November 2007

We are told by the media how to dress, by governments how to think and by society how to act. These are all expectations forced upon us whether we acknowledge them or not.

What are expectations?

Expectations are ideas, actions or activities imposed upon you and they can range from going to church every Sunday to graduating top of your class. They are placed onto us at a very early age by our parents who they themselves where taught by their parents and so on. Expectations can be both generational and communal.

Generational expectations

It’s no secret that if you come from a broken family, however you wish to define it, there is a higher chance that you, yourself, have a higher chance of creating a broken family. I saw this first hand when I worked a few minimum wage jobs to “see what it was like” and the lack of family expectations is what lead to these workers, often unseen, doing menial jobs that provided little self-esteem or value to their ongoing lives. They where working minimum wage jobs because their parents, husbands and cousins where doing the same. Of course, some people are born into a lavish lifestyle but we all know that just because some are given everything, it doesn’t mean they will amount to anything more then Joe Public. What I am saying is that there is a very heavy influence placed upon you by your parents and this will affect your during your entire lifetime. These expectations, no matter your economic situation aren’t a fate you cannot escape but the influence, no matter, is always there.

Communal Expectations

You often hear of “Black communities” “Jewish communities” and the list goes on. They each have the distinctive moral code that they live by in addition to the codes imposed upon individuals by the greater society. For instance, the “Asian communities” place especially high academic expectations on their children while “Evangelical communities” place them more on spreading the word of Jesus. If you are lucky or unlucky enough to be born within several of these communities, you have a plate that is overflowing with expectations which can sometimes be contrary to one another.

Internal vs External Expectations

So far, I have described external expectations but we also have a host of internal expectations formed from our living experiences. Maybe you got beat up in school and decide to, one day, be the strongest person in the world, this is an internal expectation. Another might be wanting to best another student in your school in a specific subject. Regardless, we have more then enough internal and external expectations within each and every one of us to drive anybody else crazy.

Changing expectations

Now for the tough part, you may live by a certain moral or ethical code that you no longer with to have in your life. What do you do? Depending on where the expectations came from, this can take a long time to work out both internally and externally. But, as my last article indicated, you can make the decision in a split second and get the engine of change working for you a split second later. It doesn’t take a long time but don’t expect those around you to be able to be as nimble. Change within ones self is quick, creating an environment where others expectations of you change is a whole other story. Be honest, straight forward and stern.

The Bottom Line

Life is about experiences and creating memories, not living by others expectations.

I often hear people tell me how long it took to create lasting changes in their lives, so how long does it actually take to create an enormous change in your life?

What is change?

Change, for me, is defined as going from habit forming activity to another. For example, somebody might choose to change their eating habits to gain or loose weight or change the people they choose to have a relationship with. Change, to me, isn’t the migration from one to the other but the exact period in time that a distinctive decision is made and kept. Put another way, although it may take a few months to leave an hold habit behind for a new one, to me, the change actually occurred when you decided to follow though with actions beyond thought.

Habits 101

Humans, like most organisms on this planet, are creatures of habit. We are no different then the local rooster that needs to yell it’s lungs out at the morning sun wanting a few more hours of darkness to sleep with his harem. Most of us derive pleasure out of being able to predict the outcomes of such things as driving to and from work, taste of food at your favorite restaurant and even being with a person you choose to love. There is an entrenched sense of security, knowing that even if some things fall apart during everyday struggles, you can always count on a few habits to pull you through. These habits can be both positive and negative. A positive one might be the desire to workout at the gym a few hours a week in order to build the body of your dreams. A negative one may be the desire to job hop once you are given too much responsibility from a boss. No matter the habit, detrimental or otherwise, it is a habit that, at the end of the day, you choose by your actions to either maintain or leave.

Decisions about Change

Changing ones outlook on life happens in a split second, not over time. You may choose to stop smoking, that decision for creating a lasting change in your life took no more then a second. So, once you realize that you have the power to create a change in habits that quickly, then going through the process of making a new habit reality isn’t very difficult. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel which makes the process of going through the change you have decided upon that much more straight forward and powerful.

What is the difference between decision and change?

A decision is the choice, positive or negative that you choose to follow through upon. Change is the underlying process or reason why you made such a choice. If you see somebody you are attracted to, then there is a desire for change that requires a decision to be made.

How to create a lasting change in habits

First, you need to decide to follow through with a change in habits, without a decision, you are going nowhere fast. Once a decision is made, simply follow through on a daily basis, however incremental, until you have achieved the new habit you wanted. This does sound rather straight forward doesn’t it? Well, who ever said change has to be dragged out? If you want something, go for it, if you don’t, leave it behind. Simple. The process of changing a habit can be difficult sometimes, it may require a change of environment, relationship patterns or even thought processes, nobody said the process of change was easy, but the decision to create lasting change is.

The Bottom Line

If you want change, make a decision as to what you want and follow through with new habits.

Critical thinking can be defined as not always accepting things at face value, if something seems out of place, it’s your responsibility to question it until it makes sense.

Critical thinking in our media

The lack of critical thinking in our media, the source of most of our information has gotten all of us in big trouble on multiple occasions. The time leading up to the invasion of Iraq was the result of the largest critical thinking vacuum in recent times as is the constant crackdown on political descent in such places as Burma, China and just a few weeks ago, Pakistan. Governments know that information or the subversion of the critical thinking process to be specific, is the best way towards achieving domination over it’s citizenry short of military intervention. It’s cheaper to control the media then to send patrols out. Of all the countries brainwashing their citizenry, North Korea has to rank among the largest out there, with state owned media, state owned enterprises and essentially, state owned minds making up the vast proportion of the population. Want to change things in a country? Easy, simply unleash the powers of critical thinking into the media which will then leach into the minds of people. The control of knowledge and how it’s disseminated is more powerful then any military weapon invented in modern times.

Critical thinking requires education

Critical thinking only comes with the power of knowledge, without an education in a vast array of areas, the ability to ask the right questions is impossible. You see, if you cannot mine the fragmented resources of your mind and yield something of value from it at the end of the day, the entire process will be very much a half-assed affair in the best of times. You can see this process of educational dumbing in many cults, suppressive governments and in poverty stricken countries which also happen to be in constant wars as well, leads to an easily malleable population. Going back towards controlling a population, you want to keep their minds busy on non-dangerous activities that take up resources that may otherwise evolve into critical thinking. A great example of this was under the Iraqi Saddam Hussein Regime, the entire educational system evolved around him, kids where not counting apples, they where counting Husseins. Another is Saudi Arabia, the country with the most highly educated population in the Middle East yet needs to import just about every profession just to keep their economy going. Why? Because the population is told to study religion instead of engineering, accounting and suppresses half it’s citizens (women) from getting any education at all.

Developing critical thinking

The only way to develop your critical thinking systems is to constantly expose them to new experiences. Get out of your comfort shell, visit the slums of this world, expose your mind to other types of thinking and most importantly, always try to learn something new on a daily basis. You need to keep working on your weaknesses while re-enforcing your strengths. This can be done a number of ways but the easiest is exploring this vast planet we all live on. As for me, I have learned more about the world living in different countries then I ever could reading a book or studying about them. If a picture is worth a thousand words, being there is worth a million.

The Bottom Line

Knowledge is only as powerful as the questions you ask.

Life has it’s ups and downs, one moment you can be at your peak where everything seems to fall right into place without any effort and other times, even with herculean determination, everything falls apart. So, I ask, how strong is your bridge?

The Internal Bridge

The only thing that allows life to be livable when things are tough is knowing that eventually, no matter how far it may seem that you are stuck in the valley of life, an enormous mountain can be seen in the horizon. This is your bridge, which you store internally within your mind. As long as you don’t loose sight of the vision you see ahead of you, no matter where you may be now, the hope will get you through it.

Bridge Designs

If you do not have a strong vision of what is to come, then your bridge looks as ragged as the picture I took for this article. Each step is a perilous one, where you can fall straight back into the valley of hell no matter how high you thought you where. If, on the other hand, your vision is incredibly strong then even with heavy winds and obstacles set ahead of you, you will not fall back down, you will remain steadfast and achieve your goal of getting to the next mountain. If your bridge is strong enough, you may never have to feel or relive the torment that you inhabited in the valleys again. You see, this is the value of keeping a strong bridge no matter where you are in life.

Vision, Compass and Bridge

The vision is the mountain you see ahead of you, the compass is what steers you in the right direction and the bridge is the way of getting through the thick of things with as little loss as possible. Many millionaires, even billionaires who have fought tooth and nail to achieve their success can now enjoy. They had a very clear vision ahead of them and compass leading them but what you may not know is that many went years gaining and loosing everything they worked os hard for. Top entrepreneurs are no strangers to poverty, broken relationships (divorces) and you name it… they have gone through it. Sure, there are exceptions, but for those who have self-built wealth, the journey was an incredibly difficult one. For instance, Walt Disney lost EVERYTHING many times before achieving success, to the point that his only possession and friend was a mouse that he thanked immortally as “Mickey Mouse”. Richard Branson, has probably failed more then any other entrepreneur in history with ventures that went nowhere or bankrupt, the same can be said about Donald Trump, Steve Jobs, Bob Parsons and the list goes on. If you are a top entrepreneur who has achieved incredibly high levels of success, the journey towards getting there was paved with red, not golden bricks.

Having a vision and compass aren’t enough

Having a vision isn’t enough in life, even if you do know the direction you wish to head. Without a bridge, you can get stuck or even get lost. You need a clear path, a road with signs telling you that yes, you are on the right path and yes, you will get through it and better yet, you will succeed! Expect to go through times when the bum on the street is wealthier then you, expect to loose everything you once held dear leave and expect that once you do succeed, the journey will have turned your mind into an impenetrable fortress that can withstand even the toughest circumstances in life with relative ease.

The Bottom Line

The road to wonderland isn’t straight anymore then it’s golden.

Entrepreneurship is really about turning a vision, no matter how obscured by severe myopia by others, into a reality that you are not just proud of but can also be converted into a comfortable living. Here are some things that I tell myself often so I don’t forget as I reach towards higher and more challenging heights in my life.

1) Give Meaningful & Honest Praise

If you want people to be productive in your work environment – provide plenty of meaningful praise because thoughtful rewards for achievements go further then cheap “title promotions” or nasty criticisms.

2) It’s NOT all about YOU

People generally are not that interested in you, unless you are developing a long lasting relationship. People love to talk about themselves – become a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselves.

3) Respect is Earned, Not Given

You wouldn’t build a house without a foundation any more then you would build a relationship without respect – in both cases, in order to achieve goals – you need to allow time for things to cure so they can become solid enough for a more substantial footing in the future.

4) Remember “Lady Luck”

No matter how successful you become, never forget that a very large part came from dumb luck – and that same luck can bring you down just as fast. Perseverance and hard work got you to the door, dumb luck allowed it to open. I have a theory developed from talking to people of all walks of life, from CEOs and millionaires to average folk and it basically states that the higher your net worth, the more luck had a big role in achieving this success.

5) Reward Loyalty

Friends are a dime a dozen, true and loyal friends are a rarer breed. Remember those who stuck with you during the tough times and reward them during the good ones.

6) Space is Important

Everybody needs their own space and time alone to reflect on their lives – genuinely offer them this before they ask you for it. You will earn not only loyalty but great Karma

7) Remember Names and use them OFTEN

People where given a name upon birth, not a number – say their name often and it will become second nature (ei: you won’t forget it) and more importantly, always command their immediate attention.

Don’t hold grudges

This can be difficult at times but learn to let them go – your only hurting yourself by creating internal stress that can never be resolved… if there is a problem, use your energy towards fixing instead of prolonging.

9) Be precise

Nothing is worse then living or creating ambiguity – try to be as straight forward as possible, leave the bumpy roads to cars – not your life.

10) Use your influence to make positive changes

Once you reach the pinnacles of life, use the influence and people you have gathered from your past to create lasting positive change in the world – you want to leave a positive legacy for future generations to talk about… don’t you?

The Bottom Line

Being true to yourself is vitally important as you begin to achieve some level of success in life, how ever you choose to define it.

I started a few months back of drinking several types of teas and grape juice throughout my day, both are healthy (especially green tea) but wow… did they ever do a number on my teeth!

Reasons for Staining

• There are a host of reasons why teeth become discolored, here is a partial listing from the top of my head:
• smoking, drugs or certain types of medications (especially antibiotics such as tetracycline, minocycline and doxycycline)
• alcohol, it’s a fantastic leaching agent which means that it acts as a magnet, not only taking essential minerals from your mouth but also throughout your body
• drinking coffee, tea (especially dark ones), red white, cola and juices (especially grape)
• bad oral care, such as not brushing your teeth or not rinsing your teeth
• high protein diet, this leads more to a yellowing then graying of teeth
• certain medical conditions cause a change in oral functions, especially those that reduce saliva production
• dehydration, if you don’t drink enough, your entire body is under strain and this can be shown in your mouth
• bad diet, your body will prioritize the resources to keep your body alive, sadly, if there is a choice between your vital organs and your mouth, the mouth looses

Why does tea and grape juice stain my teeth?

I really like my tea in the morning, afternoon between meals and generally with most meals, I drink plenty of grape juice. The results after a few months? My teeth have become the same color as my tea mug! Keep in mind that just because your teeth aren’t white, it doesn’t mean they are unhealthy. If they turn blue, then you got a problem (dead) but otherwise, it’s just a color which has no effect on their function. I have also read that tea naturally contains fluoride whose amount depends on leaf quality, so that mixed in with the anti-oxidant qualities of both the grape juice and teas (especially green tea), they both have a positive impact on the body. In the short term, these and other staining liquids or foods stain the plaque adhered to the teeth themselves, not the actual enamel but given enough exposure, this also becomes stained. Enamel is normally translucent, so what you are seeing in the mirror is really the color of the dentin under the enamel layer which is naturally darker. With age, the enamel naturally thins out, leading to darker teeth but any type of staining agent will affect both the level of translucency of the enamel and darken the dentin, leading to darker teeth in general.

How do I whiten teeth naturally?

The easiest way to keep teeth white is to simply never let them get brown or yellow to begin with, this begins with good oral habits. Of course, if you use any tobacco product, you need to quit that before doing anything else as it has a tremendously detrimental effect not only on overall oral health but also that of the body, no excuses.

First, always brush your teeth after every meal, sure this is easier said then done but it will prevent the initial buildups that lead to teeth discoloration.

Second, floss before going to bed at night to get at junk that may be stuck between teeth and rinsing your mouth twice a day with one tablespoon of salt, one table spoon of baking soda mixed in about half a cup of warm water. This will kill bacteria everywhere, nullify the acids in your mouth (baking soda is a powerful base) and works great at greatly reducing tartar and bad breath. If you have an irrigator, that is even better then rinsing your mouth.

Third, you can purchase whitening kit / toothpaste or get zoom bleaching done at your local dentist. You can also just brush your teeth with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide but don’t swallow any of this stuff and use only in limited quantities.

The Bottom Line

Oral health is required for overall health as it’s easily one of the most important defense against disease.

I must admit, being paid to walk around with a big gun, driving rather unique and powerful vehicles does sound like a fun until you realize that your main purpose is to be an efficient killing machine.

Documentary Summary

You should watch this video but here is a summary if you don’t have time.

• war doesn’t only cause physical scars but also mental ones that remain with soldiers for a lifetime, hidden from sight
• solders, when they first entered Iraq, needed verification from their buddies that what they where seeing wasn’t just in their imagination, from destroyed vehicles to dead bodies laying along the road
• reports of suicide bombers where rampant as soldiers first entered Bagdad so they where very fearful as everybody looked like a potential enemy
• solders opened up fire with over 15 weapons against a woman in a black burka that didn’t obey their commands, slowly approaching them only to discover she was trying to pull out a white flag to show the soldiers
• soldier who initiated the first shots decided to hide this experience from others but it began to have a mental toll on him
• there is no protection during war for the mind as you are constantly witnessing death by the hands of others and yourself
• once soldiers return from the battlefield, they begin to regain their emotions and realizing, replaying, the tragedy that they had witnessed
• returning veterans have frequent troubling dreams, feelings and thoughts
• nobody comes back from combat unchanged
• depression, anger and emotional turmoil take their toll and the army re-enforces these thoughts by telling them that their lives are already over and not to worry about their mortality as it don’t make things better
• on any given day, there are more psychological casualties then physical ones during war
• psychological trauma was referred to as shell-shocked in WW1 and battle fatigue in WW2
• 1/3 of returning Vietnam vets suffered from psychological problems upon returning, referred to as post-Vietnam Syndrome
• after Vietnam, the medical community called this problem Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• military focuses too much on physical abilities at the cost of being able to mentally handle the ramifications of an action
• solders are not suppose to show any weakness
• there is a huge stigma towards receiving psychological help, it’s even career ending for soldiers
• Iraq was the first time that psychologists where introduced onto the battlefield to help soldiers cope with what they where experiencing, referred to as Combat Stress Control Teams by the Pentagon
• after a soldier asked for help from the Combat Stress Control Teams, they where mentally abused by the command structure and later discharged for cowardice
• military heavily frowns upon soldiers who refuse to fight or fear dying
• Veterans Affairs is not part of the military and any information given to them is strictly confidential
• resilience treatments are being performed by the military in order to help soldiers cope with their mental problems, ironically, once they are “cured”, they are sent right back into the environment that caused the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• few studies have been made on sending somebody with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder back into a battlefield, military states that combat is their job, regardless of the impact on the mental or physical costs
• purpose of the military is to win wars, people with mental or physical problems are of no use to them
• in January 2005, the Department of Defense slowly began to take steps towards dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in it’s ranks

The Bottom Line

War is the ultimate failure for both diplomats and the soldiers tasked with fighting them.

Frontline Documentary: The Soldier’s Heart

Of all the things that bug me which are completely out of my control, my very own mortality is the biggest to come to terms with. As soon as we are conceived, we begin down the one way path leading to our eventual death. Life is great, but why does it have to end as a pre-requisite?

The Search for the Fountain of Youth

I believe I have discovered the Fountain of Youth, but no in the traditional sense, you will still get old and die but the pace of this demise will be greatly reduced. How? Well, eat only healthy foods, exercise with weights and do plenty of tough cardio. The stronger your body is when you are young, the stronger it will be when you are old… which is when it counts the most! Short of little green men and woman coming from the deep expanses of our universe giving us the gift of immortality, I doubt I will see medical science advance enough during my lifetime or that of my children’s children in which our lifespan will be greatly enhanced. We already, thanks to medical advances in the 20th century been able to almost double our “livable” lifespan with the use of wondrous medical procedures and exotic drugs to starve off the inevitable.

We don’t have enough time!

I am already 31 years old and so far, probably lived off a quarter of my functional lifespan, my goal is to be the first to get to 150… even if it means I am an old drooling insomniac by that time! Like the one minute mile, everybody says it cannot be done, but there is NO reason with the incredible advances in modern medicine that will occur over the next hundred years, the availability of healthy foods and research that, if you start young enough, a body and mind cannot reach this. Suffice it to say, I look both sides of the street before crossing! I am astonished at not only how fast time goes by but at how slow the progress we make in our own lives takes. To get more life out of our daily lives, you either have to speed up what is happening around you or simply live longer. There is so much to be done, so much to learn, experience, see, invent and enjoy during the limited time we have on Earth that it’s a shame that we have such short lives! It’s like trying to fit a mountain in a fish tank!

If you don’t use it, you will loose it

Although this is an extreme statement as you never really LOOSE anything in life, it points to a simple fact about our bodies. If you look at today’s seniors, those that lead an unhealthy life are, for the most part, not looking too good even if they are still alive and kicking. No matter how far science has evolved, it still cannot undo the damage caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. Hence, why, from day one, you MUST live a healthy lifestyle and surround yourself by like-minded people. Second, I have seen story after story from “old men” in their 80s living a very physically tough live that have the muscle tone of men half their age. They don’t know what obesity is, they don’t have medical problems and are incredibly active… enjoying all that life has given to them. Lesson to be learned? Well, you need to live a physically active lifestyle, optimize your Central Nervous System (CNS), optimize your critical muscle motor pathways, optimize the efficiency of your internal organs, optimize your inter-neuron connections and most importantly, optimize your entire outlook on life. When shit happens, take the bump in the head and move on.

Wasted Lives

If you smoke, you are wasting away your life in more ways then one… most importantly, you are taxing today’s body, for no real good reason at the cost of your future health. If you are an alcoholic, you are no better then a smoker in my opinion… good luck getting past 60 with anything resembling a healthy body. Same goes with obese people and those who are junk food obsessed. What I am saying is that, if you live an unhealthy lifestyle, no matter how much you try, until you quit these nasty habitual practices, you are wasting away the most precious resource we are all enjoying… LIFE! Life is an incredible gift, honor your parents, your future progeny and most importantly, yourself, by taking it seriously!

How to defeat mortality… is religion the answer?

Well, some people turn to their religion of choice as a way to mentally deal with mortality. I can’t say that this isn’t an attractive notion, the idea that our physical bodies may have an end but our mental soul does not. Heck, if there was even one sliver of a chance that this may be a reality, I would fight to be first in line! But, being a “don’t believe the hype” Athiest, I cannot logically come to terms with the notion of an after-life any more then I figure out the unifying mathematical theory for the universe. If it’s true, then it will be a welcome surprise to me, but I am assuming that the closest I will come to an after life is in the stomach of the neighborhood worm.

How to defeat mortality… is a physical monument the answer?

So what does that leave me? Well, immortality is possible, but not in any way that I will be able to live it out. Our own planet will explode billions of years from now once the Sun becomes a red giant so the answer cannot have anything to do with laying a monument on this planet. Even if technology existed to create an impenetrable diamond tomb for myself with a computer somehow connected to my mechanically life-supported brain, I would still be screwed to die billions of years in the future as I would be the only last surviving human being or possibly life within the universe at that point.

How to defeat mortality… is a virtual self the answer?

Alright, any type of foundation on this planet, much less this solar system or any other just isn’t do-able over the next 100+ years. Even if I had the financial resources of Bill Gates and all the worlds top billionaires at my disposal, it would still be useless. Why? Well, even if I could somehow create a technology that beamed out “me” radio waves deep into outer-space or send out probes with the contents of my DNA code for future aliens to re-animate me… I am still screwed to die! Why? Well, in several tens of billions of years from now, the vast universe we all inhabit will be gone. Nobody is sure if it’s from cooling due to continual expansion or an implosion into an infinitely small dot but either way, once the laws of physics break down, nothing survives.

So where does that leave us then?

Short of a multi-dimensional escape route that exists outside of all types of boundaries created by physics, no matter their variables, the only thing we can do is enjoy the time we have here as much as possible. Most importantly, take good care of oneself of those around us.

The Bottom Line

Life is like an ATM machine that cannot accept deposits.

I have a lot of theories about life that just seem to come to me and are re-enforced through experiences in daily living on this 3rd rock from the sun we all inhabit. Exponential learning of the mind is one of them.

Thinking leading towards success

It’s no secret that the reason for our species success on this planet is due to the complexity of our mind and it’s ability to create abstract thought patterns that can be retrieved at a later date to improve our reproductive success. For instance, there is plenty of scientific studies showing that great apes, of which we are a lineage, are willing to learn sign language in order to get a much prized food item. You even see this in nature with Chimpanzees who use sticks to get termites out of termite mounds to get food. What I am saying is that our mind, when given the incentive, will learn things far beyond what is essential for survival. The massiveness and complexity of our brain is simply due to the constant rewards we received from increasingly being able to exploit the environment around us.

What is the brain anyhow?

Now into something more complex that I am seeing and slowly cultivating in my own mind, that of exponential learning. A brain is essentially a big glob of fat, there is no muscles, no cartilage nor any bone making up the brain, it’s fat! What differentiates our brain from the fat around our waists is it’s composition and blood flow. Our brains make up 25% of our metabolic rates, put another way, a quarter of what you eat simply goes towards fueling the brain. This relative metabolic massiveness of our primary organ requires a lot of blood and as a result, lots of resources to keep at peak functionality. If you give your brain EVERYTHING it wants, then, like the gas you feed to your car, will return to you incredible advances in thinking power. The neurons that construct thought and memory will create stronger bonds, the way our neural mapping is constructed will be far more efficient and optimized for any situation you are experiencing and best of all, when you need access to raw inter-spacial power, it’s there for the taking!

What is the exponential mind?

Much like the athlete trying to break the one minute mile or 9 second, 100m run, the exponential mind is the result of creating the optimal soup for the brain to gather its resources from. The exponential mind is able to routinely come up with concepts based on previous learned relationships and apply them towards issues in daily life. The exponential mind is capable of creating thought processes that optimize the capture and retainment of new, perceived important, data along with its related ramifications. The exponential mind is, most importantly, capable of achieving exponential learning.

What is exponential learning?

Exponential learning is the result, break thought even, that occurs once you are on the path towards creating an exponential mind. Exponential learning is the simple ability to acquire and quickly synthesize new information, chuck out the crap and keep the good stuff at an ever increasing rate. It has nothing to do with being smart or IQ but more importantly, the filtration of information. For instance, in case you didn’t know, the television you may be watching right now is actually receiving ALL the channels it’s capable of receiving, much like a radio, the dials you turn or press are simply choosing which filter to apply on this mind numbing amount of data. The ability for exponential learning is the same, the ability to efficiently filter information that is relevant and important only to you. Why waste brain power towards something that you have no interest?

Our brain has finite resources, just like the television, but unlike a television, we cannot go buy a bigger one, so the only course of action to get more out of it must be through the initial filtration process.

How to create an exponential mind capable of exponential learning?

Much like the working out your muscles, the filtration systems within the brain must be exercised. For me, I have learned to automatically wipe out useless information on a daily basis, we all do this already, but being able to choose ahead of time to do this takes some practice. For instance, if you are going to visit your in-laws but have no interest in being there but have no choice, you can decide ahead of time to forget the entire evening as it’s occurring. The next day, you will remember you visited your in-laws but have no clue about what happened. You have created an effective filter that is similar to selective amnesia. Practice doing this, over and over… after several months, you will begin to get the hang of it and simply get better at it.

Advantages of exponential learning

Now the flip side of exponential learning. What possible advantage to controlling your minds own gate keeper provide in your life? Plenty! The first is that once you are able to efficiently, consciously, select what goes in, you can then keep your brain working on things that ARE important to you. For instance, if you want to learn how to play the guitar, not wasting the minds resources on useless information bombarding your brain, well, you can acquire this skill in a fraction of the time. The additional advantage is that you will quickly learn that one thought or skill quickly compounds itself into another at an increasing rate, exponentially! Much like a snowball rolling down a hill, it gets bigger, more powerful as it acquires more snow. Soon, your mind will be swimming in what you want it instead of having to waste precious resources bumping into useless junk.

The Bottom Line

The mind is a terrible thing to waste, optimize what you got!

You may have heard this common phrase growing up by just about everybody, “money doesn’t grow on trees”. Well, I am here to tell you it does.

Interpretations on a theme

Money is printed around the world on a substance we all call paper, paper comes from a mill that processes pulp that come from… you guessed it… trees! So, yes, money does indeed grow on trees. A lot of trees!

Beyond that, what it is trying to tell you is there is a finite amount of money in the world, the growth of your financial wealth is at the hindrance of another. This is also false, there is so much wealth in this world it is truly mind boggling… it is just that a select few people have figured out a way of taping into this tree with a lot of luck and some planning. Most of us live off the scraps left over by the big money tapers.

Another interpretation is that financial growth isn’t possible forever. All things die, so you may have a great streak of luck and build up a nice War Chest just to have it evaporate away. In my short life I have had this happen to me a number of times, I live off my wits and sometimes they get the better of me Each time I got hit hard, I learned a valuable lesson and new opportunities opened up that where once closed within my mind. Continual growth may not be possible, but each time it does occur, the growth only happens at a faster rate then before. This is why many millionaires who loose their fortunes gain it back repeatedly.

How to built your own money tree

History remembers the bold, if you want to achieve financial independence you must be willing to risk everything you have. There are two paths, one is through investing in others (stock market, savings account etc) and the other investing in yourself. If you want to play it safe, retire in 30 years etc, then investment in others is probably the way to go. If you have the guts and the sheer determination you could try as I have and invest in yourself.

…money isn’t everything!

Before you go out and banish everything that could possibly get in the way of your goal of financial security, keep in mind that the most valuable things in life are invaluable. The relationships you establish, the experiences you live… the places you visit and most importantly, who you are to yourself are all far more important then any financial wealth. The quote “you can’t take money with you when you die” is very true, so be sure to enjoy living life while trying to establish the wealth that you, and everybody on this planet, truly deserves.

How the wealthy got super wealthy!

Looking back, there are two ways most of the super wealthy, with a net well over a billion dollars, got there. The first is inheritance, sure, they are part of the “lucky sperm club” as Mr. Donald Trump coined but the other is an incredible amount of shier luck and hard work investing in THEMSELVES.

Millionaire Row

Let’s be honest, unless your first name starts with “Sultan” or last name “Gates”, “Rockefeller” or “Hussein”, the odds are stacked against you from becoming super billionaire wealthy. Before you go buy yourself a noose at the local liquor store, realize that the chances of you becoming a millionaire may times over are definitely not stacked against you. Not only that, you can actually work a 9-5 job and retire a millionaire, but I don’t have the patience nor time to work my ass off during my best years to enjoy them in my worst I decided long ago, invest in myself… and with a little luck, I will achieve this in a fraction the time. Of course, I may be on a path of poverty as well, but I am taking the chance and enjoying the path set before me each step of the way.

Here are some quick tips to remember on your ways to millions:

• invest in the stock market with money you can afford to loose, so far, if you bought Google on the initial IPO at 85$, within the past years, that money would now be worth north of 650$! Same goes with Apple, Microsoft and a host of other resource companies. Diversify and hold is the name of the game
• when opportunity knocks, answer the door, we are surrounded by opportunities but if you don’t open your eyes to them, you will find yourself left behind
• if you hate your job, quit, if you don’t like your spouse, get a divorce, if you don’t like your kids, tough luck! What I am trying to say is that you must work daily towards fulfilling your own happiness, money doesn’t bring along happiness if you are depressed, it just makes it worse!
• explore, educate and never stop pursuing your dreams, you see, money is the result of dreams that are made tangible, if you cannot imagine yourself wealthy, short of a lotto ticket win, you will never become wealthy. Financial wealth is as much a state of mind as it’s physical weight
• become a miser that even Scrooge would find cheep… easiest way to become wealthy is not to spend it in the first place and build up your savings!

You see, when you put yourself first, you will win more often the not.

YOU ARE ALREADY WEALTHY!

How much did you pay to get that cell phone tower set-up in your neighborhood, how much did you spend to get your library card, how much did you invest into the internet to be able to read this web page? We all pay only a small fraction of what we truly get to use. You take a flight on a multi-million dollar plane for only a few hundred dollars, you are able to make global communications at only 40$ a month and even send packages around the world for only a few bucks. We all live heavily subsidized lives, million dollar lives, without even realizing it! Consider the misery Christopher Columbus went through “finding” North America, facing daily threats of mutiny, spending weeks trekking in deep jungles… you just hop in your car or take a cruise without a worry in the world! We even have flushing toilets and televisions standard in every home… something that was once considered an absolute luxury up until a few decades ago!

The Bottom Line

Money has no value but what you can do with it does.

There is a lot more to success, no matter how you wish to define it, then many give it it’s due credence for. An idea can be anything, whether it’s a new habit, business model or way of thinking.

It begins with an idea

No matter what you achieve in life, everything has a beginning out of nothing. Your own being essentially came from what is the sharing of genes from your mother and father, who they themselves came from these same humble origins. If you go back far enough, we are all composed of what is essentially the benign nothingness of the universe(s) we live within. Ideas are no different, if you go back far enough, they essentially arise from a spark that is the same size as the universe right before the Big Bang. Infinitely small and complex yet made up of no real form nor reason. What I am trying to say is that like all living organisms across all the known and unknown universes, ideas share the same mysterious origins of nothingness… turning them into substance is the where the true challenge lies.

Turning ideas into Crap

Alright, you got a great idea, the first of several re-writes that will occur as you formulate these concepts into a working model will be essentially made of useless junk. All ideas sound absolutely amazing… creating a new paradigm shift that will influence generations to come… then, when put on paper, make as much sense as a fish developing lungs.

Turning Crap into Flowers

Yes, there are some fish out there with a working pair of lungs, but they are as rare as a good idea. Out of possibly 100 ideas you may generate on any given day, I would challenge you to implement more then one idea into this state… allowing it to grow and generate a life of its own. This is where the true entrepreneurs, leaders and visionaries skyrocket, no, they don’t have more ideas then the rest of us… it’s that they have NO FEAR of spending hours, days and even months molding crap with their bare hands until they can produce something as beautiful as a flower. They don’t mind getting their hands dirty, they don’t mind what others think or have to say about their idea… they are professional self-obsessed ignorance machines hell bent on proving that something works to themselves.

Turning Flowers into Crap

Let’s say you spend 6 months entrenched within an idea, you have spent an incredible amount of limited resources towards producing something that you are convinced is freaking amazing… then one day… in the middle of the night… you wake up and realize you just wasted 6 months of your life. A visionary has no problem saying “alright, they where right, I screwed up… onto the next idea!”. You see, turning crap into flowers is always time well spent, no matter the outcome. The next time, you will find more efficient ways of organizing your time, quicker methods towards synthesizing the next model and more importantly, optimized your very own mind to become an even more “outside the box” thinking machine. Essentially, when the flower dies, it also turns into crap which, as with many things in nature, gets recycled for the greater good. There is no loss, nothing wasted but a gain is achieved. Produce enough flowers, and the resultant crap can only accelerate the growth of more flowers, creating a self-perpetuating machine that very few entrepreneurs have been able to achieve through a lifetime without taking enormous risks. You see, the larger the plant, the more maintenance it requires, the more headaches are involved and the more crap is produced. Now you see why many companies fail as they grow, the complexity simply becomes too large for the stewards to manage.

Defining crap and flowers

Crap is an incredibly dense, nutritionally broad substance that has been used since the dawn of time to accelerate growth but it, on it’s own, has no real value. Flowers only happen when plants feel comfortable, well cared for and don’t mind using extra resources, that aren’t necessary for daily survival, towards beauty. All ideas begin as crap, it’s up to you to turn them into flowers. Without crap, you cannot have flowers.

The Bottom Line

The only failure is not trying at all.