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Archive for September, 2008

I attended T. Harv Eker’s Millionaire Mind Intensive. My girlfriend raved about how amazing this program was and at first I was really excited. This was a three day event and I got first in line. I was disappointed that she wasn’t going to meet me there for the opening session. Still, I kept my chin up and walked into the auditorium.

As soon as the rah rah sessions started I knew I had made a big mistake. I nervously looked around for the door and wondered when an appropriate time would be for me to leave the scene. I like money making and I like marketing but I am not a big fan of rah rah. You know what I am talking about. I mean fist pounding, blood and sweat, soul shaking rah rah sessions.

Tell me what to do to make money and I can learn from it. I take good notes and have good follow through. But don’t ask me to be a cheerleader for prosperity. It makes me feel uneasy.

But as I sat through this tirade it slowly transformed into a soul changing, mind bending, rejuvenating event. It was ground breaking. I can say this because for the first time I realized what money was. Money, or the lack of it, centered around one critical thing for me. All money was at the end of the day was one simple thing.

Service.

This hit me over the head like a ton of bricks. I figured out that all money really was service. If you lacked money or were living in a state of lack then it meant that you were not serving as many people as you should. If you had a steady flow of customers that took your service then money would flow freely to you. Now I realize that many of you out there are pretty smart. I’m just getting this for the first time.

This was absolutely ground breaking to me because I grew up in a steady stream of institutions. I went from Catholic grade school to high school, college and Universities and then got clobbered in the ruthless and humiliating hallways of Corporate America. I was prepped and stuffed for the chopping block under the guise of freewill and freedom of choice.

It never occurred to me to have a free form thought all my own.

Heck, I didn’t even know what money was until I tried living on it. After I got out of the doldrums of society and took the gutsy road of real entrepreneurism I realized how completely naked I was. I really didn’t know what money was or how it functioned. I had people in higher realms of authority to dictate its value to me all of my life.

I place this blame on my college professors who repeatedly brainwashed me to the point of stupidity and uselessness. I had it ingrained upon my thick skull that $40 grand a year was all one really needed in this life or any other life for that matter. Forty grand was enough to keep you fat and happy. I am not making this up. In fact, this was a real number that was being touted around in a number of learning institutions that I attended.

But that’s not the scary part. The scary part to me was that nobody I attended class with at the time ever challenged this paltry amount. That simple fact still disturbs me to this day. It baffles me how so many kids in my age bracket listened to this terrible advice and followed these professors from week to week like blind sheep.

WELCOME TO THE 2000′S – EVERYONE IS A MILLIONAIRE THESE DAYS

I refuse to take guilt for not becoming a millionaire sooner. This recent wave of “millionaire thinking” did not exist when I was involved with institutions. In the 90’s they were still telling kids in college to pursue jobs. The focus was to get a job. That was the function of the University. And to stay more in line and to ensure that you would never have an authentic thought form of your own the University endorsed the mindless Greek fraternity and sorority system.

Thanks guys but no thanks. I avoided that whole scene thank God.
The truth is I never had to pay a dime for any of my friends in college.

Universities were not in the habit or the business of cranking out non-conformist thinking. The job of the University was to create mindless, soulless corporate drones who take mundane jobs and become cogs on the wheel. They were to go out into the world en masse and procreate and create more confused, conforming, in the box thinking individuals to populate “the system”.

So like the mind numbing Nazi soldiers I repeat the infamous words, “I just did what they told me.”

I drank the Universtiy kool aid and got crappy results. This was later reinforced through other forms of institutions including religion and social groups. And would you believe that in just a few years time of leaving the safety of University living that I was beyond miserable, broke and unhappy?

Oh, say it ain’t so.

I am actually embarrassed to say that I partook in formal education in the 90’s. I am embarrassed that I participated in a lot of my institutionalized activities. I would like to erase the time that I spent in those nerve shattering, confusing and ridiculing environments but you only live once. Time does not reverse.

So to take sole blame for my total state of lack makes total sense. But for life to turn out any other way would be nothing short of miraculous. I admit to contributing to my misery but I will tell you that nobody back then ever talked about creating millions of dollars. That did not happen until after 2001. And to be even more accurate nobody really talked about it much until the horrific events of 911.
Now everyone is up my ass about it.

BREAKING FREE FROM THE PRISONS AROUND US

The mental trappings of the self are perhaps the most damaging and soul crushing prisons of them all. You can destroy your mind, body and spirit over your own limiting beliefs about success and failure. These can be reinforced with religious convictions, cultural beliefs, corporate identity, social identity and political idealisms. I can proudly say that I have thrown out a lot of these frameworks of limited ideologies. I can also admit that I do not miss them in the least and feel a good 20 pounds lighter in my chest because of it.

As for the ones I had to leave behind – I am quite confident that they do not miss me.

I am luckier than most people when it comes to breaking free from mental prisons and institutionalized living. I never grasped my cultural roots because I was taken away from them years ago by moving from school to school. Being Native American is more or less meaningless to me as I grew up in a homogenous institutionalized society.

I later ended up leaving my church after 911 after receiving some racial slurs from fellow parishioners. It appears that I was mistaken for being of Middle Eastern descent of which I am not. But I got to thank them for opening my eyes to the type of closed minded and simple short sighted viewpoints of my social peers. I left that whole scene immediately and never looked back.

As for corporate America, I had actually left that years ago. Just like the church I found that I did not miss that much either. I did not feel tied into any type of group and for the first time I really felt like I was truly alone in the world.

I liked that.

I liked that a lot. Because for the first time in my life absolutely nobody was watching me. Best of all nobody was eyeballing what I was up to. I could do whatever I wanted to and I could come and go whenever I pleased. It was exhilarating.

T. Harv Eker talks a bit about breaking out of certain mindsets that inhibit wealth. It is amazing to see this in action and to be able to recognize it. I was pretty sure I could break out of the typical negative thought patterns and do amazing things.

But one thing that really needed to get out of my way was how I viewed money. My professors wanted me to believe that trading time for money was A-OKAY. This is great in theory until you actually try doing it for long periods of time. You sacrifice more than your time. You also fling away your physical life, your sanity and pack yourself in a tiny box and live with limits.

My big take away moment centered around the money issue. I realized that I could have as much money and freedom that I wanted. I just had to find a way to create more service for people that I dealt with. That was so liberating to hear. When I reached that moment I was elated.

We have a saying in Michigan which I find rather disturbing. It goes like this…. “We refuse to partake in Michigan’s sagging economy”. Well, la-dee-dah. I’ll tell you what – you had better start participating in this sagging economy because that is where the money is.

All the money you need is not going to drop out of the sky and fall straight into your hands.

You should wake up each and every morning and praise God above for sending you a recession. All a recession really is at the end of the day is a warning sign. It is a constant reminder that we lack serious leadership. It means that companies and business leaders are living with tired norms and need direction. It also serves as a large road sign that people are looking for new ideas and are open to suggestion.

As long as the old ways aren’t working there is room for improvement. Fortunes are made under these kinds of conditions. So in this type of market you must provide things that aren’t there. The market is receptive to something new and exciting. That means that the time can be right for you and your new crop of goods and services.

That could be some very good news for you. Taking your ideas from concept to money in the bank can become a reality. So I am asking you to take the leap of faith and to start thinking of money as levels of service. If you are providing this for people then you can definitely make a difference in your own personal finances.

Money is service and service is everything.

About the Author:
Ted Cantu runs i-Cantu Media LTD which is a Web 2.0 Video studio located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. You can find him at, http://www.1seomichigan.com Download his FREE, “Marketing Kit For Troubling Times.

Keyword tags: Ted Cantu, The Millionaire Mind, marketing, T Harv Eker, MMI, Entrepreneur, making money, self help

“…no one ever pushes you toward freedom. You need to take that for yourself.”
–Joan Erickson, wife of psychologist Erik Erickson, quoted in Joan Anderson’s book, A Walk on the Beach.

Do you believe that someone has to give you your freedom? Do you believe that you can be free only when you have others’ approval? Is your sense of freedom dependent upon what others think of you?

If you believe that your freedom is dependent upon another or others, then you will wait forever to be free. You will feel free when you decide that you are going to do what feels right and loving to do for yourself, regardless of what others think.

How do you reach a place where you are willing to trust yourself enough to follow your own inner guidance rather than be limited by others? How do you come to a place where you are willing to experience others’ disapproval in order to be true to yourself?

This freedom comes from a deep place within regarding which intention is most important to you:

• To control what others think of you, or

• To support your own highest good.

These two intentions are mutually exclusive. You cannot be focused on trying to control getting others’ approval or avoiding their disapproval, while at the same time be focused on lovingly supporting your own freedom and what is in your own highest good. You automatically limit your freedom when your concern over what others think of you is more important to you than your freedom to be yourself and do what feels good and right to you.

Of course, it is challenging to trust your own inner promptings regarding what would bring you joy, and run the risk of losing someone who is important to you. But if that person truly cares about you, he or she will want you to do what brings you joy, unless what you want to do is likely to be harmful to you. For example, in the book quoted at the beginning of this article, Joan Anderson wanted to take a trip to Machu Picchu in Peru, but she was worried that her husband would be upset about her going. This is when her close friend, Joan Erickson, told her, “…no one ever pushes you toward freedom. You need to take that for yourself.” She took the trip and it was one of the best things she ever did for herself!

What are you wanting to do that you are not doing because you are afraid of someone else’s reaction – your partner’s reaction, your parent’s reaction, your children’s reaction, your friends’ reaction? How are you limiting your own freedom to control what others think of you? What are you doing in your attempt to please others that you don’t want to be doing? In what ways are you giving yourself up to get others’ approval?

How do you feel inside when you make what others think more important to you than your own freedom and joy?

Often resentment, anxiety, anger and depression are the result of not doing what we really want to do, not being who we really want to be – not being ourselves. Giving ourselves up to others may feel safe, but it will never feel joyous.

Right now, think about something you REALLY want to do and are not doing out of fear of disapproval. Or think about something you are doing that you REALLY don’t want to continue to do but keep doing to gain approval or avoid disapproval. How do you feel inside when you don’t do what you want, or do what you don’t want? Is it worth it?

About the Author:
Margaret Paul, Ph.D., best-selling author of eight books, including “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You” and co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. FREE Inner Bonding course at: http://www.innerbonding.com. Phone sessions available. mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com.

Keyword tags: freedom, anxiety, anger, resentment, depression, approval, controlling behavior, self help, personal development, self improvement, Margaret Paul, Inner Bonding

Today a great spiritual hunger is surfacing as many seek comfort, support, and meaning in a world that has spun out of control. Yet, times of loneliness, confusion, fear, or separation come for a powerful reason—so we can stop our usual way of being and discover where true strength, connection, and understanding lie. These difficult times are actually a blessing, removing us from preoccupation with externals and inviting us to embark on a journey into the heart and meaning of our lives. Both Jewish and Zen practice call us to enter the journey, though in different ways.

In a sense, Judaism and Zen represent two opposite ends of a continuum: Zen is based upon radical freedom, letting go, being in the present and nonattachment. Judaism comes rooted in family relationships, love, prayer to a Higher Power and the injunction to hold on and remember. A Jewish heart is warm, giving, human, devoted to family and friends. A Zen eye is fresh, direct, spontaneous, unencumbered by ideas, beliefs, hopes or expectations. These two practices are like two wings of a bird; both are needed to be able to fly.

Each tradition addresses the primal questions that drive our lives and provides keys for finding answers. In Zen practice, you take time to remove yourself from family and friends, do zazen, journey within and awaken for the good of all. Jewish practice is done in the midst of the community. Relationships are central. It is said that God is to be found at the kitchen table, with family, friends and food. In Jewish prayer you go to God and ask for everything. In this way you always know the Source of your good and constantly offer thanks.

In Zen practice you do not pray for help at all. You do zazen, (zen meditation), sit, back straight, legs crossed, eyes down, facing the wall. You do not speak, reach out, touch, or listen to the troubles of others. You do not offer consolation or turn to others for support. In fact, what you thought of as support is taken away. If others are having trouble on the cushion, experiencing sorrow or pain, you do not interfere. Their experience is precious and they are now being given the opportunity to face it fully. The support you offer is silent and profound, just sitting strongly beside them, facing your own experience as well.

The need to combine Zen and Jewish practice always felt important to me. I was born into an Orthodox family where everybody had a different opinion about what God wanted from us. And I had a lot of questions: what was the true way, and why did people who were serving God with all of their hearts have trouble living in the same house? Today, many who feel displaced as well. They wish to relate to their original religion in a way that feels healing and congruent for them. It is easy to lose sight of the true purpose of any practice. Even with the best intentions, anger, judgmental attitudes and domination can easily replace the kindness, generosity and wisdom that are at the heart of all the teachings.

The practice of zazen (zen meditation) creates an atmosphere of acceptance, respect, clarity, kindness a illuminate your original teachings, and provides a deeper experience of them. And, your religion of origin can ground you in the reality of who you are. In this way, practicing both Zen and Judaism provides balance and richness as each practice enriches, illuminates and challenges the other.

About the Author:
Discover how Judaism and Zen can heal your life in Jewish Dharma (A Guide to the Practice of Judaism and Zen)Brenda Shoshanna, Ph.D. http://www.jewishdharma.com. Learn how each practice provides keys to the personal struggles we face each day. Contact,topspeaker@yahoo.com

Keyword tags: Jewish, Zen, Jubu, meditation, relationships, conflict resolution, self help, spirituality, religion