This is a great video interview with Brian Tracy about setting and achieving goals. He believes that success is predictable and that setting goals is key to that process. In this interview, he teaches you specifically how to set a goal and achieve it.

Brian Tracy covers a great method called the 20 questions method. If you follow this method every day, it will definitely change your life for the better. Also, if you find the whole idea of setting and achieving goals too overwhelming, then check out the end of this chat where he tells you exactly how to do it.

Asoka Selvarajah

I have never had much faith in New Year resolutions, mainly because nothing much ever comes of them for most people. That said, a new year can be an extremely useful tool in setting yourself a new direction, provided that you have a definite system for getting there.

Actually, you do not need a new year to do this. You can do this at any time of the year, which should give you comfort should you in fact get thrown off from your new year resolution. The fact is that you do not need to wait until next year to start again. You can start again immediately and get right back on track from where you left off. Also, you can start a new venture or direction in life on ANY day of the year. There is no need to wait until January 1st.

Of course, all of this is pretty obvious, and yet it is amazing how many people miss the blatantly obvious and thereby lose out on all the progress they could be making on their life goals and dreams. You don’t have to be that way. Hence, if you are starting out this year with some new goals and resolutions, then that is great. However, remember that you can get right back up and start again should you ever come off the tracks at any time.

So what is it that makes the difference? What is it that causes some people to fail and others to succeed in life, in goals and in new year resolutions?…

The answer is… (1) a clearly defined system for achieving those goals and keeping on track, coupled with (2) solid reasons for WHY you want this, backed up with (3) strong will and emotional commitment to succeed.

Without these components, it is all too easy to get distracted by the daily urgencies of life and thereby forget what we committed to.

What do we mean by a clearly defined system? Frankly, it means different things to different people, according to their individual personalities. That said, you should definitely know your specific outcome (goal) in the first place, as well as some sort of time deadline for achieving it. If you don’t know what you want, how will you get it? If you don’t know when you want it by, then it becomes a mere dream or fantasy than a goal that drives you daily.

You also need to be able to work this overall goal back to monthly, then weekly and then even daily deadlines. Specifics are what really count in making progress, and it is lack of these specifics that cause so many people to fail. If I asked you to go to the shop and buy a loaf of bread, or to decide on a holiday destination and then make a plan to go there, you would be able to list the exact steps as to how to do these things. However, if I asked you for a list of specific steps for achieving your stated goal, most people would stare at me blankly.

Apart from having a specific goal, a specific deadline, and specific daily and weekly and monthly steps for getting there, you also need a system of accountability and regular review. This means having a way of checking in on yourself daily to see if you are on or off-track. That way, you are able to make adjustments and get back to where you should be. There is no point waiting six months or a year before checking in. The more often, the better.

With regards to (2) strong solid reasons why you want this, this is all about giving you the motivation for working steadily towards your goal, especially when times are tough, which they often may be. Hence, when you get discouraged, you can pull out your sheet of ten or twenty reasons why you want this, and fire yourself up again.

So that is one thing you can do. Create a list of 10–20 reasons why you absolutely must get this done, and then review that list regularly.

Finally, for (3) strong will and emotional commitment to succeed, this is where you need to spend time really creating a picture for what things will look like if you do succeed. Imagine and visualize it in great depth and get excited about it. Also, you should consider developing a visualization for what would happen if you fail. Some people are better motivated by fear of loss than possibility of gain. Actually, it is a good thing to have both methods working for you simultaneously. One pulls you forward, and one drives you from behind!

In conclusion then, USE this new year as an opportunity to kick-start yourself to achieve something new and spectacular. Use the three key factors discussed above. And remember, this works ANY time of the year, not just in January. Make it happen!

Copyright 2012. AKS Trading LLC. All Rights Reserved.

I have long been skeptical of metaphysical teachers of the “You’re already enlightened, you just don’t know it” school of thinking. This kind of concept smacks too much of the “fast, easy, no work” mentality preyed upon by so many marketing schemes, particularly for weight loss and make money bizops. Indeed, there now seem to be an abundance of the “quick and easy” weekend spiritual seminars promoting “Instant Enlightenment” and the like. Hence, the skepticism is justified in the sense that empty words and promises are easy to generate, but substantiating them is another matter altogether.

Nevertheless, the idea that Enlightenment/Realization is not something to work towards, but instead is a part of our ultimate nature is a completely valid one. The problem is that in our dualistic mode of habitual thinking, that which is our Real Nature is forever invisible to our direct senses. It is like the sun obscured by thick clouds; ever-present but unseen.

Traditional approaches to achieving Enlightenment are gradual. They invariably involve renunciation, moral and ethical improvement of the individual, and the promise of eventual Liberation from the sufferings of our conventional Samsaric existence at some distant rebirth in the future. This is, for the most part, the conventional approach.  Moreover, it is appropriate for the majority of people, since most people’s capacity for spiritual realization is relatively limited.

However, there exists an accelerated path to achieve Enlightenment rapidly, even within a single lifetime. If you think about it, this has to be the case since according to written accounts, many of the Buddha’s own disciples did precisely that. Yet, the accounts do not detail how this was achieved.

There are a number of things to be said about this matter…

Image via Wikipedia

Firstly, there is a lineage involved; meaning that you won’t find this in a weekend “Enlightenment Intensive” seminar by some Johnny-come-lately TV-friendly marketing savvy so-called spiritual guru. This sort of authentic path is available by direct energetic transmission from one spiritual master to the next within an established spiritual tradition that may be hundreds or even thousands of years old. You are tapping into the power of a long-established line of spiritual masters to enable you to awaken in this rapid manner.

For example, in Tibetan Buddhism, the system is called Dzogchen; considered to be one of the most advanced teachings within this tradition. It has been something of a guarded secret but is being more openly taught these days; most notably in the West by Dzogchen Master Chogyal Namkhai Norbu.

Secondly, although the emphasis of the teaching is to achieve direct introduction to your Real Nature, and the processes taught are relatively simple, nobody should be under the illusion that they just need to do these simple practices a few times, and Realization is achieved once and for all. This is more like an awakening process that grows over time, as you progressively involve yourself in the practice and shed off your massive karmic burdens, obstacles and obscurations. Yes, you get immediate access to the Enlightened Nature during your meditative practice, but this may initially be momentary before you revert back to conventional dualistic vision. Hence, the focus of the practice is to persist until what is momentary and fleeting initially becomes permanent and lasting eventually.

Nevertheless, you need to beware of this “instant Enlightenment” stuff as taught by too many Western practitioners, who have sprung up overnight through the power of skilled marketing, and who possess no lineage whatsoever. Be cautious about anyone who claims  to be already Enlightened or uses phrases that imply this (e.g. I can think of at least one famous Personal Growth teacher who says things like “Since I became Enlightened…” Please note that NO highly advanced Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, not even the Dalai Lama himself, would remotely have the audacity to say such a thing!).

In conclusion, our perfected nature needs no improving or gradual process of attainment. It is there from the very beginning, 100% perfected. However, like clouds covering the sun, our karmic obstacles and impediments prevent us from experiencing our perfected reality, and so we live in the illusion of Samsaric conventional reality. There exist processes for realizing our Real Nature, even for just a moment, as well as methods for regularly clearing our karmic blockages. However, these are not so readily available. As they say, when the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear.

If you have the capacity and interest to pursue such approaches, then you may wish to seek them out. If not, then the gradual and progressive methods are the best for you to stay with. Each according to his/her spiritual capacity.

Copyright 2011. AKS Trading LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Ok, so perhaps the You vs. Michelangelo drawing competition won’t happen just today!

But the fact is, even Michelangelo had to start somewhere. And so do you and I.

So if you’ve longed to be an accomplished artist, to make people’s jaws drop at your dazzling talent… but you can’t draw better than a 5-year old, this could be the answer:

==> http://www.aksworld.com/PencilArtGenius <==

The fact is, a LOT of people who are interested in spiritually and personal empowerment also have strong creative urges within them. Frustrated urges.

Yes, thanks to society and upbringing, too many of us have our fledgling artistic talents quashed. We give in to the “practical” and we let our inner artist die.

Image via Wikipedia

And after a while, we end up saying, “Well, I just can’t draw. I can’t paint. I was never good at Art. And I never will be.”

Does that sound like you at times?…

Well, I’m here to tell you… it’s NOT true!

This new course I discovered was actually created by a person who used to think just like that. And was in exactly the same place
you may be in right now regarding artistic ability.

Yet, Christopher Sia learned how to become a highly accomplished artist from scratch. He wasn’t born that way. In fact, it took him a heck of a lot of hard grind, and dead ends to finally master the secrets to Master-level Drawing.

And now he’s revealing how anyone, yes even YOU, can do exactly the same thing.

==> http://www.aksworld.com/PencilArtGenius <==

Actually, I bought this course myself. So I’ve had a chance to check

it out fully from the inside. The material is very solid and great value. Anyone who seriously applies him/herself has a realistic chance of succeeding. OK, the challenge with Michelangelo might have to wait a while week! But, in the meantime, you finally discover how to fulfill one of your long-cherished secret dreams. And what could be better than that?

Best Wishes,

Asoka

P.S. Another big benefit of learning to draw is that you learn to look at the world in a different way. You see, artists are experts at really LOOKING and SEEING what is actually there. The untrained eye looks, but does not really see accurately. It plays all kinds of tricks on us. In other words, if you are interested in your own personal growth, then simply learning to draw well is an excellent exercise to help you achieve that wider goal…

As your brain develops in this area, it also grows in every other area too! That’s just one extra “hidden” benefit of learning to
draw, quite apart from the satisfaction it will give you, and the amazed admiration you’ll get from your friends and family.

There are seven major chakras in the body, according to Eastern spiritual teachings. These are energy centers and are hence invisible to the eye or to medical examination. However, each chakra is associated with a different part of the physical body, from the base of the torso to the top of the head.

The lowest chakra is called Muladhara and is found at the base of the spine. Its color is red and the core issue around this chakra is Survival and Self-Preservation. Its element is Earth and hence it tends to be associated with the physical body and with physicality in general. Its positive associations are to do with physical health, prosperity, stability and being grounded. A first chakra imbalance tends to be associated with heaviness, solidity, obesity, materialism. A deficiency of energy in this chakra would manifest as fear, lack of discipline and possibly also being physically underweight.

The 7 Chakras

The second chakra is called Svadisthana and this is located in the genital area. Its color is orange and it is related to Sexuality, Emotions and Self-Gratification. Its element is Water and hence it is associated with fluidity, and healthy expression of sexuality and emotions. Its negative associations are sex addictions and obsessions, poor boundaries and excessive emotionality. A deficiency of energy in this chakra manifests as frigidity, impotence and possibly also fear of pleasure.

The third chakra is called Manipura and it is located in the solar plexus. Its color is yellow and it is related to Power, Will and Self-Definition. Its element is Fire and it is associated with Purpose, Empowerment, Self-esteem, Vitality and Will-Power. A negative third chakra manifests as being dominating, blaming, scattered, over-active and possibly even aggressive. If there is s deficiency of energy in the solar plexus chakra, it tends to manifest in being weak-willed, having low self-esteem and poor self-image, being too passive and fearful. Overall, this energy center has to do with your ego identity.

The fourth chakra is called Anahata and is located in your heart area. Its color is green and it is associated with Love, Relationships, Compassion and Harmony.  Its element is Air and it is all about learning Self-Acceptance, good relationships, and to love and be loved. An excess of fourth chakra energy manifests in poor boundaries, and being possessive or jealous. A lack of energy in this energy center manifests as shyness, isolation, loneliness, being bitter or critical. Overall, this chakra has to do with your social identity.

The fifth chakra is called Visuddha and is located in your throat area. Its color is blue and it is  associated with Communication and Creativity. Its element is Sound and it is associated with Speaking, Communication and Self-Expression. An excess in this area leads to excessive talking, an inability to listen and perhaps even stuttering. If this energy center is deficient in energy, it leads to fear of speaking, lack of creativity and poor communication in general. This chakra is all about Self-expression.

The sixth chakra is called Ajna and is located in the brow area. Its color is violet and it is associated with Intuition and Imagination. Its element is Light and it is associated with Psychic Power, Visualization, Imagination. An excess of energy in this zone gives rise to headaches, nightmares, delusions and hallucinations. If this area is deficient in energy, it leads to poor vision, lack of memory and lack of intuition or imagination. When related to the person, this center is all about Self-Reflection (which is why so many meditation systems focus on the brow area).

The seventh and final chakra is called Sahasrara and it is located at the very top of the head. Its color is white and it is associated with Wisdom, Knowledge, Super-Consciousness. Its element is Thought and it is related to Self-Knowledge, Awareness and Spiritual Connection. If there is too much energy in this area, it tends toward being overly intellectual, addicted to spirituality and even confusion. If this area is lacking in energy, it gives rise to learning difficulties, skepticism, materialism and apathy.

This is a summary of the basic characteristics of the 7 chakras. There are many ways to work with them to balance their energies or to enhance those that are deficient. For example, you can do so through physical movement such as yoga asanas or dance. Alternatively, you can engage in chakra meditations in which you focus on each chakra in turn and perform specific meditations to balance the energy between them and to unblock any that are blocked. In chakra healing, such unblocking can even lead to radical physical and mental health changes.

From just the list above, you can see if you are indeed showing an excessive of deficiency or energy in any of these areas. After awareness of the issue, you then work with the specific chakra affected through physical activities or meditation until the energy in this area is properly balanced.

Copyright 2011 Asoka Selvarajah . All Rights Reserved.

If you liked this article, you can get many more like it plus three free ebooks (Value $29.97)

Useful References:

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Endeavor to keep before your mind’s eye the thought that every physical or material condition in your life corresponds to your habitual thought tendency, and your thought tendency will eventually become the reproduction of the way you regard your personal life, as related to all life.

Genevieve Behrand

This is a quotation regarding the power of thought that you may wish to ponder deeply, or even print out and stick up on a wall if you are interested in manifesting the life of your dreams. Your habitual thought tendency gives rise to every physical and material thing in your life, either directly or indirectly.

If this is so, then how important is it to be totally vigilant about every thought you think?…

After all, if you knew, really knew, that every thought has a direct consequence for you, how careful would you be about how you think? If you could actually see the consequential path of every thought, leading to its final manifestation for good or ill, don’t you think it would produce an immediate change to your behavior?

The whole problem is that we receive no such feedback. There is no visible, immediate, direct correlation between our thoughts and what manifests in your lives. That is why we falsely believe there is NO relationship.

However, that would be a foolish mistake to make.

Both ancient and modern teachings agree that there is such a relationship. Careful philosophical musing over your life will reveal much of it to you if you will just spend the time to ponder and examine the past and the present. Remember to that your habitual thinking right now is creating your future in this very moment. So, if you want to see  what your future will look like, examine your habitual thinking right now.

Do you like what you see?

Copyright 2011 Asoka Selvarajah . All Rights Reserved.

It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage that we move on to better things.
Theodore Roosevelt.

For most people who try to achieve anything in their personal or professional lives, the biggest challenge they have is that they do not understand this fundamental truth. Much has been said in favor of the value of persistence, but how many people actually do persist in anything?

We all want results to be quick and easy. What is worse, modern advertising is geared to reinforce this notion and promise us precisely that. Who wants to hear that the only proven way to lose weight is (1) eat less, (2) exercise more?! Indeed, if anything takes effort and hard work, we might be inclined to feel that, rather than this being the norm, we must surely be doing something wrong!

I have a recent case in point. Someone I know recently decided that he was going to start selling items on eBay. This came as a major surprise to me since he has so far almost gone out of his way to avoid Internet involvement, and does not know the simplest thing about it, e.g. how to click a link on a web page or even in an email. Nevertheless, I was impressed that he somehow actually managed to list an auction, sell an item, and get positive feedback too.

However, the whole process is fraught with difficulty and stress and I feel that, however I might wish him well, he is bound to fail. Why? Because he still does not understand the first thing about Internet navigation! If there is a page with a button and the button says, “Click here to do X,” he will not click it, or even realize that he is supposed to. Moreover, he will not get serious about what he is doing and treat it professionally. In other words, you might expect a person to engage in a steady detailed learning process to master what he does not know, start small, experience some success, and then build on it. But he won’t.

Instead, excited by his first sale, he then launched eight auctions simultaneously! He now tells me that some of the bidders were “scams”, and he plans to only sell much cheaper items from now on. All I can observe is that he has gone through life saying about almost anything to do with business or money that “It’s a scam.” He will invariably dream up some sort of creative excuse for why this could never work for him. Hence, after just one result, he is already beginning to apply the same mentality here too.

In other words, in this person’s case and in the case of so many people, there is a lack of willingness to do what it takes to succeed. There is lots of action, a flurry of activity, but no big-picture strategy of what the final objective should look like!  It seems unbelievable that someone who cannot even recognize the basics on an Internet web page  would seriously consider launching eight eBay auctions simultaneously! Yet, all sorts of people do bizarre things like this all the time… and then scratch their heads and wonder why things went wrong!

In this case and so many others, what is needed is a serious commitment to a long-term plan or strategy. If you plan to do something, aim to do it well. Have some structure to what you are trying to do. Discover what you don’t know and create a plan to fill that knowledge gap. Find out what your weaknesses are, perhaps by asking others who know you well or have experience in what you are trying to do, and then plug those weaknesses.

The above example also illustrates the point that we have to really work upon ourselves to uncover our hidden failure beliefs. Because I know this person well, I also know of the huge mental blocks he has against succeeding financially in any business. That is why I was so impressed that he decided to do anything in the first place, and yet so disappointed that once more, he allows his failure programming to ruin everything.

This person, like so many people, always “plays not to lose” in life. This is a huge difference from playing to win. When you play not to lose, you play defensively and set things up so that you always have an excuse. He is already unconsciously creating his excuses for why he won’t succeed big with this. It is only a matter of time before he gives up and lists all the excuses as to why it is someone else’s fault, and nothing to do with anything he did. The false comfort derived from this is that he does not have to think of himself as “a loser”, but the pain is that he will not experience the enormous pleasure of eventually winning either.

So, in order to succeed in any chosen endeavor, persistence alone is not enough (although it will take you further than most people will ever get). You also need (1) a clear, focused, proven plan for success and (2) a determination to work that plan while (3) adapting to any unexpected upsets that come your way.

On top of it all though, as this case so aptly illustrates, you need a huge willingness to look deep within yourself, challenge your hidden failure mechanisms and exorcise them from your consciousness. The latter step is probably the hardest thing of all to do, since we are tinkering with our habitual paradigm of the way the world works. However, without doing that work, you are driving with the brake on. And if you drive like that, not only do you put a huge stress on your vehicle, you don’t get to go very far either.

Copyright 2011 Asoka Selvarajah . All Rights Reserved.

Here is a video I really like that invokes the sort of spiritual vision that we should be focusing upon. It is wonderful to see an example of creativity being used for positive purposes to enrich our lives with the hope of a better tomorrow.

Many people feel that this is a time of great positive change for the Earth. I am not so certain about that, but I certainly would like to think so and indeed hope so. Certainly, esoteric teachings make it clear that our thoughts, collectively as humanity, do contribute to the well-being of the Earth as a whole.

Hence, perhaps a video like this is a great reminder to us that we need to maintain our mental and spiritual state in as pristine and positive a condition  as possible.

Anyway, enjoy the beautiful images and music. It’s inspiring and lovely.

Asoka

The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money.

Image by cliff1066™ via Flickr

Thomas Jefferson

The secret to happiness lies with the power of the mind. We can determine our mental weather forecast, and how our day, week, year and entire life turns out by how we direct the power of mind. It is what we think about that enables us to be on an upward spiral mentally and emotionally or on the descent.

We hear a lot about the power of positive thought, and rightly so. As Thomas Jefferson implies, you can control what you focus your mind upon. You can bring back good feelings and memories from the past to enliven your existence in this very moment. This quote also implies that we can create positive thoughts right now that carry us powerfully through the day, no matter what life may throw at us.

This is the key point; namely, that the locus of control is within you. No mater what may happen, it is how you think about it and the beliefs you bring to bear that determine the meaning you give to the event. This is the unique power of the mind; it can give happy or sad meaning to the exact same event, depending upon how it is disposed to function. That disposition is down to the person in control of that mind!

Thus, through thinking positive thoughts  in an optimal fashion, you keep your mental life healthy. It is ultimately from the mental and from the correct use of the power of the mind that physical and spiritual health and blessings flow.

Copyright Asoka Selvarajah . All Rights Reserved.

Related articles

• Self Help: Coping With Setbacks In Your Progress (aksworld.com)

None of us can be free of conflict and woe. Even the greatest men have had to accept disappointments as their daily bread.

Bernard M. Baruch

Disappointment visits every human being who has ever lived, not once but many times. I certainly know I have had more than my share of shattered dreams. I know you have had your own disappointments, and the occasional tragedy too.

Most people only reel at the blow, perhaps collapse, lie there a while, and then gradually pick themselves up and go about life, perhaps with a newly acquired psychological limp or scar. In other words, they learn nothing from what happened and are potentially set for future disappointments too.

A better approach is surely to always try to learn something from our disappointments and setbacks. That way, you use life as a tutor. Often, the lesson is extremely hard, and seemingly unbearable. Maybe the disappointment and suffering persists for a while and take time to get over. However, if you are always willing to learn from your setbacks, then you have the potential of not having to go through that particular lesson again.

Often, disappointment serves to show us that we are not on the right road to begin with. We may be heartbroken at that moment, but time eventually reveals a better path; a road we might never have trodden if we had not been stopped so brutally in our path in the first place. People are disappointed in love; perhaps they find another. They are disappointed in career; maybe they find a better opportunity in another firm, or even decide to start their own business.

The point is that disappointment can serve as a catalyst to something better. It can be the driving force to excel to a new height in your life. It can be a message from your higher self to you that you need to change direction or focus.

Disappointment is only deadly and toxic to the extent that you dwell upon it, let it feed on your emotions, wallow in it, and basically become a disappointed person as who you are.

So let life be your tutor. Allow every setback to be your guide. May every disappointment that comes not be wallowed in, but rather used as a pointer to something bigger and better.

Copyright Asoka Selvarajah 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Related articles

• Self Help: Coping With Setbacks In Your Progress (aksworld.com)
• Initiative & Goal Setting For A Truly Empowered Life (aksworld.com)