iMindShift with Steve Chandler

I was hopeless and I thought I was helpless

When you enter a 12-step recovery program, it is recommended that you get a sponsor. That person should have at least a year of good sobriety, and preferably more.

My sponsor was a man named L. He passed away a few years ago. He died sober and happy. His life before sobriety was a catastrophic mess, filled with shame and depression. All kinds of embarrassing crises caused by his addiction to alcohol.

Which was a shame because he was a gifted classical pianist and a brilliant man.

But after he got sober, his life took a strange turn into a dimension he would never have realized were he not to work a program of spiritual recovery, a program that featured his amazing work sponsoring hopeless drunks like me.

Helpless. Hopeless.

I went to meetings and started thinking this is not for me. Aren't I smarter than these people? Am I not better educated? What is this silly religious stuff they are trying to get me to believe in? Am I not above all that?

And were it not for L, I may not .... no, I would not be alive today. Because L was smarter than I was. He was eloquent. He was well-read. He was a classical pianist. He knew what to do with my objections to the meetings. He cared about me and wanted me to have what he had...which at that time, some thirty years ago, was 10 years of his own sobriety. Plus happiness. His eyes sparkled and twinkled, and he laughed when I expressed my anguish. He just laughed.

He was always trying not to laugh. He insisted that he understood my pain, and identified with it.

"I was too good for this myself," L said. Then he would point to a framed slogan on the wall of our meeting hall that said, "Your best thinking got you here."

Here! In this room full of drunks drinking coffee and telling our near-death stories.

As I work now, thirty some years later, on my Death Wish project, at capturing the epiphanies and breakthroughs---the mental miracles that occurred for me then (and are available to everyone) I am lifted almost daily by people who are writing to me with their support......

Look at what a brave woman named Monaica sent:

Dear Steve,

I’m really grateful I found you.

You don’t have to know someone to touch their lives.

Because what we’re really talking about is “the kind of love that has no price tag…”

My sobriety date is June 10th, 2002.

I’m an AA baby. My parents have had a treatment center for over 30 years. My father has literally helped tens of thousands of people get sober.

I was raised around criminals, killers, and abusers who transformed their lives.

On Thanksgiving every year my home was filled with people who had nowhere else to go.

These are my people.

Thank you for your incredible commitment to giving it your all…to learning the truth about yourself so you could teach me about the lies that I tell myself…for teaching me to powerfully create instead of take.

Anything I can do to be of service to you as you create your legacy within the prisons would be an honor and a privilege.

May You Stay Forever Jedi…

Monaica Ledell
President, Truth Hacking

 

Hey, where's the class on How to Live?

Brian Johnson (with Alexandra and little Emerson pictured above) is a philosopher and giver of joy to many thousands of his readers, viewers and subscribers.

Brian was featured in the fantastic and highly-recommended movie, Finding Joe, a documentary about Joseph Campbell and the hero's journey we all (consciously or unconsciously) take in this life.

He is the author of one of my favorite books, A Philosopher's Notes, and you can find out more about his colorful life and many offerings (some at no charge) at www.entheos.com.

As Brian says, "Isn't it a bit odd that we went from science to math to history but somehow missed the class on how to live?"

We could always just wring our hands and curse the educational system. But Brian has a better solution. Why not just provide that missing piece? Why not create email messages and cool YouTube dramatizations of the best philosophy and positive psychology in the world for everyone to learn and use? He has done that. His work is mind-blowingly thorough and easy to grasp.

In my wealth warrior inner circle members listen as I interview a new dynamic hot thinker each month on the subject of wealth and creativity... it costs a membership fee to be in that group, so I don't share the webinars. Or at least I usually don't.

But this once, I am going to. Because this one was so extraordinary and inspiring and game-changing and life-changing for people in the group that they are sending it all around the world and the internet ... so here it is for you:   Loving What You Do with Steve Chandler and Brian Johnson

....and here is a recent message from Brian and En*Theos:

ENJOY| by Brian Johnson

"This is the manner of noble souls: they do not want to have anything for nothing; least of all, life. Whoever is of the mob wants to live for nothing; we others, however, to whom life gave itself, we always think about what we might best give in return... One should not wish to enjoy where one does not give joy."  

                          ~ Friedrich Nietzsche from Thus Spoke Zarathustra

 I absolutely love that.

Imagine a life in which we seek to GIVE joy.

A life in which we enter relationships to GIVE joy. A life in which we work to GIVE joy.

Can you even imagine how much we would ENjoy that?!!? Stunning... To giving full expression to the highest within us!!

~ Brian Johnson
www.entheos.com

 

IF THIS MAN CAN STOP ONE HEART FROM BREAKING. . .

"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching,
or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."
                                      ~ Emily Dickinson  

 

I've had the pleasure of helping Jonathan Keyser edit his upcoming book on how he converted from a self-centered, egotistical life of seeking business success, to a life of selfless service.

The book inspired me to search for a quote that best described Jonathan's heart and soul. That's the quote you see up there from Emily Dickinson.

It sure doesn't look like a quote that has anything to do with business.

Which is why it is perfect, because Jonathan and his team of like-minded, service-obsessed commercial real estate consultants do not do business in a normal way.

For example, let's take a look at their operating principles that the team co-authored for itself. And before you allow yourself to be pleasantly stunned by these, what's even more impressive to me is how his team continuously imprints these by reading them aloud at meetings and reporting back to each other about how they are being lived out there in the real world:

1. We SERVE our clients, partners, and each other fully, selflessly and completely and only involve ourselves in projects, activities and conversations that can truly add value to another individual. We are known by one word….SERVICE…and we live the statement: “It is not about me.”

2. We outwork our competition and win as a result. We work relentlessly, tirelessly, and passionately towards our cause and do not allow ourselves to be distracted, discouraged, or deterred from our mission by ANYTHING, no matter how enticing it may appear.

3. We encourage bold action and are not afraid of making a mistake. We never punish mistakes, but rather embrace them because to fear mistakes makes a person timid, and keeps them out of bold, fearless, massive action which is precisely where value is created.

4. We always do our best, and produce more than our clients request or expect every single time. We provide the highest quality service, materials, and deliverables to our clients and partners, and nothing is ever done half-ass. Everything is done to the very best of our potential.

5. We expect to win every single time. Period. We do this because we think and act as we truly are…the best in the business. No one delivers greater service or quality representation than our team. We are the BEST and we honor ourselves by being and doing our best.

6. We are one team, and each person plays an integral role. Together we are more successful than we would be on our own, and we honor the importance of everyone’s contribution. We each serve a critical team function, and no team member is superior to another.

7. We give first, fully and exuberantly, knowing that if we focus on giving and truly seeking opportunities to help others in real, tangible ways, then we experience true joy and fulfillment in our own lives, and as a side benefit, experience resounding success as well.

8. We always follow through with the commitments we make…always. People can rely on us because we do what we say we will do, and when we see that we cannot, we quickly clean it up. We are our word, and as a result, what we speak into existence actually occurs for us.

9. We have fun with what we do, and with the members of the team. This is a mission we are thrilled to be a part of, and we won’t take on a client unless it will be fun for everyone. Nothing is worth sacrificing our happiness over, and so we are lighthearted and playful in all we do.

10. We invest in our own self-improvement, always striving for greater awareness of ourselves and our creator, for we know that as we align with our true identity and remain focused on our purpose that the power within us will manifest and create our highest potential.

11. We are a family, and always protect and serve each other. In love, we hold each other accountable through authentic, honest, and kind discussion. We are a tight knit brotherhood, and we love and care for each member of the team at all times because they are family.

12. We are 100% coachable. We do not resist feedback, we are never defensive, and we look deep within ourselves to find where feedback could be even partially true. We find great value in the perspective of others and are fully committed to the consensus of the team.

13. We are 100% present in all that we do. We commit all of our mental energy to what we’re creating and do not allow ourselves to be distracted by Anything (technology, other people, or our own thoughts). We are fully present, and thus maximize every action and interaction.

14. We are disruptive, we embrace change, and we are forward thinking in all that we do. We continuously explore and integrate new tools and innovations, to maximize personal responsiveness & efficiency, and provide best-in-class service to each and every client.

15. We are strong, healthy and fit. We value and respect our bodies with regular exercise and proper nutrition, knowing it increases productivity, confidence and well being. We care for ourselves, and as a result, discipline flows into every aspect of our lives.

Jonathan Keyser has not created some kind of blue sky ideal future scene for his team and him to live toward. I know the man (he and I share the same transformational unstoppable coach). Keyser's principles are a description of how he lives NOW. He's performed this way for quite some time, in fact, and is now devoted to teaching his team, and even beyond his team..... (when his book comes out) the entire world the profitable results of living for service.

I received a quote from Brian Johnson this week that made me think of Jonathan and the company they call Keyser:

“A path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you . . . Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself alone, one question . . . Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't it is of no use.”
                                                                   ~ Carlos Castaneda

The Business Jounal had a great little article on Keyser that you will want to read, here.

 

You may not have to choose anything

A favorite quote of mine.

From The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.

(Once, a few years ago, I sent this quote to someone who was STUCK in passivity, career-wise, and this quote alone completely changed his life):

"As a man's real power grows;
and his knowledge widens,
ever the way he can follow grows narrower:
until at last he chooses nothing,
but does only and wholly what he must do."

                                         *     *     *     *

One day it hit me that I wanted to help people become self-reliant and create wealth for themselves and their families. It wasn't exactly a choice. I had just finished Time Warrior and was enjoying the response to that book, and the break between books.

A year passed and my publisher was ready for a sequel. My original idea for the sequel was Catch Fire, yet another book about motivating yourself. Then I asked a trusted friend and mentor about what ought to be next. What do people care the most about? What's even more vital than becoming a warrior around managing one's time?

"Money," my friend said. "People want to know how to make money. That's even more important to them."

It hit me like a thunderbolt and it was beyond choice. It chose me. I whispered to myself, "wealth warrior."

                                         *     *     *     *

something for you from Wealth Warrior:

 

This kind of "service" does not pass the giggle test

 When I say the word "service," what do you think of?

If you are leaning toward warrior, then I know you are not thinking of "public service."

Often people think of politicians who have been in the government for long periods of time—senators, congressmen, people like that—as being somewhat heroic for spending their lives "in public service."  

We see tributes and very expensive dinners featuring toasts to these politicians who have "given their lives over to public service" as if it was a tremendous sacrifice on their part.

This whole "public service" idea has inflicted confusion upon the word "service" in the worst possible way.  

Because this senator (Republican or Democrat, doesn't usually matter) sitting there being toasted and roasted is someone who has lived a lifestyle of deal-making and good-old-boy favor-trading while never having to pay for anything. He is being chauffeured and flown around the world like the king of Brunai on government money.  

Not his money.  

He has a huge staff running around doing work for him so even if he has to sit in a committee hearing, you can see the staff around him buzzing like bees—a staff of people who have done all the real preparation for that meeting.

So, where's the "service" they are all talking about?  

Not only does this "public servant" live off other people's money and do no work of his own, this same public beneficiary gets rich, and receives huge speaking fees. When he comes into office, his net worth is x and when he leaves office it's 100 times x—how did that occur?  

Service!

Really?

No. Some company he did a political (financial) favor for is now going to have him come speak for $50,000 at their big dinner.  

When presidents come into office without a lot of money and leave multi-millionaires, even though their presidential salary was not all that big, we have to wonder about the term "public service."  

It's a mockery.  

It's hilariously mislabeled.  

It hardly represents a service to the public.  

This is one of the reasons it's sometimes hard with clients of mine to have them understand that the source of all wealth is service.  

Because they hear terms like "public service" and "a life of service" about these people that they know are not serving.

They know that these people are actually being waited on hand and foot.

While performing "public service" from the back of a limo.

It's a tremendous disservice to so tarnish this glorious word.  

Part of seeing the source of wealth for you and for me is to clean that word up and give it a fresh new understanding so that it really means something. It really means helping someone else, assisting another person, and delivering actual value.

Politicians are not public servants. We just all call them that because we've fallen asleep.

It's like the hotel operator said to me this morning. This is your wake up call.