Some Observations on Success, part 1

By thinking it you create a neural pathway in your mind/body, by writing it down you strengthen it, implant it into your mind/body and virtually guarantee you can reactivate some or all of it by seeing what you have written.

Power of something- easier to build from something than from nothing.

Vision gives you the certainty- the “why” gives you the POWER to overcome obstacles and press on.

If you try to make a change by the same methods that have failed you in the past you are automatically going in with one strike against you as you will remember the previous failure(s). If you casually commit to it, especially if you don't write it down on paper and/ or tell others, you will have another strike against you as you will be communicating to yourself that you aren't that serious about it.

By getting clear on your outcome, you empower i.e., your brain to organize its resources to achieve it. You trigger the Reticular Activating System.

Without written records and some sort of objective measurement it is very hard NOT to go around in circles because trying to compare were you are now vs. were you when sometime in the past based on memory is almost impossible to do unless the difference is DRAMATIC!!

Focus on what you know, focus on what you want and build from there. Self exploration is a lot like scientific exploration- you have to build from what you know (indeed,), guess as to what you believe is correct, reality check (experiment) and use the feedback to get more specific in the future. This is how you grow.

If someone else is doing it you know it can be done

The more you focus on what you want the clearer you will be on it. Clarity is power.

You MUST take it seriously to grow in that area

Questions v Thought
Don't try to think empowering thoughts, that is chasing the effects. Go to the source- focus on asking good questions. Questions are the source of thinking. What we think of as thoughts are merely the ideas/ assertions that come to our consciousness from the many numerous ““progrms”. Most computer cycles are not directly related to that which appears on the screen. This is analogous to what you see on the computer screen in relation to the entire processing going on with the stuff on the screen being your conscious thoughts and the computer cycles being the total mental activities with the programs being the questions you ask.

Circles of Identity
There are three parts to identity- 1) be 2) do and 3) have. These are analogous to 3 concentric circles with the inner one being your thoughts, the middle one being the things you do and the outer one being the things you have. This order also represents the most common syntax of how you change your identity. First, you change your thoughts, this leads to a change in your behavior followed by a change in what you have.

Burning Paper
The amazing thing is that just by massively concentrating your focus for even a small amount of time on given item you can make MAJOR progress on it-for example, a magnifying glass to burn a newspaper. Further, the process can easily be self sustaining- just like when the paper starts to burn.

Short Walk
If you are going to be effective i.e., you need to make sure that it is as much as possible a “short”, logically speaking, from what you are doing right now to the achievement of your outcome. Not only do you need to know your outcome but you need to be able to quickly and logically connect what you are doing at any given moment into it. It should be a ““short” logically from what you are doing to your outcome. Be very wary if the ““walk” involves many steps, assumptions, vague ideas or wishful thinking - these almost always mean that you are wasting your time, at least wit respect to achieving this outcome.

Trouble w/ planning
The very fact that you are having trouble planning indicates how important it is that you plan. It is the very person who has the most trouble planning that most needs to plan.

Studying History
You must study history, expose yourself to new ideas, because in order to get ALL the ideas that you need to life a high quality life you need to get far more ideas than you can figure out on your own or that will be obvious to you or your contemporaries by simply examining the present or recent past.

In order to grow you must constantly think new better thoughts. Think of it like material in a factory. To have future production you need new materials all the time. You must continually plant thoughts so you can harvest them later. The level of thinking that has gotten to where you are now won't get you to the next level.

Your goal is NOT to memorize great ideas, it is to think them for yourself.

Those who massively succeed aren't "disciplined" it is that they so love it that they are NATURALLY disciplined to do the work. Don't lead yourself to water- make yourself thirsty.