Welcome to the January 2007 edition of the Today is that Day Way Back Machine! This series of posts will highlight some of the most empowering, informative, or popular posts from the not to distant past. 

If you've seen these posts before, then go ahead and revisit them - most of what I write is timeless. If you haven't, then here is a chance to see some great content from the past that you missed the first time around. Enjoy!

• Everybody’s been the dog… - How do you turn science fiction into a lesson about your own infinite potential? Read the post to find out!
• 50 First Dates… - A life lesson about living in the moment learned from watching a very funny and entertaining movie with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
• How was your Day? - How much difference can a single 24-hour day make in your long-term success? How about all of the difference in the world?
• Did you feel that Tapping? - For you die-hard people who think that having a plan is the "end all, be all" of success, this post might make you think twice about living by that philosophy.

Superman was impervious, and Wonder Woman had those awesome bracelets, but the average person (or superhero) needs to find a realistic way to avoid those small but potentially deadly projectiles.

The first - and best - course of action is obviously to just avoid getting shot at in the first place. Barring that option, however, the next best thing to do is to duck, dodge, or otherwise evade the bullets that life will inevitably throw at you.

Photo Credit: Justice Blog of AmericaNow, I am obviously talking figuratively here, not literally, yet ironically enough, living a life where you can dodge mental bullets will probably keep you from having to dodge literal bullets as well, so it's an all-around good technique to learn!

The trick to dodging mental bullets is not to actually get out of the way whenever someone fires them at you, but rather to neutralize those mental bullets, thus eliminating their ability to cause you any harm.

Although in a perfect scenario, we could all simply avoid the negativity that is brought into our lives by other people, realistically that is not always going to be possible. However, by knowing how to make yourself impervious to those negative mental bullets (without being from Krypton or having magic bracelets), no matter how negative any given situation is, you will still be able to minimize or eliminate the affect that situation has on you and your life.

The trick to this lies in a very simple concept that everyone is familiar with: Opposites.

What do opposites have to do with eliminating negativity from your life? Quite simply, because opposites cancel each other out.

It is not possible for any extreme state of being to remain in an extreme state whenever the opposite of that state is applied to it.

Confused? Try out these examples:

• What happens when you mix black and white? You get gray.
• What happens when left and right meet in the middle? A straight line.
• What is the mid-line between moving forward or moving backwards? Standing still.
• What happens if you try to go up and down at the same time? Nothing.
• What is the difference between partly cloudy and partly sunny? Sorry, that's not part of the lesson - I just had to throw it in there! :)

The point here is that if some person or some situation comes at you from an extremely negative standpoint, then all you have to do in order to dodge that bullet is to focus on the polar opposite of whatever the negativity is, and you will immediately neutralize the extreme nature of that negativity.

People 

If someone walks up to you and starts screaming and yelling, just remain calm, and put yourself in a happy place. In fact, if you can conjure up an actual smile, that will REALLY help. It may not help the person screaming and yelling, but it will certainly help you, and what you need is what this is really all about anyway.

Your calm, cheerful demeanor will at the very least keep you from losing your cool and saying or doing something that you'll regret, and at the same time it may have the added benefit of diffusing the situation. Even the instigator of the whole thing may chill out, and both of you can then move forward without all of that negative energy.

Situations

If an extremely negative situation comes up in your life, the first thing to realize is that the situation just is what it is. You may be able to make the situation better in the future, but at the moment when you find out about (and are most susceptible to the negative effects of) the situation, simply accepting the situation for what it is needs to be the first step.

Once you have accepted the situation, then you can pull out the "opposite card". Since the goal is to avoid the negative influence that this situation could have on your state of mind, don't focus on finding a solution at this point, but rather just finding and focusing on the opposite of the situation.

Whenever you focus on the polar opposite of any given negative situation, what is the polar opposite of negative? Positive! No matter what negative situation has been presented to you, you can immediately eliminate the negativity by thinking about and FEELING about the opposite of that situation.

Remember, the goal here is not to find solutions to the situation, but rather to just protect yourself from the negativity that the situation has created.

Health

Have you ever heard the phrase "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer"? The reason why that phrase is true is because rich people focus on prosperity, while poor people focus on poverty. It is nothing more complicated or covert than the frequently proven fact that people get what they focus on. This applies to your health just as much as - if not more than - any other areas of your life.

If you wake up in the morning and think "I am so sore," or "I am so tired," or "I don't feel well," then you will continue to recreate those same feelings all day long. No matter what you do physically in order to try to alleviate those conditions, if you stay mentally focused on the fact that for some real or imagined reason you are supposed to be sore, tired, or ill, you will find a way to keep feeling exactly like that.

Focus instead on the opposite of those feelings. Yes, it will be hard at first because you DO feel sore, tired, or ill. However, by continually focusing on the opposite of those feelings, you will empower your own body to minimize or even eliminate whatever it is that caused those feelings to begin with. Or, if you can't wrap  your head around the fact that your mind controls your body (and it does!), then you should still be able to get your head around the simple fact that if you stop thinking about something unpleasant, you'll stop noticing it as well.

Your life is not just made up of the actual events that transpire during your time here on Earth, but rather how you feel about what happens to you here on Earth. Depending on your personal belief systems, you recognize that you have anywhere from partial to complete control over the physical happenings in your life, and most people exercise their level of control regularly.

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However, the one thing that is absolutely beyond debate is that you have 100% complete, utter control over what you think and what you feel as a result of those thoughts. If your life is the sum of the thoughts and feelings that you have about your physical experiences (and it is), and you can control your thoughts and your feelings 100% of the time (and you can), then doesn't it just make sense to have the best possible thoughts and feelings as often as you can?

You've got absolutely nothing to lose by attempting to use this system of dodging mental bullets, and since I don't see Wonder Woman or Superman swooping in to save your day, you might want to think about handling that responsibility on your own… 

WHAT'S NEXT?

Discuss this post at Personal Development Partners
Get reminded of this wisdom with Offline Merchandise
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If you want to learn how to program yourself for success, you need to understand that if you put garbage into your head, you will only ever get trashy results in your life!

The human mind runs just like the hard drive on your computer does, only in an unbelievably faster and more efficient manner. However, when it comes to basic programming, the same rules apply: If you put negative stuff in, you will only get negative stuff out.

Photo Credit: Nick BenjaminszIt is not possible to program a computer - or your mind - with commands that create gibberish and chaos, but then expect what gets displayed on the screen - or in your life - to be orderly, perfect, and effective. If you want to program yourself for success then you need to lock down your mind against every single thought that is not colored with success, bathed in positivity, and wrapped up in an iron-clad sense of expectation.

It's the Predominant Thoughts that are Hurting You

Many people struggle with reprogramming themselves for success because although they practice positive thinking, they visualize, and they say their affirmations, negativity is still the predominant factor in their life. It isn't the affirmations and the visualizations that are getting in the way, but rather the thoughts and the feelings that are active the rest of the time!

Most people's lives have been drenched in negativity for so long that an "offensive" move such as visualizing or saying affirmations is just a drop in the bucket compared to the onslaught of negativity that our minds are subjected to when we are not visualizing or affirming.

The results that we have in our lives are a direct result of the thoughts and feelings that we have, and the actions that we then take as a result of those thoughts and feelings. If the majority of your life is an onslaught of negativity, then your predominant thoughts, feelings and corresponding actions will not be positive.

All you have to do to confirm this is to look around your life right now. Your life's results are a direct result of your own thoughts, feelings, and actions. If you do not have the results that you want, then your predominant thoughts are not yet programmed for success, but rather are programmed for the lack of it.

How to Break the Cycle and Program yourself for Success

There is no such thing as a "first step" here, because all of these activities should be undertaken every single day, preferably several times per day, if not all day long. Remember, the goal here is to program yourself for success, not to just give yourself a tiny spoonful.

1. Do your "feel good processes" over and over again. Full credit goes to Gary Evans and the Manifest a Miracle program for the phrase "feel good processes," because that is exactly what they should be. We're talking about visualizing, meditating, saying affirmations, practicing gratitude, etc.

   The entire point behind these practices is to make you FEEL GOOD about whatever it is that you are considering while you do them. Positive thoughts about what you want in your life will create positive results, negative thoughts will create negative results. Period.

2. Eliminate or avoid negative influences. For many people, this will mean nothing less than a radical change in their lifestyle. Negative influences can and do include friends, family members, co-workers/employers, the television and printed news, and even the television shows and movies that we watch.

   Remember: Garbage in = Trashy Results. It doesn't matter where the garbage comes from.

3. Choose carefully what advice to listen to. Avoiding negative influences doesn't just mean staying away from negative people. It can also mean to ignore negativity that comes from  sources that are normally positive or uplifting.

   Just because you are reading a book that resonates with you, that does not mean that everything in that book is going to lead you down the right path. Make your own choices about what is good in that book vs. what should go in one ear and out the other. Likewise, when seeking counsel from other people, just because they give you advice, you are not obligated to take it! Even a person that you consider to be a positive influence can give you advice that will not resonate with you, or that will not take you where you want to go.

4. Surround yourself with never-ending reminders to stay positive. There are countless ways to keep yourself reminded of the fact that you are working towards a more positive state of mind, and towards the successful attainment of your goals. Just as when taking advice, however, you should only use the methods that you are personally comfortable with, rather than using what "most people" consider to be effective. Who cares what "most people" think?

   Check out the post How to Infect Yourself with the Personal Development Virus for an awesome list of ways to stay on the fast-track to success, and make sure to use a good mix of methods. I would recommend visual methods (vision boards, pictures), audio methods (affirmations, positive recordings), and mental methods (visualization, meditation).

The bottom line to all of these methods to program yourself for success is that they all stress the INTAKE of information. Remember that your mind is like a computer and that what you put in directly affects what you get out. There is no gray area there - that is simply the way it works!

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The only way you are going to program yourself for success is to go on the offensive, and to make a conscious effort to not only have a constant intake of positive, success-filled thoughts and feelings, but to also avoid any thoughts and feelings that cancel out your success-driven mentality.

Until you learn to avoid or shield yourself from negative influences that are the opposite of your dreams, you will forever be stuck in a loop of taking one step forward, and one step back! 

WHAT'S NEXT?

Discuss this post at Personal Development Partners
Get reminded of this wisdom with Offline Merchandise
Check out my Personal Development Products
Join the Today is that Day Newsletter

Have you ever heard the phrase "Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it."?

As with most well-known phrases, there is some type of real-world reason why that phrase came into being to begin with. The effects of positive thinking and negative thinking - although not official "wishes" - do nonetheless manifest out in the real world.

Have you ever known someone who was constantly unhappy, complained all the time, and seemed to always have a dark cloud hanging over their head? Likewise, have you ever known someone who was so cheery and upbeat that you would purposely seek them out when you were feeling down, because their positive attitude always made you feel better?

Photo Credit: psycho_royWith each of those types of people, the circumstances of their lives tend to be in alignment with their chronic ways of thinking. Yes, there are exceptions, but as a general rule, the phrase "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" tends to be accurate. The reason it is accurate is not because of some cosmic conspiracy, but rather because those people habitually have rich or poor thoughts.

At the same time, habitual positive or negative thoughts will also serve to consistently create positive or negative circumstances in your life. In addition, it is not always the long-term thoughts that get you, but the short-term thoughts as well.

If you have very strong negative or positive thoughts about something, those thoughts become your dominate vibration (for you Law of Attraction fans), or your dominate driving force, and something is going to manifest out of that eventually.

The other day I allowed myself to get too stressed out over some projects that I was working on, and I ended up spending several hours reliving the stress as I was trying to discuss the situation, and come up with some solutions. Long story short, by the time the discussion was over, I felt much better, and all was well in the world.

However, the next day, I got spanked by all of that negativity coming back at me.

Although I felt great the next day, and I was back in my normal positive mood, the negativity that I had created the night before hit me first thing the next morning with some highly unexpected and generally unpleasant circumstances.

I am proud to say that I had learned my lesson, though. I kept my positive attitude about me, even though by that point I was starting to feel like life was taking pot-shots at me just for the fun of it. The result of maintaining a positive attitude about the whole thing almost immediately turned into benefits for me, however.

In one circumstance, I was able to quickly and easily fix something that otherwise would have been disastrous (ever lose 2 years worth of bookmarks in your web browser?). In the other circumstance, I was able to let it go without becoming stressed about it, and found not one, but two different ways of dealing with it, and neither of them are very time-consuming or stress-inducing.

The moral of the story is that your thoughts - whether they are positive or negative - will color your experiences from that point forward. Sometimes you'll see this effect over a lifetime, and other times you will see the effect in the short-term.

The effect is always there, however. Just like a boomerang, your predominant thoughts are sent out into the world, and then they come back and hit you upside the head.

Knowing that your thoughts will come back to you eventually in the form of your life's positive or negative experiences, why would you ever allow yourself to have a thought that you weren't going to like when it came back around?

Learn from my example: Don't toss a boomerang out there that you aren't going to want to catch when it comes back!

Related Content:

I have been listening to Mike Dooley's Infinite Possibilities program, and the experiences that I describe in this post are perfect examples of what Mike teaches in that program. That makes this whole thing even worse, because I actually KNEW BETTER than to continue with my negative thoughts, but I did it anyway. I again invite you to learn from my example, and I also encourage you to check out Infinite Possibilities. I am only on Disc 3 out of 12, and it is already proving to be far more valuable than what I paid for it.

Click below to remember what you learned!

Quotable Quotes and Merchandise for the Offline World

Personal Development is just like anything else in the world - in order to get the most out of it, you'll need people to help you along the way. The trick is to find the right type of people who will help you attain your goals without bogging you down in the process.

Networking with other people is a powerful process, and can be an integral part of your success. However, since everyone wants whatever it is that they want, it is important that you find people who will help you get to your goals without their own needs overshadowing the process.

Photo Credit: Blue ArimTo build a personal development network, you should first identify what end result you want your network to help you accomplish, and then choose an organization or group of people who can help you to get there. I have broken the process down into 4 categories, and listed the benefits related to a great site on the 'net where you can find those type of people.

Business Networking

If your personal development efforts include starting or growing any type of business venture, then you'll be hard pressed to find a site better than FastPitch Networking. I have been a member of FastPitch since back in my personal training days, and I have found it to be one of the single most effective websites out there for connecting with other business minded people. You can check out my present profile at FastPitch by clicking right here.

Boasting an active and growing membership, FastPitch Networking offers all of the following features:

• Publicly searched profiles that can easily be found by other members
• A "My Network" feature which allows you to easily keep track of who you have contacted and connected with
• A section solely dedicated to Press Releases that you put out about your business
• The one-click ability to import your blog posts which are then added to the easily searched FastPitch Blogs section
• The ability to add networking events to your profile that can also easily be found by other members who are in your geographic area
• A photo section where you can upload pictures of yourself, company logos, event pictures, etc.

One of the great things about FastPitch is that you get full access to the site regardless of your membership level, but then they also have some very tasty high exposure options for anyone who upgrades their membership.

From a business networking perspective, you would do well to at least give FastPitch a look. If you decide to join up, be sure to network with me on that site so we can stay in touch and possibly work together on future projects.

Education and Support

Many people who embark on a personal development quest very much want to learn what they should be doing/not doing, and they also want to get support from others who are in a similar situation to their own.

In fact, that idea was the very premise behind my own social networking website, Personal Development Partners. After spending 3 years in the aforementioned personal training industry, I saw people every day struggling to succeed, and most of them were going it alone. Many didn't even get support from their friends or family members, let alone having access to a local or online support network.

I have recently upgraded the standards over at PDP in order to make sure that only people who are seriously interested in networking with and helping other people even get to join the site. A network is only as good as the people in it, and Personal Development Partners has some high quality individuals on board. Membership is still open for people who are willing to both help and BE helped by the community.

Also, don't forget that PDP offers local networking opportunities, so finding people in your own area is a distinct possibility. 

In addition to the high-quality support network over at PDP, the Senior Thought Leaders there have put together a staggering amount of educational data on personal growth and development, and all of it is freely available to all members. 

Also, remember FastPitch Networking from above? Anyone who joins FastPitch and then networks with me on that site will receive a discounted Premium membership at Personal Development Partners, in addition to any potential joint ventures or other work that we may do together in the future.

Tried and True Methods

Despite the power of business networking and local support & education that were mentioned above, some people still want to "learn from the masters". They want to crack open the classic books, listen to the wisdom of industry professionals, and they want a format to follow for their personal development efforts.

For that crowd, be sure to check out the Real Life Legends series over at Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise. Other than the fleet of other products and service that the site offers, the Real Life Legends series packs a lot of value:

• More than 80 hours of recorded interviews with the likes of T. Harv Eker, Jay Abrahams, Neale Donald Walsche, and many, many others.
• A multi-media version of the wildly popular Passion Test based on the book by Janet Attwood, The Passion Test
• A community and forum for exchanging ideas with and networking with other elite members of the Real Life Legends club
• The actual printed (as in NOT electronic) It's Your Time monthly newsletter delivered right to your door, including a monthly exercise to make sure that you are on track with your goal attainment.

The Real Life Legends program offers a $1 trial membership that gives you full access to the site so you can check it out before deciding if it is right for you. If you think it's worth a buck, then cruise on over there to check it out.

Positive Thinkers

It doesn't matter what school of thought our belief that you belong to, it is no longer possible to deny the fact that positive thinking benefits everyone, regardless of their goals.

The problems start when we lose track of our positively-charged attitudes as a result of the negative people around us, or even just because our lives get "busy" and we stop taking the time to keep an upbeat attitude.

Staying around others who also have a positive attitude is one of the surest ways to keep your own state of mind in the right place, and for that, I can give no higher recommendation than Gary Evan's PositivitySpace community.

I did a full review of Gary's awesome site a few months ago, and since then I have worked closely with Gary on building up the positive thinking/personal growth community. I have found Gary to be a stand-up guy who truly cares about people's success, and some highlights of his PositivitySpace website include:

• Dozens of classic self-help and success books available for immediate download
• A very unique member-powered book and movie review section
• A forum based on positive thinking and discussions
• An online time management system
• Peer-reviewed articles on success
• 100% original training videos
• Success-mindset interviews
• Private messaging system

Check out my full review of Positivity Space if you want all the details, but before you do, be sure to make note of the following 2 very important points:

1. Gary has started offering the video training system that is part of PositivitySpace as a stand-alone product called Manifestation Mastery which I highly recommend that you check out.
2. Anyone who purchases Manifestation Mastery (it's 7 bucks!) is also eligible for a nicely discounted membership at PositivitySpace.

Regardless of which of the above resources you choose to check out, remember that the primary goal is to get involved with a community that is going to serve YOU in the best way possible.

After all, it is called PERSONAL development!