You …

A: Keep climbing and hope you find food and water along the way.
B: Jump and hope the fall doesn’t kill you (there’s a good chance it will)
C: Stay in one place and hope its all a bad dream.

The point is – there’s no easy way to stop once you’ve already started a journey.

I have / had what my partner refers to as “Entrepreneurial Attention Deficit Disorder” I began businesses I didn’t care that much about because I thought I’d make a quick buck or two and get out in a year. I learned that any kind of good results in a business you aren’t that passionate about is a bad thing because it lures you into doing something you don’t care that much about. In one business it took six years before I felt married to the business and divorce was not an option. For various reasons (from legal cases that needed resolution to people and projects that needed to be cut to return the company to profitability in ready for a sale to investors) I felt I had started climbing a mountain I didn’t care that much about because I thought it would be an easy summit. Six years later realizing the summit would take more time than I wanted to commit and simultaneously realizing there was no easy way to get down I found myself wondering how many people make the same mistake (doing something they aren’t passionate about because it seems like an easy way to make money in the beginning and then getting “stuck” in some way).

The Lesson: Never underestimate a summit – mountains usually look small on the horizon until you actually begin climbing them. You can only climb one mountain at a time. Pick a mountain you truly care about – ones that are worth your life if that’s what it would take. Not only will that give you the motivation you need to summit, but you’ll find greater fulfillment on your climb to the top.

The Ego Captain

The Ego captain is very selfish, power hungry and prideful. He likes to steer the ship towards destinations of lust, riches, excitement and hours of idle entertainment. He’ll gladly blast other ships out of the water if it means he can collect their bounty and grow more powerful in the process. The Ego captain uses the map they have created since they first started sailing, rarely asks for directions and the crew blindly follows his instructions even if it leads to their own destruction.

The Soul Captain

The Soul captain on the other hand is a wise and loving captain. He likes to steer the ship towards places of peace, love and joy. He still likes to have a good time but not at the expense of his crew or that of the other ships.

The Soul captain has the power to take control of the ship at any time. Some Soul captains choose not to – and they suffer the consequences at the hand of the Ego captain. A Soul captain that chooses to take control will have to fight many battles with the Ego captain – but each time he does he will develop more strength, (self mastery and discipline) and soon the Ego will not be able to compete with the Soul captain for control of the ship. That doesn’t mean the Ego captain won’t stop trying. And boy does it try. In this book we’ll talk about the how to recognize the Ego and its many disguises, how to strengthen will power and how to maintain control of your Life Vessel.

The Ego Captain vs. Soul the Soul Captain

The Ego captain looks at the Soul captain as a menace to his plans. He seeks to lock up or put the Soul captain to sleep at any chance he can get. And most of the time he succeeds. In this book we’ll talk about how to awaken the Soul and maintain a high level of awareness / consciousness.

The Soul captain delegates all tasks to the Ego captain. The Ego captain doesn’t like being controlled – ever. The Ego captain knows that the one person he must listen to is the Soul captain but the Ego captain is always restless for control. He wants to steer the ship to the places he most enjoys. He doesn’t want to take orders from the Soul captain and is always rebelling or plotting ways in which he can take back control.

A Sleeping Soul Captain

The Soul captain is usually sleeping or awakens briefly when the Ego is in a state of panic. This is usually the time of great loss or suffering.

An awakened Soul is always helping and loving the Ego, but never gives it back full control. A wise Soul captain stays alert and is ready for the Ego to take on many disguises in attempt to take back control; it laughs at its childishness and turns it away.

When the Ego Captain Takes Control

Unless the Soul captain remains awake and alert, the Ego will almost always succeeds in regaining control of the ship (which can happen several times over the course of a day, or even an hour).

And when the Ego does regain control of the ship, he’ll pretend that all the instructions that had come from the Soul captain or the Spirit beyond the ship were his idea. He likes to pretend like he is wise and the crew has no need for a Soul captain or the Spirit.

And sometimes if the Ego captain has not seen the Soul captain for a while… he’ll convince himself that there is only one captain on the ship and that he is in fact the Soul and the Spirit!

For example, many ancient rulers, emperors and Egyptian kings truly believed they were immortal gods.

Old Map (Closed Mind) Versus New Map (Open Mind)

After childhood the Ego captain is usually reluctant to update his map. This might make the Ego captain seem wrong or make the Ego feel bad for wasting time headed in the wrong direction. The Ego would rather fake that he is right rather than actually be right.

A Soul captain is always seeking ways to improve the map so it can follow the instructions of the Spirit beyond the ship. He’s not afraid to ask for help or listen to instructions.

The Ego captain hates how this makes them look – but the Soul captain knows that in the long run this will make them even more effective at getting where they want to go. The Soul captain is always willing to be wrong if it means they can travel more effectively.

The Ocean of Egos

Most of the ships sailing on the high seas are run by Ego captains and they look upon other Soul captains as ‘nice guys’ but easy targets. But a wise Soul captain knows the intentions of the Ego before he has a chance to do any harm and guards against it. A wise Soul captain is prepared for the worst while sailing for the better.

The Role of the Soul Captain

The Soul captain must avoid all Ego distractions listen to the Spirit beyond the ship. The Soul captain must use the lighthouse in the foggy distance (Spirit), to guide the ship moment by moment away from dangerous rocks and sharp reef.

The Soul captain may not even know the destination, but he stays the course – like a Columbus that discovered new lands out of faith that by sailing west he’d find a new trade route to the Indies. Staying the course also means illuminating false monsters (erroneous beliefs or unjustified fear) instead of wasting resources avoiding what doesn’t exist.

Not having a map of the destination seems absurdly illogical to the Ego captain. The Soul captain maps out the waters already crossed (gathers as much information as possible about the environment) to save himself time, but he’s always willing to sail into uncharted waters if that’s what he feels guided to do.

(An excerpt from the book Full Potential)

Developing the power of momentum is simple; take action today that adds to your power tomorrow.

If you seek money – do something that will add to your ability to make money tomorrow. Read books about how to make money, how to market, how to become an expert in your field. Just one book a month for a year would cause you to know more than 95% of the people in your field.

If you seek to be more enlightened, read books on spirituality, learn how to meditation, invest time in silent contemplation.

Determine what’s most important to you and think about the little actions you could perform on a daily basis that would add up to something significant in the long run.

Imagine your life as though you are building a great castle. At first the task might seem so overwhelming you never even begin. But every day you perform at least one action; placing one brick on top of the other, until one day you step back and realize your dream is a reality.

In case you’ve already come across these tips – now it’s time to make them a reality.

TOP 10 REMINDERS ON HOW TO LIVE YOUR FULL POTENTIAL

1 – Get plenty of sleep (8 hours or so per day)
2 – Drink plenty of water- One 8 oz glass per every 1- 2 hours
3 – Eat green leafy vegetables – They are high in nutrients and are the best fuel for high energy.
4 – Exercise Daily- Get your heart pumping
5 – Read Daily- Develop an accurate model of reality so you can decide what you want and how to get it more effectively.
6 – Meditate Daily – Slow your mind down and learn to detach from the world at regular intervals. Learn the art of engaging and detaching.
7 – Get 15 min. of sunlight daily – Sunlight is one of the best ways for Vitamin D to get absorbed by your body. Notice how you feel after you get a little sun.
8 – Listen to uplifting music – Use uplifting music to positively influence the way you feel.
9 – Connect with people in positive ways – Energy comes from socializing. If you interact with people in caring, loving, compassionate, honest, affectionate and authentic ways you create more energy for yourself and the person you are interacting with than what existed before. 1 + 1 = 3
10 – Clean Focus + Short Breaks – In daily cycles the most productive way for a knowledge worker to work is two hours focused on one task (that’s clean focus) followed by a fifteen minute break. And in weekly cycles to totally withdraw from work and focus on a hobby or recreational activities that leave you feeling RE-Created.

GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE

Inertia – inertness, esp. with regard to effort, motion, action, and the like; inactivity; sluggishness.

Newton’s first law of motion states that “An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion.”

INERTIA AND THE FIRST LAW AS IT APPLIES TO SOCIAL SUCCESS

It has been my observation that because our bodies are made up of matter we are vulnerable to all of its laws. What applies to matter ‘out there’ also applies to the matter that makes up 100% of our body.

Among laws like gravity (the force pulling our bodies down), or entropy (the force that causes our bodies to age), we are also greatly influenced by inertia – the force that dictates an objects momentum; if at rest it’s easier to stay at rest – if in motion it’s easier to stay in motion.

In a very practical sense – if you do not interact with people very often, it’s EASIER for you NOT to interact. If you do interact with people on a regular basis, it’s EASIER for you to interact. And here’s the kicker – social inertia appears to reset EVERY DAY and sometimes only in a matter of hours. Here’s what I mean.

MY EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL INERTIA

I find that when I first wake up in the morning social inertia has crept into my psyche. Yes I can say hello and be polite but when it comes to interacting beyond just politeness, what I call a quality interaction, especially with regards to interacting with the opposite sex it takes a little ‘revving up’.

Now of course some people are just more naturally talented in social settings or their aptitude for socializing has been going for so long its more hardwired into their system. But for many – it’s the force of social inertia that creates a wall to more quality interactions in greater quantity – especially with regards to dating, attraction and the like.

UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL INERTIA IS ALL IT TAKES

Once you understand the concept of social inertia – you realize that your ’shyness’ or excuses for not communicating with people really just stems from not doing it on a regular basis. You can set the force of social inertia in your favor every day by communicating with everybody you meet. And if you find it difficult to communicate with the opposite sex – you can start in small indirect ways by asking “what is the time?” or “where is this street?” and even these interactions begin to move the ball of social inertia.

BE AWARE OF SOCIAL INERTIA

Notice when it was easier in the day to interact. Sometimes within just a few hours of the ball of social inertia will have started to slow down and suddenly you might be a bit more withdrawn again.

If you truly wish to make new friends, business connections and create more opportunities for love in your life – keep the ball of social inertia moving by taking little opportunities to connect with people. Don’t judge them based on attractiveness – every person you connect with will keep the ball of social inertia moving and when you come across someone you are attracted to you can direct the conversation a bit more towards whatever end you wish.

The overriding point here is to KEEP THE BALL OF SOCIAL INERTIA MOVING. It is my observation that most people never even get it moving and so they call themselves “shy” as a way to rationalize it. Or they don’t move it for most of the week and then they try to go out on a Friday or Saturday night and get all nervous, drink alcohol and hope someone will come talk to them.

Don’t rationalize why you’re not communicating with others – this is a trick of the brain! (The logical brain creates stories to ‘fill in the gaps’ for why the more ancient emotional or instinctive parts of itself react the way they do.)

COMPETENCE BREEDS CONFIDENCE

When you keep the ball of social inertia moving you’ll acquire a new self image (no matter what your old self image). Why? Because you’ll have new competencies in social interaction and as your skill level improves you’ll have increasing confidence in your ability to communicate. The cycle becomes viciously positively – positive feedback becomes the reward for reaching out.

THE BOTTOM LINE

In human society, there is not much reward for remaining reclusive. A socially successful person will meet many new friends, many new potential business partners and will have a greater selection of potential mates.

Every day make it a point to get the ball of social inertia moving. Begin with the next person you make eye contact with.