July 2009
Monthly Archive
What Will You Do?
Posted by Kris Stecker on 25 Jul 2009 | Tagged as: Prosperity
Change? It’s in the air. It seems that everything is shifting with incredible speed. And change is at the core of thriving. Evolve and thrive. Evolve or perish. There is no getting away from it.
So the question is, what are you doing to evolve? What are you doing to identify your next opportunity to thrive. Let’s start with the word Thrive:
1 : to grow vigorously :
2 : to gain in wealth or possessions :
3 : to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances
Focus on these definitions, particularly the last one. The circumstances are going to happen. Age, weather, the economy and many other things that you can’t control are going to happen. The only thing you have control over is how you respond. That’s all.
You set goals if you are paying attention and trying to thrive. If you don’t set goals you are reacting to your environment and letting it dictate who you are and what your condition is. Why would you want to do this? Why would you want to let circumstances dictate your prosperity? What do you gain by disowning your birthright to thrive?
In my own life what I found was during the times when I wasn’t proactive in thriving, it was an issue of comfort. The discomfort of not thriving was less than the discomfort of taking the risk to change. Of course, life always seems to have a way of making it increasingly uncomfortable to resist change. Eventually it becomes so uncomfortable that you simply have to do something to break out of the pattern that is holding you back. Whether it’s ending a bad relationship, changing jobs, learning something new or letting go of a belief that no longer works, you have to take a deep breath and start the process.
We are now moving into the next cycle of change. The days are getting shorter very quickly and autumn and winter will be here before you know it. We are conditioned to prepare for change in September. The back to school catalogs and ads are in our face and our cells automatically respond by starting to prepare. We are conditioned to go into a new learning/evolving cycle every September. It pulls at us. Some people like it and others dread it.
At Spa Tech Institute we see a surge of future students contacting the schools in August. It’s like someone flicks a switch and suddenly everyone is thinking about school again. It’s like salmon swimming up stream and birds migrating. It just happens.
My question to everyone is, what are you going to do if you don’t do something to change your life? What are you going to be doing a year from now? How is your life going to be different in one year if you don’t do something now? How will your life be in five years if you don’t do anything now?
The point is, things will continue to change no matter what you do. The question is whether it will change for the better or the worse. If you do nothing to advance your knowledge and prepare to go to your next level, will you have more opportunities or less? Will you be more prosperous and in control of your life or less in control?
Of course, we know the answer. It’s in the news every day. People who have not evolved are unemployed and those who continue to evolve are working. Anywhere from 6% to over 25% of the population is unemployed. The highest rate is where people did the least amount to change. They were working in industries that didn’t evolve. They worked in jobs that didn’t evolve. And as a result, they became obsolete. Where the rates are the lowest you will also find the highest rate of change. And invariably, where the rates of unemployment are the lowest the rates of education are the highest.
So what will you do? How are you going to change and grow so you will be more prosperous and skilled this year than last? What are you going to learn that makes you more valuable in the future? What opportunities are you going to grow into so you can thrive and reach your highest potential. It’s up to you. No one can do it for you.
Learn to love change and you will succeed no matter what happens in the world.
I look forward to our journey together.
Sincerely,
Kris
p.s. Nancy and I have been super busy with the Change Your Energy, Change Your Life talks as well as doing the ARYSE at Ipswich and Plymouth. It’s been amazing to work with everyone and see over 150 people learn something new and change in the last two weeks. This coming week we will be doing the talk and ARYSE in Westbrook, ME and the week after in Westboro, MA. That will be followed with the class on using technology to increase your career and business success. I look forward to seeing everyone at these upcoming classes and talks. It’s always fun to hang out with people who love to grow and change.
For more information on the class you can go to http://estore.spatech.edu and follow the links to the descriptions.
Independence, Accountability and Prosperity
Posted by Kris Stecker on 04 Jul 2009 | Tagged as: Define Prosperity, Money, Personal Development, Prosperity
Happy Independence Day! This is a great day to address a vitally important concept. This post may be controversial to some and make perfect sense to others.
There is a direct link between independence, accountability and prosperity. Independence is what makes this country successful. Independence drives innovation and invention. To understand why, you need to look at what independence really is and one of the best examples is the bold step taken by the founders of this country.
What did they really demand independence from? Remember, the signers of the Declaration of Independence were all businessmen in one way or another. They were people who were committed to building a successful and prosperous venture. Even though the Declaration of Independence states many important and vital ideals and values, at the core of the issue was independence from the overbearing taxes and interference in business of the new colonies. Many of the colonists were upset that the fruit of their hard work was being taken from them to support a government that was domineering and not responsive to their needs.
It’s important to remember that the predominant reason the majority of people came to the colonies was for the opportunity to create prosperity. Europe was stratified by rules, government and a class system that made it almost impossible for people to create a prosperous future. Their opportunities were so limited that they risked a very dangerous and uncomfortable ocean passage that ended with landing in a wild and untamed location where life was tentative and there were many hazards. Many died of illness and exhaustion. But they were committed to prosperity. This theme is at the heart of the pioneer life. In fact the word “pioneer” means to establish oneself in a previously barren area (which could be a place or an area of thinking).
In this hostile and dangerous environment innovation was stimulated to the point where the colonies went from survival to early prosperity. When that happened, the English government saw the opportunity to impose taxes and other measures that would redistribute the wealth back to England. At the same time the government was out of step with the needs of the colonists. The government kept imposing more restrictions on trade, freedom of expression and many other things that were at the heart of creating prosperity.
When the colonists asserted their independence from big government, it was extremely dangerous but also very stimulating. It was a huge risk that could have crushed our budding prosperity. But more importantly, after independence was achieved, the United States of America was set up to prosper by restricting the central government and leaving the power in the hands of the people. This is changing very rapidly.
Which brings me to the point, at last, of the relationship of independence, accountability and prosperity. If you look at the rest of the world you will see that with rare exception, the most independent countries are the ones with the highest prosperity. The ones that are heavily controlled or regulated by the government have much lower prosperity. The reason is simple: Innovation flees regulation. And innovation must be present to create prosperity.
But why does there seem to be a constant drive towards creating more regulations? Why do governments grow and take over? There are many reasons but probably the biggest is that independence requires a high level of personal accountability in order to succeed. Accountability is uncomfortable unless people are willing to be responsible for their actions. Most people don’t like to be held accountable or take responsibility. It’s much easier to make others accountable. It’s psychologically safer to have others be responsible. That way if something fails, it’s, “Not your fault.”
And therein lies the problem. In order to be prosperous, you have to be comfortable with failing. You have to be responsible for all of your actions. You have to be willing to take risks that don’t always succeed. And you have to be accountable to yourself for your success and your failure.
We are at a historical moment in our destiny. 52% of the voters have signaled that they want the government to be responsible for our prosperity. And the government has taken that permission to create more regulations and redistribution of wealth. Which means that if you want to be prosperous, you will have to work even harder to break free from this mindset and move into a deeply independent consciousness. But not only will you have to break from the mass mind and be independent, but you will have to lead everyone around you to a higher level of accountability and responsibility.
One of the important concepts taught at Spa Tech is that blaming others will never make you successful. The only route to success is to take responsibility and maintain the mindset of a pioneer. Allow your mind to be independent from the group think and look for areas that are barren where you can create something new. And practice accountability every day. The more you own the outcomes of your actions, the more prosperous you will become.
In Prosperity,
Kris
p.s. I look forward to your comments and questions.
Prosperity and Framing Issues
Posted by Kris Stecker on 01 Jul 2009 | Tagged as: Prosperity
Every situation has many possible outcomes and even more ways that you can feel about it. These are often interlinked. How you feel about it will energize the outcome.
I recently had a chance to put this to the test. I bought a new eMachine computer at Staples for the cosmetology school in Portland. It’s a brand I have been wary of but since it was at Staples and on sale, I thought, why not give it a try. After 6 trips to Maine to deal with problems that seemed unsolvable I was ready for a change.
The lesson could be that I didn’t follow my inner knowing. This is true. But one part of prosperity is to keep an open mind and try new things. There are many good products that haven’t developed their brand recognition yet and early adopters are the ones who benefit. In order to prosper you must stay open to possibilities and take risks. No one will prosper by playing it safe all the time.
The more important lesson was the opportunity it presented me. On the 6th attempt to make the product work, I was very frustrated. My chest started tightening and my thoughts grew dark. Of course three weeks of rain didn’t help but I could feel that this was a test. So I concentrated on my options.
One option was to get angry and give people a hard time. It’s a typical response to release the tension. But is that fair to other people? Is it reasonable to not take responsibility for ignoring my intuition and blame them? And think of the bad energy that creates in the world. Bad energy is the fastest way to block your prosperity or ability to manifest what you want.
Another option is to take responsibility and see the opportunity to grow. Since prosperity manifests only when we are ready to take responsibility, that was the direction I had to take. Mind you, it took time to get to this and to figure out what it all means. But as soon as I did, I saw how I could re-frame the entire experience and what I needed to do.
The reframing of the situation is as follows: I took a chance (a good thing) and found that my intuition was correct (another good thing) and eMachine and Staples had given me a wonderful opportunity to practice patience and alignment (another good thing).
It was like flicking a switch. I felt better immediately. The tightness in my chest subsided and I was able to smile, be nice to people and I could feel my entire system get stronger. My focus was on the positive. I went into Staples and explained the problems and they immediately responded with attention to helping me get a machine that I would be happy with. They were great about it.
So remember, in all situations you have a choice: You can increase your ability to manifest by finding a way to frame all situations in the positive. It’s healthier for you and will produce great results.
Enjoy every moment.
Kris
p.s. What are your challenges or successes with manifesting more prosperity?