"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
-Albert Einstein, US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)
Remember that your beliefs and convictions are the result of your own individual life experiences. Your limitations grow from those experiences, and are reinforced each time you identify something that fits in with your belief system.
Anytime you catch yourself saying "I could never do that," take the time to consider why that's the case. Is it really true, or does that belief simply ring true given your past experiences? Can other people do it? If so, how are those people different from you?
Recognize the difference between the words can't and won't. Ask yourself the question: Are you are really incapable, or just unwilling?
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving
"Thanksgiving is a typically American holiday... The lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption is the result and reward of production."
-Ayn Rand, US (Russian-born) novelist (1905 - 1982)
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
A Story about Belief
Please feel free to laugh at the image of me in the wig below (taken during an improv comedy show). Part of being a comedian involves being able to laugh at yourself... so I’m laughing with you!
A number of years ago I began taking acting classes as a hobby. Before I had discovered hypnosis, I needed a creative outlet to go along with my 9-to-5 job. The classes were for improvisational comedy at Whole World Theatre in Atlanta.
After a while, I was in an "advanced" class with a number of other students. Some had previous experience acting. Others, like me, had no previous experience. I viewed the veteran actors -- those who performed in front of sold-out crowds every week -- as being completely different creatures from myself. They were "actors." I was a student.
When this advanced class concluded, some of the students were chosen to form a new group. Others, like me, were asked to continue taking classes. I instead took a break and stuck around to help out behind the scenes.
Many months later, a fellow student of mine (who also had no previous acting experience) from that group had his first opportunity to perform in the "big show" on a Saturday night.
It was a big deal at the time. Before the show, I sat down next to him and asked an honest question with a slight sense of wonder: "Did you ever think you'd make it this far?"
His reply: "Yes."
I didn't realize it until much later, but the truth was that I had never believed I'd make it that far. I didn't believe myself to be an actor. "They" were actors. I was a just a journalist.
Simple as that.
What's notable is that both my friend and I took our beliefs and made them our reality. We each became what we believed we would become.
Years later, I returned to acting with that knowledge and thus, a new attitude. With some hard work and a little patience, I fully expected to make my way to the stage. I proceeded to perform in front of live crowds every week.
And yes, even though I’ve long since retired, I’m still an actor.
A number of years ago I began taking acting classes as a hobby. Before I had discovered hypnosis, I needed a creative outlet to go along with my 9-to-5 job. The classes were for improvisational comedy at Whole World Theatre in Atlanta.
After a while, I was in an "advanced" class with a number of other students. Some had previous experience acting. Others, like me, had no previous experience. I viewed the veteran actors -- those who performed in front of sold-out crowds every week -- as being completely different creatures from myself. They were "actors." I was a student.
When this advanced class concluded, some of the students were chosen to form a new group. Others, like me, were asked to continue taking classes. I instead took a break and stuck around to help out behind the scenes.
Many months later, a fellow student of mine (who also had no previous acting experience) from that group had his first opportunity to perform in the "big show" on a Saturday night.
It was a big deal at the time. Before the show, I sat down next to him and asked an honest question with a slight sense of wonder: "Did you ever think you'd make it this far?"
His reply: "Yes."
I didn't realize it until much later, but the truth was that I had never believed I'd make it that far. I didn't believe myself to be an actor. "They" were actors. I was a just a journalist.
Simple as that.
What's notable is that both my friend and I took our beliefs and made them our reality. We each became what we believed we would become.
Years later, I returned to acting with that knowledge and thus, a new attitude. With some hard work and a little patience, I fully expected to make my way to the stage. I proceeded to perform in front of live crowds every week.
And yes, even though I’ve long since retired, I’m still an actor.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Quote of the Day
"To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in somebody else."
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist religious leader (1935 - )
Friday, April 28, 2006
Open up and Say "Hello"
In an effort to stay active and healthy, within the past year or so I started going to the gym twice a week and playing basketball with a group of guys. Roughly the same group of men get together at the same time of day for some good old fashioned exercise and competition as a welcome break from the workday.
I played basketball from the time I was ten years old right on up through college, but being the shy kid I was at the time, never would have thought to start up a conversation with someone I didn't know outside of the gym.
Recently while I was playing, just before a game began, I noticed one of the guys on my team was wearing a Detroit Lions t-shirt. Being a long-suffering Lions fan from Michigan myself (and guessing that no one outside of Michigan would wear a Lions shirt), I asked him if he was from Detroit. He said yes. I told him the city where I grew up. Then he mentioned that he played basketball at Catholic Central High School. Well, guess what? That's my high school!
Small world!
I found out that he graduated a couple years before my brother, and I told him that I'd probably seen him play while he was there. We talked about the teachers we knew and threw names back and forth, and then we went out and won five games in a row as teammates before calling it a day.
This fellow is, by the way, probably the best player at our gym on any given day. I have played against him many times, but never spoke to him off the court. Who knew?
Just last week I struck up a conversation with another player who mentioned that he spent a significant number of years in the military, most of that time involved in combat situations in countries including Somalia and Cambodia. I had an endless fountain of questions for him and I learned a lot about war, politics, the media... and human beings.
I played basketball from the time I was ten years old right on up through college, but being the shy kid I was at the time, never would have thought to start up a conversation with someone I didn't know outside of the gym.
Recently while I was playing, just before a game began, I noticed one of the guys on my team was wearing a Detroit Lions t-shirt. Being a long-suffering Lions fan from Michigan myself (and guessing that no one outside of Michigan would wear a Lions shirt), I asked him if he was from Detroit. He said yes. I told him the city where I grew up. Then he mentioned that he played basketball at Catholic Central High School. Well, guess what? That's my high school!
Small world!
I found out that he graduated a couple years before my brother, and I told him that I'd probably seen him play while he was there. We talked about the teachers we knew and threw names back and forth, and then we went out and won five games in a row as teammates before calling it a day.
This fellow is, by the way, probably the best player at our gym on any given day. I have played against him many times, but never spoke to him off the court. Who knew?
Just last week I struck up a conversation with another player who mentioned that he spent a significant number of years in the military, most of that time involved in combat situations in countries including Somalia and Cambodia. I had an endless fountain of questions for him and I learned a lot about war, politics, the media... and human beings.
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
World Hypnotism Day
"Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account."
-Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)
Happy New Year!
Visit the official site - www.worldhypnotismday.com - for information and free hypnosis audio clips as well. Of course, this is the time of year for resolutions... so if you'd like to ensure that you stick with yours longer than the kids stick with their new toys, hypnosis may be just what you're looking for.
Give us a call and set up your free consultation today.
You've got nothing to lose... except your resolve.
Many blessings for the new year.
-Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)
Happy New Year!
Visit the official site - www.worldhypnotismday.com - for information and free hypnosis audio clips as well. Of course, this is the time of year for resolutions... so if you'd like to ensure that you stick with yours longer than the kids stick with their new toys, hypnosis may be just what you're looking for.
Give us a call and set up your free consultation today.
You've got nothing to lose... except your resolve.
Many blessings for the new year.
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