together and such major themes as life goals, purpose and meaning are discussed.

This chapter discusses how, why and when people decide who they are in life and what it is they want to achieve. Among psychologists exists a consensus that this process happens in a sequence of steps, starting with the preservation of the self and eventually leading the individual to merge the self with a larger whole (such as a religion, a life purpose, etc). However, Csikszentmihalyi notes that most people stay in the first stages of this development process and only “if a person is lucky and succeeds in controlling consciousness” they can progress to the final stage.

My favourite section in the book discusses purpose and life goals and encourages us to stick with our convictions:

“Purpose gives direction to one’s efforts, but it does not necessarily make life easier. Goals can lead to all sorts of trouble, at which point one is tempted to give them up and find some less demanding script by which to order one’s action. The price one pays for changing goals whenever opposition threatens is that while one may achieve a more pleasant and comfortable life, it is likely that it will end up empty and void of meaning.”

I think this is true for everyone of us. Some may not have any life goals or a strong sense of purpose, while others may have an exact plan of what they want to achieve. Our resolution should be the same, find our life purpose, live for it and fight for it. Because with a life purpose, we can turn every experience along the way into flow!

You can check out Flow: The Classic Work on how to Achieve Happiness at Amazon.

Count Your Blessings By Dr John F. Demartini (Book)

2008-09-10T02:30:00.000-07:00

Count Your Blessings was my very first encounter with Dr Demartini and I nearly didn’t make it! A friend had recommended the seminar and I thought it would be good to read one of his books in preparation. As I looked at the local library, this was the only one available (probably not the best selection criteria!) so I went for it!

I had done a bit of research on Dr Demartini on the internet (including YouTube) and can’t say that I was entirely convinced. The book didn’t really help. The introduction and the first chapter were so cheesy I would have stopped reading if it wasn’t the personal recommendation. The cheesiness of the book seemed to tie in with the slick pictures of Dr Demartini I had seen on YouTube…. I didn’t really get him at all!

But as I kept reading Count Your Blessings, a few topics sparked my interest: mainly the health aspect and the experiences John draws on from when he ran a Chiropractic Practice. A basic theme of the book is that your psychology influences your state of health and your body. For instance, if you hold a grudge deep inside for years, or you are always bitter, you might develop cancer. So John’s theory is that if you dissolve your grudge (or any other emotional charge) you will heal again.

I am not sure it is that simple, but then again, many of us never know until we experience a serious health condition ourselves. Only recently I read an interesting article about a medical practitioner who is a pioneer in the area of evidence-based medicine. When she developed an aggressive, terminal cancer, she turned mainly to alternative medicines (including Yoga, meditation, certain nutritional concepts) and is still alive, a year after her initial diagnosis (she writes a blog for a medical journal). But I definitely believe that we can be healthier when we are grateful, don’t hold any grudges and see all facets of the situation we are in.

As in all of his books, at the end of every chapter, John includes Affirmations and certain exercises for the reader to complete. Most of these exercises focus on gratitude, and as the title suggests, counting our blessings. The underlying theme is, the more we are grateful for, the more we receive to be grateful for. The Attitude is Gratitude!

Of course I completed the exercises (more or less involved) and at the time I had pulled a muscle in my leg. I had been to the physiotherapist numerous times without any improvement. One of the exercises required the reader to focus on the positive aspects of their illness / problem.

If you have ever completed any of Demartini’s exercises (such as the Collapse Process), you know that it’s not as easy as it sounds. You are often asked to come up with reasons or justifications and that doesn’t mean just two or three. The minimum requirement is normally 20-50 reasons (if not more)! The reasoning behind this is so the reasons are not only logical, but become emotional as well. You feel gratitude, rather than think gratitude. And I am convinced that this method (feeling rather than thinking) makes a difference!

So I completed this exercise and afterwards I kind of forgot about it. But after a few days I noticed that the pain my leg was entirely gone! I couldn’t pinpoint when, where or how it happened, whether it had anything to do with Demartini’s exercise or the physio, all I knew was that it was gone! I know this is a measly example, especially compared to Demartini’s claims that he has cured cancer patients with this method.. But experiencing something first hand, not matter how small, makes a totally different impact! And it definitely led me to finishing the book.

You can check out Count Your Blessings at Amazon.

Secrets to Financial Success by Dr John F Demartini (Audio Set)

2008-09-10T01:49:00.000-07:00

Just like John’s other Audio Sets (especially The Art of Communicating), I enjoy listening to this one. If you have read How to make One hell of a Profit and still get to Heaven you will find this CD set is repeating most of the concept. I enjoy listening to it though and by hearing some of the concepts repeatedly, they are easier to understand.

This CD set is quite long (8 CDs) and it is a recorded version of John’s Secrets to Financial Success Seminar. It addresses both personal finances and finances for businesses and many of the concepts for these areas are similar and grounded in the same ideas. I focused more on the personal finance ideas as this is more applicable in my life at the moment.

Similarly to the book, the basic concept of this Audio Set is to progress your financial literacy and investments by starting with the basics, such as a high interest savings account and progress from there. The slogan is “Earn the right to risk”!

High interest savings account (Saving)
Term deposit (Saving)
Government Bonds (Investing)
Blue Chip Shares / Established Real Estate (Investing)
Other shares / Other Real Estate (Investing)
Initial Public Offerings / Speculative Real Estate (Speculating)
Equity Funding (Speculating)

This system is based on the fact that we can digest a fluctuation of up to 10 percent in our financial portfolio without any psychological stress. Anything more would cause severe stress and psychological instability.

So the trade-off of having smaller returns in a high interest saving account than in a share portfolio is the security of knowing the money in our savings account is safe whatever happens to the stock or property markets.

Considering the downturn in the economy at moment, and the fact that many younger generations haven’t really experienced a downturn of the economy before, this concept seems like a good idea. Although it can be hard, to watch others make incredible returns during good times, the idea is that the slow and steady will win the race.

I like the practical advice John gives to encourage us to start saving:

As per the 10 percent fluctuation rule, he recommends to either save 10 percent or a nominated amount each pay period (which ever is greater). Every three months, we should increase this amount by 10 percent. If we started at $100 per week, we would increase this to $110 after three months and $121 after six months.

If we ever find ourselves with some spare cash, this can of course also go into the savings account. But remember, the savings account is not to be touched for anything but saving or investing! Once we have managed to save our first cushion (about 60-90 days, or three months worth of wages), we start to save the same amount (60-90 days or three months) for the next category on the list (see above).We can use the time it takes us to save the next amount to learn about the new investment category and therefore “Earn the right to risk”.

John also has some tricks up his sleeves to motivate us to keep saving: For example future projections on how much money we will have in one years time, two years time, five years time, etc. To do this we calculate our current savings amount, consider the 10 percent increase every three months and the reinvestment of the interest. This will slowly lead to exponential growth of our savings! Eventually, we will have saved enough money that we can live of the interest alone!
The time this takes is of course dependent on the amount of money we save each week. But no matter how long it takes, I find it very motivating and inspiring that a slow and steady approach can have returns that will eventually make us financially independent.

I took the advice to heart and have opened an additional savings account. There are heaps of internet based savings accounts that pay great interest rates and don’t charge any fees. Now I have one transaction account, one savings-then-spending account and one savings-then-investing account! My Savings-then-investing account gets fed automatically every fortnight! Now I only need to do those calculations to see how long it will take me to become financially independent…

The Art of Communicating by Dr John F. Demartini (Audio Set)

2008-09-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

John’s tapes are some of my favourites to listen to. He is very funny at times and I have definitely had a few looks on the bus when I was laughing out loud!
The Art of Communicating is a fairly short CD and centres around communication (surprise!), values and relationships. The basic message is, that we all live according to our own value systems which can be vastly different from one another.

We perceive the world according to our values and the priorities in our lives. Think of the classic example: How do a businessman and a mother perceive the same situation? For instance a childcare centre may be perceived by a mother as a haven for her children to play and learn, while the businessman may see how the centre is not earning enough money and not operating properly as a business.

We can’t expect others to change their value system. So the key is to find out about their value system and to communicate in it. Your boss may only be interested in meeting the budget, but if you show him/her how an excursion will increase motivation and productivity and promote team work, they might just re-evaluate your proposal.

One of the most interesting points that John raises is that many people have no idea what their value system actually looks like! So he proposes a basic formula to find out what your REAL priorities are in life (and not what you pretend they are). Ask yourself the following questions:

•How do you spend your time?
•How do you fill your space?
•How do you spend your energy?
•How do you spend your money?
•What do you think about?
•What do you visualise? What do you see for yourself, what is your dream?
•What do you talk about (to yourself and others)?
•What do you react to?

You can write down a few answers (say three) for each question and see which one occur repeatedly. The one you have named most often, will be your highest value. You may just surprise yourself!

John also makes an interesting point about ‘Should-ing’. Whenever we think ‘I should do this’ or ‘I should do that’ we are imposing someone else’s value system on ourselves. Clearly, if we think we should go to the gym, but we’d much rather stay at home and read a book, we value reading a book more but are imposing on ourselves the idea that going to the gym is more important. Similarly, if we spend our monthly wage on a handbag and think ‘I really should be saving this money’, we clearly value the handbag more but are thinking about our parents who are telling us to save our money to invest.

Recognising this can be really powerful: every time I now think ‘I should’ I start to analyse whether I really want to do something. Do I just think I need to do this because everyone else is doing this? Or is it actually helping me to go where I want to go? If it is helping me and I can see the connection to my value system, it suddenly changes from ‘I should do this’ to ‘I want to do this because it helps me achieve X’. If it is really just a ‘should’, then I won’t even bother doing them!

All in all I find this CD is definitely worth listening to! It’s so short you can listen to it in one go and in fact I often re-listen to this one. Whether it is the whole thing or just bits and pieces that I particularly like, this CD is a good reminder of how we communicate and interact with people and definitely helps to increase self-awareness!

Audio Books / CD Sets

2008-09-09T04:49:00.000-07:00

I really don’t like fiction audio books, but when a friend lent me a few CD sets from different speakers, I thought I should give it a go.

I always wondered how these sets sell so well and now I totally understand! The difference of listening to fiction or non-fiction is like day and night!

For me, reading fiction is about getting lost in the moment, about imagination and creativity. I can only get to that state if I am the one interpreting the book, if someone else interprets the words, the intonation and the characters I loose the connection to the text.

But reading, or listening to non-fiction is a totally different game! It’s about learning, logical thinking, and applying someone else’s theory to our own lives. And I enjoy listening to this just as much as I enjoy reading it.

And the convenience! I love listening to tapes on the bus or in the car, when I am going for a walk or a run, while I am cooking. Hooray for multitasking!

The Breakthrough Experience with Dr John F. Demartini (Seminar)

2008-09-09T04:45:00.000-07:00

Apparently John Demartini came to mainstream fame because he was one of the people interviewed in the film The Secret. I wouldn’t know, I haven’t actually seen The Secret and from what I can gather I wouldn’t really like it.

So, how did I happen to go to his seminar? On the recommendation of a trusted friend, I decided to take a leap of faith and attend the seminar.

I met all sorts of people at this seminar, an Art teacher, who went to the introductory session and just ‘had to learn more’, a Melbourne couple who flew to Sydney to attend the seminar as they couldn’t make the Melbourne session, and a lot of repeaters who had attended the same seminar previously but wanted to attend again, including a lady who had been to the seminar in Auckland, NZ the previous weekend but couldn’t get enough.

These seemed very high credentials for a seminar that only goes over two days. Initially I thought “Didn’t they pay attention the first time around? Why do they have to come again?” But this is the difference with The Breakthrough Experience. Some seminars advertise that you never have to come back, once you have been. With this one you could do 20 seminars and still learn more each time!

Let me explain:

The first half day we learnt the basics. John’s main concept that the whole world exists in equilibrium: for every good there is a bad, for every nice there is evil, for every white there is a black. The basis of this concept is quantum physics in which there is a positive for every negative. This theoretical stage of the seminar is intellectually challenging and, funnily enough, I enjoyed it while half of the complex, theoretical talk went straight over my head. I was kind of wondering what I had got myself into!

But the backbone of the seminar is the afternoon / evening of the first day. We completed the collapse process with John’s Demartini Method. The idea behind this process is to collapse the emotional associations you have with certain persons or events. This could either be an extreme positive association, like infatuation, or a negative association, like resentment. The idea is, that after finishing the process, one would let go of any emotional charge, thus returning the person or event back to their natural equilibrium.

We started the process at around 2pm with about 130 people in the room. There was no talking, everyone was concentrating intently on their collapse and qualified facilitators walked around, helping anyone who got stuck by themselves. You only hear whispers and the occasional weep, people are crying with joy, fear, relief.

But let me tell you, this is difficult and some people were so resistant that they left and did not return to the seminar at all!

About three to four hours into the collapse process, I had hit a few walls, was ready to give up because I thought it was silly, being lightly prodded by the facilitators if they saw me drifting of in my thoughts. And then I had a really exciting and illuminating moment: we attract in others what we suppress in ourselves.

The theory is based on the fact, that we all have all character traits. Due to circumstances, societal influences, or personal decisions, we may decide that we do not like a certain trait, we despise it. This is our ‘disowned’ part: although we still possess this trait, we suppress it. But since everything exists in equilibrium, we attract our disowned parts from our environment: our spouse, children, brother, sister, boss, work colleague.

Through the collapse process you accept that you own this trait just as much as the next person, it won’t bother you anymore. You won’t despise it anymore. By the way, this also works the other way around, you can collapse a trait you admire in others, but you think you lack. Through the collapse process you can see that you also own this trait that you admire. This can be extremely powerful and the John actually recommends to collapse everyone you admire, such as mentors and idols, so you can realise that you have the same traits.

Underlying questions during the collapse process are “What would it be like if the person / event were the exact opposite?” and “What would the world be like if the person /event was how I wish they were?” By answering these questions, we can recognise more than ever that things happen for a reason, that whatever happened in the past, has made us who we are today, and that we should be grateful for that.

Ideally the collapse process results in letting go of emotional charges and seeing the person or event in its natural state, with pure love and gratitude rather than prejudices and preconceptions imposed by society. As a result people reported relief, better sleep and even improved physical condition such as less chronic pain.

Most people, especially the first-timers like me needed a lot of encouragement from the facilitators to get through. Some people gave up and left the seminar altogether, some may have pretended to conclude the process, but the majority of people were in tears of gratitude and joy by the end of the night, after an exhausting 10 hours of letting go of emotional charges.

The second day of the seminar builds on the collapse process from the previous night and John explains how to use the method to deal with grief and loss. The afternoon concludes with a future projection of goals and purposes, and where we want our life to be. Due to the time pressures, I didn’t find this as useful and beneficial as the colapse process. But then again, there is only so much you can squeeze into two days. Which is why at the end of the seminar, the company organising these seminars, Global 1 Training, delivers the typical sales presentation of ‘advanced courses’ that are available.

I haven’t signed up for any additional courses, the cost being a major prohibiting factor, but can definitely say that thoroughly enjoyed everything I learnt at this seminar.

One of the major advantages is the ability to take away the Demartini Method, or collapse process and being able to do them over and over again. With promises that the process becomes easier when often practiced, John recommends doing one collapse process a week. I have to admit, I haven’t kept up the collapsing, it would take a lot of patience, motivation, determination and time. Which is exactly why you see so many people return to this seminar!

How to Make One Hell of a Profit and still get to Heaven by Dr John F. Demartini

2008-09-04T05:28:00.000-07:00

I actually bought How to make One Hell of a Profit and still go to Heaven while attending one of John’s seminars (The Breakthrough Experience), otherwise I would have never even picked up a book with a cheesy title like this!

But, I was floating in the Demartini experience, which is exactly why they sell so much stuff at seminars!

But, let me tell you, I’m very glad I bought this book!

I don’t normally like finance books (you may not believe me, when you see how many I have actually read and enjoyed, but it’s the truth!), and you certainly won’t find me in the ‘wealth’ section of the book shop. Yet, this is definitely an area I can improve in my life, and as an independent woman, it can never hurt to learn about finances and put some plans in my place… I don’t want to end up at one of those seminars called A man is not a financial plan!

If you have read some of John’s books or been to one of his seminars, you will know that he draws on every possible area of study to support his theories: quantum physics, psychology, astronomy, religion, history… the list goes on. Ans this is exactly what makes him exciting. Emotionally, you can connect to his concepts, yet to understand where these concepts come from is intellectually challenging. John takes turns you didn't see coming and he sees angles others would have hardly glimpsed.

In How to make One Hell of a Profit and still go to Heaven, he explores various concepts, most of them based on the psychology of wealth:

At the most basic level, he explains the principles of fair exchange. We pay something, we get something. There is no such thing as something for nothing. This sounds very basic, but is a very important principle. Sure, most people will be happy about a freebie as part of a marketing or promotions gig, but constantly asking for freebies, wanting to win something or getting something for nothing is not fair. It’s like Karma, what goes around, comes around!

Once, I was in a job that paid quite a lot for fairly little work. My skills were totally under utilised and I often felt like I didn’t deserve what I got paid. I tried to justify it by saying to myself that they had agreed to the deal. But it didn’t change how I felt about it. After about a year, my invoices stopped being paid. I ended up taking them to court but never saw a penny. After learning about the principle of fair exchange, it seems clear to me that it could have only happened because I didn’t feel like I deserved what I got paid! Otherwise I would have fought much harder for what I thought I deserved.

Another basic and even more powerful principle in this book is about psychological balance:

Basically, if we have a lot of money we are elated, excited, our head is in the clouds. If we don’t have any money we are depressed, feel worthless and want to burry our head in the sand.
John’s method to avoid this bi-polar reaction to money is to build a safety cushion. By saving money every month (he advises an automatic savings plan) in an account that is set up solely for saving and investing (no, not investing in shoes and handbags!) we build up a ‘save-ty’ cushion.

The general guideline is to save about three month’s worth of your wage. Once you have saved this much you start investing in a very safe, low risk investment (for example a term deposit). Once you have three months worth of savings in this category, you move on to the next one, which is a little more risky. This way you work yourself up, until you eventually get to the more risky strategies, like leveraging your stockmarket investments with margin loans.

The psychology behind this concept is, that if we loose 10 percent or less of our money it doesn’t really affect us. We can continue business as usual without having to worry how to pay the mortgage on our house or put food in our mouths. So the bigger the cushion, the less you are affected by fluctuations. On the contrary, if all your money is leveraged in the stockmarket and all you can think about is the margin call you are desperately trying to avoid – then that is most likely what you are going to get!

The basic concepts of this book are what makes it worthwhile.

Of course, John also has lots of anecdotes of wealthy (or previously not so wealthy clients) who adapted his methods. The little psychological tips and tricks include carrying as much money as you want to earn in a day (watch out for the pick-pockets!) or writing yourself a cheque for the amount of money you desire.
And an interesting claim: Within three years, most of his readers (and attendees of his wealth seminars) are self-employed and on their way to financial independence…. Well I wrote that cheque, and it’s only been a few months, so who knows what’s going to happen?

You can check out How to make One Hell of a Profit and still go to Heaven on Amazon.

Review Your Life!

2008-09-02T02:43:00.000-07:00

Many of us think about this every day – we may be stressed because there is too much to do, or we may be bored and unmotivated because we are lacking inspiration. Where do you turn to for answers? I read. Anything I can get my hands on!

I soak up every interesting concept I can find that seems applicable to my life – it may be health and fitness related, it may be finance related, it may be related to the environment, or simply a concept about life itself!

So I decided to share my thoughts with you. What concepts I have come across and how they have affected my life – how I think, do, act. And which books should stay on the shelf forever…

Why don’t you take the opportunity to review your life? What have you always wanted to learn? What have you always wanted to change? What I have you always wanted to do? Do it now!

I bet also in your life there are areas in which you haven’t reached your potential. Areas which you can improve and become better than you ever imagined!

Why not reassess how you have been doing things, learn something new, and change your way? Remember the classic saying “If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you have always got!”

Your comments and feedback on my whole blog are welcome! My opinions are by no means the be all and end all. Maybe you have read the same book or been to the same seminar and had a totally different take on it!

Feel free to send me reading suggestions, your favourite books, tapes and speakers as well. Whatever has inspired you is certainly worth a review!