I am older than a lot of you. I have accomplished a lot of things that a lot of you dream to do. I am not bragging, I’m stating facts. Notice any tension that may arise within you because of what I’ve just said.

Are you able to listen without listening? Are you able to listen to what I share without listening to your inward self talk of assessments and judgments about what I say?

Can you accept the wisdom that I share without using your mind to add your own explanations? When someone listens, and then adds his own thoughts and opinions, he’s not listening. If you hesitate to empty your mind of its chattering opinion, you’re being stubborn right now.

Years ago, I met W. Clemente Stone (one of America’s self-made billionaires). I had lunch with him and ten other people. He offered me fabulous advice on how to succeed in life. I was so busy listening to my judgment of what he was saying, what he was wearing, and what he was eating, that I was not listening to him at all. How insane is that?

A while back, I decided to become a restaurateur. It just struck my fancy. I liked restaurants. I liked eating in them. Why not open some? I began inquiring into what it takes to succeed in the restaurant business. I made it a point to meet successful restaurant owners and ask them questions. I listened to their answers without listening (I did not judge how they looked, or what mood they were in, or where I might disagree with their theories). I just listened.

When I listened without listening, I dropped my muddle-headedness. Without muddle- headedness I was able to capture the pearls of wisdom they offered. Sometimes their advice didn’t seem logical but I didn’t care because I listening for winning (I was listening for logic).

If I wanted to be clear cut about opening a restaurant, hiring a staff, serving good food, and offering a great environment, then I had to listen for how to get from A to B to C to D without listening for my own of preconceived point of view to intercede.

Success is a mystery, not pure logic. There is an intuitive side to being successful at something new. Otherwise how does someone manage to do what is deemed impossible (like invent the telephone – Alexander Graham Bell; invent a heavier-air-flying machine – Wright brothers; run a mile in under four minutes – Roger Bannister; get a college degree even though she was deaf and blind –Helen Keller).

Listen to this without listening:

1. When something went wrong with my first restaurant endeavor, I knew I’d been jolted out of harmony with my aspiration and aim. This above all is true. Forget the logic of what went wrong out there in the world. Accepting that I am out of harmony allowed me to find answers that I’d never have found.




2. I let my failures jolt me awake to my chorus of ‘NO’s’ that chant deep in my subconscious. This jolt would destroy the illusion I held that I was inadequate to be successful in the restaurant business. Until I destroyed the illusion of inadequacy (even though there was good logic behind it), I could not progress effectively.




3. I had to accept that creating a new version of myself was untasty to my old way of thinking, and yet it became delicious when I accepted my new way of being (a person who could indeed succeed in the restaurant business). YES, I found the enemy, and it was the old me!

I owned several very successful restaurants, years ago. It was a ball. I made a lot of money. I had a lot of fun. I learned to listen without listening. And then I decided to move on, so I sold them.

When you listen without listening – ordinary thinking comes to an end and extraordinary thinking will begin.

Well, there you go. Responses from the conditioned mind will always be wrong when you are learning something new. How can you apply this to YOU?

Please share and help the readers better understand what I am sharing. We always work better as a team.

Thanks & blessings, rob

“Best Comment of the Week”. This weeks best comment comes from Andrew Olson of Growthable . The runner up is Irving, The Vizier from the Han of Harmony . See their comments here. Honorable mention to Tinu for sharing her heart with us all. Thank you Tinu!

I am honored that the always elegant Sibyl Chavis included me among one of the “Best Minds of the Blogosphere.” Be sure to check out her revamped site here.

Illustrations by nick

Many people ask me how I became so successful in the domain of money. The first thing I tell them is that ‘the map of how to get to the mountaintop of money is not the mountaintop’. Success never comes by simply studying self-help books and reading inspiring quotes. I’d learned that success has to be encountered, and you don’t encounter success until you learn to face failure.

When I started out with the dream of getting rich in real estate, I would study books on ‘how to get rich in real estate’; I would look at the mountaintop, and read guidebooks that told me how to get there … but I would stop short. I was afraid to advance, so I began believing that the books were the mountain. I thought if I read enough books, I would just find myself at the top (things would just happen). The longer I believed the books were the mountaintop, the longer I procrastinated climbing the mountain.

It may sound foolish, but millions do it. Millions obsess over ‘how to’ get to where they want to go. Millions read a dozen books that give great tips, yet they are not able to move forward. That’s why many self-help gurus get rich writing books on how to help yourself … millions of folks spend lots of money buying the books, even reading the books, but then they stop short.

Student: Why won’t someone move forward after reading a ‘how to’ book?
Teacher: Underneath it all, is ‘fear of failure’.
Student: What specifically is fear of failure?
Teacher: The very root of ‘fear of failure’ is the 60,000 NO’s that we hear during our childhood rearing years.

There was only one thing that made me fearless when it came to quitting my cushy teaching job and getting out there in the world to get rich in real estate … this one thing was the experience within me that I was part of the ‘living dead’. I was wishing and hoping but not daring to take action for fear of being scolded when I made mistakes. The brakes that stopped me from progressing toward my dreams was fear of hearing, “NO! I told you so!!” I was clinging to old NO’S, and afraid to move into the unknown. I’d created a strange relationship with ‘NO’ for so long, that now to leave that point of view would feel like a divorce.

I believe this insane relationship with ‘NO’ caused me to be one of the ‘living dead’. The ‘living dead’ are those who are alive, but don’t feel alive. I know it well. We become robots, living mechanical existences – doing today what we did yesterday, with a little twist to it – hoping the twist will make a difference. This one idea – “I am part of the living dead” – was what it took to motivate me to have a breakthrough. Understanding the truth, alone, has never betrayed me (and it didn’t in this case).

The only way I could overcome my fear of failure was to accept that I was flexible and intelligent enough to fail my way to success. The moment I agreed to accept this fact, creative energy was released within me. I was fearless and free!

Student: How long does it take to accept the fact that we are intelligent and flexible enough to fail our way to success?
Teacher: It takes but an instant to accept this fact … how long you want to take to lead up to that instant is entirely up to you.

The mountain of making millions was still in front of me, but my mind was no longer full of maps made by different explorers. Things were changing. I was changing. The rigid mind was dead. New sharpness and intensity overcame my old, dull ways. To climb the mountain to millions was now a totally different matter than to dream about it and read books on how to do it while simmering in ‘fear of failure’. Where I couldn’t move an inch, I was now able to move a mile.

The courage to face my fear of ‘NO’ developed quickly by the persistent practice of facing my fear of ‘NO’. True confidence comes from self-insights … not from reading self-help books. I am not putting down self-help books; I am suggesting that you put first things first, and lifting yourself up must come first. Then self-help books can help you. If you do not lift yourself up first – self-help books cannot help you.

This conversation can be translated into any domain of life – how to create harmonious relationships, how to help create world peace, how to start your own business or your own family, how to be healthy. Don’t let the money thing turn you off. Turn within and ask, “What does this have to do with me and my present aspirations and dreams?”

Please let us know your thoughts. Please offer examples of how you’ve put down maps and actually taken up walking the trail to the summit of success. We love your insights and comments.

blessings

“Best Comment of the Week”. This weeks best comment comes from JK Allen of the Hustler’s Notebook. The runner up is Dia from 2achieveyourgoals.com . See their comments here.

Illustrations by nick

I do not believe dialogue is necessary to convince you that you live in two worlds. You live in an inner world of thoughts, imaginings, dreams, and feelings. You also live in an outer world of function and form, action and reaction.

I also believe that we agree on this: our existence consists of private inside experiences and shared outside experience … meaning that our dreams may be private, but their outer manifestations are public. What happens in your inner world is exclusively yours … what shows up in your outer world is shared with those around you. Do you agree?

The extent of one’s capacity to create an incredible inner world is a vast open sky. There is no end to what we can dream. This truth can extend to our outer world, there is no end to what we can achieve. However, most folks have been taught to shelve their inner world dreams and ‘be real.”

‘Be real’ … what does that mean? Reality is what you make of it. This truth is not owned by any religion, not the Christians, not the Hindus, not the Jews. This truth is not owned by any type of government, not Democracy, not Socialism, not a Monarchy. This truth (reality is what you make it), is for anyone to enjoy.

The awake mind knows that secret dreams become public experiences when we put in the necessary effort to make our ideals real. What does it take to do this? You must leave your inner world of imagining long enough to go out into the outer world and take action. This is where most folks fall short. They dare not take chances. They prefer to sit and dream. They hope that if they dream long enough, things will just fall in place. When is the last time ‘things just fell in place’? The law of Attraction is always in action, but it needs your help!

The first thing one must do is deny the lies that he holds as true (lies that convince him that his potential is limited). DENY THE LIES. Now, this is an extraordinary denial! Do you dare do it? Will you stand firm with your inner world dreams, and deny those limiting opinions that say, “NO WAY!” They are there! Oh yes, they are there. If they weren’t there, you would be doing all of those things you secretly yearn to do. (Me too). Are you doing all of those things that you secretly yearn to do … all of them? (I’m not).

How can you escape yourself if you don’t deny the lies? What ‘self’ are you escaping? The False-Self that you put together to cope with the world in childhood moments of fear and pain. We all are acquainted with that self that chatters with a thousand NO’s. It has a fat book of excuses why life isn’t unfolding as you once dared dream it would. The only way that you can escape that False-Self is to Deny the Lies that you were told about being ‘ONLY human.’ Where did the word ‘ONLY’ come from?

You are a marvelously made being, destined to win at whatever you set your mind to, and worthy of all that is good and beautiful. Anything that you believe that says ‘you are ONLY human’ is a lie. Deny that lie! Follow the higher truth!!

Wherever you go, your marvelously made nature accompanies you. Situations may be different, but how can the truth about you be different? Truth is truth; it doesn’t change with the circumstances, nor does it change with time. Marvelously made – that’s you!

Wherever you are right now, you are still dreaming. Even when you are sleeping, you are dreaming! It is time to accept the truth about why you dream – it’s to express your superlatively creative nature and turn your dreams into reality (the good dreams, that is).

When you really, really accept the truth about you, suddenly all sorts of new things begin happening in your outer world to support you. That’s Providence moving, too. Perhaps you prefer to call it the Law of Attraction. We all love those glorious moments when things begin flowing in the right direction.

Student: Why do we love those moments?
Teacher: They prove to us that indeed we are marvelously made and destined to win at whatever we set our minds to.

If you dream about success and commit to proving your dreams are true, you inevitably come to the Ultimate Realization: If it is to be, it is up to me! This is really beautiful. When you encounter this Ultimate Realization, when you see it face to face, when you don’t avoid it, when you don’t try to escape it …. suddenly you know exactly what you have to do next in order to bring physical function and form to your ethereal world of dreams and imaginings.

What have you been dreaming about doing? What inner world dream is it time for you to make public? If you are trying to escape from taking chances, you are escaping from life.

Dreams are stepping stones to new successes. Without dreams we have nothing but old memories. Now that’s a boring life to live – a life of old memories that keep popping up in the future wearing a new hat … but it’s the same old memory.

There is something powerful in this blog for you. Have you found it. Do you dare look for it, or are you just creating a cloud of dreams around you so you don’t have to face the truth about being marvelously made. You are a superlative creator. You are here on planet earth to express and experience this. It’s time for sweet dreams and successful conclusions. Face the facts: you’re not here to just dream … you’re here to make them part of your outer world reality. Face this fact – you will feel fully alive; you will be eager to jump into your outer world and fully participate in life with the intent of making your dreams come true.

Thank you, thank you ….. please let us know your thoughts on this matter.
blessings

“Best Comment of the Week”. This weeks best comment comes from Theresa Bradley-Banta of BigFishTopDogs.com. The runner up is Lori Gosselin of Life, for Instance. See their comments here.

Illustrations by nick

Human beings are the only beings on this planet who can feel bored. Feeling bored gives us an incredible advantage over the rest of the creatures in the animal kingdom.

Have you ever seen a bored mule? A bored buffalo? A bored gorilla? Be thankful they don’t get bored, or they’d be challenging us in the innovative world of business. It is boredom that got us out of the cave and into skyscrapers. It is boredom that got us off the back of mules and into horseless carriages (automobiles); thank you Henry Ford for being bored. It is boredom that has you with your own personal home computer; thank you Bill Gates for being bored.

Boredom is meant to be an inspirationally dissatisfying feeling; it is telling us that our lives could be better. Boredom can be great motivation to get us up off our duffs and make changes in our lives. Do you use it that way?

Thomas Edison was bored – look at all the inventions that he came up with! Martin Luther king Jr. was bored – look what he decided to do with his life! Grandma Moses was bored in her nineties – look at the artwork she produced at that age!

Whenever you are feeling bored (perhaps it’s in business, perhaps in your home life, perhaps in your social life), consider it inspirational dissatisfaction; it’s an opportunity to cause transformation in some domain of your life!

When I’m feeling bored, I stop and say, “I am bored, and so some changes are needed in my life – that’s great!” I don’t think of being bored as a bad sign – it’s a good sign. We are incredibly creative beings, and boredom is signaling us to remember that.

When you are feeling bored, consider the inspirationally dissatisfying feeling a gift from your creative essence. It wants to get going! Don’t allow yourself to sleepwalk through life. You are a supreme being with superlatively creative skills – use them! Come out of those limiting patterns of living; no longer declare yourself a part of the living dead – COME ALIVE!

What do you want to do with your life? Your business? Your dreams to travel the world? Do it. Don’t hesitate. Take risks. Don’t procrastinate. You only have one hundred short years to live on this planet – what are you waiting for?

If you feel bored with yourself it is because you have allowed 95% of yourself to lie dormant inside of you. You have not been respectful of your unlimited potential. Of all of your promises to yourself, the most important one is the one that you made to yourself when you were born – “I am going to use all of myself in this lifetime.” In order to succeed at life, in business, with your dreams – keep your word to yourself, use all of yourself up.

“We first make our habits and then our habits make us” – John Dryden. Make it a habit to consider your boredom to be inspirational dissatisfaction, and then let that habit make you into the incredibly creative being that you are meant to be.

What do you think? When have you been bored (inspirationally dissatisfied) with in your life? When have you done something about it? Please share.

Blessings

“Best Comment of the Week”. This weeks best comment comes from Stephanie. The runner up is Bryan Thompson of Elevation Life. See their comments here.

Illustrations by nick