"Work More On Yourself Than Your Business"

Once I heard statement from a person I respect alot, Christopher Hughes, he said "Work on yourself more than your business." I don't know if this is an original quote from him or not, but it struck a cord with me.

These words are stuck in my head and make a lot of sense. I think they are worth repeating "Work on yourself more than your business."

He said this as a statement of the value of personal development. These seem like good words comming from someone who about 8 years ago was working as a waiter in a Chili's resturant and living in a very poor neighborhood somewhere (don't remember what city) in Texas. Now, he makes over $100,000.00 a year in his network marketing business. He did lots of personal development, reading books, talkiing with people who know more than him, he attneded meetings and seminars, etc.

I'm not here to promote network marketing. But the idea is valuable in all businesses, careers or even in personal life. "Work on yourself more than your business."

What I'm getting at is, it is time for me to focus more on myself. I've been feeling a bit out of alignment, frazzled and unfocused. I've experienced feeling tired and when not tired, just low energy. Time for me to work more on myself, than on my business. This doesn't mean neglecting, just reallocating time while focusing on more personal development.

I recently got Centerpont's Holosync (aff) program, the Learning Stratgies Euphoria program, and I've joined Aaron Potts of Today is that Day in the Million Dollar Body Challenge. If you join up for the Million Dollar Body Challenge, look me up, my username is duelingdean.

In the past couple of weeks, that I've been using the Awakening Prologue (aff) from Centerpoint, I've felt more calm. Although I meditated previously, the full program seems to have taken it up a notch. That started in only the first week. I've dedicated myself to listening at least once a day. As I'm meditating, I can feel my body shift from one level to a different level as the tones shift frequencies. That's cool.

It's meant to be a long term program and in this brief time, I've enjoyed the benefits of deeper meditations and greater sense of calm. I still have wandering thoughts while meditating, that's ok. I understand that is still going to happen. Something I've noticed is that I'm catching these wandering thoughts and "just letting go" much easier. I think it's the sound of rain and ringing bells and resonanting bowls that provides a stimulus for me to focus on, as well as my breathing.

Also my sleeping seems to be better. I'm not sure if that's just the Holosynic program or if it's because of my increased exercising, which I'll talk about in a moment, or both.

The paraliminal program Euphoria is different and a bit harder for me to stay with, at this time.

I'll keep working with these programs and give more formal reviews once I have more time working with them.

As far as my exercise routine, until recently, has mostly been walking. I've taken a keener interest in my physical appearance for a couple of reasons.

1) I want to feel better, have better health and look good. 270 pounds is a bit more than I weighed in high school or even in my mid-twenties...early thirties or...well, you get the idea.
2) I want more energy, vitality and activity in my life.
3) I want to respect my body as the vehicle of my spirit.
4) I believe that in the process of conditioning my body, I'm also conditioning my mind and spirit. By blending a harmonious relationship with these aspects of myself all I got to say is "LOOK OUT WORLD, HERE I COME."
5) Heck, if I could win money in this Million Dollar Body Challenge why not get started.

Some things I've experienced already from this steped-up commitment to personal development:

Exercise

* I'm looking forward to working out. I guess it's a common belief that people don't want to drag themselves out the door to a gym, much less off the couch for some sit-ups or push-ups because "it's too much work" or "it makes me tired" or "I don't want to hurt myself." Me, I'm looking forward to my work out time. Here's why:
* I'm feeling excited when I am working out. I feel the blood coursing through my body, I'm more aware of my body with this increased movement. I feel excited that I'm working out and the sweat is a good sign that I'm progressing.
* When walking on the treadmill I spend time visulazing my dreams and goals. Because the blood is pumping and my body is feeling good, my mental picture of me is better because I'm taking action toward my goals. During this time it's more exciting for me when I'm visualizing, and that excitment is the emotion that builds the manifestation.
* At times, I think of it as a walking meditation.

Nutrition

Because I'm more excited about making the change to my physical appearance, I'm more aware of what I'm eating I'm making conscious decisions about what I want to eat: less fats and carbohydrates, more whole, real foods like veggies and fruit. I was eating good foods with some bad foods, now my attention is more on good foods.

My body still wants the comfort foods of chips and salsa, nachos, butter and toast, chocolate, Coco-Cola, etc. But it's my attitude toward myself, what I want to look like, that the desire for those foods has changed. I know that they taste good and that's ok. I think more about using them as special treats once a week, if even that often. My chocolate is my super special treat, one square of Ghiradelli's Dark Chocolates a day not 3, 4 or 5. (And dark chocolate is a good antioxident.) Cocoa-Cola, one bottle a week, I still like that sharp carbonated bite on my tongue.

I already feeling cleaner. I'm eating healthier. With more fruit in my diet, I feel less weighed down. I graze throughout the day, not eating until I'm full, but satisfied. I think about how good I feel when I've finished an appropriate amount of food without stuffing myself like a turkey.

With increased time devoted to exercise, food preparation, meditation with Awakening Prologue program, I find less time for other activities. Less time to watch TV, except for Battlestar Galactica and The Tudors, less time writing, oh well. But Chris Hughes' words still ring in my head "Work on yourself more than your business."

Yeah!!! I've cleaned up the malware on my PC.

I'm so grateful that I've finally been able to clean off the spyware and other malware from my PC. It's taken me about a week to finally get to the point where I can use my computer with some sense of reliability and get to the sites I'm actually trying to get to via favorites or with a search engine.

Sunday Morning Video: The Human Footprint

With these short videos, I'm slieghtly sidestepping a Law of Attraction principle, that being what we focus on, remains. Like any personal changes or goals we want to see, we need to know what we don't want, what we do want, visualize and believe we can be, do or have what we want.

Earth Day is this month and recent media events and stories bring attention to the thoughts we held in our collective consciousness. Like personal development, the Law of Attraction, health and the environment, we just need to think differently to make changes in the way we live.

I've been an environmentalist for years. Some days more than others and on those "other" days, feeling a bit guilty when I'm not as envirnmentally clean. (We won't go there about guilt at this time.)

These videos are promoting a program on the National Geographics channel called The Human Footprint. I've seen the show, it's really quit visually appealing. I like this program more because it doesn't take an alarmist point of view, it's assumed that many viewers are already aware of what is happening within our environment. This documentary does show, how much an average person consumes in their lifetime. From diapers, milk cartons, eggs, fruit, bottles of shampoo and showers to cans of soda, bottles of beer or wine.

This first video is about National Geographics show "Human Footprint" with airtimes listed in the show:



This next video is a longer promotional video but without the airtimes.



It is currently also showing in National Geographic On-Demand, check with your local provider for On-Demand service. (Geez, that sounds like a commercial.)

Other Sunday Morning Videos:

Enlightenment by Gary Evans
Enlightenment by Gary Evans

The Gratitude Dance
The Gratitude Dance

Affirmation Movie
Affirmation Movie

Matthieu Ricard - The World's Happiest Man
Matthieu Ricard - The World's Happiest Man

Sunday Morning Video:

This morning's video has some really great images, inspiring words and good music. We do all have inside of us the seed of greatness, whatever you want your greatness to be. I sincerely hope that you find it, go for it and achieve it.



Other Sunday Morning Videos:

Enlightenment by Gary Evans
Enlightenment by Gary Evans

The Gratitude Dance
The Gratitude Dance

Affirmation Movie
Affirmation Movie

Matthieu Ricard - The World's Happiest Man
Matthieu Ricard - The World's Happiest Man

"Sign Sign Everywhere a Sign"

Post title inspired by the song title of the same name by The 5 Man Electrical Band.

Sometimes I just got to laugh at myself. Not because I'm funny, well, sometimes I think I'm hilarous. I got to laugh at myself because I can see and hear myself digging a deeper and deeper hole I put myself in. At times I allow the resistances to block my energy, the tightness in the chest, shallow breaths and then a slight touch of overwhem and the thought "it's got to be easier. It's suppose to be easy." Every once in awhile I even think "What have I done, I can't get this all done."

DOH!

Then I catch myself. Not scold, chastise, belittle nor yell at myself, but simply catch myself. Take a deep breath...or two...maybe three. Ah, that feels better. Look at where I'm at, appreciate where I'm at. Be thankful for the lessons and training.

Recently I got an email from Notes from the Universe:

Impatience is a sign of hurrying; hurrying is a sign of worrying; worrying is a sign of fear; and fear is a sign, Dean, that someone has temporarily forgotten that it's never too late to change their thoughts and therefore their "things." And for these reasons, time will forever be on their side.

Glad we could straighten that out -
The Universe

Ah, it's great to see the universe talk so directly to me. It's fun living a life of magic and wonder.

Spring is once again in the air. Little things are bringing such a great joy to my day, like birds chirpping, the warm sun on my face (yes, I recently got sunburned), a cool breeze, that extra nugget of chicken bites, a friend buying lunch, that phone call from a friend I was thinking about 2 days ago. Heck, even the email from a real estate agent letting me know of a price reduction on a piece of property he's selling is great news...to me.

So what's all this got to do with signs. Simple really, the universe is talking to us, giving us nudges, hints, clues and we...we have our feelings. These are all signs of what's going on.

Serendipity and Synchronisity

I'm forming a Mastermind Group here in San Diego. I'm posting on several local online sites. One person wrote a reply post "It was pure happenstance that I came across your post". The bell rang in my head, for me as much as for this writer, when one is in vibrational alingment, seemingly unrelated events happen to make sense or your eye catches some phrase or book title, find an online ad, etc. that provides the answer to your questions or fulfills a desire.

It's taken me over a year to finally put into motion that effort to put this together. Now, it's comming together nicely.

Abundance

I came out of a job interview on Friday. Feeling pretty good about how I did. Back on the phone, first call I get was from someone wanting an upgrade in service, so I got a sale. I went to lunch, came back and checked my email, I had another sale and commission on the way. Then I won an sales incentive drawing of a $50.00 prepaid gas card. Signs that good things are comming to me. I expressed my gratitude for these good things and how quickly they are comming to me.

Being in the flow

Abraham calls it moving downstrean. This is when we are just going along in the river of life events that happen, it's how we go with these events that tell us if we are going upsteam (resistance) or downsteam (in the flow).

At times it seems easier said than done. To some, it is easy. Why does it seem easier said than done. Well for me, I still slip and fall back into the old patterns. Why is it still so easy to fall? I'm still learning. Marci Shimoff said in the movie The Secret:

The only difference between people who are really living this way and people who aren't living in the magic of life. Is that the people who are living in the magic of life have habituated ways of being. They have habituated this process and magic happens with them where ever they go, because they remember and do it all the time, not as a one time event.

I'm sure everone's heard "Practice makes perfect. "Practice being happy, practice appreciation, practice gratitude, and you'll get good. My daughter is in middle school choir and her coach taught them "practice makes permanent". By practicing being happy, having high vibrations, thinking good thoughts, it will become a permanent lifestyle. I'm better today than two years ago because I practice being happy, appreciation and gratitude.

Although I've been practicing meditation more this past year, I've really stepped it up this year, and even more in March. About January, I got the demo CD from Centerpoint using their Holosync technology. That helped me with my meditations. Now I have the introductory program Awakening Prologue. I've been listening to this program for over a week now. I'm seeing some noticable changes in my meditation and in turn, how life events move about me.

Recently I've been comming across more blog posts by Craig Harper and Aaron Potts about physical fitness and how it's easy to be lazy and not do what needs to be done. Although I do walk in my lovely neighborhood, I want more. I remember when I didn't do any type of exercise and how after a week of a breif walking how I started feeling better. I want to feel better. I want to feel healthier. So, I'm picking up the pace and putting in more effort.


By watching what happens to us, being aware of our emotions, observing the behavior of people around us, being open to hearing something on the radio, overhearing a conversation (not eveasdropping), asking questions and being willing to have the universe or our subconscious provide an answer as a thought or through other means, we see the signs pointing us in the direction of our desires. Follow those signs.