Motivating Your Subconscious (part 3)

Programming your subconscious mind with positive thinking is essential. This is not an easy task because the mind remembers negative events much more easily. Remembering bad experiences takes precedence over remembering good experiences because of our survival instincts.

Unhappy experiences have a postive side...

Ask how many times something bad has happened to you, and you mentally note that, “I won't ever let that happen again.” Thus as we grow older we find ourselves having fewer and fewer bad experiences.

If you attempt to remember your first experience as a child, most often these memories wiII be of bad experiences. If you could remember having a fourth, fifth, or sixth birthday party, for example, it might be because you cheated while playing “pin the tail on the donkey” and your mom spanked you in front of all your friends. On the other hand, if everything progressed smoothly, most likely your mind would be a blank.

Since negative thought is inherent in human nature, you will have a big advantage over your associates if you program your subconscious for positive thinking.

Many successful adults are fairly adept at programming the conscious part of the brain for positive thinking. They can maintain a facade that fools everyone, including themselves. For example, if you were going to attempt a critical golfing putt, your conscious mind would assert itself and say, “I can make this shot without fail. I'm one hundred percent sure I will make this important putt. “

All the while a tiny voice inside is repeating over and over, “I'll probably blow it.” Whether you are a success or failure is largely determined by whether your conscious or unconscious mind prevails.

A true story about diamond cutting

The largest diamond known to mankind was discovered in an African diamond mine and brought to the most authoritative diamond cutter in the world.

It was decided to split the rock in half so the diamond could be shaped and polished into two magnificent pieces. The importance of this event was worldwide. Expert diamond cutters from allover the world were consulted on exactly how the initial cutting should begin.

All diamonds have a grain. This is important to diamond cutters since cutting against the grain will shatter the rock while cutting with the grain will divide it as anticipated.

The direction of the grain within the great rock was not apparent and the experts quickly divided themselves into two camps. Some felt that the initial tap which would split the rock should be from a certain point, while others had selected another point. The owner of the rock indicated to the greatest expert that the decision was up to him and that he placed his trust in the expert's hands.

The day before the cutting was to take place, the expert gazed at the rock for the last time and noticed a fault line within the stone that was previously unnoticed. This new discovery also changed the dispute about the direction of the grain. Ultimately this expert chose a third possible point for the initial tap.

He tossed and turned all night and when the moment arrived for his work, his hands trembled in fear. He had awakened that morning with the decision to cut the stone according to his discovery the night before.

The decision was firm. He walked up to the stone with the hammer and chisel in his shaking hands, made a decisive firm blow to the stone, and passed out onto the floor.

When he recovered he looked at the stone which was divided into two perfect pieces. The world's largest and second largest diamonds were eventually fashioned from these two pieces.

The cutter's decision was a conscious decision that very likely did not correspond with his subconscious mind. These two opposing factions within the brain ultimately caused the cutter to pass out.

While his conscious mind was saying, “You are correct,” the little voice inside was saying, “You're going to blow this one.”

An associate of mine is absolutely convinced that joining the world of small business is the road to success. We've had long discussions about it and on occasion he dabbles with a part-time business.

He is highly motivated, has a dynamic personality, and is a fantastic salesman. However, he most often will allow his business activities to slide into oblivion whenever he is able to secure a construction or foundry job.

I'm sure he realizes that he is working far below his capacity but his subconscious keeps telling him to get a manual labor type of job even though he is college educated.

All his family members have manual labor jobs and so did his father and his father's father. Living all his life in an environment that programmed his mind toward manual labor has severely limited this person.

Even four years of college education failed to deprogram his subconscious into believing that he could do anything but manual labor. His family members are most negative about his abilities and react with surprise whenever he accomplishes any major goal.

Unless he is able to reprogram himself, this person will remain in the slot his unconscious mind has chosen for him. Such reprogramming would be nearly impossible since he is a family-oriented individual who is greatly influenced by his negative-thinking relatives.

Rising above those around you, though not an easy task can be done with proper motivation and training.

( three decades later, this individual is now retiring from a foundry job. His sons inherited his positive traits and all work in high paying non-foundry jobs.)

What can spark success?

A magic moment can come to anyone at any time. Many individuals never obtain this necessary spark and they, therefore, fail to ever make something great of their lives. Sometimes this spark is ignited because of a tragic event Iike the death of a loved one or an unfortunate accident. Sometimes it is ignited by an abhorrence of the life they have been living up to that point.

Whatever the cause, once the individual makes a positive commitment to something and decides to achieve a goal that would be impossible without the newly found creative spark, the life of that person is changed forever.

The Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III films, and many motivational films like these, draw enormous box office receipts with their simple plots. An individual with obvious human faults must overcome his previous existence in order to win the ultimate prize.

Usually the first three quarters of the film plot serve to illustrate just how impossible it would be to complete the task. Just when he is about to give up his quest, something ignites his creative fires—like the birth of a baby, the death of a friend, or the like— and he goes on to become a winner.

However, watching others become winners will not necessarily make you a winner. More often you might react with a good feeling after viewing one of these films, but the feeling may dissipate after a night's sleep. The Rocky films were designed to motivate.

Success tapes available in religious and success-oriented stories are primarily designed to get this creative spark going for you. Reading this artcle is worthwhile only if it helps you ignite your spark. Ultimately, no one else can do this for you.

After two decades of teaching, I have come to accept the fact that no student will learn anything until he wants to learn something. Similarly, if you don't want to ignite a spark and get your life moving positively, you'll continue to remain in first gear for a very long time.

If you decide to get your life moving in a good direction but feel you need more motivation, you'll very likely begin to visit a book store that features motivational materials. You'll be in good company most likely and be shopping alongside all the top professional people In your area.

Doctors, lawyers, businessmen and top executives can be found almost any time in one such store down the street from my home. These very successful individuals realize programming of their minds produces success. These people are truly hooked on success.

Leaders and followers

We've all heard the expression, “It's lonely at the top.” This could have a number of meanings but it tells me that the person at the top is most often a single individual leader and everyone else around him is a follower.

He's really not alone because he is surrounded by throngs of followers. However, the success or failure of the enterprise is his alone. Followers cannot accept that responsibility.

Since almost everyone around you is a follower, you must break out of the mold in order to become a leader. You might attempt to obtain positive reinforcement from other leaders, but most often they are too busy running an organization to assist other potential leaders.

The result is that becoming a leader is a lone experience. Your mind will not receive reinforcement from associates and family. Advanced education will not motivate you properly either. These institutions are too busy educating you to bother with real motivation, and in most instances, the instructor will assume that you took the class in order to participate in middle management or to learn a skill for a specific job. Self-motivation and self-programming are two keys to overcome all these obstacles. Once the tiny spark of self-motivation is lit, you can gradually turn the flame into a raging inferno if you can begin the programming of your mind before the spark goes out.

A tiny spark requires fresh kindling and oxygen to remain lit. Add more wood and fan the flame for a few minutes and a raging fire will result. Likewise, your mind will require fresh programming and continuous positive reinforcement in order to begin changes in your life.

Your subconcious works while you sleep. Pay attention to it.

Mankind has achieved many great accomplishments over the centuries but he knows less about his own mind than anything else. Sleep research has discovered that there are several phases of sleep.

The alpha phase, or light sleep, which occurs before or after other phases of deep sleep, is a potential learning period. One interesting experiment demonstrated that individuals could solve various riddles and math problems during alpha sleep.

I've had this happen to me many times and have awakened in the morning to find a notepad filled with notes that I had written in my alpha sleep. When I was actively writing songs, for example, it was not uncommon to awake in the morning and have in mind just the right word or phrase I had been trying to find for many days.

One day I was attempting to write a country western song about the eternal triangle but I wasn't having much success. I decided to lie out in the sun and get a tan that afternoon. The hot sun and the sound of running water from two decorative ornamental water fountains soon placed me into a drowsy sleep. When I awoke, it took me about ten minutes to write “Deep Blue Water.”

It's one of the finest tunes I've ever written, and I often play it at my seminars to demonstrate the power of the subconscious mind. Another technique that works well is to think about various problems and upcoming events just before retiring. Don't allow these thoughts to disturb your sleep by keeping you awake with worry. Instead, let your mind go blank as best you can and forget your concerns. Your subconscious mind will do a better job of solving your problems than your lying awake trying to find solutions.

One evening I ate an apple shortly before retiring to bed. I woke up in the morning and wrote The Sweet Apple Ballad in less than ten minutes. ( See my HUB to hear this)

Repetition is the real secret of successful programming of your mind. This is why many “success tapes” are so prevalent in the success department of book stores. The tapes can be played repeatedly without tiring the listener. The concepts are easily forgotten without continuous repetition. Listeners can play the tapes during internal times, such as during their lunch hour, while driving to work, or while taking a bath.

Perhaps your conscious mind will forget some of the concepts discussed in the tape but, with repetition, will gradually absorb it. With any luck at all you will be programming yourself for success instead of failure like other persons.

An old saying states, “You are tomorrow what you eat today.” Similarly, your programming today is who you are tomorrow. Think about it. How many times in your lifetime have you read an article or seen something fascinating on television one day and then spent the next day talking to your friends and associates about it?

Many of us receive programming in so many subtle ways that we aren't really aware that we have been programmed. I accept the belief of the church my parents selected for me. From early childhood I was taught a number of religious beliefs and encouraged to select the one that is right for me. Do I do it? My intelligence tells me that I probably could find a dozen or more religious beliefs that would have more meaning for me than the one selected by my parents. My programming is so totally instilled within that it is very likely my mind will be permanently programmed unless I make a conscious effort to reprogram myself. (And I did reprogram myself, eventually).

On the other hand, I have been programmed to be a middle class person with everyday values and a meager existence. My parents were middle class. All my life, my friends were strictly middle class. I attended a college which taught me to teach middle class skills to middle class students.

What caused this deprogramming within me? I apparently programmed myself for something else, or perhaps I rejected all the programming.

From the time I was a child, everyone has called me creative because I have always stood out as being different.

I was apparently shaking off the confines of my environment and felt other stirrings within my soul. Television causes this discomfort for millions of persons every day.

Children are able to look into this window of the world and are able to see the entire world out there. The neighborhood represents a small part of the environment and individuals feel less trapped than ever before.

Older persons frequently mention that children are not accepting programming as they have in the past. Flip the channel selector on the television to a different station, and any child will be influenced by that program content many years later. Change the programming and change the child.

Reprogramming

When you begin reprogramming yourself, three good things happen simultaneously. First, you will rid yourself of old and useless programming. Second, you will begin programming yourself with fresh positive information that is vital to your success. Third, you will begin to gain control of external programming and accept that which is helpful and reject that which isn't.

No longer will you be affected by negative comments. Instead you will be transported into the new world which you are creating in your mind.

Let's try to light my spark. If you said you had a religious belief that I might convert to, I would very likely listen politely and refuse to accept it because I am happy with my present programmed religious beliefs.

However, if I were truly unhappy with my religious beliefs, I would probably listen to you very closely. If I like what I heard, I would very likely use that conversation as a spark for more conversations and study. Eventually I would reprogram myself to your belief.

Now let's try to light your spark. If you said that you were unhappy with the small amount of money you were earning, I would begin to describe methods of increasing your wealth. Your unhappiness is the spark, and I am merely adding kindling which, with any luck, will start a raging fire.

However, if you are happy with the money you are earning, you have no spark and my kindling will remain cold.

Unhappiness and discontent are the magic flames within. Use your discontent in one of two ways. One will destroy you, the other will change your life. Smother the burning discontent within with hatred, laziness, misconceptions, rationalizations and self pity, or use it as a spark for achieving greatness. The choice is yours. You are very likely on one of these two courses this very moment.

Part 4 Overcoming Obstacles