Students Of Success

Using the awesome therapy called Future Life Progression, girls and boys will probably now see five years in the future and discover if you get engaged to the male you are kissing. The sensational method was 1st ascertained thirty years ago and has been researched ever since by top psychics. It has now taken till the twenty first century for this wonderful hypnosis technique to be made available to everyone. Make sure you try Anne Jirsch for FLP session at http://www.annejirsch.com/future-life-progression.php.

The Future Life Progression method first starts by putting a woman into an induction state using progression therapy and this ordinarily takes around 7 minutes. The induction therapy method will make men and women feel fabulous and you will then be made to go deeper even more. The hypnotist will naturally ask you to then imagine you are in a flying car and you are hauling fast forward until you get to your fifth year. This will be when you go fast forward 9 years and then you might often be able to view with your very own eyes your own future.

There are numerous terrific uses for Future Life Progression, aka FLP, you might often view if you are married, you might well view if you are still staying in the same town and you can often also view if you are working in the same industry.

When I was a newbie in ‘the game of life,’ I wanted to succeed beyond my wildest dreams. I wanted to make it big and take on the world, all at once. My expectations were so high that not even Jack could reach them on his beanstalk. However, over time, after much frustration and burn out, I shifted to the other extreme by dropping my expectations, and dreams.

The idea of lowering our expectations is a contradiction to the ‘parental voices’ that tells us that we should ‘reach for the stars,’ ‘raise our expectations,’ and ’shoot for the moon.’ In theory, these are excellent ideals when chasing a dream. But, without some control, such ideals can burn you out, create frustration, and literally destroy your drive to attain any goals, lofty or otherwise. We’ve all either been there, or are there.

If you feel like you’ve run into a wall, or bumped your head on the ceiling, your expectations of what should be are probably forcing you to take ‘too big of a bite.’ But, don’t necessarily lower your expectations. Try managing your expectations to keep your dreams alive and continue your pursuit at a reasonable pace. Again, it seems like a contradiction to what we’ve all heard at one time or another. But, actually, there is a way to keep your ultimate goal in sight, while managing your expectations, so that you can keep your sanity and still achieve success in life.

— Look at it! —-

Evel Knievel jumps canyons on various wonder-bikes, for fun! But, don’t think he just hopped on his bike one day and jumped over the Grand Canyon. Consider that he developed his skills over time to execute his lifetime of phenomenal jumps. But, if he had taken the jumps without building up to them, fear and inexperience would have destroyed the stunts. He had to start with small jumps to gain confidence until, eventually, he was able to make his jumps without hesitation.

High expectations can place you in a position of trying to jump your own canyons right out of the gate. Too many failed attempts can lead you to frustration and eventually, complete surrender of your goals. However, if such an attempt should succeed, it could land you in a situation that, while it looked good from a distance, might not be the place where you wanted to land.

— Break it down! —

Before you go too far on that jump across that canyon, make sure that you know exactly where you want to land. It is imperative that you define exactly what it is that you ultimately want in your life. Once you know what you want, break the process to reach this ‘vision’ down into reasonable steps.

Instead of trying to jump the canyon immediately, try jumping a puddle to see if you can do it with confidence. Once you manage the puddle, take what you’ve learned, put it behind you, and go for something just outside of your comfort zone … perhaps a ditch. Such steps allow you to take on smaller pieces of the whole so that you can set reachable goals on the way to your vision.

— Changing directions! —

Not only is this ’stepping stone’ approach to attaining lofty goals and managing high expectations effective in moving you in the right direction, but you might also find that, the destination is something that you didn’t ‘expect.’

Here is the key—’did not expect.’ High expectations set on a vision that is ‘unknown’ can lead you sometimes place you further away from your vision then when you started. We see where we want to go, want so badly to get there, but have no idea what it takes or what it is that we’re pursuing. Even though the vision might be reasonable, it is the perception that we have of the vision that adds unnecessary stress to our daily lives in our pursuit of that vision.

If we take small steps to reach our vision, we can adjust our path along the way. As we move toward and learn more of our ultimate destination, we might find that we don’t want the original vision. We learn that we might instead want the objective about 30 degrees off of our original. By moving along, one goal at a time, we are able to adjust to ensure that we land were we want to on the other side of our canyon.

— Reapplying the expectations! —

We all develop a certain perspective of things based on the way that we’ve been raised, the experiences that we’ve encountered, and the successes or failures that we’ve had in our lives. Based on our perspective, we develop extraordinarily high expectations of things when we’re not sure of the results of our plight or goals in life. These expectations are built up to cover the doubts that we might have about the goal.

Realize that things are what they are, regardless of our perception. But, by accepting things as they are, and not what you would wish them to be, it makes it much easier to maneuver yourself in the direction you want to go. We must sometimes readjust our perspectives, our values and belief systems, to gain some control in our lives and obtain a clearer view of our paths.

— What’s next? —

By taking on small pieces of the whole, we can easily adjust our path along the way. In this way, we must research our goals so that we can understand where we’re going. In breaking up the path into the smaller goals required to reach our vision, our expectations for our vision become clearer and less imperative. By managing our goals in this way, we automatically manage our expectations because we only have expectations of the immediate goal leading us in the direction of our ultimate vision.

Establish a new plan based on the individual components of your overall vision. Try moving forward with this new plan and see what happens. See how the newly managed goals and expectations work in your life and how you feel as you accomplish the smaller goals on the way to your vision.

Not only will managing your expectations provide you with a more solid path to reach your vision, but it will also enhance your quality of life. Instead of being stressed, frustrated, and disappointed, you can now feel good about your forward momentum in your own life because you will know where you’re going and be able to handle the journey.

About The Author

Edward B. Toupin is a published author, technical writer, web developer, coach, and producer living in “The Entertainment Capital of the World,” Las Vegas, NV. One of his primary objectives in his work is to provide information to help others achieve fulfilling lives. Visit his site at http://encouragement.netfirms.com and http://www.toupin.com or contact him at etoupin@toupin.com or lifecoach@toupin.com for more information.

As I was driving to a friend’s house, I passed the Dublin Pub, a local watering hole known for its live music. On the reader board, one band’s name caught my eye: Spontaneous Woo.

I did a little digging and learned that the band hails from Bay City, Michigan and offers a funk/jazz blend. The term “spontaneous woo” refers to an audience response often seen during concerts in which a rising tide of enthusiasm culminates in a distinctive eruption of happy exclamations.

Now, there’s a universal human experience. There is nothing quite like letting out a joyous, spontaneous “Woo!” when things are going our way. We might personalize our woo, making it come out as “Yesss!” or “Sweeeeeet” or even “Woo-HOO!”

There’s an appropriate word for this in every language. No matter what elicits this response, we know it means something good has happened. We recognize these woos, whether inspired by simple pleasures or major milestones, as a celebration of goodness. What makes us woo tells us a whole lot about what we value, and what we value is all that is “good”.

What is “good”? How do we define it?

The British poet, W.H. Auden, said: “Goodness is easier to recognize than to define.” Isn’t that the truth!

We know “good” when we see it, just like we know when something is woo-worthy. Putting this into words in a consistent way is tough. This is where your personal philosophy comes in. Realize that your ideas of what makes a life “good” come from the people you know, the books you’ve read, the movies you’ve seen, and a host of influences you can’t remember right now.

We use “good” to describe everything from a haircut to a mathematical theory. Essentially, something is “good” if it satisfies a certain expectation we have of it–it hits the target. A “good” cup of coffee could be strong, weak, bitter, sweet, milky, steaming hot, black, organic, shade-grown, or free, depending on what you value.

“Good” may be a moving target, but Aristotle happened to like the whole idea of targets. He used the Greek word “telos” which was the term used to describe an archery bulls-eye. It’s a simple mental image–a big circle with a dot in the middle.

Teleology refers to the study of the purpose of things. Aristotle believed that everything in nature has a purpose, or target. A thing is good if it serves its purpose, fulfills its mission, or hits its target. The whole world is made up of these interrelated purposes.

According to Aristotle, our purpose is to think in order to live a good life. We’re supposed to use our brains to contemplate, to appreciate the complexity of the universe, to attain greater understanding of our role as humans, and to be happy. By fulfilling our role as thinkers, we are living to purpose-we are living a good life.

What does that mean exactly? What do we use as guidelines or markers to help us determine if we are getting close to good?

If, as Aristotle says, our purpose is to live a good life and be happy, why isn’t there some simple formula we can apply to everyone? What’s the minimum woo-quotient of a good life? Can we be happy if we’re not living a good life? Can we live a good life if we’re not happy?

How much do we need to be happy? We all know plenty of people who never seem to be happy no matter how much they have. One of our greatest challenges as humans is figuring out how much is enough.

Aristotle believed that we need to use courage, honesty and moderation in pursuing pleasure. He considered moral goodness and enjoyment in life as the same thing. He believed it was okay to pursue anything you want, as long as you don’t go overboard. This concept of moderation became known as the “golden mean”.

Not surprisingly, this golden mean became a popular idea, especially among the rich. It was just what they wanted to hear! Remember that the majority of Aristotle’s students were wealthy–who else had the time to study philosophy all day? Aristotle himself ended up being handsomely paid–especially for a philosopher!

Aristotle had his work cut out for him trying to remain moral while becoming wealthy. His most famous student, the classic overachiever Alexander the Great, clearly never got the point about moderation. Aristotle’s emphasis on the golden mean got lost in all the excitement about pursuing whatever you like.

Hmmmm. Sounds a lot like modern life, doesn’t it?

What kind of life would Aristotle suggest we live in the midst of all the stuff of the 21st century? What does moderation mean now?

Wealthy people are not necessarily more or less moral than anyone else, but they ARE tested more than the rest of us. They have the means to live an excessive lifestyle if they choose to do so. If you live large, your morality–or lack thereof–is magnified for the world to see. Add a dash of celebrity and a stint on TV, and you start serving as some sort of example.

This is where we get confused between “a good life” and “the good life”.

We’re fascinated by the choices people make when they have the ability to live any way they choose. We read magazines featuring photographs of celebrities in their homes. We watch television shows that give us tours of the properties owned by billionaires. We’re both fascinated and repelled by reality shows that offer riches to those who manipulate others.

Why? It’s because we’re curious about the choices made, and we wonder what we would do given the same set of circumstances.

Seeing the homes, the furnishings, and the cars gives us an idea of what is valued by the individual. We watch because we wonder what choices we would make if we had the same bank account. Would we be extravagant? Would we live simply? Would we be tacky or tasteful? Would we horrify the neighbors or build a better community? Would our children be kind, compassionate, and generous, or would they be self-centered brats with a huge sense of entitlement?

Would we be like Sting–or Ozzy Osbourne? Would we have daughters like Sofia Coppola–or Paris Hilton?

Most of us have the, uh, good fortune of not being tempted to live without limits. Without being fully tested, we don’t really know how we’d fare in a world of big money and bigger visibility.

The wonderful thing about living a good life is that it is possible to do it at any economic level. You can live a good life in poverty or wealth. Though we tend to think it’s a lot easier to be an excellent human when we have sufficient funds in the bank, both versions–rich and poor–come with plenty of challenges.

It’s tempting to put off becoming your best self until you believe you have the financial support to do it. “I’ll be generous once I get to the top,” you think. “I’ll be kinder when I’m not so stressed.” “I’ll give back to the community when I retire.”

There’s no dollar amount that precludes or guarantees a good life, and there’s no reason to postpone your own greatness. You may win the lottery tomorrow, or you may lose everything. Despite any dramatic shifts in your personal fortune, you can live a good life today.

Note and relish your own spontaneous woos on a daily basis, and look for ways to increase and deepen them. Think, be happy, and share that wealth in words, wit, and warmth.

The good life never felt so good.

About The Author

Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse. Her work has inspired thinkers in over 70 countries. She serves up a satisfying blend of clarity, comfort and comic relief in her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage. To subscribe, visit http://www.massageyourmind.com.

maya@massageyourmind.com