Learn What You Don't Know That You Don't Know

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am.

I realized that some of you may not be into self-improvement. You like who you are already. So I'll add some bonus blog entries this week to help you have a great week.

During breaks at the Jack Canfield seminar, I'm meeting dozens of people. I ask each one to tell me what they are trying to gain that they haven't accomplished yet. Then I ask them to tell me how they plan to go about gaining what they want in the future.

Invariably, I find that they don't know much about how to accomplish their goal. So they are choosing a high risk, low reward pathway without knowing it.

I then tell them about what the low risk, high reward pathways are and answer their questions about why those pathways work better. In most cases, these brief conversations can save them years of effort and be worth a great deal of money to them.

Here's an example. One man wants to start a company. He tells me that his limitation is in raising the capital. I ask him what is the best source of low-cost capital, and he tells me it's friends and family. I tell him that's not a bad answer if he has no chance of failing, but if he fails that he will never have the same family relationships again. He looks uncomfortable. So I ask him what's a cheaper and more abundant source of capital. He mentions more expensive and less abundant sources like venture capital.

I share with him that raising capital from customers is a better route. Customers then have a stake in your success . . . which increases your chances of success. Many times this funding is simply in the form of advance payments against invoices . . . or a low interest rate loan with the option to turn it into some equity at a higher price. Once a large customer has made such an investment, everyone else wants to invest.

The man does the arithmetic and realizes that this pathway will make his company quickly worth $200 million instead of $4 million, and he will own over 50% rather than owning less than 25%. He's ready to shift focus and we discuss how to organize this by building a team with experience in this type of financing.

How can you apply this lesson to your life?

First, assume that you don't know something that's important to know about what you're doing.

Second, seek out people who have succeeded at what you are about to pursue.

Third, tell the people what you plan to do.

Fourth, ask those experienced people what you are missing.

Fifth, repeat the process with at least 25 people.

Sixth, check out any books on the subject to see what they suggest.

Although this may sound like a lot of work, if what you want to do is valuable to you, you'll be much better off in the long run. Notice, too, that you'll probably begin gaining better ideas very quickly in the process so your improvements will soon become available to you.

Tomorrow, I'll provide more insights from the Jack Canfield Success Principles seminar based on what I learn today.

Thursday, I will add information learned at the Jack Canfield Success Principles seminar on Wednesday.

Friday, I will reveal key insights that I learned at the Jack Canfield Success Principles seminar on Thursday.

On Saturday, I'll continue my series of key success insights based on the Jack Canfield Success Principles seminar on Friday.

Sunday, I'll reflect on the spiritual meaning of this experience.

Monday, I'll write more about how you can gain from this seminar . . . without having attended.

Tuesday, I will address the question of how you can be an Amazon.com top reviewer with integrity. Many thanks to kev for suggesting this topic.

Next Wednesday, I'll talk about how you can enjoy your ideal weight without spending much more money on food.

Please feel free to let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that was posted on August 3. It will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.August 4 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog. If you are visiting today because one of them invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Jack Canfield Takes Us Past Our Prior Limits

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am.

The second day of the Success Principles Seminar surprises us all. I have taken week-long trainings in the past, and Jack Canfield took us to where many of those end after seven days . . . in only two days. We find ourselves happily speculating about what else can be ahead.

We start the day off with dozens of hugs . . . following lots of hug modeling. Later, one man tells me that these are the first hugs he has received in 28 years. Jack suggests that we go for more than 8 hugs a day . . . the more the better. One of the highlights of the day for me later is when that same man is acknowledged by a woman for having given her the best hug of her life. I tell him he's an MVH, Most Valuable Hugger.

There's also a ritual back rub session in which we make contact with each other. After sitting in those chairs all day, a back rub feels oh so good.

Jack also explains about energy fields and how we can build our own fields. He shows photographs of auras. I look around at the auras of the other people in the room and notice that the auras are more abundant and brighter than the day before. Nice!

We again check our self-esteem, and I peek while others raise their hands. Very few people are below average self-esteem . . . and most people are moving towards high self-esteem.

The morning session culminates with a hynoptic induction aimed at taking us into our higher selves. My student tells me that this induction is based on a classic Vedic one, and he promises to send me a tape of the original. I am delighted because I have a great epiphany during the induction. I suddenly see my most remote and challenging goals simply as stepping stones to infinite progress beyond those goals and feel myself drawing those accomplishments closer to the present time. It's amazingly stimulating. When I share this with the group, Jack points out that the choice of "amazing" in my description is significant . . . I'm getting outside of the maze that controls my life to see what's really possible.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner turn out to be even finer and more delicious than Sunday's meals. We all marvel at the gourmet delights. I'm afraid we're all going to gain weight this week. It's a good thing Jack has negotiated to open the gym at 5 a.m. A women's group also heads off for a walk every morning at 5:30 a.m.

After lunch, we work in two areas. The first is kinesthesiology, and Jack demonstrates how our beliefs, the foods we eat and the ways we stand either strengthen or weaken us. Most people in the audience haven't seen this before, and are astonished. I find that he overstates the case a bit for kinesthesiology. I'm fascinated to learn that he employes kinesthesiology to test book covers. During a break, I listen to Jack answer questions. I find out that he's got the whole stage and himself wired up to create powerful energy fields. These are so strong that I can physically feel them.

We end the working sessions by picking a limiting belief and creating an affirmation to erase the limiting belief. The affirmation is installed in our subconscious by having three people spend five minutes chanting the affirmation while we sit with closed eyes. It's a powerful moment for most people, and you see strong physical reactions of relief around the room. During the sharing session, I marvel at all of the ugly things that people have been told that they've taken to heart. We have a lot of harmful baggage to discard. Earlier, we've made a list of the people we spend time with to help us spot those who bring negative elements into our lives, with the suggestion that we spend less time with those who are negative. Jack advises that if this includes your mother, just see her at Christmas and Thanksgiving.

By the way, Jack becomes more like the rest of us today. His back is obviously hurting him, and he gets a little cranky with people in the beginning. By the end of the day, his mood has improved and I sense that it's our reaction that's cheered him up. During the induction, he says that his own reaction was the best one he's ever had while leading this activity in a group session.

The unlimited ability to comment and ask questions has ended. He politely tells us we have to move on, and people seem to accept it. I think his patience the first day has allowed him the credibility to do this.

What are the lessons for you?

First, focus on what you want . . . not what you want to avoid. Otherwise, you will simply notice more of what you want to avoid rather than what you want. For instance, if I tell you not to think about blue . . . you'll suddenly notice all the blue. If you like red, and I tell you to focus on red, you'll see red everwhere.

Second, keep other peoples' opinions from becoming prophecies for you. Be in your own happy place and space . . . regardless of what goes on around you. Meditation helps to empower you to create such defenses. Thinking about bright, white light (such as the sun sparkling off of the ripples in a lake) is a great way to do this.

Third, write down what limiting beliefs you have that someone has taught you. Counter that by writing out a new belief that empowers you to do what you want. Repeat that new belief until it's part of your very soul.

Fourth, study where you don't have the success you want. What's holding you back? Write that down and create more new beliefs to eliminate other negativity that you hadn't noticed before.

Tomorrow, I'll provide more insights from the Jack Canfield Success Principles seminar based on what I learn today.

Thursday, I will add information learned at the Jack Canfield Success Principles seminar on Wednesday.

Friday, I will reveal key insights that I learned at the Jack Canfield Success Principles seminar on Thursday.

On Saturday, I'll continue my series of key success insights based on the Jack Canfield Success Principles seminar on Friday.

Sunday, I'll reflect on the spiritual meaning of this experience.

Monday, I'll write about how you can gain from this seminar . . . without having attended.

Tuesday, I will address the question of how you can be an Amazon.com top reviewer with integrity. Many thanks to kev for suggesting this topic.

Next Wednesday, I'll talk about how you can enjoy your ideal weight without spending much more money on food.

Please feel free to let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that was posted on August 3. It will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 4 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog. If you are visiting today because one of them invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell