Ready, Set, Go! (Special Edition)

by Rafael Badziag

  The pathways of your brain are actually arranged by what you associate with; rich or poor, healthy or sick, a success or failure.

  You see this as the truth. Your concept of yourself can be observed by your reactions to life, which illustrate where you live in your mind. If you “know” you are broke, how will you react when an unexpected bill arrives? If instead you felt secure, you would look at it calmly and find a solution.

  3) Get the feeling through visualization as if what you want is real.

  When you desire to be better than you are, you can create in your mind the ideal, and then live with the thoughts and feelings as if it is already your reality. When this becomes your dominant feeling, positive results are inevitable.

  Ask yourself why you want each goal. Continue to ask until you arrive at the feeling reason. For example, if you want to earn more money, ask why. Possibly the reason is that you want to buy a bigger house. Why do you want the bigger house? Maybe you want comfort and security. It is actually the feeling of comfort and security that you are after.

  You must know what it feels like to be healthy to experience good health. You must know what it feels like to be secure to experience financial security. To become a new and greater version of you, imagine and feel as if you are already what you want to be.

  4) Have trust and faith.

  You must know in your heart that positive feelings that come from a vivid imagination will create positive outcomes. It is faith that can truly move mountains. John Muir said, “The power of imagination makes us infinite.”

  5) Release the current reality.

  Will you be the ruler of your imagination or a slave to current reality? In standard living, we have no control over our imagination and instead react to what we experience around us. It may seem hard to ignore reality, but when you practice and develop this skill, it becomes a habit and therefore easier.

  Direct your attention from what you don’t want to what you do want. If you worry about money, don’t focus on lack but instead the excitement of finding new ways to make more. If you are ill, imagine instead of enjoying vibrant health. Crowd out the unpleasant reality with the exhilarating feeling of achieving your goals. Fill your mind with visualizations and your heart with joyous feelings.

  6) Use concentration and discipline to focus your attention with intention.

  The results will correlate to the degree to which you focus. The results depend on your inner force or your ability to concentrate.

  “May the force be with you!” You must persist in generating this feeling and soon the mental image will become your reality. Your ideal life will only be realized once you imagine yourself as living that life. This is deliberate intent.

  You are already creating but without intent. In the past, whatever you saw, you thought had just happened by circumstance and that you had little to no control. Now you must live with the wisdom of creating a new life by envisioning a better reality and getting the feeling as if it is already true.

  7) Choose a feeling that is natural.

  If you create a mental image of your new life and capture the feeling as if it is already your reality, it should feel natural to you . I could try to envision myself as an NFL quarterback, but that somehow doesn’t feel natural. Neville Goddard wrote, “When you can call up at will whatsoever image you please, when the forms of your imagination are as vivid to you as the forms of nature, you are master of your fate.”

  I teach often about the importance of raising your inner energy.

  Notice that this is what’s happening. When you imagine your ideal life as real and it feels natural to you, your energy is uplifted. When you understand the power of your imagination, you hold the key to living your best life.

  Is this easy? Yes.

  Can anyone do this? Yes.

  Will everyone do this? No.

  To the general public, this seems like fruitless fantasy. Have you noticed how the general public lives? Most people spend an average of four hours per day in front of the TV (which equates to 13 years of their lives) eating processed chemical-laden foods, living in fear and lack. Do you want to be like the unfulfilled general population?

  Or, do you want to open your mind to new ideas of progress?

  If Columbus accepted the world as flat, where would we be today?

  If the leaders of the technology companies did not envision a world where we could walk around with computers in the palm of our hand, where would we be today? Albert Einstein stated, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

  8) Develop a deep burning desire to reach your goal.

  Where have you done this in the past? When I was a young professional, I remember seeing a woman who looked like me driving a Mercedes. I thought to myself, “That should be me.” Soon, I had a deep desire to earn more so I passionately pursued a high-powered sales position. This was the job in which I earned more money than I thought was possible at that point in my career. One paycheck alone was $150,000. The year I was pregnant with my son, I made over $400,000, and this was 20 years ago!

  9) Have fun with this process.

  When my son was very small he drew a Hawaiian picture. I’ll never forget it because we had it on the wall of our home office that we shared. The picture was just a string of colored lights that represented to him a Hawaiian luau. I remember at first thinking, I can’t see us going to Hawaii any time soon. Soon enough, we ended up there and had the most fabulous time of our lives that we still laugh about today.

  10) Experience the feeling daily.

  Where you go in your imagination, you will be in reality soon enough. You have the power to alter the course of your future. The choice is yours: You can be distracted by the objective view of your current reality or you can deliberately create subjective views based on your imagination. Each day withdraw into the subjective that you create in your mind’s eye and become absorbed in the feeling as if that subjective view is your reality.

  YOUR EMPOWERMENT IS IN YOUR HANDS

  Are you ready to take full responsibility for your life? Are you ready to stop blaming others or outside circumstances? I’m not saying that these weren’t real and haven’t had a huge impact on your life in the past. What I am suggesting is that you now become empowered to take back control of your entire life. Someone else less enlightened may look at how your life improves simply as luck. You are now wiser than this because you don’t have to hope for good luck. You have complete control.

  I HAVE HANDED YOU BACK YOUR PERSONAL POWER!

  May you now not only Embrace a Better Life,

  but embrace the life of your dreams.

  About Janet

  Janet McKee, wellness expert, motivational speaker, author and founder of Sanaview, is on a mission to inspire and teach you proven and effective ways to Embrace a Better Life ; a life that is richer, happier, healthier, and more fulfilling. “Sana” is Latin for “health and wellness” and her organization provides a “view” into enjoyable ways to dramatically improve your life.

  After experiencing tremendous success in the corporate environment and obtaining her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, Ms. McKee became passionate about helping others. So, she pursued a health and wellness degree with a school affiliated with Columbia University. After working for many years to help people achieve greater levels of well-being, Ms. McKee expanded her expertise by researching how psychology impacts a person’s ability to achieve personal and professional goals. Based on this work, she has achieved the status of being one of only 200 elite Certified High Performance Coaches™ in the world and has received the honor of being awarded membership into the National Association of Experts, Writers and Speakers.

  Ms. McKee is a vibrant and inspirational speaker who is known for captivating audiences through the use of real-life stories and anecdotal accounts that engage, entertain, uplift and empower people with real solutions that they can begin to use immediately to realize their dreams.

  Whether you consult with Ms.
McKee directly, or hire her to speak to your organization, or peruse her multitude of online courses and inspirations, you are certain to become more knowledgeable, uplifted and motivated to improve your life.

  As the founder and executive producer of SanaView, Ms. McKee has released her own book titled, Fabulous Recipes for Vibrant Health , and is the executive producer of the award-winning documentary, Bethany’s Story, about the healing power of food.

  Because of her passion for healthy living, Ms. McKee spends her free time helping to develop SanaView Farms, her 52-acre historic landmark organic farm nestled in the Laurel Mountains of Pennsylvania. There, she teaches ways to regenerate our land and our health through natural living and eating. A true powerhouse of positive energy and motivation, Ms. McKee is poised to dramatically improve the lives of everyone she touches.

  Teaching proven methods to achieve greater levels of energy, engagement, joy and confidence are the keys to her success in helping others.

  To learn more visit:

  • www.sanaview.com

  • youtube.com/sanaview

  • facebook.com/JanetMcKeefan

  • facebook.com/sanaview

  • Janet can be reached at: janet@sanaview.com

  CHAPTER 29

  THE GENESIS OF SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS: ATTRACT IT!

  BY DOUG HANSON

  In 1993, I was in my early 30’s with three small children, and unbeknownst to me, one more on the way. Success and leadership had become very important to me, primarily so I could provide for my family and influence their lives for the better. More than anything, I wanted to have the wisdom and skills to effectively lead my wife and children into a life full of worldly successes , executed on the bedrock of character , and balanced with spiritual purpose . As I was journaling one day, I captured a fairly obvious but profound distinction that really sent me a wake-up call. I wrote, “You can’t give away what you don’t have!” In other words, if I really wanted to help my children live a full life, rich with purpose and meaning, I needed to do it myself first. Yikes! How do I do that?

  So, I became a sponge for all the personal development material I could get my hands on. With a specific outcome in mind, like health, wealth, or relationships, or a specific skill like investing, influence, or time management, I would seek out the best person I could learn from and model them. I especially gravitated towards speakers and authors that aligned with my interests in balancing faith and family with success and service. Some of my favorites were Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Dr. Nido Qubein, Zig Ziglar, Brian Biro, and Tony Robbins. Later, I set goals to meet some of these great achievers in person, which I did several times over. I even worked with a few, including seven consecutive years with Tony Robbins as a guest facilitator and speaker at his famous Life Mastery University in Hawaii.

  The thing that impressed me most about these thought leaders was their giving nature. They didn’t necessarily make it easy to gain access to them, but once you proved you were worthy, whether it be through creativity or tenacity, they were all more than willing to share their knowledge and wisdom.

  I remember the first time I met Dr. Qubein. I remember it so well because something he shared with me that day was the genesis of a completely different approach to life and success for me.

  After that meeting, I completely shifted my focus. I spent less time looking for more strategies to model and more time developing and galvanizing my own philosophies. There is a big difference between the two. I realized that every new strategy I adopted carried the overhead of more and more transactional to-dos, whereas every new philosophy I embraced brought more peace of mind and a better quality of life, (and here’s the best part), without any sacrifice to my results. In fact, my results improved as well.

  The question I asked Dr. Qubein was, “If you could only give one nugget of advice to a person who’s willing to do whatever you say for a successful and fulfilling life, what would it be?”

  Without a moment’s hesitation he said, “Doug, show me your To-Do list.”

  I couldn’t wait to show him my To-Do list. I had recently read several books on time management and attended an intensive goal setting workshop, so my To-Do list was exceptionally well thought through. I often joked that it was organized, alphabetized, categorized, prioritized, and notarized. I enthusiastically showed him my goals by timeline; 1-year goals, 3-year goals, etc. On the following pages, I showed him my goals by category; family, financial, health, and so on. On later pages, I showed how they were all prioritized by importance. After about two minutes of discussion, Dr. Qubein put one hand on my To-Do list and his other hand on my shoulder, looked me right in the eye over the top of his glasses and said, “Doug, this is the best To-Do list I’ve ever seen.” This brought a big smile to my face and I remember thinking, affirmation feels good , but it didn’t last long.

  Before I could say a word, he said, “Now, let me see your To-Be list.”

  Just as quickly as it came, the smile on my face was gone. I’m sure the new look on my face was something like the one you get in high school when the teacher says it’s time to turn in your semester assignment, and you think to yourself, “Oh no! That’s due today!” I didn’t have a To-Be list, nor had I ever put any thought into one, per se, but I immediately knew I should have.

  The confidence in my posture and voice were gone. I sheepishly said, “I don’t have a To-Be list.” Dr. Qubein removed his glasses, folded them, and while putting them in his pocket said, “There’s your nugget.” and he began to walk away. I said, “Wait, wait, wait just a minute. You can’t leave me hanging like that. Please explain.”

  With a smile on his face, he walked back over and crystalized the message. He said, “Doug, everybody has a To-Do list, a never-ending log of activities that day-after-day, from sun-up to sun-down, commands their time and attention, but only the best-of-the-best know who they are trying to become in life’s journey as well. They have a To-Be list”

  Have you ever noticed that once you become aware of something, you begin to see it all around you? It’s like when you buy a new car because it is so unique and then overnight it’s like everyone started copying you and buying your exact car! Well, I began to see it everywhere. Everyone was busy, wishing they had more time in the day to get things done, but few knew to what end. Then I noticed the people I respected the most, the ones that were living the most complete lives filled with happiness, relationships, wealth, passion, and meaning, offset the chaos with a To-Be list of some kind.

  The truth is we need both, because a To-Do list gives you transactional clarity and a To-Be list gives you transformational direction and purpose, but a To-Do list is about secular things that fade over time, like fame, fans, and fortunes, whereas a To-Be list is about spiritual things that are eternal, like friends, family and faith. Your To-Do list will bring you success , and your To-Be list will bring you significance . That phrase, Success and Significance , has been a key guiding philosophy in my life for many years. It is my reminder to always seek a balance of both.

  This philosophical shift changed my life. It set in motion the creation of my initial To-Be list.

  I want to be:

  1. A Man of Faith – Be an example of ‘faith over fear’ for my family and for others. My faith should be evident in all I do. Live a life of obedience and submission to God and his word.

  2. Honorable – Be a man that brings honor to my family in all I do. Period.

  3. Energetic and Optimistic – Always have the energy and optimism towards life as a person much younger than my actual years. In other words, when I’m 60, hold on to the life lessons that provide wisdom, but have the energy of a positive and optimistic 30-year-old.

  4. Passionately Grateful – Develop a constant ‘attitude of gratitude’.

  Even during difficult or challenging times, always find something to be grateful for and throughout life, give sincere thanks to anyone and everyone that helps me.

  5. A Lifelong Learner – Be forever improving.
Challenge my conditioned thoughts and beliefs. Read something new every day. Collect quotes from great thinkers and capture my thoughts in a journal for later reflection.

  6. Open to Change – Be a person that is eager to embrace change. Remember, the past is a great place to visit, but it’s a lousy place to live. For the timid, change is frightening; for the comfortable, change is threatening; but for the confident, change is always seen as opportunity.

  7. An Example of Love – Be known for openly sharing and receiving love, the most important emotion of all. In the end, nothing else really matters except relationships. Be kind, compassionate, forgiving, and open my heart to others, especially my wife and children. Make sure they feel deep and unconditional love throughout their lives.

  Here’s how having a To-Be list manifested itself in my life.

  Before I began to apply this life changing principle, I thought success was something I needed to pursue with tireless effort and resolve. I would set goals and with pig-headed discipline do my best to chase them down into submission. Such an approach is intense, stressful, and exhausting.

  But then I realized that in nature, whatever you pursue eludes you. It’s like chasing butterflies or herding cats. This was a really big ah-ha for me, and it completely changed my approach. Over time I learned that success wasn’t something I needed to pursue, it was something I needed to attract, by the person I become . I still have to-do lists, primarily so I use my time wisely, but my main focus has shifted from what I need to pursue to who I need to become.

  The application of my To-Be list wasn’t completely positive, however.

  There is a drawback to having a To-Be list if you don’t use it properly, and I learned it the hard way. Shortly after I created my To-Be list, I couldn’t wait to share it with my family. After hearing the list, my son Clay, who was 5 years old at the time asked about my desire to be honorable? He asked, “Dad, what does it mean to bring honor to the family?” I did my best to explain that everything we do reflects on every member of our family and that I wanted my behavior to always uplift our name in the community, and to always make my family proud.