I was a true book-a-holic last month, plowing through four new books, repeat reading six old books and perusing three of the many books written by my office mate over the last ten years. I cherish books and the learning at my fingertips.
Not too long ago, when I longed for the time to finish even one new release - often settling for book summaries or spot reading on Amazon or in the book store. If you are in that camp, or if you missed it recently, here is a summary of John Assaraf's, "The Answer." Assaraf is one of the key contributors to the hit DVD, "The Secret." He has built four multi-million dollar companies and is currently at work on his dream of building the largest franchising company of the world at OneCoach.
The book brings together neuroscience, coaching, positive psychology, self-motivation, and goal-setting with a dose of the spiritual if you will. Below is a summary of the psychological and strategic concepts. I've skipped the tactical business coaching that starts on page 173. Even so, this post is fairly long.
"Discover what it is you are uniquely gifted to be and to do, then build your business and your life in ways that take maximum advantage of those aspects of yourself. That is when life flows."
We know from the field of quantum physics that everything is energy - even things that look like solid matter, like a chair - are, the tiniest level, packets of energy. Your thoughts are energy that create your physical world basically by broadcasting to the universe - kind of like a radio - what it is you are thinking about and desiring. Some mysterious force makes sense of what you are broadcasting and brings it into your awareness or reality. This is what some call the "Law of Attraction."
While it can't be scientifically proven, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support it. Everything you desire is out in the ether waiting for your thoughts to resonate at the proper level to bring these good things into your life. But how? Harness the power of both your conscious and nonconscicous minds.
Your conscious brain has five levels of functioning. They are will, memory, perception, reasoning, intuition, and imagination. The most powerful of these is imagination which is where dreams and ideas are born. However, to tap the power of the quantum universe, you have to train your subconscious mind and need both aspects to work together. To do that, you use the following six step process.
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Create a vision of what you want to achieve complete with sensory and emotional details.
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Write down affirmations that fit the vision in your mind.
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Feel the emotions of succeeding in this way by accessing memories of other times you have succeeded. The author refers to this a "neural linking" and spends good deal of time explaining exactly how to do it.
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Make a vision board of your dream.
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Design and implement a daily routine to imprint the new beliefs on your subconscious mind three times per day, morning, noon and before bed.
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Feed positive messages to your subconscious throughout the day via audio, video, affirmations or mediation.
The above technique is referred to as Neural Reconditioning and it is a rock solid method for self-motivation. Chapter 8 provides a complete list of FAQ's for more information on the technique.
The balance of the book covers creating a vision for your business based on your passion, defining your ideal customer,innovating, and differentiating your business from your competitors. All practical , specific and useful information!
I love the science although I don't know enough to be skeptical about it and I am fine with that. The information on how to use your mind is useful with or without the science although the authors go to great lengths to provide the background and the science. he book is an excellent balance of theory, explanation, and practical application. After completing the exercises, you will have written a fairly comprehensive business and/or life plan based on your deepest passions.
This is an excellent coaching book for people who need to understand a little more about the science behind visualization, a positive mental attitude and the relationship between thoughts, energy, and success.
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