Reaching Your Potential (Part 3 of 3)

THE AFFIRMATION PROCESS

To realize your affirmations, keep them rooted in your mind and work on them regularly. The most important technique is imaging.

• At least once per day, lie on your back in a comfortable area (a bed or couch can be used if available, but a carpeted floor can work just fine), where you won't be disturbed.
Begin the imaging session every time in the same way, by closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. Let the inhalation expand your abdomen and your chest, while you use your mind to search out areas of tension in your body, letting each one melt slowly away. Thinking words like "relax," "release," "let go," and "peace," can help when faced with trouble spots.
Once you feel fully relaxed, bring one of your affirmations to mind. Say it aloud, then take a deep breath like you did when you began relaxing. Repeat this up to five times. Begin creating a mental image of yourself and your life as it will be when the affirmation is a reality. As vividly as possible, imagine your feelings, thoughts, actions, and reactions when the transformation has taken place. Work your imagery down to the minute details of an entire scene.

Example: Let's say your affirmation is, "When I work, I am focused, alert, and relaxed - my mind is clear and sharp." Create an image of yourself at your desk. Imagine the flowing, joyful state of mind where details fall into place and each complex problem gives way to your powers of concentration. Picture the smile on your face and the lightness of your posture. See yourself fulfilling tasks one after another and completing many with ease.

• Act everyday, as if your affirmation has already come to pass.
How would you behave if you had become the empathetic, loving person you want to be? How would you talk to people? What feelings would you have? Just playing the role creates a space for you to grow in the desired direction. In other words, "Fake it until you make it," and you'll make it a lot faster.

Example: If your affirmation is something physical, such as, "I'm 25% stronger and faster," you can't immediately make this a reality, and "faking" it could actually be dangerous. However, you can mentally make it happen by representing the change in your stance, walk, and how you approach people, as if you were the new stronger, faster you.

• Post reminders in several strategic spots that you're sure to pass every day:
• mirrors, especially in the bathroom
• the wall along stairs or in a hallway
• the refrigerator
• your car radio
Any small, brightly colored note will suffice.

Every time you pass one of these "checkpoints," say your affirmation to yourself, silently or aloud. Practice quickly bringing an image of it to mind where it's already been realized. It may take a little time at first, but soon you'll be able to create vivid scenes in no more time than it takes to snap your fingers. Keep at it, and the images, words, and feelings will stay with you as you carry on with your life towards your new, assuredly assured success!

Whatever you do, make sure you start actually doing it! If you just read this article and don't put any of it into practice, it's worthless. If you procrastinate and never get around to it, it's worthless. Don't let your potential get away with never actually happening!

Reaching Your Potential (Part 2 of 3)

THE MAGIC OF AFFIRMATIONS

Far more powerful than traditional goals, affirmations can keep you moving in the direction you want. Think of affirmations as simple statements you make about yourself in the present tense (rather than in the future). These statements will help you reach your goals because they are about you, not external circumstances or results.

Example: You've started your own business and want it to succeed in a big way. Instead of striving toward a goal, such as, "My business will net $500K in the next year," try leading yourself there with statements such as:

• "My current negotiating abilities with vendors and clients are fantastic."
• "I positively complete major deals with ease."
• "I am totally present in my work and generate effective strategies with particular attention to important details."

When you make an affirmation, you create in your consciousness, the condition that you want to achieve. Once the mental reality exists, a natural inevitable process can gradually make it happen in the physical world as well. You transform your life by transforming yourself into the person you want to be.

KEYS TO EFFECTIVE AFFIRMATIONS

Choose your affirmations wisely, make them clear and specific, and write them down! Committing these visions to paper is vitally important towards making them real. Additionally, for each one that you choose, ask yourself the appropriate questions from the following:

• Does this affirmation represent a change in me rather than in the world?
• How will this change affect others in my life?
• Do I absolutely, without a doubt, want what I say I'm hoping to achieve?
• Is this an image of someone I really truly wish to become?

These are important because the success of this method depends on committing yourself wholeheartedly. Imagine the consequences in vivid detail, knowing that becoming less dependent, more assertive, and more adventurous will change your relationships. Discussing your plans with family and friends can help you bring your visualizations into focus, therefore making them easier to create in your life.

Affirmations can be similar to goals in the fact that they work best in a six month to one year time frame, and with a selection of four or less. Few people have the ability to maintain the focus and concentration required to realize more than four affirmations at a time.

Another example of a good affirmation: - "I have great empathy for other people. My ability to understand what they're feeling borders on telepathy."

THE AFFIRMATION PROCESS

... Stay tuned for Part 3 to learn more!

Reaching Your Potential (Part 1 of 3)

As humans, aren't we amazing? We are comprised of chemicals which seek their lowest energy level at all times. We are, by chemical definition, lazy. But, we have an amazing addition that makes all the difference - spirit. Without thought and understanding, we would be rocks, and nobody wants that! So let's take a look at making the best of those things that drive us, and see if we can't reach a new un-rock-like potential.

How To Get Where You Want To Go

Of course, you have to actually want to get somewhere first... so we'll assume you do, or you wouldn't be reading this right now. But setting goals and striving to meet them doesn't work for everyone. Many of us get frustrated by factors we can't control when we fail to reach our goals, then feelings of disappointment and defeat creep in.

There has to be a better way, right? Of course there is.

CONCENTRATE ON NOW

Some goals are helpful, such as making a "to do" list at night and checking off each completed task the next day. This way you're organizing your tasks and rewarding yourself a little at a time along the way to a productive day.
However, life goals and aspirations are a little more complicated than something you can complete in a day's time. Too many people focus obsessively on external benchmarks to the point that those become the meaning of their lives.

Example: You may feel you have a gift for healing, so you set a goal to become a doctor. Perhaps you lack the finances or academic accomplishments to go to medical school though, so you feel like a failure and forget your dreams altogether. This is like a horse with blinders stopping at a puddle. Think of all the other kinds of healing your rigid goal cut you off from: social work, massage therapy, hypnotherapy, or even spiritual guidance. In this scenario, a narrow ambition kept you from getting what you really wanted.

What's worse, is that concentrating too much on life goals can cut you off from the experience of life. When winning is all that counts, the hours, days, and even years you spend heading toward that goal are overlooked, or at the very least under-appreciated. When you focus solely on your goal, you spend your time thinking about the future outcome, so you prevent yourself from experiencing the present. People who achieve real success are those who forget about what they're trying to achieve and concentrate instead on what they're actually doing.

THE MAGIC OF AFFIRMATIONS

... Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn more!

Cary Grant. Who?

There are plenty of people in the world who still know who he was, but just in case you aren't one of them, you should definitely take a gander at his Wiki Page.

Words that stick out are debonair and dashing. Definitely a man who had his self and his style together. Few men have been more revered for their well-groomed good looks, yet Grant made it a point to be very cavalier about his appearance - rarely admitting to doing any exercise, avoiding make-up when on camera, and not being picky about having a particular barber every time. These ticks didn't make him a fan with directors who were concerned about their film's visual continuity, but it did help to endear him in the eye of the public for his "natural beauty."

And now you have a sudden urge to dress better and get your stuff together... but how!? Well, my friend, it's your lucky day!

Cary Grant's Secrets for Looking Great, Always

• Buy only stylish conservative clothing.
- Grant's father was a tailor's presser in Bristol, and Grant always stuck with the well-regarded Savile Row tailors for his clothes. Of course, how much he spent, didn't matter as much as how great they looked on him. Because classic suits never go out of style, he was often able to wear the same suits for years. In fact, Grant usually had only a surprisingly small wardrobe of a few, mostly dark, suits.
• Shirt collars and suit lapels can help overcome physical shortcomings.
- Grant was well aware of his minor physical flaws, and took measures to mask them. He had his tailors build up the shoulders of his suits (to hide his sloping shoulders), as well as modify his shirt collars and suit lapels (in order to make his thick neck appear longer and thinner).
**Tip** - Thick-necked men should favor long, pointed collars and lapels, which are slightly larger than usual. While thin-necked men should go for spread collars and narrow lapels.
• Good conditioning doesn't require a muscular appearance.
- A trim, well-conditioned physique and grace of motion are the keys. Grant wasn't a fan of push-ups or free weights, but instead favored swimming each day. Regular exercise helped him stay fit without building large muscles, and also attributed to his graceful motion. It's been said that his memorable appearance may more likely be because of his movements than his handsome face. Some of his elegance can be traced back to the fact that he was a trained acrobat, and could even pull off several tricks later in life. Additionally, part of his work history prior to acting, included "stilt walking" on Coney Island, which is partially funny because he was slightly bowlegged.
• Don't fight the aging process.
- When Cary Grant's hair began to turn white sometime in the '60s, he let it go white. It's said that he felt if he dyed his hair it was bordering on dishonesty, but I'm not so sure about that since he didn't have a problem covering up other physical traits (read shoulder padding). He more likely was aware that obvious attempts to alter his appearance could have ruined his natural casual image. He would cover this by saying that desperate attempts to hang on to youth were unattractive by their very nature, and he was oft disdainful of fellow actors who had toupees or facelifts.
• Have and display confidence.
- Part of Grant's charm was his ability to appear comfortably at ease in his own skin at all times. If you've got it, flaunt it, if not, fake it until you do!