Category: Book Notes

-process of building habits and taking small steps to achieve big goals. Continuous improvement that is not really viewed as tough or hard work, yet still brings you to your goals. 

Innovation – drastic process of change occurring in a very short period of time, dramatic turnaround. Fast big and flashy, reaches for the largest result in the smallest amount of time. 

By taking small steps/low key changes, It helps the mind circumnavigate the fear that blocks success and creativity, and leads them to accomplishing their goals without much effort. 

Cortex is the part of brain that makes us human. Rational thoughts and creative impulses take place here. Thinking part of the brain. The cortex is where we make changes or jumpstart the creative process. 

Midbrain is where the amygdala is located, which is where the fight or flight response lives. When used It shuts down other functions (such as the cortex). Any challenge, opportunity or desire triggers some degree of fear, limiting our access to the cortex. 

By using kaizen, you can focus on small and easily attained goals, bypassing the triggers of the amygdala, and tapping into the cortex (creative impulse). As you consistently work on these small goals your brain creates new neural pathways, leading to acquiring the new habits. Your resistance for change begins to evaporate because you’ve literally rewired your brain! 

Your brain is programmed to resist change! It has built in resistance to new behavior and habits. 

Asking Small questions 

The brain loves questions. When you ask a question such as how can I fit in an extra few minutes of (lesson) into my daily routine? It allows the brain to ponder on It and come up with creative ways to Incorporate the habit into their routine. 

What small benefit can I receive from performing this lesson? 

If I knew this small benefit could result in me gaining more (happiness gratitude awareness success taking control), what would I do differently right now? 

By coming up with these questions on your own, It allows for inspiration and creativity and begins to motivate to want more. 

By repeating the question on a regular basis and waiting for an answer initiates the subconscious and it’s access to the intelligence knowledge base. 

Small Questions aren’t demanding or scary. Which allows you to circumvent the amygdala and tap into your creativity. 

Need to ask the questions in a gentle and patient manner. 

Self value habit lesson – ask yourself What is one thing I like about myself today? One positive thought I’ve had about myself, one positive act I’ve engaged in, no matter how small. 

Potent partner – if you find It difficult to retain and implement this attribute, ask a friend or someone you know who has It, what is one thing they do to ensure that they instill/possess and use It during a moment of doubt or turmoil. 

Try to ask these questions regularly, ideally during the same time each day (morning, in car, lunch, etc) 

Goal question – what is one small step I could take toward reaching my goal? What is one small thing that is special about me? Asking in a kind and positive tone. 

Awareness question – what is one small step I could take to improve my awareness? 

Mind sculpture – visualization technique, visualizing in vivid detail, not just seeing but smelling hearing tasting feeling. Brain doesn’t know the difference. Creates new connections between cells to create new complex motor or verbal skills. 

Taking very small steps. Doing an activity for seconds, instead of minutes.  

Small Rewards stimulate the internal motivation required for lasting change. 

Small rewards are the perfect encouragement for instilling habits. 

Each time you work towards your habit and follow through, you can give yourself a small reward. What this does is 

Reward should be appropriate to the goal and for the person, and free/inexpensive. 

Example – if you go three days in a row with thinking of 3 different things that you’re grateful, you can give yourself a piece of candy. 

The idea here is to try to work towards the habit with the reward in mind in order to get you into wanting to perform the action, until you no longer need the reward and It becomes a habit. 

Small steps + small rewards = success

Small moments

Take the time to slow down your thinking and actions and use your awareness to notice minor issues or problems throughout your day. How can they be improved or fixed? 

Guy hated his job, couldn’t think of a more suitable career. Was asked to find one moment each day when he enjoyed his work the most. Discovered something he liked and pursued It, while enjoying this time during his current work until he quit. 

Indulge and recognize the hidden little moments that bring happiness. If you can notice them as you work on improving your habits, and truly feel them and appreciate them and learn to be prideful or excited for them, it will allow you to better implement the habit for good. 

-self image is correlated with success and failure 

-self image is created through experiences, not intellectual knowledge acquired 

-if you can change or improve your self image, you can overcome obstacles and achieve your goals

-all actions, feelings and behaviors and abilities are always consistent with the self image, reflects it. through your experiences, you consciously or subconscious create an image of yourself and who you are. These experiences validate It. Once you begin walking around and living with this image, you start attracting and seeking confirmation for It. The verification strengthens and you act on It just as if It was really true, turning into proof. 

-this objective proof blinds a person from realizing that their issues lie in the self image/own valuation of himself.  

-the self image can be changed regardless of age. People look at the wrong details when It comes to wanting to change or make progress. Instead of looking within at the self, they look at what’s around them and use those as excuses. They think that they’ve tried or attempted to think positive about any given situation so that they can pursue it, yet they are unaware of and never think to change the self that is the sole driver who is actually going to accomplish the goal. “Impossible to truly think positive about a situation as long as you hold a negative concept of your self.”

-stop identifying with your failures and mistakes. 

-subconscious is a goal striving servo-mechanism consisting of the brain and nervous system which is used by and directed by the mind. Our mind operates this automatic goal striving machine. 

-creative mechanism – goal of this is to achieve mental images created by imagination. Key goal is our self image. Self image prescribes the limits for the accomplishment of any goal, the “area of possible”. It works on info and data that we feed into It (thoughts beliefs and interpretations). This in return is used to solve problems and respond to situations. 

-success mechanism – in order to turn your creative mechanism into a success mechanism, you must use the method of learning practicing and experiencing new habits of thinking imagining and remembering, and acting in order to develop a legit self image, while also using your creative mechanism to bring success and happiness in achieve goals. 

-we have access to a higher power of intelligence when we begin to think hard enough. Our minds can rescan our brain or our subconscious find answers to our problems that we don’t have knowledge in ourselves. 

-can’t change self image unless you see the new image as your truth 

-success mechanism must have a goal or target. Must he conceived of as already in existence, now, either in actual or potential form. It operates by either steering you to a goal already in existence or by discovering something already in existence. 

-skill is learned via trial and error. Correcting the error until It becomes successful. Then continued success comes from not implementing the errors any longer and remembering only the successful ones. 

-trust your creative mechanism. You cannot force It by too much conscious effort. Since It operates subconsciously you must allow It to work its magic. As you act and place a demand on It by your actions, it will come through. 

-we use our imagination for our goals. We use It constructively or destructively. The key is becoming aware of which way you’re using yours and improving on It daily. 

-nervous system cannot tell the difference between an imagined experience and a real one. It reacts automatically to information you’ve given It from your brain. It reacts appropriately to what you think or imagine to be true. 

-we act and feel not according to what things are really like, but according to the image your mind holds of what they are like. We have certain mental images of ourselves our world and the people around us and we behave as though these images were the truth, the reality, rather than the things they represent. (Need to mention this in part 2 for control when It comes to our emotions, how we need to stop always believing all of our thoughts). 

-if we picture ourselves performing in a certain manner, It is nearly the same as the actual performance. Mental practice helps to make perfect. 

-role playing – imagining yourself in various sales situations then solving them in your mind, until you know what to say and do whenever the situation comes up in real life. Imagine every possible scenario and work out the best response. Preparing beforehand by using your imagination. 

-Rehearsal practice – when preparing for an interview plan for It in advance. Go through all questions likely to be asked, think about answers you’d respond with. Rehearse the interview in your mind. Leads to confidence. Helps to react spontaneously due to practicing to do so. 

By consistently mentally visualizing and actually feeling the action/doing of the task/goal at hand, you can vastly improve when actually performing It physically. 

You must have a clear mental picture of the correct thing before you can do it successful – Alex Morrison golf teacher. 

Our brain and body functions as a machine that we operate. The auto goal seeking machine steers its way to a goal by use of data and store info, auto correcting course when needed. It can only operate in one way, with a target/goal to shoot at. 

Must clearly see a thing in your mind before doing It, once you do, the creative success mechanism within takes over and does the job better than you could by conscious effort or willpower. 

Mentally picturing the desired end result forces you to use positive thinking. 

-visualizing past wins, something that you’re happy proud and positive about. Doesn’t matter how big or small It is. Vividly going through the experience to relive It, how It felt, smelt, heard, subtle and minor detailed specific ls important to practice. 

-take the few seconds to recognize when you’d typically get annoyed or upset in any certain situation, and instead of letting It affect your present state, take a deep breath and relax your body. Think about what getting angry solves, and how this moment can be used to better yourself and often times what you were going to be angry about ends up not being as big of a deal or as worse as you made It out to be. “Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen”. Stop allowing your opinions to influence the way you feel. Stop always believing that your thoughts and opinions know best! 

Power of hypnosis is the power of belief – when a hypnotic suggests something that overcomes a negative idea that the person implanted in their mind (you are very strong….when person thinks they cannot lift more than 100 lbs). They imposed a limitation on themselves with a negative belief that they can’t do It. By removing the mental block, they become dehypnotized from their own self limiting beliefs about themself. 

-there is no norm or average standard. We must stop comparing ourselves to others. There is only one you, you’re not meant to be like others and vice versa. Your inferiority complex originates from thinking of where you stand in relation to someone else’s norm. Stop this madness! 

-if an error is made, you must focus on correcting It next time and then forgetting the error. Dwelling on the past does not serve anyone well and allows the negative behavior to continue, when the goal should be to remove It from thought. 

-the conscious mind is the one that selects the goal, gathers info, concludes, evaluates, estimates and starts the wheels in motion. It is not responsible for results or solving problems. We must learn to do our work, act on the best assumptions available and leave results to take care of themselves (subconscious) 

Happiness – all internal. Habit that can be fixed and improved upon. Happiness lives only lives in the present not in the future when you hope something can be attained. 

Focusing and imagining pleasant ideas and memories of the past is essential to self improvement, and allows you to face life more pleasantly. 

Determination, persistency, in order to “grow rich” you must first create the mindset and the thinking process for becoming rich. 

Then, It must become a life obsession. You must think about It, the different scenarios and outcomes and envision It. Feel It see It posses It. 

If you want It bad enough, you must be so determined that you convince yourself you’ll have It. 

Edwin C Barnes – no money no education. He knew that he wanted to be a business partner with Thomas Edison. His thoughts were of confidence, as if It was definite that he would become his partner. 

Burning desire – 

“Wishing doesn’t bring wishes. Desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and mean to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches”

Money conscious – the mind has become completely saturated with the desire for It that you can see yourself already in possession of it. 

This is the mindset necessary for attaining ANY definite goal. 

Auto suggestion – if you repeatedly tell yourself certain things, those things will become your truth and will end up happening in physical reality. You can plant seeds that through constant reminding and repetition will result in millions of seeds of the main focus of thought. 

The master mind principle – surrounding yourself with others who have the same desires and motives, paired with working together in perfect harmony creates an intangible force that allows all to learn from one another, taking the power and teachings that they give you, and becoming successful because of It. All successful individuals have had others in their corner. The smarter the group you surround yourself with, the better off you’ll be. 

Sexual energy – those that can learn to harness and channel this energy and impulse (the strongest of any other kinds, combined) are who end up becoming most successful. Having a woman that you love and being able to mix equal portions of love, romance and sex within the relationship is the most powerful feeling one can have, and allows you to pursue tremendous goals. 

The subconscious mind is your gateway to becoming a genius and gaining access to infinite intelligence. It feeds off of emotions and feelings. If you give It positive thoughts and desires, that is what you’ll get back in return, and vice versa.