Motivation

Think back to a moment when you exceeded your expectations. Was it a game winning hit, an A on a test, an unexpected relationship, a raise or job promotion, or any accomplishment in life you value? How did it feel?

I'm sure it felt great! This is what we call that "winning feeling."

A winning feeling is not reserved to celebrities, athletes, and billionaires. Anyone can experience it and most people have. But, wouldn't it be nice to feel that more often?

Your body cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is imagined. The mind is what dictates reality. These are very important insights.

Biofeedback studies with athletes show us that they cannot differentiate a real game from an imagined one. When they visualize a movement, the same nerves fire as if it were real.

We all have experienced things that felt so real, but were in reality false. Some people fear failing a test, but end up getting A's. Others think no one likes them, but everyone does. This is a horrible existence.

Regardless of outcome, the key is the "feeling." Why do we strive for things? Answer: to feel good!

The amazing thing is that if you evoke the feeling of success or that "winning feeling," not only will you feel good, but you will start to attract people and circumstances to match that feeling. This is not mysticism, it is basic social interaction--people like to be around other people with good energy.

So, how do we get more of that winning feeling? Here is how.

The Six Steps to Creating That Winning Feeling are:

After Superman was recharged from visiting his Fortress of Solitude, he was more cunning and powerful in overcoming villians.

Here's how you can Create your Fortress of Solitude:

1. Pick a Place: It could be a place in your home, your car, a specified location, or a space you create in your mind.

2. Build & Fortify It: The more time you spend in your fortress, the more powerful and sacred it becomes. Your thoughts and time spent give life to it. Each time you enter, you reinforce its walls and energy.

3. Immerse Yourself: Create uninterrupted time throughout the day in 15 minute intervals to go into your fortress. Meditation is one form--where you sit quietly and allow your thoughts to come and go. This will help to create stillness and balance. Alternatively, you could use your fortress as a learning center. Listen to audio programs that inspire you and reprogram you. This can even be done while walking or in you car.

Like Superman, you too will become empowered after visiting your Fortress of Solitude. The stillness and learning received, will enable you to take on the world with greater peace and effectiveness. 

According to Dr. Maxwell Maltz, "it is no exaggeration to say that every human being is hypnotized to some extent, either by ideas ... uncritically accepted from others, or ideas ... repeated [and accepted as] true."

Psycho-Cybernetics

Dr. Maltz was a plastic surgeon that noticed that some patients did not feel better after a successful plastic surgery procedure.  He found that the issue was not the outside, but the inside.

He submits that self-image is the issue and that...

1. All your actions, feelings, behavior--even your abilities--are always consistent with this self-image.
2. The self-image CAN be changed.

Furthermore, "positive thinking" cannot help unless one's self-image is responsive to those affirmations, which is what hypnosis is all about.

Dr. Maltz developed Psycho-Cybernetics.  Cybernetics regards the human brain and body as a goal-seeking machine which steers its way to a target or goal by use of feedback data and stored information, automatically correcting course when necessary.  "YOU" operate the machine, and the more clearly your mind and direction are, the more accurately your body will respond to create the world you seek.

Psycho-Cybernetics is the precursor of much of today's motivational theory.

This is a phenomenal lecture by Dr. Randy Pausch, a Carnegie-Mellon University professor who gave his Last Lecture with only a couple of months to live.

Here is the short version on the Oprah Show:

Here is the link to the full version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

During a networking event I attended, I encountered a gentleman who offered a very insightful piece of advice.  He said...

"Find your calling, and then learn your craft."

This means that one should move forward in pursuing what they love and what they were meant to do even if they are not completely "ready."

"The most secret, sacred wish that lies deep down at the bottom of your heart, the wonderful thing that you hardly dare to look at, or to think about —the thing that you would rather die than have anyone else know of, because it seems to be so far beyond anything that you are, or have at the present time, that you fear that you would be cruelly ridiculed if the mere thought of it were known — that is just the very thing, that [you should do.]"[*]

Your Heart's Desire is a short essay by Emmet Fox.  The precedent quote is from this essay.

This quote means that we should do the thing that we fear most, and this activity will be the centerpiece of our future success.

For example, if public speaking is your fear, then this is precisely the activity you should master and perform, and chances are that public speaking will accelerate your success exponentially.

The human psyche and the universe seem to respond amazingly well to bold action; especially, action that challenges old paradigms, belief systems, and fears. Contrary to conventional expectations, results from this type of action can be nearly instantaneous.