Think & Grow Balls! Blog Has Moved!

Dear Friend,

I am now hosting my blog on my own server to accommodate the high traffic. Please visit me at:

Think & Grow Balls! Blog: A Companion To The Bestselling Book

See you there,

Onward & Upward,

J.D.

Escape Velocity #4

Have you ever noticed that intelligent people will sit around and talk for hours (even days, months, or years) about all the great ideas they have that will change their lives (or others') that they never do anything about. I am surrounded by these folks sometimes, although I try not to be. Basically, I have to stop them and ask, "What are the action steps that it will take you to make your idea a reality?" Then I ask them, "Is there something you can do right now, or tomorrow, or sometime soon that will cause you to stop talking about possibilities and instead start talking about realities?" And then I might ask, "Do you ever get tired of just talking?" Because I know in my circle of friends, we get very tired of hearing people just talk about what they're going to do. So, to help all my friends that need a little encouragement, or a road map, on how to get things done, here's how to stop talking about ideas and make them realities:

1) See the vision, end result, or goal.

2) Determine all the pieces, steps, or subgoals that need to be in place in order for the vision to become reality.

3) Put them in chronological order, or decide which ones come before the other until the end result is achieved. Determine their sequence.

4) Pick the first piece or subgoal.

5) Repeat steps 1 through 3 with the first subgoal.

6) DO the first subgoal of the first subgoal.

7) Repeat with second subgoal.

8) Repeat, Do, Repeat, Do.

Think of the task of chopping down a tree. It takes many swings or chops to cut it down. Cutting down the tree is the goal. Each chop is a subgoal. Acquiring the axe is the first subgoal of the first subgoal. Then you need to sharpen the axe. Then you need to go to the tree. Then you need to heft the axe (you may need to develop this strength first). Then you need to swing the axe (you may need to learn this skill first). Then you need to pull the axe out. Then you need to repeat all the steps. Over and over and over. Eventually, the tree that you kept talking about chopping down is on the ground. You have made your vision a reality. Good job.

You can apply this logic to all goals and visions. Go get your axe!

Onward & Upward,

JD

Success Quote #5

Okay, anyone seen the movie Boiler Room? Today's quote comes from that movie:

"Act as if."

What do you think the power of acting "as if" can do for your self-confidence levels? How would you act if you already had what you're seeking in life? How would you treat people? How happy would you be? Hhmmm.

When we BELIEVE that we are capable of achieving our goal to the point where we can visualize it so vividly in our own minds, as a side-effect, we can experience the joy "as if" we really did.

By experiencing this joy and becoming a person with a positive personality you will actually find that you are making it easier for yourself to then go out and ACTUALLY achieve your goal.

In the end, thinking positively about yourself and your ability to achieve your goals is self-fulfilling.

Any feedback?

Onward & Upward,

JD

Success Quote #4

Okay, here's a good quote I just found today:

"Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue that it is always respected, even when it is associated with vice." - Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

So having "balls" can be used for good or for ill. Interesting. But how does one get courage if they don't have it? Can it be learned from a book? I think so. Tell me your thoughts.

Onward & Upward,

JD

Success Quote #3

"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this one. It's RWE's version of "Actions speak louder than words." which we've all heard. It reminds me to not only be aware of what I'm saying to other people, I should be aware of what I say to MYSELF... knowing that our dominating thoughts decide who we become. What sayest Thou?

Escape Velocity #3

Now, on to this week's quote. It's a good one!

"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote is very important to the Think & Grow Balls! philosophy because it deals entirely with ACTION. It sounds pretty similar to the saying, "actions speak louder than words", which most of us have heard our entire lives. Well, it's true.

What we do with our lives is far more important and speaks volumes more that what we say to justify what we did, do, or will do in the future. See, human beings are very complex when it comes to what we do versus what we say. The complexity revolves around the concept of "the mind". The mind has two parts: the conscious and the subconscious. Each mind has two different functions with two very different drives, yet, they function seemlessly together to help us experience our lives.

All that we are and how we perceive the world is a direct result of our two "minds" working together. Sometimes, our minds do not work that well with each other as Carl Jung explained in much of his work on topics such as complexes, multiple-personality disorder, hearing "voices", and others. We don't need to be psychologists to understand this complexity in the involvement of bad habits, routines that are hard to break, post-traumatic stress disorder, and many "glitches" that our minds encounter during our lives.

What's good about this is that we can use our conscious minds to "reprogram" our subconscious mind to reduce and/or eliminate these glitches so we may begin to experience life in more positive and healthy ways. We can use our conscious minds to unlock the power of our subconscious to help us reduce fear, eliminate procrastination, increase courage, and motivate ourselves to do things with our lives that we never thought possible! All you have to do is learn how.

In my years of field research and work with my students, I have developed a method that the "average" person can use to unlock the power of their subconscious to work FOR them, instead of against them. It all starts with changing the way you think.

Once you change the way you think, you'll begin to "feel" better about life and your place in it. Once you begin to feel better, you'll begin to act differently. And, of course, this leads to results... and ultimately self-confidence. And, as you know, self-confidence is what it is all about!

However, all this change must begin somewhere and it begins when you find your own path to positive personal change.

I sincerely hope I can reduce your fear and encourage you to make the happiest life possible for yourself.

Onward & Upward,

J.D.

Success Quote #2

"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs."

- Vance Havne

What are your thoughts on this?