“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.” Henry David Thoreau

As I woke up this morning in my motel room in Bellingham Washington, I heard the rumble of traffic outside the window. The machine was awake. I looked at the clock, it was 7:11 am.

It’s been over two years before I gave up everything and left the United States. My business, my car, my house on the lake, a draining relationship, all the things which seemed to define me, I either sold or got rid of and were no longer a part of my life. I was down to a small suitcase of clothes and a few books. It was the start of what I called “my new life.”

A familiar feeling began to emerge perhaps for the first time since I was a kid, humming along in a Theta state of awareness living in a dreamworld where nothing seemed to matter. Nothing did matter. A sense of lightness where all you feel is your own presence.

Our entire purpose when we are kids is to do nothing more than experience life and feel the relationships around us. We called them mom and dad or aunt and uncle, but had no concept of what that actually meant. It just felt good to be in their presence and interact with them authentically. There was never an agenda, just wake up and live.

As I began the process of letting go in 2009, I felt a sense of wonder coming back. I had never been aware of it before, but yet, I felt my true nature returning, or maybe I was returning to it.

I also realized I was choosing to become a man who had nothing to lose. And what can a man do who has nothing, wants nothing and puts value on nothing? He can do anything. And the world, and life, becomes a blank slate filled with possibility. A continual renewal of moments waiting to be filled with a human connection, experience and adventure. Ive spent the last two years living in that world. And I’ve realized one very profound thing. Living this way has indeed made me happier.

This became clear on a recent trip back to the states for the 2011 holidays. Going back this time was a surreal experience. It exceeded all my expectations and visions of what I thought it was going to be. A strange sense of culture shock I still find hard to describe. Although it was amazing to see my family, whom I’ve missed tons, I found myself disturbed by the energy underneath it all. I saw something peculiar I had never seen before.

You see, over the past few years I’ve become very passionate about the idea of human evolution. Traveling in places where Indigenous humans still live, one begins to see our true nature. That we are actually an animal species living on this planet, all operating at different levels of awareness. NOTE: That awareness alone, (that we are an animal species living at different levels of awareness) makes one aware of the idea of awareness. Please read that until it makes sense, because it’s a profound breakthrough humanity is making right now.

And somewhere along the line, something peculiar has happened. My culture which is by far, and I mean by far, the most advanced in terms of technology and infrastructure, has somehow become the most unaware of any group of humans I have witnessed.

We have become so identified with things, and so distracted by our insatiable desire for more, more, more, that we have become oblivious to what is happening in our country and the world around us. Like a mental parasite that has somehow invaded itself into the American psyche. I also realized the only way for Americans to see it, is to perhaps experience life outside the states for a period. It’s the ultimate “out of body” experience where maybe for the first time, you get to step back and see YOURSELF AND YOUR BELIEFS, and witness from afar the chugging, spewing, clanking machine called the United States.

We can’t see it when were in it, just like a fish doesn’t know she’s in water. We think, it’s our world and that’s just the way it is…

But is it?

One thing is sure, 2012 is going to be a period of mass awakening. Everyone feels it and it’s getting stronger everyday. The best part, awareness is the first step to all change. Mark my words, this year has a lot in store for us.

How To Create A Snowball Effect With Your Goals

Creating attainable smalls goals is the key to giving yourself a sense of momentum that empowers you to keep going towards your big goals.

The problem behind setting goals that are too big and far off in the future, is that we tend to get frustrated and give up.

On the flip side, most people never set any goals, let alone take action towards them.

So the key is to find a balance that works and that gets you down the path to your goals in the shortest period of time possible. Here is what I have found works best…

The best way is to set goals that give you momentum, is to make them very short term, and to start very small.

Usually a week long and often one day goals.

It’s important in the beginning to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You want to give yourself several little self esteem boosts before stretching the time frame of your goals to say 30 and 90 days.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to have bigger long term goals, say up to one year.

It’s good to know where your final destinations is. But always remember the saying:  “You can only eat an elephant one bite at a time”

So when you set goals for a brand new venture, start by setting a very small goal. Something that you know you can achieve simply by taking action.

Don’t worry about the outcome of these first goals, solely about the fact that you will be taking action towards them.

The point is, even if you bomb and your results are poor, you will feel great sense of accomplishment because you did what 98% of people never do…You took action towards something you wanted.

This act alone will build your confidence and self esteem and create a sense of movement in your life.

You will begin to gain a sense of belief that you can achieve your big goals, as long as you keep chipping away at small goals.

Here is an example of how to start this process.

Lets say you were wanted to start a new website or blog for business you have in mind.

You have been thinking about it, telling your friends and family about your idea for days, months or even years.

A first goal could simply be to make a commitment to write down your ideas on a piece of paper in as much clarity as possible. Don’t worry about how it sounds right now because at this stage quality is not the point.

The point is that the goal of writing itself is an action and will give you momentum.

Personally, I love starting my ventures with the act of writing because there is so much power in the written word.

Taking the time to write out an idea is the first act of bringing an image in your mind into the physical plain. The idea is now written in ink on a piece of paper. It exists now as a tangible element.

Make no mistake, when you do this you are planting a seed, and that seed is now growing.

Once you have achieved this first goal, you’ll want to set a slightly bigger, but still achievable goal. But now, commit to taking a series of actions that begin growing that idea even more into the physical form.

For example, the next step could be to buy a domain name, get a hosting account and then hire a web designer to work with you on your new site.

By following through on these tiny, very achievable steps, you are creating momentum.

Once there is momentum, it becomes like a snowball that gets bigger and becomes harder to stop and easier to keep going.

By allowing yourself to be patient and work towards small goals in the beginning, you are building the muscle of persistence.

As time goes on you will feel a sense of dissatisfaction with yourself if you are not on track to meet your goals, because meeting goals, even small ones, has become part of your character.

There is magic in the basics, and achieving big goals is merely a result of accomplishing lots of smaller goals that continually build momentum.

The key is to just start and force yourself through the beginning stages of any endeavor with small achievable goals that give you momentum.

What goals have you been procrastinating on that you could set into motion today? I would love to hear your comments.

I have always loved the idea of becoming a good dancer.

Something about the feeling of dancing with another person, when everything clicks is indescribable.

It’s the art of connecting with someones energy through the synchronized movement of your bodies. To achieve a state of flow together without words.

It feels amazing when you achieve it…But, it can be a challenge to get there.

To learn how to dance, you have to be willing to go through a period of awkwardness, sometimes for months before you understand how to lead the feminine energy in a way that feels good to both of you.

But even more, what I have learned about dancing goes much deeper. (as always with me)

I have come to understand that the act of dancing is actually very symbolic to the way a relationship is supposed to work between men and women.

Dancing, from a mans perspective, is about leading the female energy with the male energy.

But not in an aggressive forceful way, instead, in a gentle and confident way that communicates trust and strength.

It’s what women want from men, and the reaction women get from dancing with a men who know how to lead, proves it.

Leading confidently and smoothly without hesitation creates an instant sense of attraction, regardless of who your dancing with.

Women want a man who is not afraid to take control of the situation and show her where to go, to lead her in this dance of life, but at the same time be together.

The reason is because when done correctly, you are creating a natural polarity between the masculine and feminine. And when there is a polarity between these two energies, attraction is the result.

I have noticed more and more since I began dancing, that my relationships with women have become more and more comfortable, balanced and rewarding.

The feminine gives us power, and learning how to dance and lead that femininity is a perfect way to plug into this power.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the video above of me dancing. This is a result of about 14 private lessons to date.

What are some of your experiences dancing?  I would love to hear your comments.

Creating A Life With Purpose

Living with purpose is they key to living full and happy life. It’s the secret to feeling like you have a reason for living.

There are four key steps that you need to take to begin moving towards a more purposeful life.

Here they are in order:

1. Discover Your Unique Passion or Gift

Step one is coming to grips with what you really enjoy doing. What is your true passion? Where do you have natural talent?

This has nothing to do with thinking about what it is. If you are waiting for your it to come to you in thought, you will literally wait forever.

You find it by just DOING what you love to do. By acting from your deepest source, in the moment.

By doing this and paying attention to what you are naturally good at, your passion will reveal itself with much clarity.

Think of someone like Picasso who painted essentially the same picture over and over in deeper and different ways.

The idea is to get lost in what you feel is your source.

Understand that it will be an ongoing process. Just keep acting from your core and pay attention to the feedback you get where you suddenly excel in a certain area.

When you experience spikes in success, and when it seemed to be more or less effortless and fun, this is a key sign that you are on to something.

Keep defining it until it clicks.

2. Create a Vision For The Life You Want To Have:

Next is creating a vision for the life you want to have.

Once you’ve come to grips with what you want to be doing, next begin writing out a vision for the life you want to create.

Write out goals for 5 years, 1 year, 6 months and 30 days.

A good exercise is write out a “perfect day” in your future life, as if you were living it right now.

Write it in vivid detail, describe sounds, smells and what you see. This is powerful. The more clarity and description you can bring to this vision the better.

3. Create a Routine That Brings your Vision Into The World … And Stick To It

Next you need to create a routine that brings your vision into reality.

Every day you will be doing something towards your dream.

Personally I like to make my action (output) tasks during the weekdays, i.e. working on my blog, book, interviewing, marketing etc… and my passive (input) tasks on weekends i.e. reading, planning, reviewing my output, reconnecting with my center etc…

In regards to your output and creating a action work routine, you want to find the top 3 tasks that have the most impact on bringing this reality into the world.

These three tasks will be the basis of your work routine and your main focus each day throughout the week. Create systems for them so you can do them even better, faster and more efficiently.

This action routine you create for yourself becomes the “track” of your life that people talk about. I.e. “I got off track”

Develop your track, and determine to stay on it.

By having this setup, you will be able to see when you are getting of track and what is causing it.

For example, say you are partying too much and your finding the following days you are hard pressed to keep your routine. You will know then when it’s time to scale back a certain behavior so that you can “get back on track”.

4. Create Priorities For Your Life And Make Them Sacred:

Finally you need to create and understand your priorities in life.

When you do this, and you make them sacred, this becomes the basis of your character.

For many people, this will be the first time they have ever thought about this.

Without priorities, you will go through life without ever having a clear idea of what is really important.

People without set priorities are almost always confused about what to do, unable to make quick decisions and easily swayed from their path when something shinier comes along.

Taking the time to sit down and write out your priorities is the process of developing your center, you core. It will clarify exactly where to put your energy and when.

Here is an example of my own and what I recommend:

#1. Internal Connection – Remaining centered and “feeling good” in your own body. The reason this is the top priority is because when you start your day from here, you will be acting from a place of purity and power.

When you become centered, the real you will be expressed in all other areas of your life, from your relationships to your work.

Having this as the top priority means starting your day before anything else by sitting quietly with your eyes closed, breathing, getting a clear mind, and then visualizing your future life in perfect clarity.

When you have finished, then you return to the present moment, not thinking about the past or the future, but simply acting in the now.

# 2. Family or Relationship – It’s said that merely 85 percent of our happiness in life comes from the quality of relationships we have with other people. By focusing on serving others we create the flow of positive loving energy in our lives.

After we look after ourselves, our next top priority is other people.

In the end, we can lose everything, but as long as we still have relationships and a sound mind (priority one) we will remain happy and with the ability to re-create anything we desire.

# 3. Business, Money and Vision – Serving your vision through a daily routine that brings your vision into reality.

Our work, when it is based on our passion, will bring a tremendous amount of fulfillment into our lives.

It can give us the resources and money to do the things we want, (priority four) and to better serve our relationships (priority two)

Here, once we begin our routine it becomes our top priority during a set time period each day. For example 8-4.  We focus and respect this routine and give it 100% attention above all else during this time period each day.

# 4. Actively Creating Fun Experiences – Finally, taking the time to plan and pursue activities that enrich your life. By embarking on experiential goals we in turn grow our minds through life experience.

From jungle survival treks to hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Amazing and rare experiences shift our worlds and make us full and deeper people. These experiences also give us tremendous motivation to keep the rest of our lives on track.

In other words, cool life experiences become the source of energy to keep living a purpose driven life.

In the end, your priorities will act like a guide posts that will help you in moments of decision.

Having them and keeping them sacred will make you a person of power.

We have two minds, the conscious and the subconscious

Photo From: Frames of Mind

This is one of my favorite subjects to talk about.

It’s exciting because once you realize the power of your subconscious and your ability to change your beliefs about what is possible, you will come to understand that you can have anything you desire.

From relationships and wealth to the perfect body, it’s all within your power.

A brief description of how the subconscious works:

Your mind can be divided into two minds, the conscious and the subconscious.

The subconscious mind does not have the ability to reason like the conscious mind, it simply acts on the ingrained beliefs you have about yourself and life based on what you’ve experienced or been told since you were a child.

As we grow older, our minds become filled with beliefs which we hold as 100% true, but the reality is, most of our beliefs are based on false assumptions.

Things we’ve watched on TV, experiences we’ve had that we perceived a certain way, when in reality it was another.

Over this period, we end up with a structured set of beliefs all supporting one another. And these beliefs determine the way we function in our daily lives and the outcome of nearly all situations.

An easy way to think of this is to imagine that your beliefs were like a hard coded software program installed in your mind.

And regardless of how much you try to over ride those ingrained beliefs with your conscious mind, your subconscious, (the hard coded software) does not change.

A good example is if you have ever known someone who has tried to lose weight.

Most people try and some even have a little success. But in all most all of the cases they go on to gain it back a short time later.

Why does this happen?

There are many reasons that science is now finding, but a fundamental reason is because of a belief that that is how their body is supposed to be.  Like a thermostat set to a specific temperature, (the ingrained belief) they return to their original weight.

They can try with all their might using determination (the conscious mind) but the underlying subconscious belief overrides the conscious mind, and brings back that reality.

The subconscious has been programmed, and like a software application, it will keep acting in the way it has been programmed.

The good news is that you can re-program your subconscious install new beliefs that create positive change in your life. And the most powerful way to do this is through self hypnosis.

What is self hypnosis and how can you use it to reprogram your mind?

Hypnosis is process of relaxing the conscious mind through an induction process. When the conscious mind is relaxed, the subconscious is more able to take on new suggestions.

Think of it this way…

Your conscious mind, when fully aware, acts like a shield to your subconscious.

The nature of your conscious mind is to take information, run it through the software program of your mind, like a computer searching a database, and then decipher if something is true or false based on all your past experiences throughout life.

For example, let’s say you are terrified of public speaking or even speaking in front of small groups.

Maybe when you were a younger you had a bad experience in this area or even several.

Now every time you find yourself speaking in front of people you feel a lack of confidence.

The reason is because your conscious mind searches the database of your subconscious, brings forth those past experiences (like mental movies) of you acting in this manner. As a result, you begin to act consistent with those movies.

But you can change those movies by dropping the shield of your conscious mind through a process of hypnosis, and then presenting new beliefs or “suggestions” directly to the subconscious.

In this state of relaxation, the subconscious is more apt to take these as truth, especially through repetition.

Your subconscious does not decipher, it does not reason, it simply takes as truth what you tell it.

It’s a fascinating transition, and can sometimes a bazaar process, but amazing things begin to happen.

Here are two case studies in my own life which I have used hypnosis and guided imagery to completely transform these key areas of my life. The results were astounding, and I recommend you read both.

How I used self hypnosis to lose 30+ pounds and keep it off.

How I used self hypnosis to sell my failing business and travel the world.

The great thing about this process, is the more you use it, and the more results you see with it. And  the more results you see, the more you come to realize all your beliefs a can be changed, and you can begin to bring into your world, bit by bit, the life you desire.

I am in the process of developing a hypnosis program to offer to the public, the same one I have been using over the past two years to bring massive changes into my life.

If your interested, you can email me on the contact page to find out more.

The plaque my grandmother gave me

My grandmother was unpacking a box one day, and took out a small framed plaque that had a saying on it.

“Here you can have this” she said, “always remember it when life gets you down”

I took it and read it out loud, “Living Well Is The Best Revenge” Hmm, ok thanks” I said.

I believe I was about 16 years old and don’t think I understood what it meant at the time, but I kept it anyways.

As I grew older however,  it has turned out to be a very powerful presence in my life.

In fact, to this day, has deserved a prominent place in my home, wherever I am living.

It’s serves as a constant reminder of how to respond to life when things get their worst.

From painful breakups, to growing a business, to having my first son who was born with a rare chromosome abnormality.

The saying on that little plaque has always helped me realize where to funnel my energy after life brings on hard, sometimes seemingly impossible situations.

It means not to retaliate and get stuck in spiral of anger and blame when people or situations get you down, but instead, to focus on bringing more light into the world and creating the best life you can with what you have.

The thing to remember is there is always a tremendous amount of energy released in your life when you experience pain.

And this energy can make you sick and even destroy you if you dwell on it.

But if you use it to take your life to a new level you will experience a period of growth previously unknown to you.

By following this advice ensures that you always come out ahead.

Your actions and not your words will transform people and the situations around you. When you move on and create a better life than you had before, you always come out the person of power.

The reason, is because you are combining the emotions of love and anger. And when these two emotions are combined, the resulting emotion is passion. And when you have passion your life becomes alive. You will feel determined and if you keep persisting, you will feel unstoppable.

The fact is, pain moves us.

When we experience pain in the form of financial hardship or negative relationships, whatever, we tend to get are butts in gear.

When bad things happen, it’s because life is sending a message that there is more for you to learn. And persisting in the face of difficult situations is the secret to creating an amazing life.

It’s the secret to feeling alive and proving to yourself that nothing will get in your way of achieving your dreams no matter how bad.

It’s like a test that life gives that is saying, “So you really want your dream? Ok then, here is a test to see if your ready to handle it.”

Understand these experiences are there to shape and mold us into the people we want to become. Embrace them and live well.

What was a situation in your life that motivated you to change your direction and make a massive shift?

How To Get Up After Life Knocks You Down

“Nate, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Don’t you understand that?”

-Dan Holmes, my first private investor and real estate mentor and the biggest prick I’ve ever met. (in a nice way)

Life is full of setbacks. In fact, you could look at life as one giant setback.

For people who are on the path to big goals, it may seem like the more we try, the more obstacles we face.

This is the way life is.

It will never be easy in terms of how we would like it to be.

But for the person who commits to overcoming all obstacles regardless of what life throws at them, in the end, will live an easier than those who choose to give up in the face of challenge.

Here is a five step, full proof process, that will generate a new surge of power in your life after you get knocked down. This order works best:

1. Directly after a big setback or maybe even a heartbreak, often the only thing we want to do is sit or lay down. We feel like we just got the shit kicked out of us emotionally.

Fortunately, the answer is that it’s ok to do this. It’s really the first step in the process.

There is a famous quote by Sir Andrew Barton, a past Admiral for the Kingdom of Scotland that goes:

“I am hurt but not slain. I will lay me down and bleed a while, and then I’ll rise and fight again.”

Sitting and feeling the pain is ok. It’s natural and necessary.

Do this in silence, close your eyes and breath, feel your body and realize first hand that this pain is only temporary and will soon be gone.

If there is one fact about life, above all else, it’s that nothing is permanent and that everything changes.

Embrace this idea and know it with all your heart.

The goal here is to try your best to understand what went wrong, where you made mistakes and how you can correct them for the future.

The longer you wait, the harder it will be to start taking action. From this point on, the goal is to begin creating a new swirl of positive energy and emotions in your life that will get you back on track, sometimes in a matter of days or even hours.

2. Once you have had some time to reflect, the next thing to do is to commit to going to the gym and work out until your body is completely exhausted.

Fight any desire to give up until you muscles are completely dead. Make this process a message to mind and life that you will fight past any pain to achieve what you desire and that nothing will stop you.

This step is important for two reasons:

Number one, you will work away the anxiety and stress and automatically feel better. The endorphins alone will make your body feel better.

But number two, and more important, you will have created a giant wave of momentum in your life by committing to do something you didn’t feel like doing, but did anyways at 100%.

You will have acted despite your feelings.

Because of this, your self esteem will rise and you will begin to feel more confident and powerful. Look at this part of the process like an immediate 20 point increase in your self esteem.

3. Next, commit to doing the hardest and most productive task in your work, towards your biggest goal. Do the task with 100% effort until it’s complete. Try to make as much progress as possible over a period of several hours. Totally focused on output, output, output.

This will continue the momentum and immediately stimulate your motivation again.

You may even feel even more motivated than you did before the setback.

4. Once you have completed your task, it’s time to go back to your inner world, but this time, not focusing on the past but instead focusing on your future. Take a pad of paper, or if you prefer a word processor, (I like Mac Journal) and ceate a new and more focused set of goals for your life for the next 6 months.

A shorter period is better because it will give you a quicker and more realistic path to get to a new position in life.

Write down goals in the following areas: personal, business, family and health.

Make them clear, short and powerful, but at the same time achievable.

5. When you are finished, immediately take some type of action towards each new goal. It doesn’t matter what, just take some type of action.

The goal is to get a boost of confidence back in your life by acting in spite of your feelings, redirecting your life towards a new vision, and then immediately taking steps towards each area.

For the fastest results start the this in the moment you feel the most pain, or right after the setback.

There is no reason to live in the past. Life will knock you down. Understand that it’s shaping you, testing you, chiseling away the weakness so you can become the person you want to become. Embrace it, smile back face bloodied and carry on with even more persistence.

In the end, you will have all that you desire.

Playing With Snakes In The Amazons of Brazil After Selling My Third Business

“You are no longer welcome here. If you come back on school property, you will be arrested.”

-Mrs. Holmes, my high school vice principal.

Over the past 13 years I have come to understand, first hand, the power one has over their mind and their ability to use it to achieve whatever they desire.

My understanding of this came at a relatively early age. I was about 17, and had just been kicked out of high school.

I was an angry kid, clueless about life and had no idea what I was going to do.

Shortly after I was expelled, like a person without options, I started working as a construction laborer packing wood and sweeping floors for $8 per hour.

After several months of working like this however, I became tired of the back breaking work and started looking for something different.

I was browsing the newspaper one day and saw an ad that said something along the lines of:

“Hiring Motivated People To Setup and Display Breakthrough Product”

Not understanding what it was, I scheduled an Interview for the following day.

I arrived eager, and about 10 minutes into the interview, I quickly realized that I would be selling vacuum cleaners door to door, based solely on commission.

I had never heard of anything like this before, but was intrigued by the owners conviction, and also his brand new suburban sitting in the parking lot.

So I decided to try it, a decision that would soon become a major turning point in my life.

Real Life Education Begins

The first week, I am put on a team with a guy a few years older than me, who also never graduated from high school, but nonetheless was making around $2000 per week selling vacuums.

He was a “Van Leader” and responsible for helping new salesman learn the ropes and close deals. He would make a commission off all the people he helped.

We immediately had a connection and he became my first real mentor.

There was an amazing energy about him and he had an incredible way of connecting with people that I’d never seen before. People just seemed to do the things he wanted them to do, willingly.

I asked him one day how he did it, and he his answer was that he developed his personality, to a large extent, by reading books and listening to tapes of successful people. (CD’s weren’t as popular then)

Every day, while we were in the van, he would play tapes by Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Ernie Villanueva, Tom Hopkins and many others. All of whom have now become legends with their teachings.

So I began a new habit of reading books every night, sometimes for hours before going to bed.

It became like an addiction. In fact, to date, I have easily read and listened to over a thousand books and audios on the topic of inner world mastery and personal achievement. Which if you base this on industry standards, puts me in the top 2% in this area.

I was a very transformational period in my life and I remember at times feeling like my whole world was shifting with every paragraph I read. I couldn’t get enough.

I noticed the way I was beginning to talk was changing, my thinking was changing and my thoughts about life and what was possible was changing.

I went from a clueless, low self image high school dropout, to feeling like a person of power and able to accomplish anything.

A combination of the books and tapes and overcoming my fears everyday by knocking on doors and trying to sell $2000 vacuums to people made me no longer afraid of rejection.

I worked this job for two years before moving on to start my first company. But it was those two years that literally layed the foundation for the rest of my life. I learned a tremendous amount about myself and other people during that time.

I sometimes think how I would have ended up if I had never gone through that period. If I had stayed working as a construction laborer, going through life with the same thinking I had when I was younger.

The thought alone scares me. But I believe deep down it happened for a reason. The distance I have come since those days amazes me.

The moral is we all have the power to change, and books are like rocket fuel to your transformation process. You can literally read yourself to a new life.

What books have had the biggest impact on you? I would love to hear your comments.

January 1st New Years Day, 2009, I write in my journal the words, “I want to be free” not understanding where this would take me…

This is a true story of how I used my mind to completely shift my reality and get on the path to the life I have always dreamed of.

This was a very intimate process, and one that changed me forever.

I’ve used self hypnosis and guided imagery throughout my twenties, and always experienced great results with it.

But in 2009, at the age of 29, during a difficult transition in my life, I decided to take what I knew about this powerful practice and implement it in a way I’d never done before.

An experiment in which I made it the entire focus of my life.

The results, were haunting…

It was during the beginning months of the Obama presidency. And anyone who was on earth during that time knows that it seemed like the world was ending.

Banks and businesses were shutting down, millions of people were without jobs and everyone was afraid.

At the time, I owned a franchise in a busy shopping mall located in Phoenix Arizona. When I took over the business a few years prior, it was a booming little shop. Ranked in the top five in all of Arizona. The business was profitable, systemized and fun.

But then everything changed. Less and less people were coming despite our strongest marketing efforts. The mall in which we were located was starting to look like a ghost town. And it wasn’t long before I began experiencing monthly losses.

Even more, I had maxed out a line of credit from my home mortgage to finance my business and I realized I was on track to lose everything. My business, my home everything.

To make matters worse, at the same time I was in a very turbulent relationship with a girl I was supposed to marry.

She was someone I thought I loved very much, but we were beginning to argue almost daily. I could feel that I was beginning to lose touch with myself. And the stress of the business and the relationship was literally driving me mad.

At the peak of this situation, it became so intense that I remember going to bed at night and having vivid dreams of getting in a car accident and being completely destroyed.

I would see myself flying through the air in slow motion. It was silent and then I would smash into the pavement in the middle of traffic. I would feel the skin shredding off my body and my bones crumbling from the force, and then, I was dead.

It was mentally one the most awful times of my life.  I felt like I couldn’t control it. And I thought if the relationship ended I would continue to spiral into depression and maybe never recover.

But then like all things that reach a tipping point, one day it became too much. My fiance was arguing with me because I let my mother have our bed during a weekend visit. And then something snapped. In a single moment I made a decision to leave her. And to this day, have not seen her since.

That moment was the beginning of some major shifts for me, and really where this story begins.

If you continue reading from here, then this could easily be the proof your looking for that the power of your mind is real. And that we have the ability to manifest whatever we choose.

I have discovered, first hand that bringing our dreams into reality is our true nature. It’s what we are designed for.

As I said, this was an experiment in my life that transformed me …Not because of what happened to me, but because of what I made happen.

As you read, your going to learn how I how I consciously changed my thoughts to bring what I wanted into the physical world.

You will understand the importance of not resisting the moment when it seems like your not on the right path. Because the fact is, you are always on the right path. The only question is, is it the path you want?

So getting back to the story…

After I left her and the reality sunk in, just as I had imagined the pain rose up in my body, at times almost unbearable.

I could still feel her presence in my life, as if she was still there. Like a ghost that I couldn’t touch. Thoughts of her gone forever, and finding another man were overwhelming.

Then one night I had a profound revelation…

I was laying in bed contemplating these thoughts as they raced through my mind, but something was different. I realized these thoughts were were not a part of me, but in fact separate. They were like miniature movies playing in my mind. And it was these movies that were causing me the pain.

And then, a second realization.

I realized that if had the ability to think about the thoughts that were causing this pain, to be the awareness of my own mind, then I also had the ability change what I was thinking.

I also noticed that because I had just changed my thoughts to this “new movie” the pain in my body was gone. It simply was not there.

This revelation stuck with me and lingered for days…

After this, a strange peaceful feeling came over my body.  I wasn’t necessarily happy, but wasn’t sad either.

I realized I had been wanting this change for a long time and that I had actually created this situation I was in.  My thoughts had created this reality. I didn’t want to be married to that girl and the situation couldn’t have been more perfect. I had a clean slate in front of me with the ability to create whatever life I wanted.

What I realized was…

I had the ability to create the life I always wanted.

The more I thought of this, the more peace came over me. Almost like a calm after the storm. I began waking up in the morning feeling better than ever, happy again.

I started writing out the dreams and desires I had for my life. Things like world travel, unique and amazing friends, a loving and honest relationship, adventure, a bestelling book and a speaking career that would take me around the world. I wanted these things for a long time. And now, I was ready to make them a reality.

But there were a major obstacle. I had this business that I was still “chained” to. And if I didn’t sell it, everything in my financial world was going to crumble. The problem was I would be trying to sell a failing business in the worst economy since the Great Depression?

I realized I was at a crux in my life and either way, I was about to experience a major shift. If I could sell the business I would embark on this new journey, and if I couldn’t sell the business, I would lose everything.

It was here that I decided to take what I knew about the power of visualization and apply it to this situation.

Here’s how I did it…

First, I thought about the end results I would experience if selling my business were to become a reality. My intention was to create miniature movies that I could meditate on, and experience in my mind throughout the day.

When using guided imagery or visualization, it’s not important to understand the how, or the path of getting to your goal. What’s important is to try and create an end result movie that you can relate to, one that you can touch, feel and smell as if it were real. This is easiest to do if you see yourself, as you are experiencing this new reality.

Here is what I came up with…

Vision one.

I would visulaize myself  sitting at the escrow table in a room with no windows. For some reason this is how it came to me. Then I would visualize a hand pushing a cashiers check across the table towards me for the full amount of the business.

I would visualize this over and over again. This actually became the main vision I continually repeated every time doubt creeped in my mind. It was powerful.

I would experience the situation in my mind as if I were there. Feeling the tempature of the room, the cold hard table, the feeling of anxious and exitement in my body, the slight awkwardness and tension of a situation anytime large amounts of money are transfered. As far as I was concerned, it had already happened.

Vision Two

The next vision was a little more symbolic and less practical, but had a lot of meaning behind it.

I would visualize myself standing in front of my business. And behind the counter were all of my employees waving good bye. I would start to move backwards, like a camera panning out, the employees still waiving.

After I was about 50 feet away, I would jump in the air, Peter Pan style and fly away.

My business was located in a giant shopping mall in Phoenix, and as I flew away I would look back and see the building getting smaller and smaller, until finally, it disappeared.

I would then turn my head so I was looking forward and fly all the way down to South America. I would see myself sitting at some random cafe in the street, sipping coffee and watching people…mission accomplished.

The Visualization Process

Everyday, I would go down to the park in front of my house and sit in the same grassy knoll and meditate on these visions for about 30 minutes.

I would also bring a piece of paper with three phrases written on them. I would speak these outloud before I started mediating.

The three phrases were

1. My business has sold.
2. I am traveling the world freely.
3. I have an online income that supports my lifestyle.

I would say these things with conviction, and then set the paper aside and begin my visions, going inside my inner world as if the outer world were no longer real.

What happened next was astonishing..

First, after doing this for a few weeks, one day an idea flashed in my mind for a way to sell my business.

As soon as I had this vision, I went home and immediately created the ad I was thinking about and posted it on a popular business for sale website. I was so confident in the ad that I paid for the most exposure I could get.

I think it’s important to note, that about five months prior to this I tried selling the business using a broker. And after two months of being on the market we didn’t receive one single response.

However, after visualizing this new situation and taking action on this new idea that came to me, the following morning I had five emails in my inbox of people interested in my business. And every day more and more people started replying to my ad.

By the end of the second week, I was showing the business almost every morning to interested people. I kept meditating on my visions, but with even more intensity.

About forty days later,  I had a signed contract and a deposit check in escrow. Not only that,  I had two signed back up offers. It was amazing.

But the best was yet to come…

On the day of closing, it almost felt like I was living in my mind, like my inner and outer world had blended. When I was invited back to the conference room where the final deal and signing would take place, the room, to my utter amazement, was almost identical to the room I had in my mind, windowless and drab with a cold hard table centered in the middle.

I sat there, as if in some David Lynch film, feeling a strange sense of discovery of my own power, anticipating the moment the check would come. And almost exactly as I had imagined the hand pushed the check across the table towards me. It was the most profound experience I’ve ever had.

The rest of the story is easy to imagine. A few months later on December 31st 2009, News Years Eve, at approximately 11:45pm, I walked out of the International airport in Lima Peru to see a sky full of fireworks exploding around me. To date, I have spent nearly the last 12 months traveling South America. An experience that has changed me at the core. To say it was surreal would be an understatement. The word, if you could use any, would be perfect.

photo by Victor Bezrukov

Visualize The Life You Want

I have used guided imagery for many years now.

During this time I have experienced very profound results using this technique.

It becomes very powerful when you use it with consistency, almost to the point where life begins to unfold like a movie.

In essence, guided Imagery is a form of visualizing changes you want to occur.

It can be used in all areas of your life, from your physical health and mental well being, to healing disease and even making a business a success.

But why does guided imagery work?….

The simple reason guided imagery is so powerful is because of the fact that what we continually hold in our minds tends to become our reality. Especially when we attach emotion to it.

Emotion is a powerful element when it comes to manifesting thoughts into the real world. And imagery is the basis of our emotions. Everything we do, our minds process with images.

When we recall events from our past or childhood, we think of pictures, images, sounds, pain, etc.

A particular smell, for example, may invoke certain memories in you. Maybe smelling the perfume a past girlfriend can bring back certain memories. Or maybe, going to a place where you had an accident may bring back certain feelings in your body and even initiate your fight or flight response.

Thoughts trigger emotions and emotional thoughts create our realities. We can use this process to create massive change on any level of our lives that we desire.

But there is an additional thing we have in our arsenal which adds to the reason guided imagery works so well. Science has now discovered that our minds can not tell the difference between a thought and a real life experience.

This is profound for a very important reason…

Since our outer world experiences stem from the thoughts in our minds, and since our minds do not know the difference between inner world and outer world, we can essentially “outsmart” our minds by visualizing the picture of the life we want to create, in vivid and emotional detail, and those emotional thoughts begin to manifest into our worlds.

How to use guided imagery:

The first step to using guided imagery is to develop a clear vision for what your trying to achieve. I wrote a blog post on how to do that here.

Once  you know the vision you want to create, next you’ll want to think of two or three particular situations that would be a part of your world as a result of having this new reality. These are “end result” visions, not “in the process” or “how to” visions.

It’s important to understand that the process will take care of itself, so we are not worried about the how. We want specific end results because we are going to be creating miniature movies to play in our minds over and over again.

For example, lets say your goal was to create a new online business and put $1,000,000 in the bank over the next few years.

What are some key situations that you could visualize that would mean that this was a reality?

The best way is to choose situations that you can relate to in your life NOW. Since you have never had a million dollars it might be difficult to think of situations that have this.

Here is a good example of how to do this.

Three visions for creating a million dollars

1. See yourself walking up to a familiar ATM machine that you use all the time. You enter your pin, pull out a some cash and when the machine prints your receipt, look at the bottom of the receipt and see the balance of some random number over a million..For example $1,039,477.57. Feel the paper, see the ink like it was in real life.
2. Another example similar to number one is calling into the bank for your bank balance and hearing that annoying computerized voice speak out a your bank balance which is over one million. Visualize the entire scenario in perfect clarity.
3. See yourself sitting at your own computer in a familiar place checking your online accounts. Watch as you scroll down the page and see all the daily sales, the monthly totals and the annual amounts. Feel the keys on the laptop and the emotions you have when you see these results.

Notice these are all end result visions. By having the above things in your reality means you have achieved what you set out for. If you were to experience that situation, you would have accomplished your vision. I will say it again, you do not need to know the how, because the how will reveal itself. All you need to know is the end result.

Secondly, these are all acts that you are familiar with in your real life and you know what the experience is like.

We all have an ATM that we use in our community, we know what it’s like to grab that little piece of paper and look at our balance, we are familiar with the feeling we get when we look at it, maybe it’s a shock because you have less money than you thought, or maybe you have more than you thought. Either way, theres a familiar feelings that goes with it, it’s an emotional experience and when you visualize looking at a million dollar balance in this type of situation, you will feel a real reaction in your body. You will walk away from that ATM machine, even though it’s in your mind, FEELING like a true millionaire. This is very powerful.

When you do this, make sure you are interacting with your environment. Go into that other world, feel the temperature of your environment, smell the smells, touch things, hear things, really go to that place as if you are there.

The key is to have one or two goals that you do this for and no more.

The more focus you bring to one or two goals, the more potent this experience will be. If you have too many it will become skewed and not as effective.

To read a real world case study of how I used these techniques to sell my business and then travel the world, click here.

Anyhow, I hope this post helps, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.