What We Know About What We Don't Know

If you are interested in what your brain is doing right now, I highly recommend this book:

Thinking, Fast and Slow 

by

Daniel Kahneman

I'm intrigued by these 3 quotes and specifically as they relate to Drawing Solutions:  How Visual Goal-Setting Will Change Your Life:

"You experience greater cognitive ease in perceiving a word you have seen earlier, & its this sense of ease that gives you the impression of familiarity." 

Kahneman suggests that you will think more fondly of something (cognitive ease = simple, not foggy or blurred) when you have seen it before.  He is speaking about words here, but let's translate that to your daydream about that you or that life you desire.  The more you "see" that picture of your new self or new life, the more familiar you will become with it.  AND if you draw a simple symbol that (to you) represents what you desire and look at it frequently, the easier it will become to take action and turn that fantasy into reality.

"You do not have to repeat the entire statement of a fact or idea to make it appear true." 

Worried about whether you are capable of becoming or achieving what you dream about?  This statement reminds me of the "as if" principle.  Why not imagine that world or the you -  you want to be as if it is who or what you are right now?  The more you imagine your fantasy self as if it is your present state, the sooner your brain will find it easy to believe it is your reality and construct the rest of the world around you to reflect that truth. 

"Findings add to the growing evidence that good mood, intuition, creativity, gullibility, and increased reliance on System 1 form a cluster. At the other pole, sadness, vigilance, suspicion, an analytic approach, and increased effort also go together. A happy mood loosens the control of System 2 over performance: when in a good mood, people become more intuitive and more creative but also less vigilant and more prone to logical errors."

This brings us back to what Jenn Lim's talks about in her Delivering Happiness platform.  If you want to create positive change in your life, smile.  When it gets hard to turn the pedals over on your bike, smile.  If you want to tap your intuition, your creativity, your true nature...think about how grateful you are to be healthy, be friended, be a pet owner, be alive.  Cut loose that left side of your brain (System 2) to free you to be more of who you truly are.

The brain doesn't know the difference between what is real and what is fantasy.  Start living your fantasy life inside your head first and watch how it begins to play out in the world around you.  #meanit

Using Google+Hangouts to Engage With Your Followers

I first experienced the power of Google+ when I met Daria Musk at TEDxRainier.  An overnight success through the use of social media, Daria showed me how amazing Google+'s hangouts can truly be, during her live concert at an corporate event we both presented at last week in Chicago.  At the event, I was able to not only watch her perform, but I could also see the people who had joined her hangout as they shifted in and out of the Google+ screen.  A superb performer, Daria seamlessly interacted with both her live audience (in the room) and her hangout audience (shown on screen behind her in this image).

Stoked by my experience, this week I hosted my first Drawing Solutions:  How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your LIfe hangout.  A great tool  to help you interact with people around the world, in this hangout participants shared with me the challenges they face as entrepreneurs in achieving their goals.   While many of their goals were different, we shared a common belief about the impact a positive attitude and understanding the new brain science can have in helping you find greater success in stepping into your vision.

Want to experiment with a simple new tool to get to know your followers better? I encourage you to try Google+ hangouts and have direct, F2F contact with people around the world. It  was a beautiful forum which, with just the expense of a couple of studio lights, allowed me to show people how to literally "doodle" or draw their dreams into reality.

Here's where you can join and get in on my Google+hangouts that I will continue to host on Mondays.  Times may vary to accommodate participation from Google+ followers in different time zones around the world, but if you add me to your "circles", you can click my name to see when I'll be hosting a hangout next.  If you have any questions about this medium, feel free to email me.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Working with Doubt

Turning your dreams into reality.  That's what each of us are focused on at a deep level.  Our nature, our DNA is about evolution, subsequently evolving ourselves is a natural process.  Where we get hung up is when our ego gets involved.  It's often working in collusion with the left side of your brain.

You know what I speaking of, it's that part of you that wants others to see you, value your contributions.  It's the "must get external approval" part of each of us. This kind of need to be valued is fueled by a feeling of separateness from all of life.  It shows up when you wonder, "Am I really capable of achieving this vision?"  or talk to yourself using a more critical voice, "You can't do that!  You didn't even...."(fill in the blank).

You can turn your dreams into reality, and you will have to work with your self-doubt in the process.  In DRAWING SOLUTIONS:  How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your LIfe, I write about dealing with doubt.  Doubt is rooted in fear.  Fear is generated by the left side of the brain that wants to keep you safe from harm.

However, when you take time to dig under your doubt, you inevitably find the truth behind the fear.  Sometimes your fear comes from something you heard someone say, or saw in the news.  This small seed of doubt gets watered and fed by worry.  Worry arises when you aren't trusting that the universe is providing you with the perfect experience for your state of consciousness to evolve.

Change is part of life, evolution part of our DNA.  When you begin to take charge of your change and direct your attention to the things you want more of, versus less of, and keep alert, you will find the route through the field of doubts that may crop up along the road to your dreams.

Remember, once you draw your dreams, the universe immediately begins to collaborate with you to bring what you desire into reality. Your job?  Put your attention on the subtle next steps that seem to come from "out of the blue" and take action on them.  Action ceases panic.  As you move forward, even the tiniest steps will over ride your doubt and replace it with a deeper sense of satisfaction.

When in doubt, remind yourself that you have two sides of your brain and nudge yourself to remember that you are connected to something greater than yourself and even if you can't understand what  that is, you can tap into it at any moment in time.

Drawing Solutions: How Visuals Will Change Your Life: People Drawing Their Dreams Into Reality

Drawing Solutions: How Visuals Will Change Your Life: People Drawing Their Dreams Into Reality: There have been a number of people who have watched my talk at TEDxRainier11 and are using a simple picture to draw their dreams into rea...

People Drawing Their Dreams Into Reality

There have been a number of people who have watched my talk at TEDxRainier11 and are using a simple picture to draw their dreams into reality.  Here is a beautiful vision map from Violette - as you can see the left side has her current state, the right has her desired new reality and in the center are her three bold steps.

That's how simple it is.  It will take you about an hour.  In this easy to use process, you'll bring your goals into sharper focus, give your brain a clear picture so it continues to keep tracking your dreams. And the serotonin from your excitement of the picture will help motivate you to take action every day to get more of what you want in your life - even when it gets hard.

  Here are a few more vision maps from Peggy, Pearl

and another twitter follower...you can either learn this simple process from the video or enter the Meylah book give-away contest that runs until the end of this week. (or purchase on Amazon).

If these people can draw their dreams into reality, why not you?

Stay Inspired by Keeping Your Serotonin Up

So it's mid January and you are wondering...geez I felt so good about my goals on January 1.  Today?  Not sure.

Well if you created a visual of your dream, a goal map, a collage, a list, a blogpost, fear not there is a simple way to keep yourself inspired.

You simply need to review what you created, dreamed, listed, arranged, set out as an intention.

But first, let's re-adjust your chemistry.

Get up - do 10 jumping jacks.  Or 20 push-ups.  Drink an 8 oz glass of water.  Or sing a song at the top of your lungs.

Now, sit down, sit back, shut your eyes and do a little daydreaming.  Positive daydreaming - so put the critic in the corner and dream the best possible scenario.

Imagine yourself in that new job, on that vacation, feeling slim, eating well, living loved, being more creative.

Imagine it as if it is occurring right now.  Live it in your mind fully!  Imagine that new boss, the myriad of possibilities.  Surf on that seashore.  Climb that trail in the mountains that you love. Kiss that imagined or actual partner that you have.  Feel it in your body, your cells, dream, dream, dream.

Guess what?  You just raised your serotonin level and you inspired yourself.  So let go of whatever list you have going for a second and ask yourself, "What is one thing I can do right now, in this inspired moment to get things moving?"  Write it down and go do it.

Call that person with that lead on a new job. Write that bio. Draw that picture. Place a personal ad. Run around the block.  Try something new.

One small act everyday will lead to you living that secret dream you have be housing in your brain.  Get it out of there and into here.  Real life.  You deserve it.

Up your creative genius today. #meanit

Cool 2012 Visions

Here are just some of the images that have filled my email box or twitter sphere since the book and the TEDxRainier video, Drawing Your Dreams Into Reality came out 3 days ago.

These images are a testament that you don't have to know how to draw to turn your dreams into reality.  These people are doing it and you can too, even if you are drawing it in your garden's soil.

Go to this page to download your template (at very bottom of page) and let's get you started as well.

What dreams do you have?  Draw a picture of them and send it to me!