shine in the world-robin sharma

8/14/2019 Shine in the World-Robin Sharma

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This personal workbook/journal is part of the Shine In the World audio learning system. If youwould like more information on this product or on any other audio programs, books or seminars offered

by Robin S. Sharma, please call 905-889-7900, or write to:

SHARMA LEADERSHIP INTERNATIONAL

1 West Pearce St., Suite 505Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3K3

Tel: 905.889.7900 Fax: 905.889.7905E-mail: [email protected]

www.robinsharma.com

Shine In The World 2003, Copyright by Robin S. Sharma

Shine In The World is an official trademarkof the Sharma Leadership International.

The author is not providing any form of medical advice. It is highlyrecommended that the user consult with a medical professional before

embarking on a new program for physical improvement.

Acknowledgements

Robin S. Sharma expresses his grateful thanks to Michael T. Hutchisonfor his energy and wisdom, to Bill Oulton for his audio engineering,

to Kathi Dunn and Karen Petherick for their design leadership,to Rick Guthy and his competent crew for their production expertise,

to Karen Risch for her editing assistance and to Jan Miller, Ashley Carrolland Rick Frishman for believing in my message. Special thanks

to my team at Sharma Leadership International andto my brother Sanjay, his wife Susan, my mom and my dad.

This program is dedicated to my son Colby and my daughter Bianca.

Printed in the U.S.A.

S h i n e I n T h e Wo r l d


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SHINE IN THE WORLDPowerful Strategies for Personal Change and Spiritual Success

PURPOSE STATEMENT

This program has been precisely designed to offer you an integrated anddynamic system for personal mastery which blends the most effectivestrategies of the West for peak performance and high achievement withancient wisdom of the East for care of the trilogy of human endowments:the Mind, the Body and the Soul. The overriding objective of this program

is to offer a practical pathway that will provide you with high-impact,measurable results leading to inner harmony, enlightenment and personal,professional and spiritual success.


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R o b i n S . S h a r m a


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OVERVIEW OF THIS WORKBOOK/JOURNAL

SECTION A: WORKBOOK

This section has been designed to offer you a summary of the key principles for personal change featured on

the audiocassettes. Through a series of creative exercises and action steps, it will also provide an opportunityto reinforce the wisdom, tools and techniques you have learned.

PART 1: The MindLessons in Mental Mastery

An Ancient Paradigm for Self-Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The 7 Eternal Laws of Mental Mastery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5 Timeless Techniques for Self-Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Path to Inner Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

PART 2: The BodyLessons in Physical Mastery

Secrets of the Sages to Liberate Vitality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The 7 Habits of Agelessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Ancient Art of Physical Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Tao of Radiant Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

PART 3: The SoulLessons in Spiritual Success

Kindle the Fire of Willpower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 The 4 Virtues of the Ideal Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 The 4 Pillars of Soulfullness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 The Way to Spiritual Enlightenment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

SECTION B: PERSONAL JOURNAL

This section offers you a private sanctuary to chart your progress and record your thoughts, experiences andpersonal victories as you advance through this self-mastery system and liberate the fullness of your potential.


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Small victories lead to large victories. By takingsmall, daily steps along the path of self-mastery, youwill create the momentum required to raise your lifeinto the realm of its highest dimension. Theillustration above will serve as your step-by-steppathway for personal expansion. Based on timelesswisdom for self-mastery and spiritual success, it will

also serve as your torchlight as you take consistentsteps toward creating the life you desire.

This ancient paradigm, or model, offers you amore enlightening way to view your world. Itallows you to see your life and all its gifts in a moreempowering way. At the base of the paradigm reststhe trilogy of human endowments, your three

The

PathofEnlightenment

The State of Nirvana

Spiritual Enlightenment& Inner Harmony

The Fire of Dharma Conscience-Directed

Living

The State of Self-Knowledge& Personal Mastery

The Soul The 4 Virtues of the Ideal Person

The 4 Pillars of Soulfulness

The Mind................... The 7 Eternal Laws of

Mental Mastery

5 Timeless Techniques forSelf-Leadership

The Body Secrets of the Sages to

Liberate Vitality

The 7 Habits ofAgelessness

The Trilogy of HumanEndowments

I see no beginning or middle or end to you; only boundless strength in your endless arms;

The moon and sun in your eyes. Your own brilliance scorching the Universe.

Bhagavad Gita

SECTION A: WORKBOOK

PART 1: THE MINDLESSONS IN MENTAL MASTERY

An Ancient Paradigm for Self-Leadership


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greatest resources: your Mind, Body and Soul. Byexploring and fully actualizing these three frontiers,you raise your life to the next level along the pathof enlightenment to the state of self-knowledge andpersonal mastery. You are bound to reach this stage

by using the tools, techniques and strategies of thissystem on a consistent basis. It is at this level whereyou connect with the fullness of your inner powerand resources and begin to liberate your potentialfor a life of greater achievement, meaning andfulfillment.

Personal change is the most noble goal you canset for yourself. Natures greatest happiness is inchange. Imagine if the bud never opened into theflower. Imagine if the winter never warmed into the

summer. Imagine if the darkest night never dawnedto the brightest day. Change is natures way ofmanifesting her power. Personal change enhancesyou, empowers you and enlightens you. You arehappiest and most fulfilled when you are expandingyour emotional, physical and spiritual attributes.Change will get you there.

By reaching the state of self-knowledge andexploring the art of self-mastery, you become theinfluencer of the circumstances in your life ratherthan being a helpless passenger floating along inwhatever direction the current is travelling. You become the servant of your imagination rather thanthe servant of your memory and you begin to seeyour life in a whole new light. You realize the onlylimits to your life are those you consciously set foryourself. And you begin to see the summer ofopportunity amidst even the frostiest winter ofdifficulty.

As you come to know the full extent of yourhuman capacity, the fire of Dharma will then bekindled. Dharmais Sanscrit for lifes purpose andis based on the ancient Eastern philosophy whichholds that each and every one of us has a specialmission we are destined to carry out. By taking thetime to know yourself and your many gifts, you willcome to know your lifes purpose.

Once you discover your main aim in life,whether this means to build the most dynamic

business in the country which will contribute to thelives of thousands in some worthy way or to builda dynamic family culture which contributes to thelives of your children, your life shifts veryprofoundly. You move from the realm of the

ordinary into the realm of the extraordinary. Whenyou know your purpose and take steps to actualizeand manifest it into reality, your life becomesenergized and deeply fulfilling. You no longerspread your energy in many different directions.Instead, you will begin to focus only on thosepursuits which are meaningful. By acting on yourDharma, you are doing what you love to doandwhat you were meant to do. This liberates yourinner power and fills you with a lasting sense of

harmony and peacefulness because you have become aligned with your purpose.Once you know your lifes objective and theme,

you will no longer experience the chaos and crisiswhich may dominate your days. Instead, you startdeveloping the courage to do what your inner fireand conscience tells you is the right thing for youto do. You start living the life you deserve and notthe life you might have drifted into. As you can seefrom the ancient paradigm/model, this is theessence of Conscience-Directed Living. At this levelof enlightenment, you have the ability to startrealizing all of the blueprints and visions you haveproduced in your minds eye and fully understandthe truth of the timeless principle which holds thatthe purpose of life is a life of purpose.

Advancing confidently in the direction of yourDharma or lifes purpose naturally brings spiritualharmony because you are now aligned with the lifeyou were intended to live: you are using the fullcapacity of your human endowments as you worktoward some worthy objective. Perhaps the greatIndian philosopher Patanjali said it best:

When you are inspired by some great purpose, somextraordinary project, all of your thoughts break theibonds: your mind transcends limitations, yourconsciousness expands in every direction and you fin yourself in a great new wonderful world. Dormant force faculties and talents become alive and you discov


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yourself to be a greater person by far than you everdreamed yourself to be.

The sages believed that once you taste spiritualenlightenment, you will come to know a placecalled Nirvana, a sublime state where you connect

with your highest self and the source of infinitewisdom. According to the Eastern thinkers, this isthe place where you walk in the field of boundlesspossibility and know the meaning of bliss.

The Genius Inventory

Over the ages, philosophers have said that weall possess exceptional talents and have the abilityto create rich, rewarding lives if we only take thetime to invest in ourselves and polish our personal

talents. Recent research has confirmed that theaverage person uses only 1/100th of 1% of his orher mental abilities. Respected Russian scholar IvanYefremov has said that each and every one of us hasthe ability to learn 40 languages, memorize an entireset of encyclopedias from A to Z and master dozensof university courses. Most people, however, are so busy that they never take the time to explore theirpotential. What separates highly actualized peoplefrom others is that they make the time to do thosethings the others say they do not have the time todo, even though they might not have the time to dothem either.

Take 2 minutes to create an inventory of yourpersonal gifts. Write them down as fast as you can before your logical mind blocks the flow. Do notstop until you reach at least 12. Examples includeyour drive, creativity, compassion, energy andenthusiasm, positive and persistent attitude, refinedcommunication skills and courage. Connect withwho you really are and see that you are a genius inyour own right.

A Menu for Change

Before you can ever hope to change your life,you must change yourself. Success on the outside begins within. You cannot do good unless you feelgood. Self-mastery is therefore the DNA of lifemastery and the best investment you will evermake. Confucius said, Good people strengthenthemselves ceaselessly.

Step one for personal change is to know whatyou need to change, to identify your weaknesses. Just like a mechanic cannot fix your car beforeseeing the problem, you will not be in a position toraise your life to its highest level until you clearlysee what is holding you back.

Take 4 minutes to create a list of all the thingsyou are committed to improving in your personal,professional and spiritual life through the use of thispersonal mastery system. Examples could be erasing


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William James, a founder of modernpsychology, once said that most people livewhether physically, intellectually or morallyin avery restricted circle of their potential being. We allhave reservoirs of life to draw upon of which wedo not dream. To expand this reservoir of personalpotential, it is essential that you begin to condition

your mind for peak performance and a high state ofeffectiveness. By learning how to run your mind atits highest level, you will quickly change allelements of your external reality because yourthoughts form your world. If your relationships oryour finances or your happiness levels are less thanideal, you can trace this lack back to the quality of

the worry habit, unlocking your energy reserves, bringing material abundance into your life, livingwith greater balance and meaning and findingspiritual enlightenment.


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The 7 Eternal Laws of Mental Mastery

Law ofSubjective Reality

Law of Like Attraction

Law of Dharma

Law of Karma

Law of Conditioned Gratitude

Law of Egolessness (Selfless Service)

Law of Character Congruency

It is not because things are difficult thatwe do not dare; it is because we do not

dare that they are difficult.

Seneca


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your thoughts. The ancient sages of the East wereamong the very first believers in the PMA (positivemental attitude) philosophy. They knew thatthequality of your life ultimately comes down to the qualityof your thoughts.

If you flood your mind with thoughtsconfirming that your life will be rich, rewarding,creative, fulfilling and spiritually successful, thisprophecy will eventually become your reality. If youfirmly believe that you can build a great business ora great community or a loving family, this flamingdesire is bound to manifest itself into reality if youconsistently act on it.

Based on the timeless wisdom and teachings ofthe Eastern sages, there are 7 Eternal Laws of

Mental Mastery. By practicing these 7 laws on adaily basis and building them into the way youthink, act and live, you will find that you gain anexcellent sense of control over your mind andharness the true extent of its power. This willtranslate into greater personal effectiveness,significantly higher levels of achievement,confidence and positivity, enhanced creativity and alasting sense of well-being.

The 1st Law: The Law of Subjective RealityThe nature of your world is determined by your

nature.The way you see your job or your family oryour friends is not determined by some objectivestandardit is determined by the way you seeyourself. The bottom line is that there is no objectiveworld, only your personal world, a world that youshape and influence according to your social beliefs,attitudes, past conditioning and the set of lensesthrough which you choose to view it.

Think about it for a moment. Is any objectnaturally good or bad, or is it the way that youperceive it or interpret the object or event thatmakes it good or bad? The face of one persons bestfriend might be the face of anothers worst enemy.In both cases, the face remains the same. Thedifferent responses come from two different peopleprocessing the same information in entirely differentways. A heavy rain will make a drought-plagued

farmer dance for joy while annoying two lovers whohad just sat down to enjoy a romantic picnic. Again,the same stimulusthe rainelicits two entirelydifferent responses depending on the thoughts ofthe perceiver.

The power of this law lies in the fact that if youwant to change your response to any triggeringeventand thereby change the nature of yourrealityyou have only to change the nature of yourthoughts and the way you think about the object orevent. The person who sees anothers best friend ashis worst enemy can start focusing on thisindividuals good points or on what a waste ofenergy it is to think of anyone in a negative light.Toxic thoughts drain the minds vitality. More

empowering alternatives liberate mental power andadvance you along the road of mental mastery.

The 2nd Law: The Law of Like AttractionYou attract into your life what you think about all

day long.What you get is determined by what youthink, and as you sow, so shall you reap.

The mind is like a huge magnet, and thethoughts you run through it every minute of everyday create powerful forces of emotional, material,physical and spiritual attraction. If there is any lackin your life, whether this means there is somethingmissing in your professional life or in your sociallife or in your spiritual life, it can be traced directlyto the thoughts you are running through your mind.The quality of your life is influenced by the qualityof your thoughts. Your thoughts do form yourworld.

So if you want a more peaceful life, think morepeaceful thoughts. If you want a richer world, floodyour mind with richer, more illuminating thoughts.If you want a more creative life, focus on morecreative thought patterns. To be more productive or joyful, stop paying attention to the negativedistractions which might range from the state of theeconomy to the state of the environment. Startspending your days filling your mind only withgood, empowering thoughts. The results will speakfor themselves.


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Please take a moment to answer thesequestions: What thought patterns/beliefs are holding you

back in your personal life?

What habitual thoughts are limiting youprofessionally/financially?

What beliefs are blocking you from spiritualsuccess and a greater sense of meaning?

The 3rd Law: The Law of DharmaThe purpose of life is a life of purpose.The moment

you discover your personal purpose and lifes workand, more important, start taking consistent steps toactualize it, your life immediately transcends theordinary. When you become aligned with your lifesmain aim, that pursuit which blends your personalgenius and human gifts with some worthy objective,you kindle your inner fire and begin to live life witha new sense of meaning. Rather than spreading yourenergies in a hundred different directions, once youknow your compelling purpose, you can concentrateyour power in a single, highly rewarding direction.

Your life instantly becomes much simpler.Investing the time to find your purpose will be

one of your most important and liberating acts. Yourlifes work could be to find a cure for cancer or to be the top salesperson in your division. One is not

better than the other; they are just different. The keyis that your main aim in life must fully engage yourspecial talents, inspire you and contribute, in somepositive way, to the lives of others. One of the fineststrategies to improve your own life is to improvethe lives of others. As the Chinese proverb says, Alittle bit of fragrance always clings to the hand thatgives you roses.

The 4th Law: The Law of Karma

For every action we take, we receive an equal anappropriate reaction.We get what we deserve, andthose who have created richly rewarding lives havetaken rich, rewarding actions to get them there. Peakperformers are no different from weak performersthey just do different things. There is an agelesstruth that says what separates fully actualizedpeople from the ordinary ones is that the first groupdoes those things that the second group does notlike doing, even though they might also not enjoydoing them. They get up early and they follow theirpurpose and they persist in the face of adversityand they take care of their inner worlds, not becausethese things are easy to do, but because these arethe right things to do.

Discovering your Dharma is not powerit isonly potential power. It is like having anextraordinarily powerful computer with no softwareto run on it; you might as well not even have it. Butwhen you add the fire of action to the flames ofDharma and have the courage to follow yourdestiny on a daily basis, your life improves in aprofound way.

The 5th Law: The Law of ConditionedGratitude

B y concentrating your attention on those things in your life that are good, you cultivate the attitude gratitude, an essential precondition to inner harmony an



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mental excellence.You start connecting to yourhighest self the moment you build the habit oftaking some time every day to notice the sacrednessof all things around you and the simple pleasureslife has to offer.

Robert Louis Stevenson said, The person whohas stopped being thankful has fallen asleep in life.Dale Carnegie made the point even morepowerfully:

One of the most tragic things I know about humannature is that we tend to put off living. We are alldreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizoninstead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outsideour windows.

The ancient sages said you could tell who had

found enlightenment by the way a personresponded to the wonders of nature. Those whowere enlightened drank deeply from the well ofnature. They took the time to connect with nature.They saw the magnificence of a sunrise and weretouched by a moonlit sky. As Mahatma Ghandi said,When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship ofthe Creator.

By taking the time to regularly consider all thethings you have to be grateful for, no matter howsmall they are, you shift your consciousness off ofwhat you do not have and on to all that you dohave. You begin to fill your mind with empoweringthoughts, ones that attract even greater abundanceinto your world. Even by taking a few minutesevery morning to write and review a gratitude list,you will improve your attitude in a very importantway. Your list might focus on the loving family andfriends you are fortunate to have, your high levelsof enthusiasm, the great country you live in, yourgood health or the fact that you have a roof overyour head.

APPLICATION EXERCISE

Take 5 minutes to create your own gratitudelist. This simple exercise will increase yourawareness of the abundance already in your life,

even though you might not currently beconcentrating on it.

The Law of Conditioned Gratitude gets youaway from the pull of familiarity, a state where wetake everything we have for granted because we

have grown accustomed to it over time.

The 6th Law: The Law of EgolessnessTo experience true and lasting joy, one must stop

asking Whats in it for me? and start asking Who canI serve?The Law of Egolessness could also becalled the Law of Selfless Service.

When you are confidently advancing along thepath of your Dharma and focusing on doing whatis good and right, you will not only realize the fullextent of your mental capacity, you will alsoenergize every department of your life. We arehappiest when we are growing and expanding.Complacency is a plague. By having the courageand discipline to follow a worthy pursuit, you buildyour dreams while helping others in the process.Selfless service is one of the most noble acts you canever perform. Ironically, the more you give to others,the more you receive, both materially and spiritually.

Start thinking about how you want to beremembered: what contributions are you committedto making in your life? What legacy do you wantto leave behind? Practice daily acts of kindness asyou advance your goals and objectives. Develop aservice mind-set. Start giving more of yourself toothers. In the words of one father to his son, Beashamed to die until you have scored a victory forhumankind.


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There are 5 particularly valuable techniques foreffectively implementing the wisdom and principlesyou have learned so far. A number of these tools arethousands of years old and have been derived fromthe Eastern mystics. Sages have used thesetechniques through the ages to realize the fullpotential of their human capacity and to attainmental mastery. These extraordinary performerswere masters of their selves. Some had evenconditioned their minds to slow their heartbeats oncommand, go for weeks without food or sleep andendure tremendous pain. These sages were livingmodels of the power within each and every one ofus. By mastering their strategies, you liberate yourpersonal gifts, leading to greater mental toughness,increased focus and mental clarity, better resilienceto stress, greater creativity, more energy, confidenceand higher levels of personal achievement.

The other techniques you will learn in thissection have been developed and refined in the West based on the latest technologies for peakperformance and human effectiveness. These are the

toolsand the secretsof elite athletes, wildlysuccessful entrepreneurs and top performing menand women in the fields of business, science and thearts.

As you personally test each of the 5 strategiesin the laboratory of your own life remember thereis only one reliable way to judge the effectiveness ofany set of skills: by results. These tools have beenproven time and time again by thousands andthousands of achievers. Knowing this, give the 5strategies a chance to work their wonders. William James said it takes about 21 days to install a newhabit. Do not give up on the technology after onlya few days. You are re-conditioning your mind tostart working at its highest levels. It must shed theshackles of old thinking patterns and break its oldhabits. This takes time. But the investment ofpatience, time and energy will be well worth it asyou start living more richly and fully, creating thekind of personal, professional and spiritualfulfillment that is your birthright. Remember, youare the author of your autobiography.

Mantras

Blueprinting

TheKnowledge

Fire

MilestoneConsciousnessTM

DeathbedMentalityTM

5 Timeless Techniques for Self-Leadership


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1. Mantras: The Verbal Embodimentof PowerOne of the most effective self-mastery strategies

of the ancient sages of the East was the daily use ofmantras. Mantras are nothing more than positive,

inspiring words or phrases designed to breaklimiting or self-sabotaging thinking patterns youmight be running through your mind on aconsistent basis.

In Sanscrit,man means mind andtra meansfreeing. Somantraliterally means freeing of yourmind, and this is precisely what it does. Thespoken and written word is a profound influencerof your thoughts. By changing your thoughts, youchange your self-concept. Your self-concept

determines the actions you take, because afundamental law of human nature is that you willnever act in a way that is inconsistent with the wayyou see yourself. If your self-concept is that you area confident person, you will act this way. The self-concept then is a self-fulfilling prophecy since theway you perceive yourself determines what you become.

Thus, by changing your thoughts, you canchange your self-concept, which will then changethe way you act and the steps you take on a daily basis. By changing your actions, you change theresults in your life. By changing the results, youcreate a new, more enlightening reality.

Step one of the process then is to change thequality of your thoughts, and this can be done veryeffectively through the use of mantras. Start creatinga series of motivating phrases to describe yourselfand repeat them as often as possible. If you want toperform with high levels of confidence, startrepeating As I perform with confidence, I releasemy brilliance. If you want more willpower youmight create a mantra which says I am strong,inspired and disciplined.

These empowering phrases will sink deeply intoyour subconscious mind once you start floodingyour consciousness with this positive influence.Negative thinking patterns which have been holdingyou back will be replaced by the positive. This is a

manifestation of the ancient natural law that positivealways overcomes the negative. Spring alwaysfollows winter. The bright rays of the dawn alwaysfollow the darkest parts of the night.


Please take 5 minutes to create a series ofpersonal mantras that will inspire you to attainpersonal, professional and spiritual success:

2. Blueprinting: A Mental Pathwayfor MasteryWhen building a house, a wise architect creates

a blueprint for the construction before the first sodis turned. Similarly, highly actualized peopleunderstand the power of creating mental blueprintsfor every element of their lives before they manifestthese neural pathways in their external reality.

The mind works through pictures, and byrunning pictures of your ideal outcomes (whichmight range from performing superbly at anupcoming sales presentation to responding withmaturity and poise in a confrontational situation)through your minds eye on a regular basis, youwill condition your mind to give you the desiredresults. Your mind is encoded to give you exactlywhat you ask of it. Most people do not ask enoughof their minds and their lives reflect it.

Why does blueprinting work? First, it influencesand reshapes your self-concept. And as you havelearned, by changing the way you perceive yourself,you change the quality of your life. Second,



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blueprinting is a mental rehearsal method.Repeatedly conditioning your mind by passingimages of peak performance through it creates apathway. When the actual event occurs (e.g., thesales presentation or the confrontational situation)

your mind shifts into autopilot because it has beentrained in what it must do. This is no longer aforeign situation. Instead it is one you haveconsistently prepared for.

3. Adopt a Deathbed Mentality

An Indian maharajah had a very special dailyritual. Every morning, he was in the habit ofcelebrating his own funeral, complete with flowersand music, all the while chanting I have lived fully,

I have lived fully, I have lived fully. . . .This leader knew one of the timeless secrets ofself-leadership:live every day as if it was your last.Toomany people live as if they have an unlimitedsupply of time. They put off their dreams untilanother time. They promise to spend more timewith their loved ones or to expand their potentialnext month or next year.

The moment you commit yourself, from thedeepest core of your heart, to living each and everyday as if it was your last you undergo a profoundparadigm shift. The way you see your life changesfundamentally. By waking up every morning andasking yourself the simple question What would Ido today if it was my last? you bring a new senseof energy and enthusiasm and purpose to your life.You will start thinking different thoughts duringyour day and treating all those around you in acompletely different manner. The important thingsin your life become more obvious. You no longermiss out on the simple pleasures of life because youare too busy chasing the complex ones.


In the space following, take a couple of minutesto write 5 things you would do today if it was yourlast day on the planet.

4. Develop a Milestone Consciousness

Milestones are benchmarks for your emotional,material, physical and spiritual progress. Milestonesoffer you a set of clearly defined objectives whichgive your life focus. Milestones are the rudder toyour ship of life. They are the steering wheel toyour personal vehicle. Milestones are targets, andsince you will never hit a target you cannot see, youmust come to know your milestones intimately.

All highly actualized, fully enlightened people

know their milestones and the precise direction inwhich they are travelling. This gives their livesdirection and simplicity. Rather than spending theirdays in the chaos of crisis, trying to do manydifferent things at once, not really knowing whatactivity is more meaningful than the other, peakperformers have already mapped out their actionplans and the milestones against which they canmeasure their personal, professional and spiritualadvancement. Their lives are then spent only on

high-impact pursuits: those activities which get themwhere they want to go.To breathe life into your milestones here are

some practical tips:

Your objectives must be clearly defined.I planto exercise this year is far less effective than amilestone which says, By April 7 of next yearI will have completed 4 5-mile road races and


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2 mini-triathlons while losing 27 pounds in theprocess. Your objectives must be committed to paper andreviewed regularly.By exposing your mind toyour milestones every morning and every night,

you will quickly develop amilestone mentality: amind-set where you are centered on achievingyour primary goals. And remember, we arehappiest when we are growing and moving intothe higher regions of our human potential.Actualizing your milestones is an exciting andinspiring process. Your objectives must have timelines.A milestonewithout a deadline is no milestone at all. Thereis no pressure behind it.

5. Kindle the Knowledge FireYour thoughts and actions are influenced by

what you know. If your mind has not beenawakened to a specific opportunity, you will neverspot it. If you have never learned that worrying toomuch drains your physical vitality or that criticizingpeople harms your relationships, you are bound tokeep repeating the same mistakes over and overagain throughout your life. A timeless principleholds: If you keep doing the same things every day,you will get the same results every day. To improvethe quality of your life, you must improve thequality of what you do.

One of the best strategies for personal change isto devote a period of time every day to learning.Peak performers are lifelong learners. By filling yourmind with new, more empowering information, youhave the impetus to take new actions based on thisnew information. New actions create better results,and better results create positive life changes.

You can change your life with the right bit ofinformation. Bill Gates changed his life the momenthe picked up an issue ofPopular Scienceand readabout the worlds first personal computer. Author

and former Success Unlimitededitor Og Mandinowent from being a down-and-out drifter to one ofthe best-selling self-help writers of our time themoment he stepped out of the rain one day and intoa public library. He discovered the power of

personal-development books and was exposed tonew tools for personal success. All the answers toany challenges you might be facing are contained insome book out thereit is simply a matter offinding it. Every mistake you could possibly makein your lifetime has already been made andrecorded in someone elses autobiography or insome business or self-mastery book. Is there reallyany reason for you to make the same mistakesagain?

Hunger for knowledge. The most effectivepeople in every field consistently expose themselvesto new ideas. They are open to trying newtechniques and judge only by results.Here are 4 action steps to kindle the knowledge fire:

Read at least 40 minutes a day.Miss a meal butdo not miss your personal growth period. Listen to audio cassettes on a daily basis.If youare commuting 30 minutes to work each wayevery day, after one year this amounts to sixweeks of eight-hour days. You simply cannotafford not to use this time productively. Makeyour car a mobile learning center. Attend as many seminars as you can, particularlyin the personal mastery area.This will keep youinspired and energized as you create a richer,more rewarding life. Act on what you know.Knowledge is notpower. It is only potential power. Knowledge istransformed into actual power when it is actedon. The world is full of too many people whoalready know precisely what to do to achievefinancial freedom or physical vitality or spiritualabundance. But they never act on what theyknow.



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Life ThemeDaily Period

of PeaceA Concentrated

Mind

The Morning

Ritual

Reduce

DesiresClearlightingTM

The Path to Inner Peace

When from our better selves wehave too long been parted by thehurrying world, sick of its business,of its pleasures tired, how gracious,how benign is solitude.

William Wordsworth

Inner peace is your natural state. If you arecurrently seeking to live a more balanced, less stress-filled life, apply the strategies which follow to returnyourself to your original state of harmony andserenity. You are programmed for a peaceful life, oneover which you have control and live the way youwant to live. But all too often, we lose sight of ourpriorities and get caught up in the thick of thinthings, those daily activities that appear to be sopressing and important at the time but contributelittle to the quality of our lives over the long run.Goethe said, Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter the least.And Thoreau added, It is not enough to be busy,so are the ants. The question is what are you busyabout?

What follows are 6 practical, result-orientedsolutions to the challenge of a tense, chaotic, lessthan satisfying lifestyle.

1. Develop a Life ThemeSo many pundits these days are saying the

ultimate goal in life is to be happy. Yet the ultimategoal in life is not to be happy; our essential purposeis to actualize our Dharma. This is your special lifeswork that you alone can fulfill more fully thananyone else. Happiness is the inevitable by-product.

Here is an analogy. Not every key will fit intothe ignition of your car. But when the right key is

inserted, your engine fires to life. Similarly, whenyou match that worthy pursuit that allows you tofulfill your compelling purpose (the ignition) withyour special talents and loves (the key) you fire upyour own life and enhance it in a dramatic way.When you spend your days doing what you weremeant to do, a deep sense of ease and peace fillsyour days. Rather than rushing around trying to beall things to all people, you do only those high-impact things that count. When you are on purpose,you get off chaos. When you are on purpose, theinevitable by-product is always happiness.


To help you discover your lifes work, pleaseanswer the following questions: How do you want to be remembered?


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What are you happiest doing? What would youdo if you could not fail?

What legacy do you hope to leave for futuregenerations?

2. The Daily Period of PeaceKnowing your life theme and the legacy you

are dedicated to leaving for generations to follow isa liberating state to be in. To maintain that sense offreedom and calm, one of the finest techniques youcan build into your routine is the daily period ofpeace. This is nothing more than a time for self-renewal. The sages of the East understood thatsilence is a powerful antidote to the effects oftodays fast paced and increasingly complex world.By taking even 10 minutes every day to sit quietlyin a silent placeto simply beyou will notice thatyou are calmer, less tense, more creative, focusedand much happier.

3. The Power of a Concentrated MindDo you squander your focus? When you drive

to work, is your mind jumping to a hundreddifferent things like an unchained puppy? Whenyou go for a walk, are you thinking about what youwill have for dinner and about challenges at theoffice and about the economy and about your

childrens future, rather than concentrating on the beauty of your surroundings and feeling thesunbeams warming your face? When was the lasttime you were fully in the moment? When was thelast time every ounce of your attention was in what

you were doing? For too many people, this was along, long time ago. Most people have lost theability to concentrate the full extent of their mentalpowers on a single activity. They dissipate theirmental capacity among many little things andneglect the big things.

The mind is a wonderful servant but atyrannical master goes the old saying. Highperforming, enlightened men and women are intotal control of their minds. When they are reading,

they think about nothing but the words in front ofthem. When they walk, their attention is on theirfootsteps and on the richness of their surroundings.Their minds are not filled with endless chatter andworry. Instead, their minds are focused only onwhat they are doing at that moment and, therefore,the full capacity of their mental gifts is being used.

Just like a child concentrates the rays of the sunthrough a magnifying glass to ignite a piece ofpaper, you can start tapping into your minds deeppotential when you start concentrating it on whatyou are doing in the moment. Remember, the mindis like a muscle: the more you push it into action,the stronger it will grow.

4. Clearlighting

Meditation is an excellent tool to still a mindfull of inner turbulence and mental chatter. Thistechnique has been around in the East for more than5,000 years and its longevity comes from one reasonalone: it works. Clearlighting is a meditative practicewhich will allow you to see every element of yourlife in a much clearer, more empowering light.

This tool will unlock your mind/body/soulpotential and allow you to live more fully. Theancient philosophers said that as a lamp placed ina windless spot does not flicker, a person who hastrained the mind knows deep calm and peace.Clearlighting conditions your mind for serenity and


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will serve as an anchor to link you to the wellspringof tranquility which is your natural state.

One of the most effective tools for Clearlightingis the Heart of the Rose technique. Simply takesome quiet time to stare deeply into the center of a

rose. Immerse your attention into the rose. Do notthink of anything else. Every time your mindwanders off the heart of the rose, gently guide it back to this object in front of you. Within a fewweeks, the improvements will astonish you. You willhave trained your mind to do exactly what youhave told it to do. How can you control your life ifyou have not learned to control your mind? Thistechnique will return the control.

5. Reduce DesiresMuch of the wisdom of the East focuses onsimplifying your life and curbing desires as a wayto advance along the path of enlightenment andmastery. The Chinese have a proverb: Peace in athatched hutthat is happiness.

If you attach your happiness to a fast car or a big house or any other material thing, the momentit is gone, you lose your peace of mind. Happinessis an inside game. Happiness must come fromwithin. Success with others begins with success withself. And there is a big difference between makinga lot of money and making a lot of life. This worldis full of unhappy multi-millionaires.

Today, start to simplify your life. See the bigpicture. Figure out what things are most meaningfulto you. On their deathbeds, most people wish theyhad spent more time with their families and friends.The exotic vacations and material toys count forlittle.


List 10 steps you will take this week to simplifyyour life:

6. The Morning RitualMost successful people have taken the time to

develop a morning ritual that transfers them intothe Peak Performance State so they begin the day ina high energy, high confidence frame of mind. Justas the elite athlete creates a pregame ritual to tapinto athletic gifts and raise the level of functioning,you should create your own morning routine toprepare you for bringing excellence, energy and asense of excitement to the coming day.

The thoughts you think and the actions youtake during the first 10 minutes after you wake upare profoundly influential on the way the rest ofyour day unfolds. Too many people hit the groundrunning and begin their days in the winds of thetornado, in the chaos of crisis. To regain masteryover your day, get up a little earlier. Your ritualmight involve sitting out on your front porchwatching the sun rise. It might involve meditationor creating a mental blueprint of the kind of dayyour are committed to living. Your ritual mightinvolve asking yourself the deathbed question youlearned earlier or taking 10 minutes for a period ofrenewal and silence. Simply remember that the wayyou start your day determines the way you liveyour day.

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LiveDiet

(Saatvic)

BreathingMastery

(Pranayama)

Law ofDisciplinedIngestion

Meditation

Fasting

PART 2: THE BODYLESSONS IN PHYSICAL MASTERY

Secrets of the Sages to Liberate Vitality

In previous sections, you learned the wisdom ofmental mastery and a full range of practical ways toput this wisdom into use to create measurableimprovements in the quality of your life. Now youwill explore the full capacity of the second of yourtrilogy of human endowments: the Body. We willexplore ancient skills of the East to unlock yourphysical vitality. You will learn how to liberate yourreserves of energy, how to stay younger longer, howto increase your levels of fitness and stamina andhow to program your body for ideal health. Youwill then learn the latest technologies of the West forhealth excellence.

1. The Saatvic Diet: The Wonders of LiveFoodsAs you care for your body, so do you care for

your mind. The quality of your food has a profoundinfluence on the quality of your thoughts. The purerthe food, the purer the mind. The sages understood

that some foods were ideal to keep the mind still,focused and poised while other foods reducedmental clarity and sent ripples through the watersof the mind, increasing its restlessness.

The ancient thinkers believed that the surestway to radiant health and vitality was through whatthey called a saatvic or pure diet, that is, one basedon natural elements such as fresh fruits, vegetablesand grains. They said this was the diet natureintended as these foods come purely from a blendof the sun, air, soil and water. With a natural diet,you get the goodness of the food firsthand, while itis live. When you eat meat, on the other hand, youare essentially getting the goodness of a live dietsecondhand, after the animal has processed thenatural foods it has ingested.

A highly effective way to achieve a higher levelof physical vibrancy is to cut back on the amountof meat you eat and start eating more of naturesfinest foods. Shifting to a live diet is not difficult.


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Simply add a salad to every meal. Have fruit in between meals and practice the habit of juicing. Theresults will speak for themselves.


List 5 changes you are committed to makingduring the next 3 weeks in the quality of the foodyou eat and why you will make these changes:

2. The Power of Breath ControlIf you want to have an abundance of energy,

one of the most efficient things you can do is tolearn to breathe. Effective breathing practice is athousand-year-old energy activator that modern

scientists are now beginning to understand fully.While everyone knows how to breathe, most peopledo not know how to breathe for maximum benefit.The sages have a saying: To breathe properly is tolive properly.

Too many people are like a car chugging alongusing only half of its cylinders. Too many of us areusing only the top portion of our lungs when we breathe rather than oxygenating the full surface ofour lungs. By bringing in oxygen more efficiently,

you will detect significant changes in your energylevels, in your mental clarity and in your overallhealth. Start taking deep diaphragmatic breaths 3times a day, 10 repetitions each time. Breathe inthrough your nose and let the air pass deeply intoyour lungs. Then exhale fully through the mouth.The effects of this practical strategy will beimmediately obvious to you.

3. The Law of Disciplined IngestionThrough the ages, the longest living, most

dynamic men and women have known one thing:there is a big difference between hunger andappetite. In the East, the pundits have observed,

We should eat to live. Instead we eat to die. Toattain physical mastery, it is essential to feed yourhunger but not satisfy your appetite.

Hunger reflects a physical need. Your bodyneeds food to stay strong and healthy. Appetite issomething very different and is less about howmuch you need and more about how much youwant. By satisfying your appetite every time it calls,you are getting into the habit of eating more thanyou need to eat, thereby overtaxing the body and

reducing your vitality.To put this timeless principle into practice, hereare 2 powerful action steps:

Chew more fully. By chewing more, you willget more nourishment from less food. You canthen cut back on the quantity of your intakewhile enhancing its quality. Chewing more fullyalso greatly improves your energy levels because your digestive system, one of the bodys most energy consuming processes, willhave less work to do, thereby freeing up moreenergy for other pursuits. Push your plate away when you have had enoughto eat rather than when you are full.This strategynot only promotes excellent health, it buildswillpower because you are curbing the impulsesthat tell you to keep eating, and you are doingwhat you know is right to do.

4. MeditationMeditation is a wonderful technique to unlock

your physical vitality. Meditation clears, stills andrenews the mind. A mind full of inner turbulenceand tension is a drain on your energy reservoirs.The mind is like a 1,000 volt battery. You wake upin the morning and you are full of energy. But everytime you worry about the bills, you lose 100 volts.Every time you worry about your relationships, youlose another 100 volts. Every time you worry about


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The 7 Habits of Agelessness

Brain Fitness

A SenseofPurpose

Control Your Destiny

TheMovementfor Movement

Posture/Flexibility

High-QualityRelationships

Man must not allow the clock and the calendar toblind him to the fact that each moment of his life isa miracle and a mystery.

H. G. Wells

The YogisBath

Here are 7 habits to add not only years to your life but life to your years:

1. Brain FitnessWestern researchers are learning that by

consistently stretching and flexing your mind as youage, whether through learning new languages orperforming challenging mental aerobics such ascrossword puzzles, you can actually grow moreintelligent and alert. Thinking that your memory

and clarity will be reduced as you grow older is aself-fulfilling prophecy: the more you believe it, the

more your actions will be aligned with that beliefand, therefore, the more the results you generatewill manifest that belief. So strive to constantly workyour mind. Try new things, meet new people, thinknew thoughts and expand your comfort zone.

Too many people are slaves to complacency.They live their lives according to the rituals ofroutine. They think the same thoughts every day, eat

your health, you lose another 100 volts. Pretty soonyou find yourself feeling exhausted, even thoughyou have not done anything physical that day.

A clear mind is a tremendous asset for physicalmastery and spiritual success. It will take you into

the highest dimensions of your life and offer youthe full extent of your mental potential wheneveryou need it, whether to explore an exciting businessopportunity in your professional world or to explorethe frontiers of your spiritual world.

5. FastingThe Native Americans fasted to invoke the

powers of the Great Spirit. The ancient yogis fastedfor spiritual expansion, saying that the energy saved by not having to digest food for a certain period

could be used to explore their highest selves. Fastingfor one day every 2 weeks promotes good healthand is a timeless tool to stay younger longer.


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the same foods every day and perform the sameactions every day. Fear is one of the reasons peoplefail to live up to their human potential for personal,professional and spiritual success. But fear is a strawman you alone have created within the workshop of

your own mind. Fear is an illusion. Fear is nothingmore than a negative stream of consciousness youhave allowed into your mind by failing to keep aclose watch on its gates. The most effective way to banish fear from your life is to attack it head on anddo the thing you fear, over and over again until youhave conquered it. People who live longer and better than others are constantly expandingthemselves and the quality of their lives bymastering their fears and moving farther into the

Zone of the Unknown.


Why do you want to stay younger longer?

What does longevity mean to you?

What actions will you take this week to start

enhancing your level of mental fitness?

2. Control Your DestinyThe tiny island community of Okinawa in the

East China Sea contains the worlds highestconcentration of people more than 100 years of age.Their habits? They eat a primarily natural diet,

consuming meat only on special occasions, theymaintain an active lifestyle and they have strongspiritual beliefs which allow them to connect withtheir destiny. By knowing their role in the largerscheme of things and understanding that they havethe power to create the kind of life they want tocreate, their lives are filled with meaning and hope.This is an important longevity factor.

3. A Sense of Purpose

As you have already learned, the purpose of lifeis a life of purpose. When you discover a richmission that allows you to manifest your talents andstrengths with a worthy aim, your life becomes vitaland satisfying because you are doing what you weremeant to do. Doing what you love brings mentalpeace and physical vibrancy. As the late MalcolmForbes said, Whatever you like to do just find away to do it. The biggest mistake people make inlife is not trying to make a living at what they mostenjoy. . . . Success follows doing what you love todo.

4. Join the Movement for MovementOne of the best ways to stay younger longer

and inject far more living into your life is to exerciseregularly. Your body was made to be moved.Exercise is an important peak performancetechnology. If you are feeling low, take a brisk walkin natural surroundingsyou will receive instant benefits from this simple strategy. Moving your body through exercise increases circulation whichenhances oxygenation of your tissues. This providesyou with more energy and vitality. Exercising allowsfor efficient waste removal which raises your overallhealth levels. A regular fitness program will alsoenhance your creativity and mental crispness andkeep you positive and feeling inspired.


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5. High-Quality RelationshipsOne of the golden threads of youthful, long-

living people is that they work hard to build lovingrelationships. One of the greatest of all human needsis the need to be cherished. Start dedicating yourself

to creating better relationships on both a personaland professional level. They will be a constantsource of strength, support and satisfaction.

The Social Inventory

When relationships are taken for granted andthe Law of Familiar Focus takes over, they becomeless rich and their bonds start to unravel. Take 5minutes to create a social inventory or list of yourkey relationships and connect with why they are so

important in your life. What action steps will youtake to improve them? By taking the time to do this,you will start renovating the way you see those yousurround yourself with and begin the renewalprocess.

6. Posture/FlexibilityAs you act, so you become. If you move your

body like a tired, old person, you will produce the

feelings a tired, old person produces. Eventually youwill become tired and old. The way you holdyourself and move your physical body has aprofound effect on your emotions. This is thePromotion of Emotion through Motion principle.

When your posture is poor and you slouch, yougenerate a whole host of physiological responses.You put pressure on your lower back and yourestrict the full circulatory flow. This, in turn,restricts the amount of oxygen your body canassume, which in turn affects everything from yourenergy levels to your moods. By simply standing upstraight, you will quickly notice you feel more alert,confident and energetic. This is because you havealtered your chemistry and offered your physiology

a more empowering alternative.A second strategy to maintain youthfulness andvitality through physical movement is to keep your body flexible. The ancient sages developed thediscipline of yoga to keep their minds, bodies andspirits in ideal shape. They understood that whenthe body is tense the mind is tense, and through aseries of scientific postures, they could relax the body and, therefore, still the mind. This is a keystress reduction principle: ease the body and youwill immediately ease the mind. Start stretchingyour body before a stressful or challenging situationlike you see athletes doing before the big race orgame. And remember, to stay young, refuse to letan old person move into your body.

7. The Yogis BathThe yogis of the East believed the daily ritual

of a cool bath promoted longevity and vitality. By bathing in cool but not cold water for no more thana couple of minutes as early as possible in themorning, these people found that the layer of deadskin than rests on our surfaces was quicklyremoved, leading to a healthier body. They alsofound the cool bath invigorating and, by givingthemselves a brisk rubdown with their hands afterit, they promoted circulation and the many benefitsthis would bring. This ancient tool will bring yousignificant benefits. As always, judge by results.


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The Ancient Art of Physical Culture

Cultivate your physical temple for a moreradiant life. There are 168 hours in a week. Surelyyou can find even 4 or 5 hours during this periodto nourish your physical endowments. By taking the

time for physical fitness, every other department ofyour life will be nourished.

By taking the time to swim or run or practiceyoga or mountain climb or play golf or work out inany way, you improve your effectiveness on the job.By exercising regularly, you will be more giving,patient and loving in your social relations. You will be a better father or mother or friend. You will becalmer, more focused, balanced and happier. Andyou will be more spiritually satisfied and have a

closer connection to the things that are mostmeaningful to you rather than living your days in aconstant state of frenzy, in the eye of the tornado.

If you say you are so busy that you cannotafford to exercise, then you are a person who truly

cannot afford not to exercise given your scheduleand your challenging pace. Failure to exercisealways catches up with you. It is like that old oilfilter commercial with the mechanic leaning over theengine telling you to buy his filter as a preventivemeasure: You can pay me now or you can pay melater. This is precisely the same principle at workwith exercise, what the ancients called the art ofphysical culture. Its been said that those who cantmake time for exercise must make time for illness.

The Tao of Radiant Health Adopt a new paradigm. Your natural state isone of boundless energy and abundant health.To unlock this wellspring of vitality, cultivate

your physical endowments daily and expand thecapacity of your bodys potential.

Robin S. Sharma

The Power of Rituals

Triggering

The Modern Tools Laughter Escape Hatches

The Ancient Tools

Sunlight Fresh Air


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By pairing the stimulus of food (which caused thedog to salivate) with the ringing of a bell on aconsistent basis, he found that over time the dog became conditioned to salivate when he hit the bell,even without the presence of food.

Human beings are equally subject to theconditioned response. Here are some examples:

When you hear a particular song it remindsyou of a summer vacation many years back. When you enter your home every evening,you put your coat in the same place or sit inthe same chair or do the same things, such asgo through your mail or flip on the television. When you walk into your office everyMonday morning, you trigger the same feelings

and emotions.These scenarios are examples of the conditionedresponse and reflect the phenomenon of triggering,where a particular object, action or environment (thetrigger) consistently produces the same outcome(response). To install excellent health into your life,you can apply this phenomenon to your advantage.Lets say you want more energy. You wake upfeeling tired every morning and never seem to haveenough energy to do what is most meaningful toyou.

By developing a verbal cue or trigger andconditioning it with the state of energy you want to be able to liberate on a regular basis throughpractice sessions, a time will quickly come whenyou can trigger the high energy mind-set oncommand. Using this technology, you now have thepower to program your mind for exceptionalperformance and radiant health.

3. The Modern ToolsTo renovate your physical life and begin to

cultivate physical mastery, there are a host ofmodern tools at your disposal. Laughter training,restful sleep and escape hatches are among the very best.

William James once said, We dont laugh because we are happy. We are happy because welaugh. Laughter is a wonderful tonic for lifes

stresses and strains. It is also a powerful tonic forphysical renewal. The average 4-year-old laughs 300times a day. The average adult laughs 15 times aday. Rekindle your vitality and creativity and senseof playfulness by searching for ways to laugh more,

even when you might not feel like it. You willpromote a series of important changes within yourphysiology that enhance your feelings of well-being.


Explain why you do not laugh as much as youused to as a kid.

Create your personal laughter list: an inventoryof activities you are committed to doing during

the next 4 weeks to laugh more (e.g., watch a3 Stoogesmovie, read a funny book, or spendmore time with your kids).

Another area to focus on is sleep. With all thenoise and artificial environments we exposeourselves to every day, deep, refreshing sleep is athing of the past for many people. Yet sleep isnatures sweet restorer and deep sleep is essential

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for physical repair and renewal. By placing apremium on high quality sleep and taking simplesteps to sleep more effectively, such as not over-stimulating your mind with negative influences before you sleep and not eating after 8 p.m. as

eating late kindles your digestive fire, you will bringmore vibrancy and physical richness to your days.

A final modern tool for renewal of yourphysical endowments is the escape hatch. Themost healthy, dynamic and spirited people are thosewho make some time, each and every day, perhapsonly for a few minutes, to savor the simple andsacred pleasures. Enlightened people see theextraordinary in the ordinary. They plan escapehatches or mini-vacations during their busy days to

ground them and keep them centered. For you,practical escape strategies might involve taking thetime to watch a snowfall or listen to your favoritemusic for 5 minutes with full attention or work inyour garden after a busy day. These simplepleasures have a very significant effect on yourinner world and pay great dividends in terms ofyour levels of performance, effectiveness and well- being.


What were the happiest moments of yourchildhood? What things did you love to do?Have you neglected the simple pleasures of life?

What will you do to start seeing the extraordinaryin the ordinary?

4. The Ancient ToolsTwo of the most valuable physical mastery

strategies are also two of the simplest: regularly

expose yourself to moderate amounts of sunlightand spend a few minutes each day breathing infresh air.

The pundits in Asia believed the sun heldmystical powers which would not only revitalizeones physical world but also ones spiritual world.Western scientists have found that over half your bodys sense receptors lie in your eyes and that byseeing natural sights such as a sun rising,neurological responses are triggered whichpositively influence your brain chemistry. Amoderate dose of sunlight will raise your spirits andmaintain peak health.

The Himalayan Sherpas understood theimportance of fresh air as a high performance tool.They would spend time inhaling crisp air deeplyinto their lungs, thereby fully oxygenating the bodyand stimulating the movement of lymph whichenhanced the bodys removal of waste products.Even something as practical as opening thewindows in your workspace or bedroom will bringnoticeable improvements in your overall health andvitality levels.


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The timeless Eastern book of wisdom, the

Bhagavad Gitasays:Without discipline he has no understanding of

inner power;Without inner power, he has no peace;and without peace, where is joy?There is one trait which shines through the lives

of all highly actualized individuals: discipline.Having discipline allows you to realize the fullcapacity of your mind/body/soul potential and totake daily steps in the direction of your lifes

purpose. Discipline allows you to move out of theeye of the tornado and get off that 9 to 5 treadmilland start concentrating your energies on the high-impact activities that will really make a difference inthe quality of your life.

What is discipline? It is the virtue that givesyou the courage and inner power to do what yousaid you would dowhen you promised youwould do it. Discipline is all about keepingpromises. It is about keeping promises to others likespending some time with your partner when youplanned to even though there are hundreds of tiny brush fires raging at the office. It is about takingyour child to the zoo when you promised youwould even though your favorite movie is ontelevision. It is about sending your new client athank you note even though your in basket is 2feet high.

Perhaps more important, discipline is aboutkeeping promises to yourself. It is about taking thetime to watch a starry sky or read an importantpersonal-development book you know will improveyour effectiveness even when you feel tired after awhirlwind day. It is about taking the time everymorning to review and imprint your personal,professional and spiritual milestones on yourconsciousness even though the office is calling andthe faxes are flying. Discipline is all aboutresponsibility and self-trust.

It is easy to live a loosely managed lifestyle, one

where you act according to every impulse that floatsthrough your mind. When you feel hungry you eat,even though you were working on an essentialproject. When your friend invites you out, you runout, even though this was the night you had setaside to start blueprinting or meditating. It is easyto do that which is fun as opposed to that which isright.

But exerting your discipline muscles and doingthe things you know to be right is a liberating

experience. Doing precisely what you told someoneyou would do when you said you would do it orkeeping those little but paramount promises youhave made to yourself is a noble act. It is brave torun your own race and listen to your heart. Andyour discipline muscles respond. The more you usethem, the stronger they grow. Discipline is yourfriend, your ally. Discipline elevates you along thepath of enlightenment to the stage of self-knowledge. It allows you to know what self-masteryis all about. The courage it creates also allows youto follow the torchlight of your Dharma, your lifeswork, and it assists you in manifesting the fullextent of your human capacity. Without disciplineand courage, you will remain within your comfortzone, a prisoner of complacency, doing the samethings each and every dayalways getting the sameresults.

Cultivating the virtue of discipline whichcurrently lies inside of you trains you to becomepersistent and to take calculated risks, venturingfurther into the Zone of the Unknown where youcan continue to expand and improve. You cannotreach third base if one foot is always on second.And you can never become the architect of yourfuture if you remain a prisoner of your past.Building discipline builds the character power youneed to raise your life into its highest dimensions.It is one of the best investments you will ever make,

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PART 3: THE SOULLESSONS IN SPIRITUAL SUCCESS

Kindle the Fire of Willpower


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Integrity

Personal Creed

Compassion

I m a g i n a t i o n

I n d u s t r y

and as you build discipline, remember the truth inthe words of Goethe: Whatever you can do, ordream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius,power and magic.

The 4 Virtues of the Ideal Person

Enlightened, high-functioning individuals areled by their consciences rather than by the puppetstrings of societal pressure. They act according totheir own values, beliefs and sense of what is right.They have kindled the courage to run their ownraces and never get swept into the whirlpool ofother peoples expectations of them or otherpeoples agendas. They realize that life is too shortto get caught up in the current of popular opinion.They lead their days in a very simple and clear way.They have taken the time to discover their Dharmaand focus their attention on this compelling, high-impact purpose which fills their lives withachievement, meaning and satisfaction.

Robert Frosts famous poem The Road NotTaken says it all:

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood and II took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.Start running your own race. Do what is most

vital to you. Be guided by your milestones whichwill advance you along the path of your burningdesire and your destiny. This is the surest route tohappiness and personal and spiritual success.

Your conscience is your moral lighthouse.Listening to what your conscience tells you ismeaningful, and the right thing to do in a particularmoment is the essence of Conscience-DirectedLiving. You will never do wrong when you actaccording to your inner voice of reason since this isyour connection to the universal source of allwisdom and creativity.

There are 4 primary virtues which liberate yourcharacter power and allow you to live under thelighthouse of your conscience. By refining andpolishing these human gifts, you will notice thatyou easily achieve your milestones and goals, youfeel a remarkable sense of confidence, peacefulnessand see balance returning to your life. These 4virtues lead to self-mastery and place you on theexpress train to enlightenment.

A. IntegrityBen Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and Jonas Salk


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were all models of integrity. These were individualswho exercised the bravery and strength of characterto walk their talk. They acted on what their heartstold them was right and just and good rather thansimply following the herd and doing that which was

socially pleasing. Each one of these individuals, whoraised their lives from the ordinary into the realmof the extraordinary through their efforts, livedunder a higher standard, a strict moral code. Andthey never moved off this course.

Integrity is all about wholeness. Ghandi hit thenail on the head: One cannot do right in onedepartment of life whilst he is occupied in doingwrong in any other department. Life is oneindivisible whole. This is the essence of integrity

and an integrated life: making sure that youconsistently do what your conscience tells you iscorrect in not just one department, but in alldepartments of your life. The different areas of yourlife are like rivers flowing together to form an ocean.The emotional influences the physical and togetherthey influence the social and together these affectthe spiritual elements of your world. Neglecting anydepartment of your life, whether this meansrelationship neglect or physical neglect or spiritualneglect, profoundly touches all of the other areas.Raise each to its highest level of functioning,however, and you create a highly satisfying,enlightened, fully integrated life.

2. Imagination

Imagination is more important than knowledge.Albert Einstein

According to the timeless wisdom of the sages,the second virtue of the ideal person is an abundantand vivid imagination. All high achieving,spiritually fulfilled people are lead by theirimaginations, not their memories. They are servantsonly to what they dream and have shed the shacklesof their history or past setbacks. Remember, you arefar more than the sum of your currentcircumstances, and it is not what you are that isholding you backit is what you think you are not.

Emerson said, What lies behind us and whatlies in front of us pales in comparison to what lieswithin us. Study the lives of Edison, Ghandi, Curieor Onassis and you will see these individuals asmodels of creative thinking and big dreaming. They

realized that the imagination knows no bounds.When you paint empowering pictures on yourminds eye of the life you are dedicated to building,you set unseen forces into play which steadilymanifest your vision into reality.

3. Compassion/ContributionOne of the most important of all the timeless

principles for successful living can be simply stated:the richness of your life can be measured by the richness

of your service. The one who serves the best profits themost, not just materially but emotionally and, perhapsmore important, spiritually.

If you want to quickly improve your own life,start taking immediate action to improve the lives ofothers. The universe is in a dynamic state of flow.When you give out compassion, it flows back to youin a river. This is one of the oldest laws of nature:as you give so shall you receive. Practice daily actsof kindness and respect. Give to charity. Spend aweekly period giving something back to yourcommunity and awaken your mind to ways to assistthose in need.


Create a Service Inventory of 52 acts ofselfless service you will perform this year, then planto perform one every week. The results in terms ofyour levels of happiness, satisfaction, balance andcommitment will be remarkable.

4. IndustryMedia visionary Ted Turner was asked the

secret of his extraordinary success. He replied:Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell andadvertise. One of the shared traits of the mosteffective, productive, high-achieving individuals istheir understanding of the paramount importance of


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The Temple of the Soul

S i m p l i f i c a t i o n

C r e a t i v i t y

A b u n d a n c e

C o n s c i o u s n e s s T M

L o v i

n g R e l a t i o n s

h i p s

The 4 Pillars of Soulfulness TM

hard work to advance their dreams and theirDharma. Without hard work, your vision for thefuture is impotent.

Thomas Edison worked 18-hour days evenwhen he became a millionaire. Bill Gates still works

6 days a week even though he is a multi-billionaire.Mother Teresa still rises at 5 every morning to starther good work for the disadvantaged. Why?Because they love what they do. They have foundtheir Dharma, their lifes purpose, and by acting onit each day they advance it. They are doing whatthey were meant to do and this gives their daysand their livesan immense sense of meaning anddirection.

In this complex age where too many peopleface too much stress and strain, some people aresick of work. This is because they have notdiscovered work that is right for them, work which beautifully blends their unique talents and passions

with some worthy pursuit. Once you take the timeto find your lifes aim, things will never be thesame. You will be filled with a sense of flamingdesire and hope for the future. You will be filledwith energy and enthusiasm. You will look forwardto getting out of bed every morning to advanceyour lifes work and do what your heart is tellingyou to do. And you will enjoy working hard because it will not be work at all.

George Bernard Shaw wrote:I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief

candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment; and I want to make it burnas brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

There is a real movement taking place allaround us. People are seeing that material successalone does not bring spiritual fulfillment or a deepsense of meaning. Too many people have put offhappiness for the sake of achievement. Now theywant to change and live with more balance and


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satisfaction. Ask yourself this question: If I was todie today, would I leave feeling that I have lived mylife to the fullest and burned its torch as brightly aspossible? If your answer is no, you need to startconnecting to the more meaningful elements of your

life and taking some giant steps to connect to thosehigh-impact activities that will rekindle your innerfire.

There is nothing wrong with achievement. Youwill find that you are at your best when you feelyou are expanding and moving ahead in yourpersonal and professional lifeso long as you donot sacrifice well-being for being well off. The realkey is to remember that success is a journey, not adestination, and to enjoy every step along the path.

Do not be so focused on achieving the big pleasuresof life that you miss out on the little ones.Live in the moment and savor the now. Enjoy

a solitary walk in the woods or the laugh of yourchild. Write your partner a love letter or pick up thephone and call that old friend you have not heardfrom in years. Say a prayer of thanks before yousleep. Life is all about choices. If you fail to act onit, it will act on you. Before you know it, you willwake up one day and wonder, What happened?Where did all that time go? Time is deceptive: itlulls you into a false sense of security until it is toolate and your time is up. By taking daily steps tosavor the sacred pleasures of life, you fill it with balance, energy and spiritual richness.

Real happiness comes from knowing who youare. It comes from linking yourself with your sourceand realizing that you are part of a larger creation.It comes by reaching the point where you see thatyou are not in this world; it is in you.

There are 4 fundamental steps you can take tolive with more balance and satisfaction. These 4strategies concentrate on nourishing your innerworld and cultivating your spiritual link to yourhighest self. Think about them often and make thedecision to build them into your daily routine sothat they become habits, habits that lead tomeasurable results that, in turn, lead you to yourdestiny.

1. SimplificationBy looking for and enjoying lifes simpler

pleasures you will renew yourself and connect toyour spiritual source. Take just 10 minutes a day tosimply be. Do not listen to music or answer the

phone or worry about the past. Concentrate everyounce of your attention in the moment. When wasthe last time you felt your heart beat? When was thelast time you turned your attention to your breathing? Sit quietly and in pure silence. As theBhagavad Gitasays, The soul that moves in theworld of senses and yet keeps the senses inharmony . . . finds rest in quietness.

You can simplify your life by reducing yoursocial commitments and not trying to be all things

to all people. You can simplify your life and returnto a more balanced lifestyle by working at home orriding your bicycle to work or selling yourtelevision. Even cultivating a little garden in your backyard or adopting a natural diet will do wondersfor your personal simplification program andnourish your spiritual endowments. A superbstrategy to simplify is to plan a weekly retreat everySaturday or Sunday morning. This is nothing morethan a solitary renewal period where you canrecharge your batteries. One week you might spenda few hours in your favorite bookstore. Anotherweek you might watch kids playing for an hour ata playground. By consistently feeding your spirit,every other department of your life is nourished.


Describe when you will take your weeklyretreats.


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What less important activities will you give up inorder to implement this strategy?

What have you planned to do on your next 3weekly retreats?

2. CreativityYou have been designed to create. Whether you

are a lawyer, an athlete, a salesperson, a homemakeror a CEO, you have an inner need to be creative.When you create, you liberate your power andmanifest your dreams. However, with the tensionsof modern living, your creative reservoir might be blocked. By slowing down to do the things you loveto do, you unlock your creativity and bring thisspecial resource into every element of your life.

Invest in a regular period of introspection.Think about what you loved to do as a child whenyour creativity knew no bounds. Refine yourawareness and start paying attention to the blue skyabove or the way a spiders web looks after it hasrained. Look to nature for inspiration. Be playfulagain. Recharge your creative fire; it is one of youressential links to the universal source of all creationand wisdom.

3. Abundance ConsciousnessIn China, the philosophers have said, The sage

does not care to hoard. The more he uses for the

benefit of others, the more he possesses himself. Themore he gives to others, the more he has of hisown.

When you form the habit of noticing theabundance of blessings which surround you, your

life takes on a new sense of joy and purity. Toooften, people spend their days focusing on all thatis wrong in their lives rather than looking for allthat is right. And this becomes a self-fulfillingprophecy according to the Law of Like Attraction: your life attracts, and becomes, that which you thinabout all day long.

When you start conditioning your mind to huntout the positive elements, the goodness in yourworld grows. This is a fundamental law of nature,

one as eternal as spring always following winter orthe sun always rising in the East. Every one of usis governed by these laws of nature and byunderstanding them, we move giant steps forwardin our ability to influence and improve our lives.

You develop an abundance mentality when youtrain your mind on the good things in your lifewhere other, less actualized people might see the bad. You do not succumb to the Law of FamiliarFocus which causes you to take for granted thatwhich you are consistently exposed to, whether thismeans having a roof over your head or a family thatdeeply loves you. Instead, people with anabundance consciousness wake up every morningand ask, What can I be grateful for today? Theyappreciate having good health and living in a greatcountry and the divinity of the sunbeams dancingthrough their windows. They realize that this worldis full of opportunity, it is nothing but opportunity;and the more you give, the more you get.

The opposite of an abundance mentality is aMidas Mentality. By failing to love the good thingsin his life, like his daughters smile, and focusing onwhat he lacked, King Midas brought ruin uponhimself. Count your blessings every day. Conditionan attitude of gratitude. A river of emotional,material and spiritual abundance will flow into yourlife.


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The Way to Spiritual EnlightenmentWe are not human beings having a spiritual experience.

We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

U n i t y C o n s c i o u s n e s s S e

l f - R

e a l i z

a t i o n

S p i r i t u a l H e r o i s m T M T h e G h a n d

i F a c t o r

T M

H o l i n e s s

Enlightenment

4. Loving RelationshipsFew gifts are more important to spiritual

renewal than fostering rich relationships built ontrust and mutual respect. Connecting to others onthe deepest level allows you to experience the

oneness at the center of the universe and shows youwe are all part of the same source. By building better relationships, you connect to your spiritualityand flood your life with the warmth these sacredopportunities provide.

The key to more intimate and more rewardingrelationships is to start embracing the differences.The one thing we all have in common is that we areall different. We all see things through a different set

of social lenses based on our differing pastexperiences. The moment you stop askingWhyisnt she more like me? and start sayingisnt itgreat that she is not exactly like me? you begin tosee how important it is to value the distinctiveness

that every one of us

shine in the world-robin sharma

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