i haven't posted anything on here in a very long time. i've lost ready access to a computer and the internet. still, there is a great deal that i can still accomplish without the laptop. i've been refining my new year's rsolutions; especially since i now have a clue (a very small clue, but a clue regardless).
for the past several months, i have been reading and re-reading a particular set of books in an effort to change my habitual thinking and my habitual actions (or really, lack thereof). my first major paridigm shift occured when i was randomly wandering in a bookseller store and i came across the 4-hour work week, by tim ferris. the most important concept i learned from that book was the inherent limitations of the per-hour work model. even if i were to make hundreds of dollars an hour(fat fucking chance, based on my current circumstances), there are only so many hours in a day i could work. my income in this model is contingent on my ability to work in a 1:1 ratio. one hour of work for one hour of pay. no work = no pay. this has been my entire life so far. and on top of that, it has always been for someone else, usually for someone i really didn't like, but i needed the job.
i found myself confused with many things tim had to say, because it NEVER occurred to me to think any other way. i also found myself a bit excited at the possibility of emulating his success. but it seemed that many of the ideas he proposed required a bit more start up capital than i had (i had been making less than 1000.00 per month) and, coupled with my chronic insecurities and self-doubts, lead me to a bit of frustration. i did find myself determined to break out of my current mindset and circumstances. tim's ideas are great for a few long-term projects i had developed in my mind, but didn't really have the means to implement at the time. no, i needed something that was simpler and cheaper to start.
i must have been able to at least get clear on this intension because a few weeks later, during one of my not-so-random trips to the bookstore, i was wandering the business sections (after i spent a great deal of time in the sci-fi/fantasy and manga sections of course) and a particular book caught my eye: your portable empire, by pat o'bryan. wow. this was EXACTLY what i was looking for. in tim's four-hour work week, he stated that information products allow for a considerable mark-up and are relatively easy to produce, but he didn't get into too much depth with the idea. in pat o'bryan's, your portable empire, it becomes the central theme. his particular philosophy of "turning problems into products" should be something i can readily understand since i seem to have SO MANY of them. but for right now, i can't understand it.
because of pat's very humble beginnings, and his particular voice in his writing, i felt that i had met a kindred spirit, or a least a spirit i could relate to fairly well. he lays out a very simple step-by-step method (of course it is so simple that i find it difficult because i SO OVERTHINK EVERYTHING) for building your own portable empire. it was this book that motivated me to start this blog really. what this blog really will turn out to be is the direct manifestation of my learning curve, so i'm going to expect some pretty grand screw-ups. i seem to be pretty good at screwing up things, but there is no failure, "it's all data" (thank you pat).
i also love the fact that even though he is quite materially successful, his politics lean left. yet another characteristic of why he has rapidly become my hero. reading his work has then lead me to a few more authors. the foremost being dr. joe vitale and his book, the attractor factor, which pat o'bryan directly alludes to in his book.
i had first been exposed to joe vitale from his role in the movie, the secret. the secret (or at least the version i saw before they apparently changed it) helped me deal with a difficult incident in my life because it helped to shift my perspective of my life. i primarily had noticed bill harris and his work throught the centerpointe institute (which i will extensively blog about in another post), secondly i noticed joe vitale because he reminded me of danny devito (it is meant to be a compliment by the way), finally i noticed james ray.
i got a hold of a copy of the attractor factor and started reading it extensively. it directly clashed with much of my habitual thinking. in fact, i still find myself struggling with the information, but as what i have been doing so far in my life has not helped me much, i have committed to following through with the book. the basic idea of focusing on what i want, and not what i don't want, has been challenging to me because i've realized that i've been a severely negative human being for the past several years and i've become EXCELLENT at focusing on what i don't want. it never occurred to me to do otherwise. i'm still trying to internalize his teachings through repetition. i do believe in joe vitale though, because he was once worse than i am at a time in his life. he was homeless (although i am getting pretty fucking close), jobless, lost. i never would have guessed it; he is so evolved and successful now.
pat o'bryan's book also lead me to a book by t harv eker called, secrets of the millionaire mind. the most important idea i learned from this excellent book was on page 2 where he states,
" it all comes down to this: if your subconscious "financial blueprint" is not "set" for success, nothing you learn, nothing you know, and nothing you do will make much of a difference."
reading this shocked me. in that moment i realized that in spite of some rather unique skills i have developed over the years, i was still set for failure. it pretty much encapsulates most of my life. he elaborates on pages 6-7 where he states,
"that's when it became obvious that you can have the greatest "tools" in the world, but if you've got a tiny leak in your "toolbox" (i'm pointing to me head right now), you've got a problem."
holy shit did i have a problem. i am also drawn to t harv eker's work because although he alludes to the 'law of attraction', he doesn't approach it with very much new-agey attitude that quite frankly, puts me off just a bit. he also had started from very humble beginnings that he talks about in the early part of his book. this 'street cred', makes it easier for me to believe i can do this too. he speaks a great deal of the psychological aspects of money, and believes in making a series of declarations that he gives you out loud to counter disempowering mental programming. i have been trying to do these on a daily basis ever since.
james ray was also in the secret, and i came across his book, harmonic wealth, in the bookstore a while ago. although he speaks to many of the same ideas as the others, his particular voice in his writing attracted me. his underlying concept of harmonic wealth, the five pillars that need to be in dynamic equilibrium, serve as the overall paradigm for how i am attempting to structure my life. he won me over when he stated on page 14,
"don't wish for an easier life-that's illusion. wish for greater capability and capacity to ease elegantly through life."
yet another perspective that i had not considered. in fact, i had always been longing for an easier life. now i can see that that perspective is rooted in fear and scarcity, but habitual ways of thinking are difficult to change.
there is so much more i can say about these teachers, but i'm still attempting to assimilate their lessons. and i still haven't talked about bill harris yet. his work is AMAZING, but that wll have to wait for another post.
wow. i had been stuck in the box for so long that i had forgotten i was in a box. and now, i fear i have analysis paralysis. always a new challenge to keep me going.
Posts
