I recently saw this question “What is a sad fact of life in 10 words or less?” on Quora.com and a number of answers quickly came to mind, but a few others also occurred to me that I couldn’t fit into 10 words or less, so I thought I’d write a post and put them all in one place. Feel free to add your own, in the comments.
#1. People are spiritually disconnected, and don’t see the WONDERFULNESS of life
#2 People worry about the small stuff, it’s all small stuff.
#3 People focus on their EXPECTATIONS, instead of their APPRECIATIONS.
#4 People spend way too much time in their heads, and not enough in the real world.
#5 All pain and suffering is caused by FEAR, even greed is.
#6 People fear CHANGE, because they focus on UNCERTAINTY and RISK, rather than the OPPORTUNITIES..
#7 Mankind’s behaviour is driven by BELIEFS based largely on nothing more than ASSUMPTIONS.
#8 FEAR drives GREED, which leads to the pursuit for POWER. This means those at the top are the most fearful in society, and we still expect them to worry about the rest of us. What a crazy system we have.
#9 Mankind wastes millions of hours/lives/dollars/expertise fighting over scarce resources, instead of focusing on creating new resources for all.
#10 People worry endlessly about if there is a life after death, make the most of the life you have now, you don’t know and can’t change what happens after death.
Following the list below will inevitably improve your quality of life, and those who you share it with. Remember it’s not about what happens to you, but rather how you deal with whatever happens to you.
Self-improvement or self-development as it’s often referred to is a major driver of mankind. We all strive to be better, smarter, more successful, fitter, slimmer etc.
Society pushes us to be “more than we are“, and we do our best to follow that recommendation. We read books, take classes, follow role models, try to find mentors, all with the goal of being better tomorrow than we are today.
As a results self-improvement and self-development is big business, the net worth of this industry is estimated to be around $11 billion and growing at over 5% per year.
I’m a firm believer in education, because it allows us to have a greater appreciation of the world around us, and to operate more knowledgeably in the niches we choose to make a living.
Reading books or articles is only the first step, putting what we’ve learned into action is the next, and without doubt the most important part of the success equation. Without taking action, the knowledge acquisition stage is wasted, and with it our greatest resource, time.
This website is here to provide resources for getting results, covering:
All of these are key components in GETTING RESULTS in all aspects of life. So take some time to check through the articles provided on this site. There are lots of self-development focused articles, check them out here, even better than that, sign up for our newsletter for unique content, not available on the site, as email allows us to provide more tailor-made information and solutions.
Also check out the books and links below. I have personally read all of the books listed here, and would recommend them as good sources of information, you can check out the reviews at Amazon for a second, third and forth opinion if you like, but they all provide a good read, or a good listening experience, if you prefer audio books.
Rich Dad Poor Dad, the #1 Personal Finance book of all time, tells the story of Robert Kiyosaki and his two dads–his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad–and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.
Get Results: richest man in babylon
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason.
THE SUCCESS SECRETS OF THE ANCIENTS–AN ASSURED ROAD TO HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY
Countless readers have been helped by the famous -Babylonian parables, – hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on the subject of thrift, financial planning, and personal wealth. In language as simple as that found in the Bible, these fascinating and informative stories set you on a sure path to prosperity and its accompanying joys. Acclaimed as a modern-day classic, this celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of–and a solution to–your personal financial problems that will guide you through a lifetime.
Get Results: unshakeable
Unshakeable by Tony Robbins.
Market corrections are as constant as seasons are in nature. There have been 30 such corrections in the past 30 years, yet there’s never been an action plan for how not only to survive, but thrive through each change in the stock market.
Building upon the principles in Money: Master the Game, Robbins offers the reader specific steps they can implement to protect their investments while maximizing their wealth. It’s a detailed guide designed for investors, articulated in the common-sense, practical manner that the millions of loyal Robbins fans and students have come to expect and rely upon.
Few have navigated the turbulence of the stock market as adeptly and successfully as Tony Robbins. His proven, consistent success over decades makes him singularly qualified to help investors (both seasoned and first-timers alike) preserve and add to their investments.
Get Results: think and grow rich
The Success Classics Collection: Think and Grow Rich and the Science of Getting Rich (Capstone Classics)
Looking for wealth and success? Discover the money–making secrets of Americas millionaires of the 1930s as compiled by Napoleon Hill and distilled into a thirteen step programme to personal success in the 1937 classic Think and Grow Rich. To further prove that the formula for making money is ageless, The Success Classics Collection also includes the 100–year edition of The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles which explains how to attract wealth, overcome emotional barriers, and apply foolproof methods to bring financial success into your life.
In The ONE Thing, you’ll learn to cut through the clutter, achieve better results in less time
build momentum toward your goal, dial down the stress, overcome that overwhelmed feeling
revive your energy, stay on track, master what matters to you
The ONE Thing is the New York Times bestseller which delivers extraordinary results in every area of your life-work, personal, family, and spiritual.
It is one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure of reading. It focuses you on the important business priorities, and is a real practical business essential.
Get Results: 4 hour work week
The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
Improve Marketing: Recommended Information Sources
You’re either a Purple Cow or you’re not. You’re either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.
What do Apple, Starbucks, Dyson and Pret a Manger have in common? How do they achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and-true brands to gasp their last? The old checklist of P’s used by marketers – Pricing, Promotion, Publicity – aren’t working anymore. The golden age of advertising is over. It’s time to add a new P – the Purple Cow.
Purple Cow is a great thought provoker. Seth is a firm believer that future business success depends on businesses moving from ordinary and becoming extraordinary. Buy the book or audio versions below.
Get Results: made to stick
Made to Stick by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Improve Spirituality: Recommended Information Sources
Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth will be a cornerstone for personal spirituality and self-improvement for years to come, leading readers to a new levels of consciousness and inner peace. Taking off from the introspective work The Power of Now, which is a number one bestseller and has sold millions of copies worldwide, Tolle provides the spiritual framework for people to move beyond themselves in order to make this world a better, more spiritually evolved place to live. Shattering modern ideas of ego and entitlement, self and society, Tolle lifts the veil of fear that has hung over humanity during this new millennium, and shines an illuminating light that leads to happiness and health that every reader can follow.
Get Results: the power of now
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle’s book describes the experience of heightened consciousness that radically transformed his life – and shows how by living in the moment we can also reach a higher state of being where we can find joy and peace and where problems do not exist.
How do you feel about the possibility of being wrong?
It is considered to be a very bad thing by most people, resulting in feelings of dread, embarrassment, emptiness, sadness and a sense of loss for time and effort, which may have been wasted. We really don’t want to be proven wrong, do we?
We’re right until we know we’re wrong
The trouble is we feel we are right (even though we might actually be wrong) until the point we REALISE we’re wrong. A good analogy for this is the Looney tunes cartoon where the coyote chases the road runner off the end of a cliff, and is okay, even though he’s running in mid air, until he realises there’s nothing under his feet, only then does he fall.
We misunderstand the signs around us more than we care to admit, yet we do what we can to avoid thinking about the possibility of being wrong.
We grow to believe we see the world as it really is, we are certain it is so, but this is dangerous. When we ATTACH to the idea of needing to be right, this prevents us accepting any possibility of being wrong.
Dealing with disagreement
In the face of disagreement, we are convinced that those who disagree are ignorant of the full facts, and when they are furnished with them, they will agree with our view.
If others have the same facts as us, but still disagree, then we resort to thinking them to be morons and idiots, who lack the necessary education to grasp the true reality.
When we know others to be smart and they still disagree with us, we think they may be withholding something from us, for their own gain.
All these are psychological coping strategies, to keep us from admitting we might actually be the ones who are wrong.
Culture teaches us to be right
Culture has conditioned us into thinking that people who failed when we were growing up in school, were the class dim-wits and drop outs, we have learned that lesson so well that we carry the fear of being wrong with us into our adult lives and subsequently spend all our time avoiding the possibility. We believe getting something wrong means there’s something wrong with us.
We’re missing something
We overlook the role INTERPRETATION plays in shaping our perceptions, which explains why different people might take different meanings from the same event.
This however is what feeds creativity and makes mankind so interesting and diverse. If we all saw the world in the same way, we would lose much of what makes us, us.
Be prepared to stand outside the need to be right all the time, accept we are probably wrong a lot of the time and that’s okay. For instance, we might have thought in our school days that we would marry our childhood sweetheart or be flying around with jet packs strapped to our backs as adults, but life just doesn’t turn out the way we thought it would.
Check out this Ted Talk lecture by Kathryn Schulz, it’s the inspiration for this article and well worth a watch.
Why is it we are good at giving others advice, but struggle with our own situations.
For instance people advise others about relationships when they themselves are in bad relationships. Maybe we should take our own advice. This isn’t a criticism, it’s just a recommendation.
We know the answers, when it comes to other people, but we can’t see it for ourselves. When we’re caught up in our own emotions, they tend to cloud our judgement. Rational thinking is easier when emotions aren’t present.
When we’re outside the scenario, everything is all too clear to see, but within it, everything is confused. If we imagine a stranger being in our situation, what would we tell them to do? Whatever the answer, is our solution.
When looking to attain HAPPINESS, attention is often focused on things like, the acquisition of economic wealth. The thinking goes, the more money a person acquires, the more freedom they can enjoy, and the happier they will be.
People also think the more stuff they own the more they will “BE“. Entangling possessions with their sense of self, can lead to all kinds of insecurities, because the flip side goes like this, the more stuff you have the more you have to lose.
Being a success is also seen to bring with it a sense of status. Society looks up to high achievers, putting them on a pedestal, so we can all aspire to be like them.
So ACHIEVEMENT becomes a measure of SELF-WORTH.
However if you’re looking for happiness in such things, you’re likely to be disappointed.
True happiness, will not come from anything external to you, from things like money, image or status.
Instead look to internal values and feelings that result in a sense of FULFILMENT.
FULFILMENT comes from things like personal growth and understanding of self, close relationships with friends and family and a strong sense of community and contribution. Such goals are more spiritual in nature.
We’ve included a number of guides on this website, that cover both ACHIEVEMENT and FULFILMENT.
These two aspects of life can coexist if you know how to balance them. Your primary aim should be to look after your spiritual health “BEING or fulfilment”, and secondary purpose is “DOING or achievement”. The aim should always be to bring BEING into any DOING.
Get Results: motivation fear drives appetite for more
I recently created a couple of graphics around the idea that fear of being nothing drives us to get and thus be more. The first graphic was designed from a spiritual perspective and says:
“The FEAR of HAVING and thus BEING nothing drives our appetite to get and thus be more and more and more and more and more. In reality, we can never be nothing because we are everything.”
Get Results: fear drives appetite for more
The second was designed from a motivational perspective, with almost the same wording and can be seen at the top of this post.
This got me thinking about how, effectively the same subject, can be viewed as a negative and a positive, depending how you choose to frame it.
What both of these graphics are saying is true, the seeming contradiction comes about because of the intent behind how “THE FEAR OF HAVING AND THUS BEING NOTHING” is used.
If we psychologically lose ourselves in this fear, being fully identified with it, it becomes a negative because we are a slave to it. It controls us, rather than the other way round.
If we use it as a technique to get us to the next level, and to grow, without fully identifying with it, it can be a good thing that positively motivates us. This is a subtle but skillful difference, which is difficult to distinguish between. However the contrast is as different as day and night.
Get Results: we can’t all be right but we could all be wrong
Eckhart Tolle describes, in his book A New Earth: Create a Better Life, how much of Mankind is currently under the control of the Ego and this is the cause of much social unrest and conflict around the world.
The Ego is thought you identify with, and to a large extent, is concerned with self-preservation, and in order to carry out that function is fearful by nature. It is preoccupied with the fear of pain and destruction.
Being rather imaginative, it comes up with all sorts of mind constructed scenarios resulting in its demise. It tries to build itself up so that it is more on the one hand, while resisting change and uncertainty on the other, instead opting for routine, consistency and predictability..
The Ego believes that by having more (possessions, ideas, psychological positioning) it will be more, and the more it is, the less chance of being nothing. While at the same time, fearing the more it has, the more it has to lose.
There is no scenario, that can end well, from a mindset of fear. Fear makes us inward looking, exclusive and more selfish because we believe the lie of scarcity, if there is not enough to go round we better grab our share, while we can.
Fear creates division, which in turn breaks communication, which in turn creates misunderstanding. For us to be more there needs to be an “other” that has less. We can’t be better or stronger if there isn’t an “other” to be less or weaker. There is no greater “other” than an “enemy”.
We all hold opinions based on social, political and cultural upbringing. Our parent’s, family, friends, colleagues, and mainstream media tell us their opinions and we make them our own, without really taking a long hard look at the logic and spirit behind them. These opinions become our beliefs and values, and over time, set into rigid thought patterns. We base all our decision making on these beliefs and values, they shape all aspects of our lives. Some of them serve us, but many hold us back from pursuing the kind of lives we would like to live, because they are consumed by fear.
Our Ego, in its attempt for growth, has us believing “we” are right and “they” are wrong. Our stance of superiority has us believing our perspective is the only valid one, so we fail to listen and be empathetic to other’s counter views, which are equally valid from their perspective. We can’t all be right but we could all be wrong.
Those with superior education might consider their views more informed, but if the source of that knowledge, turns out to be biased, than they might just be more brainwashed and less open to opposing narratives and views.
The media is largely responsible for fueling our fears, but they only supply what interests us, so while under the influence of the Ego, we pay more attention to, and takes interest in, fearful stories and bad news, so that we might avoid such situations ourselves in the future.
Get Results: awakening
What is the solution for escaping such a destructive situation? Return your self-preservation instruct to servant and end its role as master. Open your heart and mind to opposing perspectives. Embrace an empathetic mindset and allow yourself to learn from others. Without the Ego in charge, there is only love and inclusion, and from that comes peace and prosperity for all.
I’ve just finished watching “The Choice” on Netflix with Mrs Turner, and I would highly recommend it. But I’m not writing a movie review here, but talking briefly about what it got me thinking about.
I find choice to be an intriguing aspect of life.
Life is all about choice, right or wrong doesn’t matter because life keeps unfolding regardless.
Choices can be big or small, and can change the whole direction of your life in a heartbeat.
We are where we are because of the choices we have made to this point. The decisions about what to think, to do, and who to do it with or not, provide a continuous stream of options, each following the other.
The best or worse thing about it, depending on how you choose to frame it in your mind, is you get to make them, all of them.
I once made a choice to go away on an holiday, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to. I won’t bore you with the detail, but at the end of it all, it resulted in me meeting the love of my life and marrying her. If I hadn’t of gone on that holiday, and I very nearly didn’t, I wouldn’t have been in a position to meet her and experience the subsequent journey we have enjoyed together since. That holiday literally chanced my life, but really all the decisions we make have the potential to do that don’t they?
So let me wish you good luck with your future choices, may they bring you incredible joy.
