How to Astonish Yourself - New Thought Sunday Message, June 6, 2010

"Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing." 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, you read articles. You hear professional speakers. You play tapes and CDs. They tell you how to be successful, how to be a better lover, how to make it in your profession, how to get closer to God, Buddha, Krishna or whomever. Ben Wyld said, "Life used to be so simple before we all started reading about how to live it."

Most of the material is good, if not overwhelming. And much can be learned from it.

Yet. . .

Sometimes, even though the information is all there, the practical application is missing. Well, wait no more. That's what I am giving you in this article: the practical steps to get what you want in life, to develop better relationships, to move forward in the direction(s) you want to go. And it's very simple. Interested? Read on...

Three steps and you'll create the world you want to live in.

• First, change your mindset. 

Most of what keeps you back rests between your ears. You are the creator of your own experience of reality. Remember, pain is mandatory, suffering is optional. Quit blaming. Take full responsibility for your world.

How do you change your mindset? Choose to. Period. "The highest reward for your working is not what you get for it but what you become by it." Sydney Harris

• Second, become more efficient. 

Quit wasting time, energy, and resources. It doesn't mean that you become a workaholic. It means you step back and view the waste in your life. Eliminate the waste, and the rest will follow. A neat line by Samuel Johnson: "Resolve not to be poor; whatever you have, spend less." Makes sense to me, and you can apply that to most areas of your life, right?

• And third, strengthen your personal and business connections. 

We are not in this alone. The loner mindset keeps you from attaining your goals and becoming the kind of person that the world needs. . .and enjoys. Get out and network, go back to church, invite a coworker to lunch, reinvest energy, time, and emotion into the relationship with your significant other. Pay more attention to your kids. Kabbalist Michael Berg writes, "The only way to achieve true joy and fulfillment is by becoming a being of sharing."

It's all very simple. Maybe not easy, but then, most that is valuable asks a price. In this case the price is simply making the choice. Difficult? No. But making this process full-time is going to tax your lazy brain. You have invested much time and energy into your current habits, whatever they may be. And to break those habits, the ones that aren't serving you as they used to, takes commitment. OOOOO!!! The dirty word. In all the workshops, seminars, and Sunday messages I have presented, that word draws more tension from my audiences than any other. Why? Because it means work, it means breaking molds, it means being better than you have been up until now. It means stepping out of a comfort zone into a place where new actions can happen. A place where new people can enter. A place where new ideas can emerge.

Commitment. You've committed before. You know how to do it. So, do it. Change your mindset. Increase your efficiency. Strengthen your connections with the world. And watch your goals--and your joy--manifest in rich and exciting new ways. You'll astonish yourself. And the world.

Let me know the outcome.