The Positive Persuasion

It is officially 2009 today!  I know many of us had an incredible 2008, and others had a year of struggling.  I had a combination of the two. On one hand, I started this site and business, an another business. I also met some of the most incredible people I now call my closest friends.  I opened new doors to new opportunities.  I learned more about life than I ever thought I could in 365 days.

On the other hand, I lost a lot of money in my investments, the engine on my car went out, and I had to pull strings to fix it.  I saw my biggest account come to an end due to economic hardships.  I watched businesses fail, and best friends get laid off.  I’ve had moments where I lost sight of my own achievements and goals.

So as 2009 begins, I stress to everyone that you start t off on the right foot.  Live passionately.  Live purposefully.  Live just to live, and not to waste away at the office.  Breathe in life every day, and release your stress every night.  The world you desire is already here - you’re living in it.  You just happen to be stuck in a negative hallucination of what you think you life is really made of.  Take a deep breath, and open your eyes to the wonders around you.

Namaste!

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If any of you have received an email from me, you’ve probably noticed the Latin in my signature.  “Audentes fortuna iuvat” - Fortune favors the bold.  This is so paramount for me, and those in business.  There is so much uncertainty in business - especially in the current economy.  We must not forget that the whole reason we started our own companies it the thrill of venturing out there and ‘doing it ourselves.’  While there are risks in everything you do, it is the thrill of emerging victorious that compels you to press on.

Let’s step away from business for a second - not everyone has a business.  This phrase applies to everything in life.  Think about it.  As a single guy, I know there are times when I’m out someplace and I see a woman I would love to talk to, but I chicken out or convince myself that I have too much going on to worry about meeting someone.  Have you ever been in a situation in which you knew it was going to take some moxie, but if you did it, you had the chance to emerge victorious?  Think about a time you chose to stay back and not risk it.  What do you think you might have missed out on?  What would it have been like if you had just gone for it?

Spend a minute or two and imagine being ‘that guy (or girl)’ for a day.  You know, the super-confident, attractive, intelligent, capable, commanding, yet down to Earth person that has no fear - that’s who I want you to imagine being for a moment.  It’s not about trying to be someone else - it’s about removing that FEAR of uncertainty / rejection from the person you already are.

See yourself walking up to that guy at Starbucks and introducing yourself to him. See yourself having all the right things to say.  See yourself feeling fearless. Now see him smiling at you, and you know the risk was all worth it.

Take a moment and imagine yourself, after eating lunch at the same place for months, finally going over and talking to that woman from the office across the street.  Imagine having all the right things to say.  Imagine seeing her smile and laughing with you.  Imagine how incredible it feels to be rewarded for being fearless.

Good fortune comes at a cost, my friends.  You have to have faith in yourself.  You have to look fear in the eye and press forward.  Faith is the only known antidote to failure, and is truly the golden secret to living without fear.  So today I want you to imagine what it would be like to live without fear, and then go forth and BE BOLD.

AUDENTES FORTUNA IUVAT!

Source - English translation from Virgil’s Epic, Aeneid . (70 B.C.E - 19 B.C.E.)

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As I sit here listening to Kings of Leon (which I advise everyone to go out and pick-up), I reflect a little on today.  I am between checks from my clients, so I’m pretty damn broke.  I have big dreams and big plans, but I often feel like money issues take the wind from my sails.  If you’re like me, even the great days can change with a looming debt over your head.  However, if you’re truly like me, you also realize that the bad days can change as well. The smallest gestures can often be the most influential.

Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon I head up to the same gas station around the corner from my place, and purchase a couple Lotto tickets - Mega Millions to be specific.  Tonight’s drawing is for $128 Million. I keep an open mind about it and figure, “somebody’s gonna Lotto…might as well be me!”  I always make my purchases from the same young guy. He’s always in a good mood, and we joke about the Lotto all the time.  Last week I gave him a fresh $5 roll of dimes.  Yes I really did.  I had them on me, so why not?

Today I gave him $3 in change as well. One drawing with my personal numbers, and two quick-picks. We laughed about scrounging around for change for Lotto like it was our last resort.  As I said earlier, I’m on a tight budget today because I’m between checks, so I wasn’t feeling very abundant.  My ‘what the hell have I got to lose - I’m poor’ attitude wasn’t received well this time around.

“You’re not poor, my friend,” he said.  “Look at your coat, your shoes, your car. You are not poor at all. You have many things to be thankful for.”

He is absolutely right. I looked at that ticket in my hand, and I just felt better.  It wasn’t about possibly winning Lotto - we ALL feel good about that.  It was about his act of reminding me of my current wealth. I’m not wealthy by any monetary standards, but I have things I enjoy, and people in my life that never cease to amaze me. I have the most incredible family of friends on Earth. I make my friends part of my family, and I treat them as if they have always been there.  I am grateful every day for the wonders in my life.

The moral of this story is that I felt pretty poor up until that point tonight.  Simply reminding me of the often overlooked luxuries in my everyday, the kid at the gas station made my day.  The smallest suggestions, my friends, can make a world of difference.

Your assignment now is to be that person for someone else. YOU be the one to make the smallest suggestion and make someone’s day. Write me an email or post a comment and tell me what you did.

Peace, Love, and a million successes to you!

Blake

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Well, I am proud to say that this year’s Movember (month formally known as November) has come to a close, and my donations have landed me a ticket to the Gala Party this weekend.

Movember is a fund raising event that spans the entire month of November in which participating men grow mustaches and raise money for Men’s health issues.  These issues focus primarily on raising awareness for Prostate Cancer, but other ailments are also included.  I’ll be very glad to get rid of this mustache, but I am proud of myself and my teammates for making it happen for the last 30 days!

If you’re going, I look forward to seeing you there!

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I was recovering from a wonderful evening out in Chicago last night and I had a few moments of reflection. I have been through a lot so far this year, and while a lot of it was good, a lot of it wasn’t. I reflected on what kind of baggage I may be carrying around, and of course, vehemently denying its existence. I think there’s a lot to be said about people who truly don’t hold grudges.

A lot of people I talk to have trouble reaching their goals and manifesting great things in their lives because they hold grudges to passionately. Sometimes these grudges are under the surface, and only come out if provoked. Other times it’s written all over their faces. Sometimes we hold onto them for good reason, and other times there’s no reason at all. In that light, I have a confession to make.

Anger can sometimes be a comfort to me. I’m certainly not a violent person, nor am I an angry person. However, the adrenaline rush delivered when angry or infuriated with someone or something can be like a drug. It’s powerful, and addictive, and destructive. And I had a hard time learning how to release that need to feel the power of the anger.

I learned such a valuable lesson over the last year. I learned that blame is absolutely ridiculous. Accountability and blame are so similar, but one is about responsibility, and the other is about ego. I have made mistakes in my life. I’ve made big ones and small ones, insignificant ones, and little mistakes that turned out to be incredible opportunities. I forgave myself and the people that have hurt me, and I don’t blame anymore.

Now, don’t be confused; I still remember the events of my life that brought me here, and I remember all the roles everyone played. The difference is that I am ultimately responsible for my own life, and if anything is going to stand in my way from achieving something, it’s going to be to no one’s fault but my own. When you can look back and take lessons away from moments you regret, or situations in which you blame someone else for wronging you, you release it.

So the exercise for today is to take an immediate inventory of your anger - more importantly, take inventory of the moments in your life that still make you angry. Write them all down. Write out who was involved, and how their role justifies your blame. Now take a positive lesson from it. Was it really his or her fault? Did it impact your life so negatively that your very existence is worse off now? Identify any positive event that could have come from that moment. I’ll give you an example.

On December 1st, 2000, I was involved in a car accident that should / could have killed me. I was a passenger in a car that afternoon, and the driver failed to yield or look properly, and a school bus T-Boned the car on my side. I woke up pinned inside the car in the neighboring front yard. The jaws of life cut me out of that coupe. I had such a sever brain contusion on my left side from the impact that it was soon realized my dream of being an architect was not in the cards any longer. My brain just could not put those numbers together anymore. She was psychologically traumatized, but otherwise in great shape. I was busted up and sedentary because she couldn’t pay attention on the road - this was not the right attitude.

In the wake of that collision, I was laid up in my house with nothing to do but fight off the post-traumatic-stress-disorder and anxiety attacks. I did this by picking up my guitar - an instrument I had never learned to play, and after owning for 24 hours, I put it in the closet for nearly 5 years. Now I was just playing notes, and letting my brain suddenly tell me what to do next. To make a long story short, I am a completely different person today because I was a victim of circumstance and negligence 8 years ago. What have I accomplished so far?

I have patched up my relationship with my father, I have started two businesses, I have a degree in Business and Finance, I have several certifications for business, I have the most amazing friends (people I would not have otherwise met), and after facing my own mortality that chilly afternoon, I am truly grateful to be alive and telling the story today.

The bottom line is that life really is too short. There will always be people trying to screw you if that’s the weight and attitude you carry around. If you forgive those in your life that may have wronged you, and you forgive yourself for your actions, you can release that weight. Imagine carrying around the attitude and force behind the belief that people are always coming into your life to bring great things. Imagine flaunting your positive strength, and reaping the results. Flexing that muscle and watching amazing things happen. That’s the power of forgiveness. You can be totally forgiven by totally forgiving.

Peace, Love, and a million successes to you.

Blake

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Think about your life right now. What does your current life entail? If you were to write a book about your current situation, how many chapters do you think you would need to explain how you got here? In other words, if each excuse were a chapter, how many chapters would your book have?

“I don’t have the money I should because the country’s financial markets are falling apart.”

“If I had only worked harder, and spent more time giving it my all, I could have gotten that promotion.”

“I am single because after my last breakup I just haven’t had time to find someone new.”

This is your life, and the only person who can change it is you.  While I’m not a religious man by any means, I have an incredible faith in myself, the unseen workings of the Universe, and the will of people with a dream.  Tonight I caught Joel Osteen on the TV, and he spoke about having a ‘No Excuses Mentality’ to life.  Mentioning that you are the only one who can change your life, if you have faith in God.

Now, whatever you choose to call your God is your choice, and I’m not talking about following any certain religious path, but the message is crystal clear. The Universe (God, source energy, etc) has endowed each and every one of us with every resource necessary to achieve absolutely anything we desire.  There is no such thing as a ‘handicap’ in life.  Dwelling on your perceived weaknesses, or resting on the excuses as to why you haven’t achieved what you want does nothing but prohibit you from reaching your goals. What you perceive as a disadvantage may be an advantage in another’s eyes.  Think about it.

Think about Mark Goffeney.  Mark was born without arms.  he learned to play guitar with his feet.  Now, a normal (run-of-the-mill) guitar player won’t make headlines unless he’s got something else to go on, like a band, or another talent.  Mark  is now known around the globe. Mark even played Eric Clapton’s ‘Tears in Heaven’ in my high school auditorium back in the late ’90s.  He chose to make his disadvantage an advantage.

People always say that God never gives you more than you can handle.  It’s also been said that everything happens for a reason.  From this point forward I want you to make a commitment to yourself.  I want you to commit to your success, and all your desires coming to fruition through faith, and living without excuses.

The Universe delivers to you whatever you desire through three steps:

Ask.  Believe.  Receive.

Take command of your life, and ask for what you truly desire out of it.  Take responsibility for what comes to you, because nobody else is going to. It’s your life, and you’re in charge!  Believe that you are in control, and that you are capable of achieving everything you desire.  This is the faith in yourself and where ‘living without excuses’ comes into play.  You will no longer make excuses for yourself, and it will change any disadvantage you may perceive into the exact advantage you need to push you through to the next level. You will receive what you have asked for when your faith is invincible to adversity. When you truly believe you are achieving your goals, and that great things are coming to you - that’s when you’ll be right, and great things will come to you!

Today can be the first day of the rest of your life - a life you can start anew.

Today I choose to live without excuses, and instead, live with purpose, drive, and direction.

Peace, love, and a million successes to you all.

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I wanted to post a note and let you all know what’s been going on for the last month. Basically, I’ve been working very diligently on wrapping up “The Applied Happiness Inspired Action Workbook.” How exciting does that sound!? It’s been an incredible month, and I’ve finished the book, but I’m having a little trouble making it available to all of you.

Did you know that shopping carts can be free, but shopping carts for digital downloads like audio and eBooks can be as much as $100 a month? Holy cow! I’m trying to find a better, less expensive, way to make it available for purchase online. I will keep everyone posted, and hopefully I’ll have the workbook (which has gotten incredibly positive reviews) ready for you by the end of this week!

The workbook will be in PDF format, and will by $7.95 to instantly download from this site. If you want it in hard copy, it will be $9.95, and it will come with an Applied Happiness silicone wristband! It is a daily reminder to apply your happiness and positive attitude to manifesting all that you desire! Stay tuned for much more to come!

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What a wicked cheapening of your own self worth it is when you believe that you should just lower your standards, and aim for the middle.  Some people actually believe there’s a better chance of getting closer to what you want when you stop aiming so high.  While this may deliver results faster, and they may be ‘good enough’ for right now, you will inevitably suffer from a completely preventable issue: Envy.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “There comes a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance, that imitation is suicide, and that he must take himself for better or worse, as his portion.”

When he wrote that, he was talking about accepting yourself - for better or worse - and letting go of your insecurities.  Life is far too short to try and be like someone else, or worse, spend your time envious of what others have.  You reap what you sow. Let me expain this a littler better.

We all know the guy, or girl that has a pretty negative attitude about the dating scene.  We have all been there - going out and not meeting the person of your dreams enough nights in a row, and it’s enough to discourage even the strongest of human beings.  Let’s assume he told you he was giving up on finding ‘the one’ and has decided to lower his standards.  His reason is that he ‘doesn’t want to be alone anymore, and if he lowers his standards and expectations, he won’t ever be disappointed.’  This is, unfortunately, incredibly wrong.  Not only are you disappointed in the other person (inevitably you will realize he/she is not who you want), but you’ll be incredibly disappointed in yourself.

You will see others with brilliant, radiant relationships with beautiful significant others, and you’ll envy them. This is ignorant because YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP TOO.  This all ties into your self-confidence, and your faith in the laws of the Universe.  Yes, both women and men alike are attracted to confident people, but even shy guys can snag a knock-out.  Quiet girls can land a magnificent man as well.

Enough explaining - I want you to try this exercise.

Write out a list of 20 characteristics you want in your next (and possibly last) mate.  You can make a much bigger list, but this is a quick exercise. The first 10 qualities are MUST HAVES, and can be about the person’s physical attributes, sense of humor, age, personality, or anything you want! These re absolute deal-breakers.  These 10 MUST be there.

The next 10 attributes are desires, but do not all have to be there.  They can be about anything as well, but not deal-breakers.  For example, the first 10 could include something about the person being tall. The second 10 might include something about him or her having a college degree.

Write this list out and read it back to yourself. Make corrections, but DO NOT MAKE ALL 20 NEGOTIABLE.  The first 10 MUST be met before you will consider dating this person.  Set your standards as high as you like.  The law of abundance is at work, and there is absolutely no shortage of perfect people in the world for you. When you have the list complete, and you’re happy with the standards you’ve set, write one more thing on that piece of paper:

“These are the greatest qualities in my boyfriend / girlfriend”

At the bottom of the list write, “He/she is on his/her way to me, because I asked for him/her, and I have complete faith that the Universe has greatness coming to me.”

Fold this piece of paper up, and put it in your purse or wallet.  Nobody has to know you did this exercise if you do not want them to.  This is for you.  Every morning I want you to wake up and write out two senteces about how grateful you are that he/she is coming to you.  Each night I want you to do the same - express gratitude for being one day closer to his/her arrival.

Try this exercise right now, and see where it takes you.  I guarantee your entire outlook on the dating scene, and your ‘luck’ in it will change dramatically.  Honestly, don’t question it - what do you have to lose? Just make your list, write your words, feel grateful, and experience a change in your world.

You completely control what happens to you, and what doesn’t.  If you set your standards low, and rule out great love, great love will never show up.  If you set your standards at whatever level you choose, and decide what you want, you’ll get it exactly.

Your life is the most amazing thing you’ll ever have the chance to experience! Make it the best!  Great love is the single, most incredible energy in existence.  Don’t discount your standards, and miss out on the chance to live great love!

Don’t you want a love like this?  You deserve it.  You can have it if you ask for it.

Ask. Believe. Receive.

Peace, Love, and a million successes to you!

Blake

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I was talking to my mother today about riddles and how it’s usually the simplest thing that makes them so difficult, and it got me thinking.  What an incredible truth about life.  We are presented a problem - a simple one - and our brains fire off a million solutions, emotions, actions, suggestions, thoughts - ultimately we sometimes end up completely lost.  It’s time to step out of your mind, and just choose the easiest, most novel of choices to solve life’s riddles.  Here, let me give you a couple examples to see how fast you can solve them. These riddles are incredibly easy; you just have to stop think about it, and answer.

A guy rides into town on Friday, stays three days, and leaves on Friday.  How did he do it?

Two coins add up to $0.30, and one of them is not a nickel.  What are the coins?

Are you firing off possible solutions yet?  Try this one.

You walk into a room and close the door.  There is a bathtub, so you get in and start running the water.  It begins to fill-up, so you try o shut off the water and you cannot.  The door is sealed shut, so the water is rising higher and higher.  You see two windows up at the top of the room, so you figure you can just float up to them and get out, but as you near them you learn they are sealed shut too.  How do you get survive?

Life is filled with riddles at every turn.  By default, from years of being turned on, your brain is conditioned to fire a million ideas, suggestions, and emotions every millisecond.  90% of the time this amounts to worry, anxiety, fear - all from too many ‘what-if’ questions running through it.  What if you could stop the madness, and just reach out and select the right answer on a hunch?

The answer, my friends, is faith.  When you let go of the anxiety and have complete faith that you are doing the right thing, going the right way, or choosing the right answer, you will every time.  The secret is to stop thinking so much, and just go with what feels ‘right’ and seems almost trivial in nature. The answers to the riddles above will prove this.

How did he ride into town in Friday, stay three days, and leave on Friday? Friday was the horse’s name.

Two coins add up to $0.30, and one is not a nickel.  Well then the OTHER one is a nickel.

How do you survive the bathtub overflow? Simply pull the plug, and let it drain.

These answers seem so trivial, but they’re correct.  How many of you really thought about it? How many realize now that you thought TOO MUCH about it, and it didn’t end up being the right answer?  Hey, me too. I frequently have trouble turning off my brain, and just following my first hunch.  In life, riddles come at you all day, and if you just have faith that you already have the answer, and it’s going to be easy for you, it will.  You’ll stop thinking and start doing.

Have an outstanding Wednesday!

Blake

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A large majority of the LOA community believes that medication is completely unnecessary to happiness.  This is actually pretty true on a lot of levels, but there are always exceptions, and I want to point one out today.  Anxiety is prevalent in a lot of households in this country. With gas prices - hell, all prices soaring to record levels, and income stagnant, it’s sometimes difficult NOT to feel a little anxious!

Someone very close to me wants a great life. She’s actually living a pretty great life, but she has trouble seeing it. Her view of the world is colored with anxiety and worry. She fears everything because she worries about the ‘worst case scenario’ we all forget about.  She could have a great day, but remember one word in a conversation she had in passing that morning, and somehow tie it into a ridiculous turn of events that could impact her negatively.  She would then worry about it.

Well, she just started some medication to relieve that sense of worry, and help her just breathe through it. Let me tell you, she is almost unrecognizable now. She’s full of life from sunrise to sunset, she enjoys the moments of her day, and she doesn’t give a second thought to any frivolous worries.  I love her dearly, and I want to see her happy as a clam, and I think she’s more than well on her way to it now!

The point is that more often than not, we prescribe medication to solve our problems in this country. How many children are now diagnosed as A.D.D. than there were 20 years ago? Sometimes it’s better to let kids be kids, and correct a problem if it actually becomes one later on in life.  On the other hand, sometimes medications can be the difference between living well, and just being alive.  In the case of the woman above, she was just living, and now she’s living well.

Medication helped her to remove the overwhelming sense of worry and guilt - both completely unwarranted. She is able to now focus on her emotions more objectively, and is consciously choosing to experience more positivity and love, rather than worry and doubt.  Sometimes we can only manifest as much as our brain will allow us to. If the right medication can help remove an overwhelming limiting belief, and allow one to begin rationalizing his or her thoughts, I am all for it.

If you’re having difficulty living your life as a normal, funtioning adult, I strongly urge you to seek advice from a medical professional immediately. Imagine finally removing that anxiety, and seeing the world worry-free for the first time.

Peace, Love, and a million successes to you,

Blake

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