Define Prosperity
Archived Posts from this Category
Archived Posts from this Category
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.
Posted by Kris Stecker on 18 Jun 2009 | Tagged as: Career, Define Prosperity, Health, Money, Personal Development, Prosperity
After my last blog on Start by Asking For What You Want many people are asking, “What is treasure mapping?” I’m so glad you asked.
Treasure mapping is a really simple process that allows you to get more clarity on what you want and creates a visual affirmation that allows you to continually reinforce receiving what you want. There are whole workshops on treasure mapping by people that are in the business of helping people fulfill their desires.
There is no right or wrong way to do a treasure map. A treasure map can be done on a large poster board or in a book format. I prefer the large poster board so you can hang it on the wall opposite your bed so it’s the first and last thing that you see every day. However, if you travel a lot, the book is a better format.
You can do this by yourself, with family or a friend or with a group of friends. A treasure mapping party can be really fun and multiply the focus on the creation for your future. Doing it with your family can be really great if everyone is very supportive of each other. The only thing you do not want to do is have people, who are critical of you or your dreams, be part of the process.
Once you decide on the format (book or poster board) you will need scissors, glue or tape and a bunch of magazines and brochures that reflect your interests. For instance, if you like to ski, get ski magazines. If you like cars get car magazines. If there are people who represent qualities of yourself that you want to develop, get magazines that have those types of people (performers, yogis, artists, healers, etc.). If you are treasure mapping your wedding get a lot of magazines on weddings and honeymoons or vacations.
Now you are ready to start. It’s best to allow at least 3 hours but all day is even better. Or you can do several segments of time. Begin by clearing and relaxing your mind and stating your intention to let your subconscious assist you. You can either be random or you can do a treasure map for a specific area of your life. You may be focusing on relationship, housing, travel, work or anything that is important to you.
Now start looking at the magazines that attract you and start clipping pictures, headlines and anything that you like. Suspend judgement and just go for it. If it’s a big boat or house, don’t let your thoughts interfere. Don’t think about cost or practicality. Just let your subconscious pick things that you like. As you do this watch your thoughts. Be mindful of the inner voices as they expose your deepest fears or reflexive patterns that prevent you from having what you want. There is often extremely valuable information in these thoughts. You can learn a lot about yourself very quickly.
After you have a pretty good pile of clippings it’s time to move on to the next phase. Start to sort them and decide which ones you like and arrange them on the page. Don’t glue them yet. You will want to be able to move them around. As you do this you may find that there are some things that you want to add so you go back to the magazines and look for specific things to fill in the gaps. Again, watch your thoughts.
At a certain point you will feel satisfied that there is enough on the page or board and you like where things are positioned. Now it’s time to glue it down, look at it and share it with others. (Of course I expect there will be a lot of sharing throughout the process if you are with family and/or friends.) Talk about why you chose the different things and why it’s important to you. Sometimes you know and sometimes it’s just a feeling. It’s all good.
You have completed the first step of your treasure map. Like life, it’s never completely done.
It’s good to find a place for your treasure map where you will see it frequently and have time to meditate on it. As you contemplate it, remember that nothing is as it seems. It may be that the big house next to the ocean is not really what you are looking for but it does represent having a feeling of enough space and peace and calm. Maybe the space is a case of creating more space in your existing house by removing things that you don’t need or isolating things that are noisy like televisions or other noises (like kids?). Or maybe you need to get outside near the ocean more and the house represents this.
The important part is that you have created a temporary record of what feels good to you. You can see it and it increases your awareness of what you want to manifest. The more you see it, the stronger the knowledge of wanting it becomes. This clarity helps you to manifest it more quickly.
So there you go. You have done your first treasure map. You can do this as often as you like. Yearly or at least everyo couple of years it’s good to do it again. And keep the old ones so you can see how much you have manifested. Just seeing that you have manifested it lubricates your manifestation abilities.
Please send me your stories and epiphanies from doing your treasure maps. Your comments will assist all of your fellow travelers on the road to prosperity.
Sincerely,
Kris
p.s. As always, I look forward to answering your questions and sharing anything I can that may be helpful.
Kris Stecker, President and Owner
Spa Tech Institute
http://spatech.edu