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The Power Of Definite Statements

On October 11, 2012   /   Law Of Attraction, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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What is a definite statement? It is something that comes out of your mouth, or that you repeat in your “inside voice” telling yourself what you are and what you are not.

One thing that we know about the subconscious mind is that it creates much of your reality, through habits, automatic movements (such as your heartbeat and blinking of eyes), and acting out of our beliefs, all of which are created by us, based on experiences in our lives.

The subconscious mind defines who we are as a human being. Therefore, when we say that we “are” something, the subconscious mind will attempt to make that into reality.

This knowledge can work very powerfully on our behalf. If we act as if we already are some particular way that we want to be, our subconscious mind will begin to make it into reality. The subconscious screens out all sorts of information that we don’t need to actively think about, but if you decide that you want more of something, open your mind to it and your subconscious will reveal the things it has been screening out.

This happened to me in a very real way just last week, when I decided to go forward with launching my public speaking business. As soon as I opened my mind to it and started taking actions to make it into a reality, I began to see all sorts of opportunities that were there all along. My subconscious hadn’t opened me up to considering them, because before I was going to be a public speaker, they would have been worthless to me. As soon as I said that “I am” going to be speaking for groups, the ideas, opportunites, and assistance started to come out of the woodwork.

Of course, with every positive, there is the opportunity for a negative. In this case, the “I am” statements can do just as much harm as they can good.

Over the last couple weeks, a cold bug went through my house. Everyone, myself included, got some piece of it. However, much to Dawn’s dismay, I refused to admit that I was sick. This wasn’t because I didn’t feel sick, but because I refused to make a definite statement about it.

As soon as you make a definite statement about the way that you feel, it’s like giving yourself permission to give in. I firmly believe that your subconscious controls your immune system in some form. If you say “I am sick,” your subconscious will allow your body to shut down. In essence, this sort of communication happens:

Mind: “Okay, body. I’ve been informed that you are sick”

Body: “Loud and clear, mind. I’ve been trying to fight off this virus, but I guess I’ll give in”

Mind: “10-4 good buddy, I’ll make sure to relay the signal back to Andrew that he can feel sick.”

So, instead of saying that I’m sick, I would say things like “I’m getting better” or “My body is fighting something off.” And, while everyone in my house got this particular cold, my symptoms were far less severe and didn’t last nearly as long.

Now, you might be saying to yourself, “this is just a huge coincidence.” But if you consider that I’ve only missed 2 days of work for illness in the past 6 years by using this same tactic, would you believe me? Before that, I fell ill with mononucleosis, an illness that regularly knocks people out for a month or more, and was back to normal in 4 days. That’s all. Six sick days in my entire working career. That’s no coincidence to me.

Be careful of your “I am” statements. Your subconscious mind will allow your body to act on every single one of them. Take “I am in pain” and turn it into “I am recovering.” Take “I am tired” and turn it into “I am feeling alert.” Take “I am overweight” and turn it into “I am feeling trim and healthy.”

We create or allow everything in our lives, and our definite statements are the means by which we create much of our physical reality. Put them to work for you, instead of letting them work against you.

Have a joyful day!

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Levels Of Consciousness

On August 29, 2012   /   Faith, Joy, Love, Peace, Purpose, Success, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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Note from Andrew: Today’s post is a guest post from Steve Pavlina. Visit his website at www.stevepavlina.com. It’s long, but it’s very, very insightful. Even if you’re one of the thousands who normally delete these messages every morning, save this one.

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In the book Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins, there’s a hierarchy of levels of human consciousness. It’s an interesting paradigm. If you read the book, it’s also fairly easy to figure out where you fall on this hierarchy based on your current life situation.

From low to high, the levels of consciousness are: shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, anger, pride, courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace, enlightenment.

While we can pop in and out of different levels at various times, usually there’s a predominant “normal” state for us. If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re at least at the level of courage because if you were at a lower level, you’d likely have no conscious interest in personal growth.

I’ll go over these levels in order, mostly focusing on the ones between courage and reason, since that’s the range where you’re most likely to land. The labels are Hawkins’. The descriptions of each level are based on Hawkins’ descriptions but blended with my own thoughts. Hawkins defines this as a logarithmic scale, so there are far fewer people at the higher levels than at the lower ones. An increase from one level to another will result in enormous change in your life.

Shame – Just a step above death. You’re probably contemplating suicide at this level. Either that or you’re a serial killer. Think of this as self-directed hatred.

Guilt – A step above shame, but you still may be having thoughts of suicide. You think of yourself as a sinner, unable to forgive yourself for past transgressions.

Apathy – Feeling hopeless or victimized. The state of learned helplessness. Many homeless people are stuck here.

Grief – A state of perpetual sadness and loss. You might drop down here after losing a loved one. Depression. Still higher than apathy, since you’re beginning to escape the numbness.

Fear – Seeing the world as dangerous and unsafe. Paranoia. Usually you’ll need help to rise above this level, or you’ll remain trapped for a long time, such as in an abusive relationship.

Desire – Not to be confused with setting and achieving goals, this is the level of addiction, craving, and lust — for money, approval, power, fame, etc. Consumerism. Materialism. This is the level of smoking and drinking and doing drugs.

Anger – the level of frustration, often from not having your desires met at the lower level. This level can spur you to action at higher levels, or it can keep you stuck in hatred. In an abusive relationship, you’ll often see an anger person coupled with a fear person.

Pride – The first level where you start to feel good, but it’s a false feeling. It’s dependent on external circumstances (money, prestige, etc), so it’s vulnerable. Pride can lead to nationalism, racism, and religious wars. Think Nazis. A state of irrational denial and defensiveness. Religious fundamentalism is also stuck at this level. You become so closely enmeshed in your beliefs that you see an attack on your beliefs as an attack on you.

Courage – The first level of true strength. I’ve made a previous post about this level: Courage is the Gateway. This is where you start to see life as challenging and exciting instead of overwhelming. You begin to have an inkling of interest in personal growth, although at this level you’ll probably call it something else like skill-building, career advancement, education, etc. You start to see your future as an improvement upon your past, rather than a continuation of the same.

Neutrality – This level is epitomized by the phrase, “live and let live.” It’s flexible, relaxed, and unattached. Whatever happens, you roll with the punches. You don’t have anything to prove. You feel safe and get along well with other people. A lot of self-employed people are at this level. A very comfortable place. The level of complacency and laziness. You’re taking care of your needs, but you don’t push yourself too hard.

Willingness – Now that you’re basically safe and comfortable, you start using your energy more effectively. Just getting by isn’t good enough anymore. You begin caring about doing a good job — perhaps even your best. You think about time management and productivity and getting organized, things that weren’t so important to you at the level of neutrality. Think of this level as the development of willpower and self-discipline. These people are the “troopers” of society; they get things done well and don’t complain much. If you’re in school, then you’re a really good student; you take your studies seriously and put in the time to do a good job. This is the point where your consciousness becomes more organized and disciplined.

Acceptance – Now a powerful shift happens, and you awaken to the possibilities of living proactively. At the level of willingness you’ve become competent, and now you want to put your abilities to good use. This is the level of setting and achieving goals. I don’t like the label “acceptance” that Hawkins uses here, but it basically means that you begin accepting responsibility for your role in the world. If something isn’t right about your life (your career, your health, your relationship), you define your desired outcome and change it. You start to see the big picture of your life more clearly. This level drives many people to switch careers, start a new business, or change their diets.

Reason – At this level you transcend the emotional aspects of the lower levels and begin to think clearly and rationally. Hawkins defines this as the level of medicine and science. The way I see it, when you reach this level, you become capable of using your reasoning abilities to their fullest extent. You now have the discipline and the proactivity to fully exploit your natural abilities. You’ve reached the point where you say, “Wow. I can do all this stuff, and I know I must put it to good use. So what’s the best use of my talents?” You take a look around the world and start making meaningful contributions. At the very high end, this is the level of Einstein and Freud. It’s probably obvious that most people never reach this level in their entire lives.

Love – I don’t like Hawkins’ label “love” here because this isn’t the emotion of love. It’s unconditional love, a permanent understanding of your connectedness with all that exists. Think compassion. At the level of reason, you live in service to your head. But that eventually becomes a dead end where you fall into the trap of over-intellectualizing. You see that you need a bigger context than just thinking for its own sake. At the level of love, you now place your head and all your other talents and abilities in service to your heart (not your emotions, but your greater sense of right and wrong — your conscience). I see this as the level of awakening to your true purpose. Your motives at this level are pure and uncorrupted by the desires of the ego. This is the level of lifetime service to humanity. Think Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Dr. Albert Schweitzer. At this level you also begin to be guided by a force greater than yourself. It’s a feeling of letting go. Your intuition becomes extremely strong. Hawkins claims this level is reached only by 1 in 250 people during their entire lifetimes.

Joy – A state of pervasive, unshakable happiness. Eckhart Tolle describes this state in The Power of Now. The level of saints and advanced spiritual teachers. Just being around people at this level makes you feel incredible. At this level life is fully guided by synchronicity and intuition. There’s no more need to set goals and make detailed plans — the expansion of your consciousness allows you to operate at a much higher level. A near-death experience can temporarily bump you to this level.

Peace – Total transcendence. Hawkins claims this level is reached only by one person in 10 million.

Enlightenment – The highest level of human consciousness, where humanity blends with divinity. Extremely rare. The level of Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus. Even just thinking about people at this level can raise your consciousness.

I think you’ll find this model worthy of reflection. Not only people but also objects, events, and whole societies can be ranked at these levels. Within your own life, you’ll see that some parts of your life are at different levels than others, but you should be able to identify your current overall level. You might be at the level of neutrality overall but still be addicted to smoking (level of desire). The lower levels you find within yourself will serve as a drag that holds the rest of you back. But you’ll also find higher levels in your life. You may be at the level of acceptance and read a book at the level of reason and feel really inspired. Think about the strongest influences in your life right now. Which ones raise your consciousness? Which ones lower it?

One thing I like about these levels of consciousness is that I can trace back over my own life and see how I’ve been moving through them. I remember being stuck at the level of guilt for a long time – as a child I was indoctrinated into a belief system where I was a helpless sinner, being judged according to the standards of someone at the level of love or higher. From there I graduated to the state of apathy, feeling numb to the whole thing. By high school I had reached the level of pride — I was a straight-A student, captain of the Academic Decathlon team, showered with accolades and awards, but I became dependent on them. I hit the level of Courage in my late teens, but the courage was very unfocused, and I overdid it and got myself into all sorts of trouble. I then spent about a year in neutrality and moved through willingness and acceptance during my 20s with a lot of conscious effort. At present I’m at the level of reason and getting closer and closer to completing the leap to love. I experience the state of love more and more often, and it’s guiding many of my decisions already, but it hasn’t yet stuck as my natural state. I’ve also experienced the state of joy for days at a time, but never with any permanence yet. That state is a pervasive feeling of natural euphoria, as if I’m exploding on the inside with positive energy. It literally forces me to smile. I’ve been in that state for most of this morning, probably because I haven’t eaten anything yet today (I find it easier to hit that state of consciousness when I eat lightly or not at all).

We’ll naturally fluctuate between multiple states throughout the course of any given week, so you’ll probably see a range of 3-4 levels where you spend most of your time. One way to figure out your “natural” state is to think about how you perform under pressure. If you squeeze an orange, you get orange juice because that’s what’s inside. What comes out of you when you get squeezed by external events? Do you become paranoid and shut down (fear)? Do you start yelling at people (anger)? Do you become defensive (pride)? What happens to me under pressure is that I become hyper-analytical, but recently I just had a pressure situation where I handled it mostly by intuition, which was a big change for me. This tells me I’m getting close to the unconditional love state because in that state, intuition can be effectively accessed even under pressure.

Everything in your environment will have an effect on your level of consciousness. TV. Movies. Books. Web sites. People. Places. Objects. Food. If you’re at the level of reason, watching TV news (which is predominantly at the levels of fear and desire) will temporarily lower your consciousness. If you’re at the level of guilt, TV news will actually raise it up.

Progressing from one level to the next requires an enormous amount of energy. I wrote about this previously when discussing quantum leaps. Without conscious effort or the help of others, you’ll likely just stay at your current level until some outside force comes into your life.

Notice the natural progression of levels, and consider what happens when you try to short-cut the process. If you try to reach the level of reason before mastering self-discipline (willingness) and goal-setting (acceptance), you’ll be too disorganized and unfocused to use your mind to its full extent. If you try to push yourself to the level of love before you’ve mastered reason, you’ll suffer from gullibility and may end up in a cult.

Going up even one level can be extremely hard; most people don’t do so in their entire lives. A change in just one level can radically alter everything in your life. This is why people below the level of courage aren’t likely to progress without external help. Courage is required to work on this consciously; it comes down to repeatedly betting your whole reality for the chance to become more conscious and aware. But whenever you reach that next level, you realize clearly that it was a good bet. For example, when you hit the level of courage, all your past fears and false pride seem silly to you now. When you reach the level of acceptance (setting and achieving goals), you look back on the level of willingness and see you were like a mouse running on a treadmill — you were a good runner, but you didn’t pick a direction.

I think the most important work we can do as human beings is to raise our individual level of consciousness. When we do this, we spread higher levels of consciousness to everyone around us. Imagine what an incredible world this would be if we could at least get everyone to the level of acceptance. According to Hawkins 85% of the people on earth live below the level of courage.

When you temporarily experience the higher levels, you can see where you must go next. You have one of those moments of clarity where you understand that things have to change. But when you sink into the lower levels, that memory becomes clouded.

We have to keep consciously taking ourselves back to the sources that can help us complete the next leap. Each step requires different solutions. I recall when making the shift from neutrality to willingness, I listened to time management tapes almost every day. I immersed myself in sources created by people at the level of willingness until I eventually shifted. But a book on time management will be of little use to someone who’s at the level of pride; they’ll reject the very notion with a lot of defensiveness. And time management is meaningless to someone at the level of peace. But you can’t hit the higher levels if you haven’t mastered the basics first. Jesus was a carpenter. Gandhi was a lawyer. Buddha was a prince. We all have to start somewhere.

Look at this hierarchy with an open mind and see if it leads you to new insights that may help you take the next leap in your own life. No levels are any more right or wrong than others. Try not to get your ego wrapped up in the idea of being at any particular level, unless you’re currently at the level of pride of course.

Have a joyful day!

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Removing Commitments From Your Life

On July 18, 2012   /   Peace, Success, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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About 4 years ago, I woke up one morning to a surprising realization. I was too damn busy.

I had started getting involved in a lot of new ventures. I had only recently started my business, I was the chairman of the board of directors for one of the largest chambers of commerce in Minnesota, I had social commitments, business meetings, client appointments and non-profit responsibilities. Not a day went by that I didn’t have things to do from 7 A.M. until about 9 P.M.

In between the madness, I would eat far too much junk food, drink too much alcohol, drive too fast so I wouldn’t be late, and worry constantly.

Then, I would go to bed exhausted. Only to wake up the next day and do it all over again.

Years went by when I didn’t play my guitar or use my other musical talents that were once so very important to me. I didn’t write, create, read books, or do much of anything that was emotionally stimulating.

Something had to change.

Slowly, over the next year or so, I began to withdraw from these commitments. I served out my term on a few boards, stepped away from business groups that didn’t serve a specific purpose, and let go of several one-sided friendships and relationships that were wearing me out with the lack of reciprocation from the others involved. I even started working less.

And suddenly, I had free time.

I could put my feet up and watch the sunset. I could lie in my hammock and drink a cold iced tea while reading a good book. I could sit by the fire and listen to it crackle. I picked up my guitar again, wrote music and poetry, and formed new relationships that were far more fulfilling than the ones they replaced.

And do you think my business suffered? Far from it.

It got better.

Not only did I have free time to do the things I was passionate about, I was also more mindfully engaged with the things that I chose to devote my time to.

You can simplify your life too. Just remove commitments that don’t align with your true purpose. You might feel that too many people rely on you to back away, but they will survive. Someone else will step up in your place, and if they don’t, that’s okay too. Make the phone call. Send the email. You might need to have a couple of hard conversations, but don’t avoid 10 uncomfortable minutes when years of your limited time on this planet are at stake.

Step away. Simplify. When you clear out your calendar, you won’t have to look at it all the time. When you’re not looking at your calendar all the time, you can look around you and notice the wonder and majesty of every little thing around you.

Have a joyful day!

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32 Lessons I’ve Learned In 32 Years

On July 9, 2012   /   Truth   /   Leave a comment
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Today is my 32nd birthday.

I feel as if I have finally reached the age where I could care less about these annul events. I have had my drivers license now for half my life and my classmates from college are planning our 10 year reunion. Neither of these events see like they should be happening yet. And yes, I realize that this is only the beginning.

Realizing the time that has passed, and that time that will continue to do so, I have taken this day to reflect on what I feel I have learned so far about life. Thanks for indulging my introspection as I catalog some of these lessons. I hope that you may find some of them to be valuable to you.

  1. Be the person you were made to be right now. Hiding your true self out of fear, shame, or self-doubt will not make the real you go away. The desire to follow your passion will only get stronger. The farther way you get from your true purpose, the less happy you will be. I felt ashamed of my creativity for years, probably because I was teased so badly for it when I was a child.
  2. You have nothing to worry about. No amount of worry will change the outcome of a situation for the better, but over-reactions made while worried could affect it negatively.
  3. Know the person you’re going to marry very, very well before committing your life to them.
  4. Love others for who they are, even if you despise what they do or what they stand for. This isn’t easy.
  5. Before food was marketed to us using emotions, things like chemical sweeteners and artificial cheese flavoring would have been thought of as disgusting. They still are. Don’t be sold food that you don’t really want, and know what you’re putting in your body.
  6. Learn to quiet your mind. A quiet mind is where inner peace is found.
  7. God is far bigger than the fatherly looking human we try to imagine Him as.
  8. Don’t trust anything the government, a politician or the media tells you. Research and verify.
  9. Creativity is found in solitude.
  10. If King Solomon, the richest man who ever lived, couldn’t find happiness in money, fame, or possessions, neither will I. Enjoy everything but be attached to nothing. Don’t think you’ll find happiness by chasing after the wind.
  11. Go with the flow. The more detailed the plans, the more chances for something to go wrong.
  12. Freedom is something that you are, not something that you’re given or allowed to have. Don’t willingly give away any part of this freedom or you will never get it back.
  13. The more horrendous the things that happen to you in childhood, the stronger the person you have the ability to become.
  14. More gets done when you shape and mold the things that are going to happen anyway, than if you force your own agenda.
  15. Complaining a terrible waste of breath. It reminds you of whatever your problem is, and keeps you focused on it, all while dragging someone else into your misery.
  16. Beer is cheaper than water in Austria. And warmer. Such a waste of a good opportunity.
  17. It’s worth a few extra dollars to shop locally and support the families who are taking the risk of business ownership over the security of a salary.
  18. Live by rules instead of setting goals. Rules are about right now, and if you fail, your failure is already in the past. Goals are focused on a future that we cannot control.
  19. Great poetry doesn’t have to rhyme.
  20. Buy high quality. If you can’t afford high quality, buy the least expensive temporary fix possible and save up to buy the high quality item that will last.
  21. Flip flops and bocce ball don’t mix.
  22. You’re not missing out. If you don’t get to (or want to) do everything that everyone else does, that’s okay.
  23. You aren’t responsible for the happiness of others. Just be a bright spot in their day.
  24. You can’t motivate people. The best you can hope for is to live in a way that inspires them.
  25. If everyone else is already investing in something, it’s probably not a good time to start.
  26. Most of the things men and boys tease other men and boys about are just insecurities.
  27. Don’t judge, lest you be judged. Live and let live.
  28. Wasabi cures a stuffy nose better than anything you’ll get at Walgreens.
  29. The sun doesn’t sizzle when it sets into the ocean. It is still fun to listen for it, just in case.
  30. Don’t be so busy. Throw out the to do list and all of the meaningless time wasters on it. Focus on what you love and do it lovingly.
  31. Let go of expectations. When you expect something out of someone or something else, you put it into a predetermined box, defining an outcome over which you have no control. This is the cause of all frustration and disappointment.
  32. Your subconscious mind controls most of your actions. It is the root of everything that holds you back and holds the keys to everything you want. Learn as much about it as you can.

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Freedom

On July 4, 2012   /   Faith, Joy, Love, Peace, Purpose, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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History is marked with the struggle between freedom and control. Society after society finds itself fighting to choose between the freedom of the individual and the control of a central power. Today, on America’s 236th birthday, we find ourselves caught in that same struggle of ideals.

The lessons for us today taught by history are many, but the ability to apply them to our lives is obscured by close-ness to our current situation. Our penchant for partisan politics, attention grabbing news headlines and schedules kept full to the brim preclude us from keeping a firm grasp on what is a universal struggle: What does it mean to be free?

We live today in a world where freedom is near extinction. External control, both outright and subversive, abounds in the lives of almost every inhabitant of a civilized nation. Outside influences seek to exert control over nearly every thought, word, and action in the name of power, safety, or political correctness. The rights of the individual are seen as less important than the prosperity of the collective.

Perhaps the historical significance of July 4th can be the impetus for each of us to consider this question and what it means to us, both as individuals, and collectively as a nation. Let’s take a look today at freedom: what it is, what it means, and what we can do to save it for ourselves and future generations.

What Is Freedom?

The Oxford dictionary defines freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.”

True freedom is not something that can be given to you. No outside force can change anything about the way that you act if you choose to take a certain action. These outside forces can only influence your desire to take action through the creation of laws and moral codes, and associated punishments for breaking said laws and codes.

Even God cannot force you to act. He gives every man, woman, and child the ability to act as they choose.

Freedom, then, is not a gift that you are given or allowed to have by any outside influence. It is a characteristic of the human condition, given only by our creator. You are free by your very nature in every sense of the word, to act, speak, or think as you desire.

You have the right to be free. It is, in fact, the most basic right of mankind.

Freedom is a characteristic independent of all others. It is so completely overarching that it is independent of even right and wrong. We are so inherently free that we can take absolutely any action we choose, no matter how lawful or moral it may be. Freedom is independent of government. Freedom is independent of religion. Freedom is the very essence of being human.

This freedom permeates our being. It is not simply the ability to do as we wish. It is the right to think, speak, and act. It is freedom of mind, freedom of body, and freedom of expression.

The level of freedom we truly have as individuals is difficult to comprehend in our world, where we are expected to live in a certain manner as expected of us by our government and our society. Barring the few corners of the globe that civilized living has not yet reached, every child is raised from the very beginning of their life with a sense of right and wrong, should and shouldn’t.

This programming of individuals is then taken over by society and government as we age. Laws, ordinances, regulations, expectations, norms, and the like all become a part of the fabric of one’s being.

Freedom, then, being so much a basic right of all people, can only be limited by force or relinquished by the individual; never improved upon.

To Be Given Away

If true freedom were the standard, there would be no moral codes and no laws. Each individual would take whatever actions they chose, free even to choose whether or not to take into consideration the impact of their actions on other individuals.

As individuals, and collectively as societies, we decide how close we want to live to this level of freedom.

Often, we are willing to give away certain aspects of our freedom in exchange for something. The most basic example being morality. As a society, we have determined that certain actions by individuals will not be tolerated, and will rather be punished. We give away the freedom to take certain actions such as killing and stealing so that others will also be required to do the same, providing us with a sense of security.

Yet still, no moral code can prohibit an action by an individual. If it could, there would be no murder or theft. We are so free as individuals, we can still choose to take these sorts of immoral actions in spite of any sense of right and wrong. We must choose not to take the actions. Moral codes, therefore, do not take away our individual freedom, they only serve to give us reason to surrender some part of that freedom.

Laws, created by the ruling class, can serve the same purpose; to give us reason to surrender our freedom in exchange for a service, safety, money, or a promise of the same. But even still, we choose if we desire to live by these laws, or if we desire to act freely.

To Be Taken Away

In order that there be oversight of these freedoms that have been given up willingly, societies appoint or elect men and women to take leadership positions. These positions serve to create and enforce the mutually agreed upon limitations on the full freedom of the individual, giving them authority to decide when these rules have or have not been broken, and to dole out punishments when necessary.

This very point, when one human is given power to rule over another, is always the beginning of the end of the freedom of the individual.

Any level of power that one man or woman has over another will eventually be abused. Indeed, it has done so throughout the history of mankind.

The power to rule gives the power to force action or inaction by those ruled over. Whether given in the context of government, religion, or association, this power has been perverted at every turn to cause others to surrender freedom, even by the most well meaning leaders.

When put into the hands, or seized by the hands, of corrupt individuals, this power to enforce necessary rules to ensure freedom for individuals is transformed into the power to create and enforce new rules. At this point, when one man or group of men with power has been given the ability to create and enforce any new rule they wish, they have also been given the ability to seize freedoms from the individual at will.

The Progressive Declination Of Freedom

Once freedom is lost, be it by gift or by theft, it is rarely regained without significant sacrifice. Therefore, over time, as we give up freedoms and have them willfully taken from us, we become progressively less free. Each new generation learns how free it is allowed to be by those from the prior generations who hold the positions of power as they are raised.

As this new generation comes of age and begins to take power from the prior generation, it then determines from its learned level of acceptable freedom what new laws, rules, and moral codes it will put in place. What would have been seen as unreasonably restrictive a few generations prior is seen only as a slight sacrifice by those raised with more restrictions on their own freedom.

Generation by generation, the ability to act, think, and speak as one wants slips away. That which is ours by our very nature is never experienced in its most full and real sense, only the stripped down portions that have been left by the sacrifices of the past.

This is how freedom comes to be seen as only something we are allowed to have in small doses; a gift of those who rule over us rather than an inherent trait of all mankind. And it becomes progressively more so until the rule becomes so oppressive that it becomes intolerable. When the masses awaken to realize that, although they have the innate ability to act however they choose, they are not free to do so, there begins the uprising.

This paradox is one where hope springs eternal. When a part of who we are has been taken from us, there is nothing that will stop us from taking it back.

236 Years Ago

Today marks 236 years since America’s founders officially declared her independence from its rulers. The inhabitants of the colonies had reached their breaking point after several intolerable acts meant to exert further control over the colonies by the King of England.

And so, with great courage, a group of now-famous men drafted the Declaration Of Independence, outlining the rights of the individual, declaring these rights as “inalienable.” And thus began the emancipation of the colonies from England, eventually forming an alliance of sorts between individual States to form a new nation, the United States Of America.

This was perhaps the most significant event in human history since the death of Christ Jesus on the cross at Calvary. With the swipe of a pen, and the war that followed, America’s forefathers pushed back this progressive declination of freedom from the point of oppressive rule all the way back to the God-given rights of the individual, reclaiming that which was, and always had been, theirs.

In doing so, they formed a new nation, one which was to be a haven for the rights of the individual, limited only in ways absolutely essential to the formation of a moral and ethical society.

“Divide et impera”

As time has passed, as it invariably does, the thirst for power over men by men has slowly eroded these rights once again. We find ourselves as a nation arguing not against the ever advancing control held over us by the ruling class, but over how free we should be allowed to be. We are pitted against each other by those who rule over us, fighting over which laws are acceptable and which are not. We are divided by politicians and a complicit media over issues of social justice, fiscal responsibility, class and taxation.

We have, as a nation, allowed ourselves to be divided and systematically conquered. While we are given issue after issue to disagree upon, fight over, and attempt to resolve, we fail to recognize that we are being divided into groups too small alone, and too entrenched against one another to come together, to have the ability to push back against the crushing weight of the destruction of our liberty.

Walls are being built between us like prisoners, only to be let out of our cell to fight over each new divisive issue. We are taught to believe that if our side of the division “wins” on an issue, that we have then won as individuals, when really, we’ve just been led to the slaughterhouse of another freedom and been allowed to fight over which way it will die.

We elect new leaders by the slimmest of margins who represent the views of barely half of our country, imploring them to pass new laws, start new wars or end old ones, and increase or decrease taxes. We legislate the opinions of any majority or demanding minority that can be assembled. We hand over freedoms based on whatever issue is fed to us as the popular issue of the moment.

All the while, we celebrate every time our individual views “win” while forgetting that with every victory, another freedom has been lost, pushing America further down the slide of the progressive loss of freedom. Giving up that which cannot be regained without serious sacrifice.

Freedom at the expense of the liberty of another is no freedom at all. Until we can come together as a society and agree that each individual has the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we will continue to be divided and conquered.

Recapturing Freedom

When our forefathers saw their rights and freedoms being taken away, they determined that the oppression needed to be pushed back. They did so by first outlining the rights of every human being, and reclaiming those rights in the name of the One who gave them.

This revolt did not occur all at once. It began with a yearning for freedom by individuals living in the colonies, who were subject to an oppressive rule, and the yearning in their own hearts to be free of it. A revolution of many must start within the heart and mind of each one.

If we are to regain our individual freedoms, we must first win the internal fight over freedom versus entitlement. As individuals, we must return to a strong sense of reliance on ourselves. We must personally come to reject any form of welfare given to us, even if we are entitled to receive it by our current society’s standards. We must come to an understanding that nothing done by government is free, but is instead possible by the theft of freedom from another fellow American. We must respect the rights of our neighbors to act freely, even if we don’t personally agree with their actions. We must accept that some will be wealthy and others will not. Most of all, we must no longer allow ourselves to be divided over issues that do not further the cause of individual liberty.

In essence, we must first fall back wholeheartedly in love with freedom as individuals. We must be willing to reject entitlement in favor of self reliance and give up forcing others in favor of respecting their freedom. We must be willing to pay the individual price of giving up external reliance whereever possible before we will ever be able to push back against the powers that have divided us. The power held over us as a whole is dependent on our individual reliance on the power we have given them.

This internal battle must be fought and won by each one of us in order that we might develop the internal will and resolve that will be necessary when the time comes to reclaim that which is, always was, and always will be ours.

United We Stand

86,140 days ago, we declared our independence as a nation, united in favor of the liberty of the individual.

Today, once again, it is time to turn our attention to that which unites us and away from the issues that divide us. It is time to again embrace the freedom of the individual. We must reject those who serve to divide us. We must put the issues that come between us aside. We must put our love for the freedom of mind, body, and spirit ahead of the desire to have our neighbor act the way we wish they would.

We are not a nation of Democrats and Republicans. We are not a nation of upper, middle and lower classes. We are not a nation of different races or religions.

We are a nation of free individuals with rights endowed by our Creator. Rights which go far beyond the issues that divide us. Rights that were re-claimed for us 236 years ago. Rights our forefathers risked everything to re-claim for every man, woman and child.

My fellow Americans, it is time to decide. Will we come together and once again embrace the freedom of the individual, or will the idea that a nation of free individuals can lead themselves be forever lost? The history that will be studied 236 years into the future is happening today.

Will our descendants look back at this point in America’s history as evidence that mankind can live free? Or will they look back at America as an example of how even the most free nation in the history of the earth was pushed into submission of tyrannical rule?

The choice is up to us. To paraphrase General John Stark, will we live free, or will we die?

Have a joyful day!

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A Fire Still Burning

On June 30, 2012   /   Love, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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Have you ever felt the powerful drive of pure inspiration?

Getting fired up for a day or a week is one thing. Maybe you’ve felt this way after attending a motivational speech or reading a great book. Inspiration is a totally different thing.

When you’re inspired, nothing will stop you. You’ll work day and night and do whatever it takes to get what you want.

This is how I felt last December when I decided to start this website. For years I had been studying, learning, and applying different techniques to improve and change my life, and I felt inspired to share them with others. Even though I have always loved writing, I had never written a single thing that was for public consumption, and I had never built a website.

But I did it anyway. And wow, did you reward me.

It’s been 6 months since I launched this site. I’ve published 144 posts with 57,744 words written, over 100,000 emails delivered to subscribers, and as of today, 154,000 page views on andrewschultz.com. And this is just the beginning of much more to come.

Thank you.

The comments, replies, encouragement, and appreciation I’ve felt from so many of my readers keep me excited to continue writing and publishing every day, even when I’ve felt overwhelmingly busy being a husband and father, building a new home, managing my insurance agency, and taking time to breathe.

The same inspiration that drove me to start writing and sharing continues to drive me moving into the second half of 2012. Along with continuing this blog, I will begin speaking to groups of students, entrepreneurs and business leaders in the second half of 2012, and I will continue working on my first book which will be published as an ebook before the end of the year.

Again, I appreciate the support and encouragement from every one of my readers and subscribers. Please continue to read and learn, share with your friends, and most of all, love each other every day in everything that you do.

Have a joyful day!

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The Most Harmful Lie We Tell Ourselves

On June 29, 2012   /   Success, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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If there was one word I could eliminate from the English language, it would have to be can’t.

No word has done so much to destroy the potential of human beings. It tears us down, helps us cover for our fears, and most of the time is a bald-faced lie.

It could almost completely be replaced by the word “won’t” for a more accurate depiction of what is truly meant.

When you tell yourself that you can’t do something, when you really mean that you won’t, your subconscious takes this as a sign that you’re incapable, when you are really just unwilling.

This little lie is how a limiting belief is formed.

Eventually, if you continue to feed your subconscious these signals that you are unable, you’ll believe this to be true. Then when you are faced with a situation in which you are completely capable and competent, your mind shuts you down, reminding you that you aren’t good enough, smart enough, strong enough, pretty enough, etc…

Like a baby elephant is trained that it can be restrained with a small rope around a stake. As the elephant grows, it would be able to easily break the rope or pull the stake out of the ground. But, because it believes that it can’t break the rope, it won’t even try.

Unless you are limited by the laws of physics, you CAN do anything. There might be consequences. It might take work. You might need to learn volumes of new things. You might even need to change things about yourself.

Can you become an astronaut?

Can you make a million dollars this year?

Can you learn to speak French?

Can you run a marathon?

Can you start a new business so you can quit the job you hate?

Can you stop eating unhealthy food?

Can you forgive the person who really hurt you?

The answer to all of these, and anything else you really want, is yes. You can. If you’re willing.

But if you’re not willing, don’t tell yourself you can’t. Be honest with yourself and admit that you aren’t ready to do what it will take, or that you need to improve or change something so you can, or that you just don’t honestly want to change.

Do your best today to eliminate “can’t” from your vocabulary. Think critically about what you have trained yourself to believe that you can’t do when you really just mean that you won’t.

Have a joyful day!

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The Law Of Attraction

On June 14, 2012   /   Law Of Attraction, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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You get more of what you think about. That is the simple statement of those who believe in the law of attraction.

How does this work? The people in the movie “The Secret” incredibly brilliant, or are they nuts?

The basic principle behind the law of attraction is that when you think about something, you’ll see more and more of it in your life. If you focus on your problems, you’ll continue to have those problems. If you focus on their solutions, or your desired outcomes, that is what will manifest in your life.

According to the law, our dominant thoughts are the ones that control this manifestation. If we try to focus on something we want, but deep down, we believe that we can’t have it, we aren’t smart enough, or that this whole idea is silly, that dominant thought will control reality.

Just for fun, as I’m writing this post in my office, I decided to try a little experiment. I closed my eyes for about 3 minutes and imagined a world where the only color vehicle that you could buy, besides various shades of black, white, and gray, was red. I pictured car lots with monochromatic paint schemes and only the bright red vehicles standing out from the pack. I visualized a press conference from all the major car manufacturers explaining this new decision.

Just to see if I could, I was trying to manifest a world full of black, white, and red cars.

When I opened my eyes and looked out the window, here’s what I saw.

Not only that, but as I have sat here for the last 10 minutes watching, I have not seen a single blue, green, yellow, brown, or any other color vehicle. I even called my wife in to my office to show her this crazy phenomenon.  We sat together for a while and watched as they kept on coming.

I can’t explain how this happened. There have been hundreds of vehicles on the street and in the parking lot. Out of those, now, in the last half hour, there have been a total of three blue vehicles. Aside from those, EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE has been black, white, gray, or red.

God, the universe, the law of attraction, and our human minds are far more powerful than we give them credit for.

This power, to have what you want, is in action every day in your life whether you know it or not. The thoughts in your mind turn into realities in your life. Be mindful of your thoughts. They play a very important role in your life. If you aren’t in charge of your thoughts, they are probably already in charge of you.

Now, I’m going to go chuckle at my little parade of vehicles.

Have a joyful day!

I post a new inspirational article every day of the week (except Sundays).  If you enjoyed today’s post, please consider subscribing by entering your email address below. Free daily motivation, delivered automatically to your email inbox!

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Teaching Fish To Climb Trees

On June 4, 2012   /   Purpose, Success, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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Albert Einstein once said, when being questioned about his own scientific genius, that everyone is a genius. But, he said, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole live believing that it is stupid.

Should a fish think that its stupid because it can’t climb a tree? Should a monkey think that it’s stupid because it can’t swim? Or is this expecting them to live up to an unrealistic standard?

As a society, we are great at setting standards. From an early age, children are ranked in “percentiles” of growth, comparing them to the height and weight of other babies.

Then, when we reach school, we are regularly given “standardized tests” which rank children against national standards.

This doesn’t stop, even in adulthood. Society sets its standards; those who do not fit within them are judged as abnormal. If someone chooses to sleep in a car instead of owning a home, wear a sweatshirt when a suit is the norm, or decide to live with few physical possessions instead of striving to buy as much as they can, they are thought of by some to be strange.

Throughout our lives we are taught to compare ourselves to everyone else and not do things that would cause others to think of us as strange. But if a person is judged by standards that are not in keeping with their own natural skills and abilities, how could they ever live up to those standards and feel fulfilled?

What if Mozart’s mother harped on him because he got subpar grades in math, rather than encouraging his musical genius? Would he have spent his precious moments on this earth working to improve his math skills, rather than writing symphonies?

Albert was right. There is a genius in all of us, but too often we ignore it out of fear of being judged, or because others have told us it isn’t normal. Instead, we do the things that others do, hoping to do it well enough to fool them.

You already know your genius. You might have hidden it out of shame, regret, or fear for so long that you’ve nearly forgotten, but you know what it is. Re-discover it and foster it. Let go of things in your life that weigh you down and fill the time with exploring your true love.

Let go of the need to compare others to your standards, and stop letting them do it to you. Let the fish swim and the monkeys climb the trees.

Have a joyful day!

I post a new inspirational article every day of the week (except Sundays).  If you enjoyed today’s post, please consider subscribing by entering your email address below. Free daily motivation, delivered automatically to your email inbox!

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The Real Meaning Of Memorial Day

On May 28, 2012   /   Faith, Joy, Love, Peace, Purpose, Success, Truth   /   Leave a comment
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To all those who died so that I can live free: Thank you.

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