Well, GOALS 2010 was another successful presentation. The co-creators in the event gave us great feedback and are on track to creating the lives of their dreams. During the presentation, we do a “USE Exercise”. That is, to stress that the feeling of success is actually the use of one’s talents and skills in service to others and that this feeling is one the best feelings that we, as humans, are capable of having.

I just had an epiphany and wanted to share it with you. I wrote an email to a friend who asked for some help with a voice-over for an ad her company was doing. She thanked me and I wrote her back and thanked her for the opportunity to serve her. I realized after writing it how profound it actually was. By giving me the chance to do the voiceover, I used my talents to help her complete a project she had, this use of my talents made me feel extraordinary! She is the one who actually gave to me by letting me serve her.

Once one realizes that the real energy in life is in the use of talents, the doing of things, their entire life changes. Many people think that greatness is in the love of ease, e.g. being entertained, retiring, etc., when in fact, the goal is to constantly bring one’s inspirational perception of truth to others through their talents. I once read a book, The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe, by Glenn Clark, written about Walter Russell, and in it, the Author describes something called The Life Triumphant. “The Life Triumphant is that which places what a man gives to the world in creative expression far ahead of that which he takes from it of the creations of others.” This is really the essence of a fulfilled life and if one subscribes to a philosophy of constant use of talents, they will give far more to the world than they can ever take from it. We really need so little, but have so much to give.

Recognize that when you use your talents, you unlock the greatness in yourself. Constantly look for ways to serve others through the use of your talents. Just use your talents! If you want to be a writer, just write, if you want to be a speaker, speak, if you want to act, act. It doesn’t matter where, how or when, just do it. If you want to act, go to a nursing home and put on a performance, as Marianne Williamson says. It doesn’t matter if you write a blog post, or a best seller, if you are called to write, just put the pen to paper and get on with it. The details & finances will sort themselves out, if you don’t believe me, read “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. Remember what the great teacher said 2,000 years ago, “The greatest among us shall serve.” True greatness is in the service, the use of talents. When someone asks you for help where you can use your talents, say YES!, because you will receive more joy than the person you are serving. Talk about a Win/Win!

I am sure we have all heard the quote, “If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.” written by Sir Isaac Newton. I was introduced to this quote by Kostas Kalogeropoulos, the owner of several hotels in the Lehigh Valley, during my time at the Iacocca Institute. I never fully understood it until this year. What it really means to me is analyzing the perspective from which we initiate our thought on a daily basis. There is such a plethora of stimuli out there that it is tempting to take in whatever comes our way. The reality, however, is that the quality of the stimuli we allow into our psyche determines the quality of the thoughts we have, which ultimately determines what we say, do and the very conditions in which we live our lives.

First, it is important to understand the creative vs. competitive realm. Simply put, the competitive realm is a way of doing things and living life, in many facets, where someone wins and someone loses. In the creative realm, everyone wins, all the time. We illustrate this in our goals workshop quite well by showing that we all want different things in life and that is why there is enough for everyone, and why it is possible to have win/win scenarios throughout your day and life. The first step, however, is to know that this type of life is possible. Once you do, you can live in the creative realm.

Is there is value to stimuli? YES! Think about it, if you were to have a list of media, their cost and quality, what would it look like? Maybe something like this:

FREE MEDIA:
Radio, television, bill boards, web news, web banners, etc. – There is not only little value here, however, the majority of the stimuli follow Eleanor Roosevelt’s adage, “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” Most of the times these media channels discuss people and events.

PAID MEDIA under $10:
News Papers, magazines, paid radio, etc. – These channels also follow Madame Roosevelt’s idea as well. There are several good channels in this range, however, most of it falls into the competitive realm as well; discussing political motives, what celebrities did and general win/lose scenarios. The exception to this channel are magazines that further develop your vision. Realize that most of these magazines are marketing pieces, however, some really highlight the finer things in life and inspire one to look at them and keep them in their consciousness.

PAID MEDIA from $11 – $50:
Books, home study courses, one evening seminars, etc. Be honest, ask yourself the question, what was on the news two years ago? Okay that was a bit of a trick question, how about 9 months ago? Okay, okay, how about 3 months ago? Last month? Last week? Now, name a list of the last 5 books you have read and write down some of the ideas that surfaced. You get the picture, you probably don’t remember much of the news, however, you do remember the books you have read and the major lessons you learned, right? There is a reason for this and it resides in Madame Roosevelt’s quote above. As humans, we all have the potential for greatness; we are actually called to greatness. That is why when we read about great ideas, we become inspired and actually remember them. Over the past hundred years or so, we, as a society, have developed many new media channels, many of which provide little value, but many people still take that stimuli in! It is up to us, as the individual, to consciously choose which stimuli we allow into the sanctuary of our mind, because there is a difference.

PAID MEDIA from $51 – $500:
Weekend courses, evening courses, lessons, etc. Now we are really getting into it. Think of a course you took on a passion of yours. Be it an evening painting course, language course, guitar lessons, weekend motivational seminar, etc. What was the result of that? It was a completely new set of skills, a paradigm shift in your way of seeing the world, and of course, you not only remember these experiences, you use them in your daily life.

PAID MEDIA from $501+:
College degrees, certificates, advanced training, etc. This is where we all can relate. Yes, there is a cost to go to college or to get advanced training, however, rightfully so. There are people who have dedicated their lives to teaching you, and your payment allows them to make a good living. Think about it, if you had the good fortune to go to college (if you didn’t, all you have to do is apply, I know a great woman who is in her 50s who just finished the prerequisites and started nursing school last Fall…), do you remember the lessons you learned from your favorite courses, professors? Of course you do, this is where you probably discussed and deliberated many great ideas. The skills you learned probably led you in the direction of what you do every day as a career as well.

So you see, there is value to the stimuli we take in on a daily basis. This is where Isaac Newton really hit it on the head, and I really didn’t get it until this year. By giants, he meant, where do you get your frame of reference? Where do you start your day? Do you start it on greatness in the creative realm according to your goals? Do you put into your mind the great ideas of the ages from the greatest thinkers and doers of history, or do you put into your mind thoughts that discuss people and events? It is your call. The real beauty of living in the modern age, however, is that one can educate themselves continually, with just a library card. We can take in most of the above, great stimuli at no cost, it is up to us. Then, when you read something that inspires you, write it down in a journal and reread it every day until it becomes a part of your thinking and vocabulary. Do as Earl Nightingale recommends, make the idea your own. At this stage is where you really start feeling different emotionally and where your start noticing changes in your vocabulary, actions and conditions.

Sometimes people say to me, so you don’t watch the news? You don’t know what is going on in the world? One has to realize that there is a difference between real reporting of news and what is on television on a regular basis. Real news covers an important event, think back to events that were news worthy, e.g. the discovery of the Theory of Relativity, the invention of the light bulb, the first feature length cartoon, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, the Tsunami, etc, these were real events that were covered. Most of what we see on the major news publications is developed by people who have deadlines to meet, thus ends up being something along the lines of fiction, taking an everyday circumstance and adding hype and sensationalism and viola, you have the modern news. Why? Well that is simple, to get circulation, ratings, click throughs, etc, to sell advertising, all directed toward the end of you, the consumer, purchasing more product. That is the only motive of the majority of the content coming through the television screen. With the dawn of modern social media, such as Facebook, one may have a direct link to people who actually live in a region where the ‘news’ is happening. Perhaps you can contact a friend and ask them what is going on in their country/city, rather than rely on the major news publications as your sole source of information. That is what I do when I hear of an event that is news worthy. You would be surprised at how different the situation actually is and how the few sound bytes or news clips portayed are diametrically opposite to what is actually happening. It is as if someone had a car accident in your town and it was reported, it happened, yes, but you weren’t there, you didn’t see it and it didn’t have anything to do with you. It is unfortunate, yes, however, not a reflection of the macro circumstances of your town. That is how the news portrays situations and events, as if they were the conditions of the world, and they are not. The real conditions are happy people, living normal lives, but we are made to believe, through most of the imagery of the media, that the conditions are undesireable, this is simply not true.

How much of your daily mental real estate is filled with what others are telling you to think about? What would you do with that real estate if you thought the thoughts you want to think? What is the outcome of choosing to fill your minds with the greatest ideas from the giants of history? A magnificent life full of clear & focused thinking and the conditions you desire around you is the result. Sir Isaac Newton also said, “Plato is my friend — Aristotle is my friend — but my greatest friend is truth.” Truth is the highest form of thought and is delivered right into our minds when we are ready to receive it. All we have to do is remove the noise of all of this excess stimuli that attempts to pervade our psyche and put into our minds the thoughts we want to have. To start, try the thoughts of giants; stand on their shoulders and you will see pinnacles and views you have only imagined possible.

-Thomas Roman, December 17, 2009