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| The Path to Freedom: From Vision to Reality |
Published on 16-08-2004
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By John Skaggs
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~~from"The Material Enlightenment Project"~~
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**Number Two of Our "Path to Freedom" Series**
As was previously mentioned, there are basically three steps to creating the things that you want in your life.
The first is seeing your vision. This means knowing what you want.
Getting down to the "Nitty-Gritty," I assume that most of you reading this are currently seeking that sometimes elusive goal of Financial Freedom. This is why we have named our project The Material Enlightenment Project.
I'm sure you've heard people say that if you want to achieve a particular goal, find others who have done the same thing, study what they did, copy it, and you will obtain what you want, just like they did.
Well, this is true. Just like knowing that the number 21 can be created by multiplying 3 times 7; the goal of material success can be created by following particular formula. Furthermore, there are MANY formula which result in this outcome!
"But, John, that is what makes it so confusing! How do I decide which formula will work best for me?"
Okay, I understand that it seems confusing but let's go back to the three steps I first mentioned.
Even though Darryl Graham(ISORegister) may have created his success in a different manner than Kelly Reese (The Retire Quickly Corp.), when you break what they did into its simplest parts, the three steps emerge.
1) They had a vision
2) They thought about the vision. They noted "where" it was (in the future) and related that to where they currently found themselves. The more they thought about this the easier it became to see the pathways (plans) that would get them to their vision.
3) They acted, by following the map (plans) that they had previously "seen"
Here in the west, we have a tendency to think that if we are not "doing" anything, then we are not getting anything done.
When you look at the three steps, however, you see that the "doing" (acting) is the last part of the puzzle. I admit that it is an essential step in the process, however in my opinion it is definitely the easiest.
The hard part is learning to focus on your vision (goal or dream, etc) until it becomes something REAL that is waiting for you in your future. And this is really the key to success, in my opinion. You have to be able to see your goal as a real, tangible destination: a destination that you WILL arrive at if only you take the right path into the future.
Look, I promise not to turn into "Dr. Phil" on ya', but the mind really is a powerful, powerful tool. It works on problems, subconsciously, day in and day out. Your mind is always working. While you sleep, while you eat, while you're taking a shower, your mind never stops.
The mind (or brain) is a lot like a computer, though. A computer has to be told what it is that you want it to do, and then it will do it. Some programs take hours, days, or even weeks to run, but if you tell a computer what to do (give it a goal) it will work on it, continuously, until it has finished.
Your mind is the same way. Yes, it's a powerful tool that can do just about anything, given enough time, however there's a catch. You have to tell your mind what it is you want!
That's why focusing on your goals is so important. Your mind can figure out a way to achieve just about any goal you want, but if you don't create a real, solid vision of what it is that you want, then your mind won't be able to accomplish anything.
How many times have you said to yourself "If I were only rich, half my problems would go away?" Or maybe you've caught yourself saying "Man, I wish I was fit and thin like so-n-so. It must be nice to be able to climb a flight of stairs without feeling out of breath." Maybe you've just seen a nice car, or a house, and wished you could have one like it.
Well, thoughts like those can be helpful in that they might provide a starting point from which you can begin to decide what you want from life. However, if all you do is "wish your life away," you will never have anything you want.
If you actually want to start to change your life you have to do more than just wish. You have to act. But (and there's always a but...) BEFORE you act, you have to have a plan. And, going one step further, you can't have a plan without a goal.
So, if you want to be thin, or become a black-belt, or be rich, or learn to drive race cars, or want to start a family, or own your own business...then the FIRST thing you are going to have to do is create a vision of yourself doing those things.
Most of us take a shower each day (okay, every other day) right? Well, why not spend that time imagining yourself living the life you want, or seeing yourself as the person you want to be.
Too busy actually washing when you're in the shower? Then meditate on your vision while you drive to work, or while you work in your garden. Envision the life you want while you cook, or when you go to the gym.
When you do it isn't important. Just make sure you do it. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Creating a real, living, detailed vision of where you want your life to go is the first step in building the life you want.
And, just like walking, once you take that first step, each successive step begins to feel more natural, and more automatic. Before you know it, your journey to a new future has become just as easy, natural, and automatic as walking down the hallway is to you now.
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Doubting Thomas
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Okay. Maybe some of you reading this think I'm crazy. Maybe you think this is just a bunch of "feel good" BS
Well, I'd like to ask your indulgence for a moment more, if I may. What I'd actually like you to do, if you will, is take a minute and try a little exercise with me. Will you do that?
Great. Well, we've been talking about creating visions, and, for the next minute, that's what I'd like you to do...
BUT....
Instead of working on seeing the future of your dreams, I'd like you to spend a minute envisioning what could possibly be a nightmare.
For the next minute I'd like you to imagine your life without a vision or a goal to work towards. Think about your life 1 year from now, 5 years from now, 20 years from now, 50 years from now, if you continue to think, act, and live, just as you live now.
Really work at it, now. What star do you guide your life by now? What plan do you follow in your daily life, here and now, that will get you where you want to be? Take a good look at where you will be when you hit 30, 45, 60, 80 years old. Imagine where you will be, what you will be doing, what you will look like, and more importantly, what you will FEEL like, if you change NOTHING about how you think and act.
Don't stop yet. Let it work for a moment. Really dig in. Who and what will you be in 40 years if you keep doing what you are doing; without a plan, without a vision, without a goal?
Where will you be?
Do you like what you see?
Hey, if you lie what you see in your future, great! Seriously, that's great news. You are a very fortunate person. Not everyone can say that after trying this exercise.
But if you did NOT like what you saw, please, do not give up. Don't let yourself become depressed. That was not the point of the exercise.
The point of the exercise is to illustrate how important it is that you have a real, vivid, near tangible vision of the
"perfect future," or at least, your idea of the perfect future. You've just "seen" the power of having goals in your life by imagining your life without any.
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The Next Step
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If it is not too presumptuous of me, I would like to give you an "assignment" that you can work on while waiting for the next issue of the M.E.P.NewsLetter.
Your "assignment" until the next issue is to spend as much time as you can by visualizing your home business goals.
Here are some guiding questions:
*What type of business will you run?
If you could run any business you wanted and money was no object, what would it be like? Would you work alone or have employees? Would you sell products or sell educational materials? Perhaps you are more interested in affiliate programs or multi-level marketing.
*How much money does it need to earn?
This is important. People always say, "well, as much as possible!" While this is how most of us feel, it will help you reach your goal more quickly if your visualization includes specific numbers.
You see it is essential that your "vision" seem realistic and believable in your own mind. This is because both our conscious and sub conscious mind has an incredible gift for manipulating our own actions and our own surroundings to create that which we see as real.
Have you heard of "self-fulfilling prophecies?" This is where a person believes something is going to happen, so he makes it happen. Well, there is something to this. If you can believe (really believe) that your goals are realistic and will come true, odds are that you will make them come true. If you are specific about the income amounts you desire this will only make your vision more real. Dream big!
*What will your guiding philosophy be?
Take the money and run? Honesty, integrity and a win-win attitude? Are your goals charitable in nature? Do you want to give something back to the world? Perhaps, like me, you are motivated by a desire to see the power of freedom at work in your own life, and at work in the world around you.
I get a real kick whenever I see someone realize that they, and no one else, are in control of their lives and that anything they want to achieve can be theirs. Once you realize this, and believe it, an amazing peace and sense of self-respect comes into your life.
It's wonderful to recognize that you are NOT powerless in this life. You are NOT insignificant.
Well, that's more than enough to think on for now.
Until next timeE
Take Care, and God Bless
John Skaggs
http://www.MaterialEnlightenment.Com
mep@johnskaggs.com
(540)649-0073
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John Skaggs is founder of The Material Enlightenment
Project, and Author and Publisher of two newsletters:
"the.M.E.P.Newsletter" and "eBizEducator(R)"
He is also is part of Darryl Graham's "ISOTrainer" Team
To Subscribe or Read Online Visit:
http://www.johnskaggs.com
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