The Master Key Mentor Teleseminars

Here is the recording for the teleseminar held March 5, 2012 in which  we discussed and explained the exercise for Week 7 of The Master Key System. The article will be posted shortly.

With this, Week Six of The Master Key System, we are now one-quarter of the way through the book. It is beginning to get good now.

If you’ve been following us, the first four exercises trained us to get into the “state” of relaxation and receptivity. We now know how to keep ourselves still, how to relax, how to quell our thoughts, and how to “let go” of discordant feelings.

With Week Five, we began our studies into visualizing, a most important aspect of personal development. Hopefully, you’ve mastered Week Five’s exercise — and had some fun with it! If so, let’s progress to Week Six…

24. In order to cultivate the power of attention, bring a photograph with you to the same seat in the same room in the same position as heretofore. Examine it closely at least ten minutes: Note the expression of the eyes, the form of the features, the clothing, the way the hair is arranged — in fact, note every detail shown on the photograph carefully. Now cover it and close your eyes and try to see it mentally. If you can see every detail perfectly and can form a good mental image of the photograph, you are to be congratulated; if not repeat the process until you can.

25. This step is simply for the purpose of preparing the soil; next week we shall be ready to sow the seed.

26. It is by such exercises as these that you will finally be able to control your mental moods, your attitude, your consciousness.

This exercise will be building within you two important skills: attention to detail and the power to recall. In doing so, we will be building our ability to visualize.

With a photograph in hand, take your seat in your usual place. (On the call, I explain the importance of having a place that you do these exercises.) Once you are there, get into the “state” as you learned in the first four exercises. Next, study the photograph. COver it and then recall it from memory.

That’s about it! Mr. Haanel‘s instructions are pretty easy and clear.

As Haanel wrote, you will be cultivating your “power of attention.” This is huge! It’s your ability to look at something and notice details that not many other people do. By mastering this exercise, you will be learning a technique that could turn you into the next Sherlock Holmes.

Along with that, you are training yourself to keep yourself in the “Now” rather than running on autopilot playing with the shibboleths in your mind. How many times have you met someone who just “wasn’t there” with you? Thus, they didn’t notice much — if anything — of what was occurring about them.

How many times was that person you?

Yes, we all get preoccupied at times. Sometimes we have a pressing concern on our mind. For too many people, though, this is a normal state of being. Even worse, they really have nothing on their mind! They’re trapped with their shadows, never noticing anything around them.

By taking the time to make note of the things around us, we begin to pay attention to all the things around us.

Digging even deeper, as we develop this power of attention, as we study a problem or research something in which we’re interested, we will see those details that others miss. Those details can then become the basis for our fortune! The examples of this happening are practically limitless.

This exercise — and skill — is very important. Master it!

The best tip for mastering this exercise is to follow Haanel’s instructions exactly: Use a photograph of a person. Do your best to use your same seat and place as you usually do. Notice every detail. Take your time with it. Practice until you get it right.

That’s it. Nothing fancy.

It’s funny how sometimes the more important exercises are the simplest ones. This is one of those times. It’s simple, but oh so powerful.

Until next week, please get for yourself the best of everything…

We made it! In reviewing the exercise for Week Five of The Master Key System — “The Creative Mind” — we’ve reached the fiftieth episode of these teleseminars. Exciting stuff!

With this exercise, we move beyond the “foundation” laid out in the first four exercises. Now, we have our first “taste” of visualization.

While it is not visualization proper, it is an exercise in focusing, concentrating, and creating mental pictures.

I have found — and my Master Key Coaching clients have found — this exercise to be fun and helpful. I think you will, too. So, let’s get on with it!

29. Now, go to your room, take the same seat, the same position as heretofore, and mentally select a place which has pleasant associations. Make a complete mental picture of it — see the buildings, the grounds, the trees, friends, associations, everything complete. At first, you will find yourself thinking of everything under the sun, except the ideal upon which you desire to concentrate. But do not let that discourage you. Persistence will win, but persistence requires that you practice these exercises every day without fail.

Charles F. Haanel organised the exercises in The Master Key System perfectly. You will come to realize that as you explore them.

The first four are what we have come to call the “foundation” exercises. They built the foundation upon which all of the subsequent exercises will be laid. These exercises are essential for getting you into the “state” so that you can easily do the remaining exercises and so that you will be receptive to the results that you are seeking.

So, with the first four exercises mastered, we have this exercise for Week Five.

As usual, you are to take your regular seat and assume the position that you have been mastering since Week One: sitting with your feet on the floor, your hands on your thighs, your back erect, your eyes closed. Once you are there, you are now to make a “complete mental picture” of a “place that has pleasant associations.”

That “place” can be anything you wish! Your childhood home. A farm you visited. A beach. A city. An office. Any place!

The key is to make your mental picture “complete.” You want the picture to be very detailed, very lush, and very realistic. You are aiming to such a detailed picture that it is almost a “virtual reality.”

Within this exercises, Haanel anticipates that it may be difficult for some people. Those people may not be very “visual” people. He does ask that we persevere, though. And we should!

Haanel is building within you the ability to picture anything you wish in your mind. As we’ll see, those pictures will be  very important. That’s why for this exercise, Haanel is starting us with something simple: visualizing a place that we enjoy. That makes it an exercise that we will want to do! After all, it is fun to reminisce or fantasize about a pleasant place. The difference is that we are not doing either: we are visualizing and aiming to make the picture complete and detailed, to “see the buildings, the grounds, the trees, friends, associations, everything complete.”

Do your best and make your vision as complete as you can. With practice, you will be able to see it perfectly!

Much like going to a gym will increase your ability to run longer or lift heavier items, this exercise will begin to awaken or it will strengthen your ability to create mental pictures. You will be able to almost lose yourself in the details of your mental images.

That can be and will be a very powerful tool for you.

This exercise will also begin to fire parts of your brain you may not have been “using” prior to this.

Also, this exercise, when fully perfected, will just make you feel good. Seriously. I have heard time and time again from folks who do this exercises and actually feel themselves at the beach or on the farm. It’s amazing! They often state that afterwards it’s like they had a small vacation.

You can practice this exercise anywhere. To really get this exercise mastered, the key is to select just one place and continue to return to it.

The people who don’t perfect this exercise generally have one thing in common: one day they “go” to the beach; the next they “go” to their favorite city; and so on. They never just select that one place!

And that is the key here.

By selecting just one place and for one week continual revisiting it, you will access those details that your brain is storing and activate them. With each pass, you will be adding details after detail, until your picture is “complete.”

So, select just one place! Just one! And run with it.

Until next week, please get for yourself the best of everything…

The first four exercises in The Master Key System are the ones that will build for us the foundation upon which the remaining twenty exercises — and by extension, the results we will obtain with them — will be built.

The exercise for Week Three is very important — more important than many people realize. You must master this exercise to not only take advantage of all of the exercises in The Master Key System, but also to take advantage of just about any other personal development techniques you may wish to explore.

It is my hope that this teleseminar and article will make it clear why that is so.

29. For your exercise this week, I will ask you to go one step further. I want you to not only be perfectly still, and inhibit all thought as far as possible, but relax. Let go. Let the muscles take their normal condition; this will remove all pressure from the nerves and eliminate that tension which so frequently produces physical exhaustion.

30. Physical relaxation is a voluntary exercise of the will and the exercise will be found to be of great value, as it enables the blood to circulate freely to and from the brain and body.

31. Tension leads to mental unrest and abnormal mental activity of the mind; it produces worry, care, fear, and anxiety. Relaxation is therefore an absolute necessity in order to allow the mental faculties to exercise the greatest freedom.

32. Make this exercise as thorough and complete as possible. Mentally determine that you will relax every muscle and nerve until you feel quiet and restful and at peace with yourself and the world.

33. The Solar Plexus will then be ready to function and you will be surprised at the result.

The exercise for Week Three of The Master Key System seems simple — deceptively so. Mr. Haanel wrote that this week you are to “not only be perfectly still, and inhibit all thought as far as possible, but relax.”

Relax.

In many of my responses to questions about The Master Key System, I type that word a lot. You see, it’s the foundation of everything that we will be doing from this point onward. That’s why this exercise is very important.

Haanel explains why: “Tension leads to mental unrest and abnormal mental activity of the mind; it produces worry, care, fear, and anxiety. Relaxation is therefore an absolute necessity in order to allow the mental faculties to exercise the greatest freedom.”

In order for you to be able to benefit from the exercises in The Master Key System, in order for you to effectively use techniques from the personal development field, in order for you to truly acquire the mental fitness that you so desire, relaxation is the key.

Being relaxed allows you to think clearly, to see truly, and to cogitate efficiently and purposely. It allows “things” to happen fluidly and easily. It brings to bear your entire mental arsenal and provides an alacrity that cannot be had otherwise.

Mental tension leads to physical tension. Mental tension begets constricted thoughts, much like a zipper that is stuck: it may wiggle and perhaps move a space or two, but it doesn’t flow and do what it is supposed to do.

That’s why this exercise is key. As Haanel states, physical relaxation is a “voluntary exercise of the will.” It is something that we allow ourselves to be. No matter the surroundings or the situation, we either choose to be relaxed or we choose to not be relaxed.

Thus, choose to allow yourself to fall into a state of relaxation. Allow yourself to become relaxed physically. Lose the tension that you may feel in your muscles, in your joints, on the surface of your skin. Allow it to drip from you.

Relax.

As one masters becoming relaxed, Haanel wrote that “The Solar Plexus will then be ready to function and you will be surprised at the result.”

Haanel explains the function of the Solar Plexus in The Master Key System, so I won’t delve into that here. I will deal with the latter part of that statement.

I have found, both with myself and many Master Key Coaching clients, that the surprising result is a feeling of placidity, almost a euphoria, that may sweep over you. As you lose the physical tension, you’ll feel light, calm, at ease.

This result is surprising because you have so much tension within you, much of it barely perceptible because it is like background noise, that only when you release it do you realize just how much there was!

That benefit, as great as it is, leads to other benefits that you can take advantage of in your daily life. These benefits will also highlight what Haanel means by having everything working fully.

How many times have you been talking with someone and a movie gets mentioned, but for the life of you you cannot recall the name of the star, even though the name is “on the tip of your tongue”? Yup, that’s your body’s tension constricting your thoughts.

When you learn to relax, you’ll be able to improve your recall in situations such as these.

Here’s another situation: have you ever been engaged in a game such as billiards or baseball or golf and you just can’t seem to “find your groove”? Thus, you miss shots, perhaps some easy ones. Now, to be clear, it’s not because you’re necessarily a novice at the games. You may actually be fairly decent at them. Your tension, though, is preventing you from performing at your peak.

As you can see, the tangible benefits of learning how to volitionally achieving a state of physical relaxation are massive. You’ll see many more benefits of this as we delve deeper into the exercises in The Master Key System.

Week Three’s exercise is one that some people will find very easy. Others, perhaps not so much. To that end, it may help in the beginning to treat this exercise almost as if you would being hypnotized.

As you may know, a hypnotist does his job by placing his client in a state of hypnosis. That state is achieved by relaxing the client. That same technique can be used here, if you so desire.

Now, to be clear, you are not hypnotizing yourself here! You are merely relaxing yourself. You are not going into a “deep sleep” or a “trance.” You are merely using the techniques that work so effectively for hypnotists on yourself to achieve an as complete as possible physical relaxation.

So, start at your head and volitionally will yourself to release the tension. Then continue to move downward. You neck. Your chest. Your stomach. Your waist. Your legs. Your ankles. Your feet. Your toes.

Let go of all the tension. Allow it to fall from you.

If you would like some help with a self-hypnosis technique, please see Tom Nicoli’s book Thinking Thin. Yes, it’s a weight-loss book, but the techniques are the same and there is no better teacher that I know of than Mr. Nicoli.

Until next week, please get for yourself the best of everything…

We once again welcome back to this our 44th Teleseminar the vivacious Claire McGee, author of the incredible book I Believe Therefore I Am. What we have is nothing short of incredible — or seemingly miraculous.

On this call, Claire and I discussed an amazing technique for permanently letting go of self-destructive and limiting beliefs and habits.

You’re going to be stunned at how simple it can be — no matter what the belief or habit is! You’re also going to be impressed by how easily you can “let go” of your emotional and experiential “baggage,” that stuff that is holding you from being the person you want to be.

This is an amazing call with an incredible technique that I urge all of you to practice. I have used the techniques discussed here with my Coaching clients and the results have been nothing short of miraculous. Even in my own life, I have had awesome experiences merely from letting go of certain thoughts and beliefs. I am highly confident that you will, too.

Claire McGee, M.Msc is a highly professional and uniquely qualified motivational teacher whose goal is to empower people with the realization that they are in control of their destiny and have the very real and very valid ability to achieve their goals.

Claire knows this because she lived it.

In early 2004, Claire was on her way to a successful corporate career. Her future looked bright. Happily married with two small children, a new home, and a rewarding career, she was well on her way to achieving all of her dreams.

These dreams were to deteriorate rapidly when she was diagnosed with Congenital Fiber Type Disproportion Myopathy, a very painful and debilitating muscle disorder.

Claire rejected the reality of barely surviving and replaced it with a true belief in her ability to achieve all she had set out to do. It was during this time that Claire delved into the process of the mind and began to recognize all the negative thoughts and habits she had been living with on a daily basis.

This newfound understanding of the principles for being inwardly aware and outwardly successful lead Claire down a path of self discovery which, in turn, positively influenced the people around her. She speaks differently, acts differently, and has built a passion for helping others to understand the power of the mind.

We all have “baggage.” Yes, that’s one of those pop-psych terms that gets thrown around probably too much. Yet it’s true that we have it and it is true that it adversely affects each and every one of us.

That baggage can be just about anything that we’ve done or experienced.

That list can continue indefinitely.

These experiences that you’ve had affect you to this day.

How?

They play on your mind in such a way that they affect your emotions, which in turn dictate the experiences you have in your life.

Thus, these negative experiences lead to negative emotions that lead to … Well, you get the idea.

Unfortunately, you also get the results. It’s a cycle that you see in your life, right?

Most of all, this baggage develops within each and every one of us as negative beliefs and habits. They cause us to not be the person we want to be. They stifle us. They cause us to act in ways that we do not want to act. They mute our voices and shutter our lights.

They must be jettisoned from us.

Here is how…

You can overcome these experiences by mastering Claire McGee’s “Catch & Release” technique. When you do, you will finally be able to

Are you ready to let go of the things that have been hurting you and holding you back and experience the change for which you have been looking?

With your emotions dictating the results you experience, it is wise to remove all seemingly negative experiences you are stubbornly holding onto from your past and replace them with the positive aspects that came from the experiences.

By doing this, you alter your perspective, leaving you impressed with all that is positive. This new perspective causes you to naturally release the self-destructive beliefs you have created and you thus begin to form a new and self-empowering reality.

Take a piece of paper and create a page under the heading “Catch and Release.”

Make headings with the titles

Now, ask yourself the questions and then answer them.

Begin to look within yourself and be completely honest with yourself. Allow the words and emotions to flow as you write your answers. Continue this line of thinking until such time as all is said and acknowledged. When you’re finished, put the paper or journal down and walk away for a while. When you’re ready, go back to it and read what you wrote. You may be amazed at what your mind came up with as to the positive things that came from the experience.

Doing this allows your mind to accept this new perspective because it came from you.

Now, this exercise may be difficult as you weed out all of your hurts and discomforts. The end result is extremely rewarding and self-empowering as the goal of this exercise is to address the cause and change your perspective.

Claire provides guidance to how to properly do this on the Teleseminar. So please listen to it.

Charles F. Haanel wrote in “Week Three” of The Master Key System that we are “today the result of our past thinking, and we shall be what we are thinking today.”

If you allow your “baggage” to burden you — to plague your mind, as it were — then you will continue to get what you have always received.

Another author, MiMi Paris, wrote in her book Size Matters! that “If you trip once, it is an accident. If you trip repeatedly, you are clumsy.” By using the word “clumsy,” Ms. Paris means that there is something within you — your negative, self-destructive thoughts — that keeps you doing the same things over and over again.

If that’s the case, then you get rid of those things.

To get rid of those things, you use Claire McGee’s “Catch & Release” technique.

You can discover more about Claire and this amazing technique in her book I Believe Therefore I Am and at her new web site, www.CoachingWithClaire.com.

Check them out. You’ll be glad that you did.

Until next time, my friend, please get for yourself the best of everything.

Is money the root of all evil? That’s the question we explore in this, the forty-first episode of the Master Key Coaching Teleseminars.

That question refers to what was written in the Bible in 1 Timothy 6:10.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

That’s not why we’re exploring it, though.

I’ve been interested in personal development for about twenty-five years. I’ve been publishing personal development books for a little over ten years. Through all that time, it seems that every few years the self-help “gurus” jump on that quotation and use it as the scapegoat for why people — people like you — aren’t yet wealthy. Their reasoning is that since you were raised in a culture that more than likely was Judeo-Christian, that one line from the Bible has affected your thinking about money and wealth. They posit that since you “believe” that “money is the root of all evil,” you tend to shun money, either consciously or subconsciously.

So, before we go any further, lets see if that’s true.

At this point, I think it would help to tell you a little bit about myself. I was raised Roman Catholic. I went to a parochial school for grades one through six. I was an altar boy in church as well as a church lector. I also received all of the sacraments. Above and beyond that, I am one of the few people I know that has read the Bible cover to cover.

In other words, I’ve been through it.

Through it all, I don’t recall ever being hammered with the notion of money being the root of all evil. (Or even the love of money, for that matter!) I’m not stating that I never heard it, just that there was never any emphasis placed on it. In the very few times that line from Timothy was discussed, it was correctly quoted and correctly interpreted: that if one were to covet money so greatly that he would lie, cheat, or steal, then that would lead to his demise.

That’s how I learned it — and that’s how most people with whom I’ve discussed this interpret it.

That’s the first thing that lead me to think that the notion that people everywhere are not wealthy because of their “flawed relationship” with money based on that line was incorrect.

The next thing that made me pause was the fact that I have never met anyone — and I mean anyone! — who, when asked if they would like more money, refused the offer, be that offer come in the form of a pay raise, a gift, or simply someone’s generosity.

Think about it. Have you or anyone you’ve ever known ever run away from money?

Of course not. It’s silly. More often than not, we have to actively protect our money from being stolen from us!

The last straw, so to speak, is the fact that the United States was founded on the notion of what is referred to as the “Protestant Work Ethic,” which was coined by the sociologist Max Weber. In a nutshell, it means that if you work hard and get rich, then God loves you.

I think we can see the veracity in that. Think of someone in our society who is rich, be it Trump or Gates or Buffet. What’s the first thing we think about them? We usually say that they’re smart, right? We respect their opinions on things — even things not remotely related to business or money. Right? True, not the same thing as “salvation,” but the parallel is there. If someone is rich, we admire them and respect their views. After all, they’re rich and we’re not.

All of those reasons lead me to the conclusion that the notion of anyone being adversely affected in their money-making prowess because of that quote from the Bible is bunk. Plain and simple. It’s just another way for some folks to sell yet another book or course so that you can “heal yourself” of the bad attitude you have toward money.

I’ve seen it before. Many times. As I noted, this idea comes around every few years. The sad thing is that people buy into it — and buy the courses and seminars, of course — and never really address the issues that really cause them to not be earning their full potential!

Instead of addressing the things that could actually help them become what they want to become and earn what they deserve to earn, many people end up chasing chimeras like the “money is the root of all evil” thing.

So what I will address here are the real reasons why you’re not earning what you should. If you address these items, then you’ll find yourself ahead of the game. And not chasing chimeras.

As I usually make clear when I make one of these lists, these items are in no particular order. One may affect you more than the others, but generally, it’s best to take all of them in and work on all of them. That way, you avoid what I call the “gold medal effect.” In the Olympics, everyone remembers the gold medal winner (the number one); few remember the silver medalist; even fewer, if anyone, remembers the bronze medalist. That’s quite sad because all of them achieved something that very few ever will and they should all be applauded.

It’s the same with lists. More often than not, people remember the number one item and then run with it, forgetting the remaining items because they’re not as important. Thus, they’re only getting part of the picture.

Don’t let that be you! Take all of these items in stride and work on them.

Cool? Then let’s get into it.

When it comes to earning what you deserve, then self-confidence and being attuned to your self-worth is the big one. You’ll see that the following two items are closely tied to self-confidence.

If you lack a good sense of self-confidence, then it is likely that you let people push you around. You more than likely just take what is offered rather than fighting for what you truly deserve. You don’t stick up for yourself, nor your ideas or the deeds you’ve done. You’re like Clark Kent, always getting the short end of the stick.

You need to become Superman — at least in some respects. Or, you have to really absorb what Haanel wrote in The Master Key System.

You must first have the knowledge of your power; second, the courage to dare; third, the faith to do.

You cannot allow yourself to be a lowly whelp pushed and pulled by the whims of others. To earn what you’re worth, you have to have the self-confidence to stand your ground, to fight if need be, and to demand what you deserve.

Please let me note that this is not an invitation to be arrogant! It’s not about being boastful or haughty. Those are perversions of self-confidence. (They actually indicate that someone is rather lacking in the self-confidence department!)

This is about being cool. About being strong. About being “the Man.” (Or “the Woman.”)

Many times, though, we have a terrible perception of ourselves. We don’t think our ideas are good enough. We’re afraid to speak our minds for fear of being laughed at. When faced by someone we perceive as more powerful, we simply acquiesce silently.

If you’re one of those people, then you need to work on your self-confidence. It can be a long road. Changes won’t happen over night. They will come, though, and you will be glad that they did.

So, the first reason that you’re not earning your worth is that you lack the self-confidence to go out and grab it. Work on that and chances are likely that you’ll find your income increasing.

This is a lot like self-confidence, instead it deals with what you have or do rather than just with yourself.

Here’s an example: Let’s say that you sing and that you sing wonderfully. If you take it for granted and sing at every wedding and bar mitzvah that comes along for a bottle of water and one trip to the appetizer bar, then chances are likely that you’ll never earn what you deserve.

The point of that example is to illustrate that your talent — or your skill or whatever it is that you do — has value and that value demands to be paid accordingly.

This may be a point of self-confidence. Many times, though, it is a point of not truly knowing what price your talent or skill demands. This comes from not being in tune with the goings-on in your industry. If you’re the singer from our example, you may not know how singers get paid nor how that pay is scaled. Thus, you sing for drinks and perhaps applause — and nothing more.

Picture it like this — and maybe you have heard something like this happening: Someone finds a painting in their attic. Seeing it only as junk, they place it with the garbage in front of their house. Another person, who happens to be driving by that house, sees the painting. There is a difference, though: this person knows a little something about art. He recognizes the painting for what it is: a Picasso. This person slams on his brakes, steps from his car, and takes the painting and sells it for a huge sum.

The latter person knew what he had. He knew the value of it.

That’s how many are in their chosen profession. Yes, self-confidence plays a part. More often than not, though, it is a matter of not knowing the value of what they have in the industry in which they are working. In other words, it is a matter of ignorance.

The remedy is simple. Get to know what’s happening in your industry. With that knowledge, objectively evaluate what your value is worth. Then, demand that value.

People are generally risk averse. We like things to be safe, known, and without surprises, especially the bad kind. This is usually a bad thing, as safety is good. It can be taken to extremes, though.

When taken to extremes, in personal development it’s called staying in one’s “comfort zone.” To break out, one must take a little risk and stretch beyond the boundaries one has imposed on himself.

There is another version of this. It stems from a business adage:

Protect the downside and the upside will take care of itself.

In business dealings, if you take care to protect yourself from the things that can potentially go wrong, then all you have to worry about is the upside — the making of the money and making sure that things go smoothly. We even use this in everyday life: we take a spare tire with us when we travel so that we can rest assured that in the event of a flat tire, we’ll be OK. We protect the downside; the upside — getting to our destination safely — takes care of itself.

Unfortunately, many people over-protect their downside — to the point that they make no moves toward their potential upside. Instead of looking to advance their business through whatever means or channels, they stay where they are. After all, why risk anything? Instead of looking for better career prospects, some people will cling to the job that they have, all the while saying that they’re just lucky to have any job whatsoever never mind reaching for a “dream job.”

When we over-protect what we have, then we run the risk of stagnation. Of course, we also never really take the chance to earn what we’re truly worth. We end up “living” according to this old adage:

Those who fear death never truly live life.

It’s good to be safe. It’s even better that we don’t take unwarranted or foolish risks. We shouldn’t jump blindly into a pool.

We shouldn’t over-protect either. Or, as the band Pink Floyd put it in their song “Wish You Were Here”:

And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?

Because we try to be too safe — because we “exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage” — we often neglect or pass up opportunities that can get us what we truly want from life and what we truly deserve to earn. Mind you, it’s not about being foolish; it’s about being wise and taking advantage of everything that life has to offer.

Yes, protect your downside, but don’t make protecting your downside your life’s purpose. Make your dreams and your goals your life’s purpose.

There you have it: The three reasons you’re not earning what your worth. It has nothing to do with having bad “beliefs” about money. It’s all about what you believe about yourself and how you approach life. When you work on these items and stretch from where you are toward where you want to go, you’ll find yourself accumulating everything you need to get you there.

Try it. You’ll be glad that you did.

Until next time, please get for yourself the best of everything!

Claire McGee, speaker, coach, and author of I Believe Therefore I Am, returned this week for the second part of her interview. Like the first part, it was amazing and massively informative.

Before we jump into what was discussed this week, let’s quickly review last week’s discussion. (Let’s see if I can do this in just a paragraph or two!)

Claire McGee was diagnosed with with a rare genetic disorder that left her practically an invalid. Rather than succumbing to fear and depression and living the rest of her life like that, she made the conscious decision to live rather than exist. By changing her beliefs and taking “baby steps,” Claire retrained herself to walk and overcome that which ailed her. She is now an acclaimed speaker and her book I Believe Therefore I Am is about to be released by Kallisti Publishing.

Here’s a snippet from last week’s interview that will give you an idea of Claire’s perspicacity and insight…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFr5aTIfPeQ

Pretty awesome, yes?

Use the affirmation that Claire shared in that video snippet and start earning your $10,000 per month! You know you want to!

OK, let’s get on with part two of our interview…

I received an email from a listener who had a question about Claire’s disease and how she handled. He wanted to know if Claire believes that she cured herself of her disease.

That’s a very good question — and it’s also something that we’ve discussed a few times over the course of these teleseminars.

Claire made clear that she did not cure herself of her disease — Congenital Fiber Type Disproportion Myopathy. As she stated in the interview, she knows that she will have this condition “until the day she dies.”

What she did do, though, was overcome the symptoms that made her an invalid. She didn’t wallow in despair and self-pity and depression. She didn’t fall into the blank void of hopelessness.

At least not for too long until she snapped out of it.

Claire made the conscious decision to focus on the things she could do and the things she could improve rather than focus on the things that she couldn’t.

To retrain herself to walk, Claire began with “baby steps.” She started by merely standing on her own two feet for as long as she could. When she mastered that, she ambled about her house. When she became comfortable with that, she walked outside.

Eventually, she was walking around the block. Then to the park near her house.

It was a process. A long, arduous process.

But one that eventually allowed her to live a completely normal and active life.

I think this is enlightening on many levels. As we’ve discussed many times when we were going through The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel, things don’t happen overnight. Most of the things we do in life aren’t going to be resolved in a “sit-com fashion” — meaning they won’t be resolved by the end of the third commercial break.

To really accomplish things, especially those things relating to our health, it will take time, effort, and really pushing through our mental boundaries.

With faith and effort on our side combined with some belief and faith, we can accomplish just about anything.

Listen to Claire as she described what she went through. You’ll be inspired. I guarantee it!

In our first interview with Claire, she shared two awesome exercises with us — and a lot of other information. If you’ve taken the time to implement what Claire suggested, then I am highly confident that you’re encountering some massively positive changes.

One thing about the exercises that Claire developed is this: they are usually very simple. So simple, in fact, that you’ll slap yourself in the forehead and say to yourself “Why didn’t I notice that!”

As Claire likes to say, she likes to “make the obvious obvious again.”

The exercise that Claire shared this week is no exception.

Here’s the gist of it: At least once per day, take the time to sincerely compliment someone you meet in your daily travels. Just a simple and honest compliment.

Get it?

And that’s it.

What can you expect from doing that?

While the exercise is simple, it’s effects are profound.

You see, you will be affecting yourself deeply. Think about how you usually go through your day. I bet that you consciously and unconsciously judge and criticize the people you see and meet. Am I right? Of course I am …

Now, instead of allowing yourself to do that automatically, you are going to sort of force yourself to look at people and for opportunities to compliment people.

Think about how that will change your thinking and you beliefs if you practiced this for a week. A month.

Instead of looking at people and seeing everything that’s wrong with them, you’ll look at people and notice everything that’s good.

Can you see the benefit in that?

I think you can.

So do this exercise. Really compliment that people whose paths you cross.

Remember that by changing yourself, you’ll be changing your world.

Claire’s book I Believe Therefore I Am is going to be released in early May. You can reserve your copy now, though, and save 25%!

I highly recommend that you do so. It truly is an amazing book.

It is up to you to alter your own reality and make it whatever you want it to be. It is up to you to realize what habits are controlling your life and change them if the purpose they are serving is self destructive. You are destined to repeat experiences over and over again until the day you gain the self awareness to do something about it—to succeed.

This book was created to do just that: To teach you how to program your mind for success. In the pages within, you will visit the reasons for the habits you have created throughout your many years of existence and experience. You will begin to realize what habits you have developed that are self destructive and those which have help to advance your life.

Here’s what a reader of an advance copy of I Believe Therefore I Am wrote.

I was going through a very rough patch in my life and knew I needed to change my thinking. I have read many books about positive thinking, The Secret being the most recognizable to your subscribers. These have all laid the foundation to the mindset of “being what we think”; however, your book is the only one that gave specific exercises, examples and methods to actually be able to change how I think. The most beneficial exercises to me were the pros and cons list and the catch and release exercise. Who knew that the “bad” things I remember from my past actually had positive outcomes! What a great way to look at life! I practice the mirror exercise every morning, I do my affirmations and I visualize the outcome.

I AM achieving prosperity in all areas of my life.  My outlook toward many things has been changed, in a very positive way. I have written my mission statement and my children have as well. We all have the summary from the end of the book typed up and taped on our mirrors as a daily reminder.

Near the beginning of the book you speak about the Compliment exercise.  Let me tell you, I noticed the difference immediately. Not only in myself, but complete strangers on the street. People are now saying hello to me while passing on the sidewalk without me saying a word! Great book, great read and it’s wonderful you are making it available to everyone.

Pretty incredible, yes?

Reserve your copy of I Believe Therefore I Am now.

Also, visit www.facebook.com/IBelieveThereforeIAm and get more insights and information from Claire.

Take of advantage of all this. You’ll be glad that you did!

Until next week, please get for yourself the best of everything!

This is our 36th episode of the Master Key Coaching Teleseminars and I think it’s a doozy. I am going to give you five reasons why you’re not as rich — or successful — as you should be, even though you’re reading the books, listening to the tapes, attending the seminars, and everything else in between.

I felt the need to address this for a couple of reasons.

The first is that it’s a “complaint” I hear more than I think I should. I sometimes hear a person say that they’ve been studying this “stuff” for years and they have nothing to show for it.

I understand how frustrating that is. That’s why Im addressing it.

The second is that I think many people are deluged with some of the more modern personal development books and such and … Well, they’re not doing folks many favors! I think that some are skewing peoples’ perspectives in such a way so as to make true success almost impossible.

I know how frustrating that is! I hope my words can remedy that.

More often than not, it’s not your fault that you’re not succeeding like you should be. I hope this episode sheds some light on how just by shifting your perspective just a little, you can begin to really take advantage of not only Charles F. Haanel’s philosophy of success, but of all of the books you’ve read.

So, let’s get into the five reasons you’re not as rich or success as you should be…

Before I list these reasons, I want to make sure that you know one important thing: These reasons are in no particular order. No one is greater or more important than another. Far too often when people see lists, they just concentrate on the top one r two things without paying much attention to the others. That is not the case here. These are all equally important. Please keep that in mind.

Also, these items are very easy to mold into our lives. You’ll see that it’s just a small perceptual change that needs to take place.

So, let’s get to them …

We have to do something if you want to be successful or rich. There’s no way around it. Action is key!

I bring this point forward because many people still do not think that is the case. Instead of taking steady, deliberate action, they fuss around with vision boards and things like that.

Let me make clear, vision boards (or goal boards) are fine! They serve a purpose. They are things we make to remind us about why we are doing what we are doing. A person may keep a picture of his family on his desk at work to remind him of why he is toiling long hours. Likewise, a person may keep pictures of a fancy new car or house on a vision board to remind them to go further and work harder.

That’s how they work. They are inspirers and reminders. Nothing more nor less.

Harold has a goal: He wants to walk across America and back. How far would he get if he just thought about it all day? Or if he only pasted pictures on his wall?

It has taken — and will continue to do so — an Herculean effort to get things off the ground. He had to find sponsors. He had to make travel plans. He had to do so many things it would make your head spin.

But he did it. He’s doing it.

You really have to decide to do something.

Most people want a hand — someone to pull them up. They want to be “discovered” or they want someone to find them and give them what they need to succeed.

That rarely — if ever — happens.

What you should be looking for is someone you can help. Someone you can make an effort for.

Harold decided that his walk was going to help other people with brain tumors and brain cancer. He decided that he was going to do something, no matter how small or insignificant or crazy, that was going to benefit others.

Once he made that decision, the flood gates burst open. He got sponsors. He got help. He made contacts.

Instead of looking for someone to help you, look for someone to help. When you do that, you’ll find people coming to help you.

Haanel wrote in Week 23 of The Master Key System that the “law of success is service.”

3. We make money by making friends, and we enlarge our circle of friends by making money for them, by helping them, by being of service to them. The first law of success then is service, and this in turn is built on integrity and justice. The man who at least is not fair in his intention is simply ignorant; he has missed the fundamental law of all exchange; he is impossible; he will lose surely and certainly; he may not know it; he may think he is winning, but he is doomed to certain defeat. He cannot cheat the Infinite. The law of compensation will demand of him an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

People get rich not by taking from others nor by “lucking” into it. They become rich and successful by serving others — by trading value for value.

It’s sometimes funny to me when people say that they are going to “fire their boss.” What they mean is that they are going to start their own business. Little do they know that instead of firing their one boss, they are actually going to be placing themselves in the service of many — hopefully! — of bosses, those “bosses” being their customers.

But that’s the name of the game. We serve each other. We become our “brother’s keeper” and find the best way we can serve our fellow man. That’s what business is all about. Think about it.

On his walk, Harold will be stopping at sponsors’ businesses and inspiring the “troops.” He’ll bring attention to his sponsors and help them as much — if not more — as they helped him. He will be of service to those who helped him.

There are three Axioms for success. This is the third:

Successful people don’t worry about the things that they want; they look at what other people want and provide it — at a profit.

Read that again. And again. Get it, as we like to say on the calls, “bone-deep.”

Far too often we are taught to only think about the things that we want, whether it’s a new car, more money, whatever. We’re told to fix our minds on that and concentrate on that until we can think of nothing else.

How far has that gotten you?

You see, the trick to making this philosophy work for you is to stop focusing on the things you want; rather, you should look around you — pull your head out of your … you know the rest — and see how you can deliver what other people want. By supplying those wants and needs in a fair and efficient way, you can begin to take part in the abundance that these philosophies of success discuss.

Now, I am not saying that you should cast away your wants and personal goals. Not at all! What I am saying is that to get the things you want, you have to provide the things other people want.

Harold is endeavoring to help others. People need help and Harold knows that. That’s part of what inspired him to do what he is doing. He wants to do his best to fill a gap that has been unfilled for too long.

Yes, Harold wants things for himself; but he knows that he must first deliver to people the things that they want. He is doing that in spades!

Get it? Good.

Whether you’re looking at starting a business or you’re contemplating a career move, far too many people look at the money — at the dollar signs — rather than looking at what is really important, which is how what they are thinking of doing truly serves or benefits others.

I mainly see this problem with beginning entrepreneurs. Rather than judge a business on its merits and feasibility, they look at or listen to the pie-in-the-sky promises of the person pitching the “opportunity.” That makes them easy pickin’s for scammers and bad business deals.

Look at the business. As Haanel taught us in The Master Key System, think! Ask yourself questions about how this move will work. Look at the whole picture. Don’t just focus on the money. Focus on the business and how that can generate revenue through serving others or supplying a want or need.

When you do that, then you’ll really begin to make bank.

When Harold began his plans. He didn’t know where the money was going to come from. He didn’t worry about that, though. He knew it would be there. What was more important for him was to deliver his message — to help and inspire others. He knew “bone-deep” that everything else would fall into place.

On the call, I shared a story I heard many years ago. Luckily, I was able to find it online.

I suggest that you give it a read. It will tie things together nicely for you.

Long ago there lived an old woman who had a wish. She wished more than anything to see for herself the difference between heaven and hell. The monks in the temple agreed to grant her request. They put a blindfold around her eyes, and said, “First you shall see hell.”

When the blindfold was removed, the old woman was standing at the entrance to a great dining hall. The hall was full of round tables, each piled high with the most delicious foods — meats, vegetables, fruits, breads, and desserts of all kinds! The smells that reached her nose were wonderful.

The old woman noticed that, in hell, there were people seated around those round tables. She saw that their bodies were thin, and their faces were gaunt, and creased with frustration. Each person held a spoon. The spoons must have been three feet long! They were so long that the people in hell could reach the food on those platters, but they could not get the food back to their mouths. As the old woman watched, she heard their hungry desperate cries. “I’ve seen enough,” she cried. “Please let me see heaven.”

And so again the blindfold was put around her eyes, and the old woman heard, “Now you shall see heaven.” When the blindfold was removed, the old woman was confused. For there she stood again, at the entrance to a great dining hall, filled with round tables piled high with the same lavish feast. And again, she saw that there were people sitting just out of arm’s reach of the food with those three-foot long spoons.

But as the old woman looked closer, she noticed that the people in heaven were plump and had rosy, happy faces. As she watched, a joyous sound of laughter filled the air.

And soon the old woman was laughing too, for now she understood the difference between heaven and hell for herself. The people in heaven were using those long spoons to feed each other.

[source]

Until next week, please get for yourself the best of everything.

Problems. We all have them. As many who listen to these Teleseminars know, we often even refer to goals as problems. Why? Because while the goal itself may not be a problem, the fact that we have to devise a way to attain that goal is.

Thus, goals are problems.

We can solve any problem, though, by using what is taught in The Master Key System. It’s all there.

To make it easy for you, I listed the “five simple steps” to solve any problem.

I did this for two reasons.

The first is that a majority of what I do is solving problems. I am very good at it. It’s part of my nature. I also love doing it. I sometimes go nuts if I don’t have a problem to solve. I enjoy “crunching the numbers” and thinking about the various possibilities and solutions.

I must admit that sometimes I do it to my detriment, as I can easily be either be distracted or overly involved in solving the problem. I’m getting better, though. (And often, isn’t that what all this stuff is about?)

The second reason I decided to list these five simple steps is because when you look at successful people, the number one thing they generally do is … You guessed it! … Solve problems! From good middle managers to politicians to titans of industry, successful people are known as “problem solvers.” We refer to them when we need help with something. We go to them when we encounter obstacles. We go to them because we know — or at the very least we hope — that they can solve or help us solve our problem.

So, let’s not tarry any further. Let’s get to solving our problems!

When I delivered these steps, I used as my running example a person getting a flat tire. That’s something everyone can relate to. It’s also very tangible. I should mention here, though, that these very same steps are to be used on any problem we encounter, from the tangible to the intangible, from the small to the large.

Here are the steps:

The very first step to solving any problem is to assess your current situation. That means to know exactly where you are and where you stand.

This can be quite difficult to do, especially when you start to go for your big (and perhaps not as tangible) goals.

It’s difficult because we sometimes run into two difficulties between which we vacillate.

The first is that we sometimes over-esteem our virtues, or “positives.” The second is that we sometimes underestimate our flaws, or “negatives.” To add to the difficulty, sometimes those are switched: we underestimate our positives and overestimate our negatives.

Using and knowing The Master Key System, though, we understand that to really do this properly — and perhaps easily? — we have to be most “dispassionate” and objective as we assess our situation.

We want a very balanced and true estimation of where we stand. We want to have a level head — not panic-y and all “end-of-the-world-y” but also not “rose-tinted-glasses.”

As we learned from the exercises in The Master Key System, it’s important to relax, remain clam, and to not let our emotions rule us.

Got it? Good. Let’s go to step 2.

This step utilizes two very important things we learned in The Master Key System: using visualization and using our creative imagination.

Here, you are to visualize exactly what your ideal outcome is to be. In other words, what is your “problem solved” state?

Define it. Be thorough about it. Use your creative imagination to construct it. Visualize it.

In this, the third step, you’re going to assess the resources you have at your disposal, be they people, places, or things.

It should be mentioned that this step will play hand in hand with Step #2, in which you are visualizing your end result. That’s because your end result may sometimes determine your path, which is sometimes determined by what resources you have with which to work.

In our flat tire example, you might have a cellular phone, which can be an easy solution to your problem. Then again, you might not have a signal. So you have to check the spare tire. You have to take into account if you’re on a road with lots of traffic or if you’re on a “road less travelled.” Weather conditions may come into play. People available to you may take part.

All these things intertwine to solving the problem. The main point in this step is to use what you have.

For longer range goals — not ones like this flat tire example that are emergencies — you can develop the resources you need, such as relationships, skills, and knowledge.

It’s important to know what you have and what you need. And that’s the point here.

I think this step speaks for itself. Here is where you enact your plan. Done.

After you’ve taken action, see what you’ve done. Is the problem solved?

If it is, then you’re done.

If not, then you’ll have to “go back to the drawing board.” You have to gage your results — once again, honestly and objectively — to see where the error is. Does it lie with you? With what you’ve done? Is the plan inherently flawed? These are just a sample of the questions you’ll have to ask.

The point is to make an honest assessment of where you are now, after you’ve taken action. You might have to try the same exact thing again! Alternatively, you might have to move to “plan B,” whatever that is.

It’s important, though, whichever the case to keep going until the problem is solved.

In other words, never give up!

For some, this method may come naturally. For others, it might be something new.

Whichever the case, it’s important to get this method “bone-deep,” like all of the philosophy of Charles F. Haanel. What that means is that you should aspire to learning and understanding this “stuff” so that it comes from you naturally, practically automatically.

To get to that point with these five particular steps, the best thing you can do is to practice it on everything you do. For example, take something you do, such as making dinner. As you go about that task, which is something you may have done literally hundreds (even thousands!) of times, you mentally think about the 5 steps here and assign what you are doing to the proper step.

As is written in many a self-help tome: “As in the small, so in the large.”

When you go to attain one of your real goals — or if you are in a situation like our flat tire example — you’ll be able to run through the steps. It will occur naturally.

When you get to that level, you’ll be a leader — a problem solver.

And that’s a good thing.

Until next time, please get for yourself the best of everything.

I am going to be brief in this article for the 34th Master Key Coaching Teleseminar. There is much adventure afoot!

This week, I recapped my interview with Guy Kawasaki. It is truly amazing to hear someone so successful speak about the principles of success that we already know because of Haanel and The Master Key System — even though during our interview we never once mentioned him!

I will be conducting more interviews throughout the year. I will keep you updated.

Instead of continuing from where we left off in Master Key Arcana, I instead jumped to the last item in the book: “If” by Rudyard Kipling.

If you can keep your head when all about you

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

Enjoy this week’s episode. There’s a lot of illuminating information there.

Until next week, I wish you and yours the best of everything!

As an individual who has been “disabled” for over five years as a result of having two brain tumors, an acoustic neuroma, and a meningioma, Harold Cameron has devoted his life — his energy, time, and resources — to being an advocate for others.

Harold says, “I am just an ordinary man with faith in the extraordinary God and by His power working in me and through me, extraordinary things are accomplished!”

In 2004, Harold Cameron was diagnosed with two brain tumors. In an instant, his life changed drastically.

Rather than wallow in depression and self-pity, Harold mustered every ounce of hope and faith and love that was within him.

The result is a plan. Despite all the odds, Harold is going to fight brain tumors and spread his message of hope, faith, and love the only way he knows how:By walking across America and back.

This is not the story of a hero. It’s not the story of a saint or a martyr.

This is the story of Harold Cameron — an ordinary man with faith in the extraordinary God.

Harold’s historic walk across America begins on April 2, 2011 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

That same day, his incredibly inspiring book Why I Walk will also be released.

Kallisti Publishing is proud to make Harold’s book available to you. Beginning today, you can help Harold — and help others who suffer with brain tumors — by reserving your copy of Why I Walk.

By helping others, you will also be helping yourself! When you reserve your copy of Why I Walk, you will receive a 33% discount off the retail price. You will also receive a slew of very special bonuses.

Harold’s historic journey begins April 2, 2011.

Join him in spirit and “Have the Hope – Keep the Faith – Feel the Love.”

Please also see:

Positively Crossing America Brain Tumor Walk

Miles for Hope

“Like” Why I Walk on Facebook!