I recently watched a film called “Surrogates”: a film starring Bruce Willis where everyone could live their lives through advanced remote control robots (hence surrogates). In that respect, it was a similar concept to the Avatars in James Cameron’s fantastic movie called, erm… Avatar.

This got me thinking. How differently would we be to how we behave in person, right now – face to face with others, having adopted a new physical form that we consider to have perfect looks and physical abilities? It would be nothing personal, we are not the surrogate, it would just a game… Having removed ourselves from the situation, we would have also removed ourselves from physical danger. If we were hit by a truck we could buy another surrogate and resume play. More excitement, less fear…

Wouldn’t life be somewhat like a computer adventure game similar to what we can now experience? With the absence of perceived fear we could all become super heroes. If it didn’t work out we could essentially press the reset button and have another go. Even if you were on your last surrogate, you would still have your real flesh and blood self to fall back on – and would that be such a bad thing?

Many of us already know what I’m talking about and are more and more on our way to that world: Email, Messenger, Internet chat rooms, Twitter, Facebook, Offline Computer games, Online Computer games such as World of Warcraft.

I used to work with a woman, I think in her mid thirties, who would hardly speak to anyone apart from other World of Warcraft players. I think in her other dimension she was some kind of high priestess – someone of significance within the game. Outside of overhearing her speak of World of Warcraft, I considered her quiet and impolite, she didn’t really appear to enjoy her real existence…

So what’s the difference? I doubt that any of us would settle for our ’surrogate’ or ‘avatar’ to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day – what a boring game that would be – so why do many of us settle for it for ourselves in our ‘real’ lives?

Sometimes it takes is a massive change to change our ‘real’ lives like: redundancy, bankruptcy, divorce, death of a loved one. But it’s not a requirement. It really only takes a new way of thinking…

The ’surrogates’ and ‘avatars’ that we adopt in cyberspace are not us. They don’t even exist in our 3rd dimension. they’re not personal, we are not the surrogate, it’s just a game… At best, they are 2 dimensional fictions that we adopt in our 3 dimensional world. But the 2 dimensional experience seems just as able to stimulate us as much as our 3 dimensional experience.

Although this 2D existence is not a true existence, when we play we start to believe and our 2D experience can become addictive and feel almost real. More excitement, less fear… Independently, belief has more power than truth.

We may not know for certain our source of consciousness but what if our thoughts really live in a 4th dimension and that our flesh and blood bodies are surrogates or avatars in a 3rd dimensional universe, It’s nothing personal, we are not the surrogate, it’s just a game… and wouldn’t that be the ultimate game: The Great Game of Life…?

Changing something really only takes a new way of thinking…

Since we all have the power to choose from moment to moment, we can say that the future is not set in stone: the choices that we make today will influence the possibilities we will face tomorrow. Most of us imagine time as represented as a line. One person might imagine a line coming from behind, through their body in stretching out in front of them, others might imagine a line from left to right.

If we take time to create goals, imagine and plan our future we can visualise the events being placed along this imaginary line. This simple exercise will start to affect your life at the unconscious level — it may only be a small change in direction but speak to any sailor or airline pilot and they will tell you that that a small change in direction can have a big impact on your eventual destination.

I’ve heard some people say that the future is already written and that the life that you are living is your destiny or fate. I’m not sure whether that’s the case. Since we can’t see into the future, we still have the experience of having the ability to choose. The fact is, the future exists as a concept in our head. We only ever have the present moment. You might be saying “Hang on a minute, tomorrow I’ll wake up in my bed…” That may be true but tomorrow does not exist in this moment and when you do wake up in your bed it will be the present moment.

It’s an interesting observation that most of us live into our future and bring all the feelings of thinking about the future into the present moment. Imagine being at work and the next day you were going on holiday, already dreaming of the things you’re going to do and places you are going to see. Then you return to work after having a fantastic time. You may well be sitting at exactly the same desk at exactly the same time of day but your feelings might be very different between those two times? I think most of us might feel happy and excited the day before the holiday maybe not quite so happy to be back at work. I guess for some who love their work, and they hate holidays, those feelings may be reversed — but do you get the point?

It is relatively easy to logically accept that the future does not yet exist, and is not set in stone, since we can argue that, if we do this then this will happen, and if we do that then that will happen. But what about the past? You might say “The past has already happened, nobody can go back and change it…” but is that really true?

Well, we only have the present moment and we can’t see the past here in the present moment, but we can only see evidence of time passing. For instance, imagine walking along the beach and you turn around and see your footprints left behind — clear evidence of the past… your feet were once in those footprints but you can never go back to it. If indeed you could go back in time it would still be experienced as the present moment…

Time has left its evidence in history books, photographs, movies and videos but the past only exists as a memory and, as a memory, it is not set in stone… Our perceptions of reality are filtered by our beliefs and attitudes, not just in adulthood, but way back into childhood. Some of the things that you remember may not even have happened as you remember. Did the reason that your mother shouted out you really mean that you weren’t good enough, or was it merely that she was frustrated that that you were not doing what she expected you to do? When we were young we could often only see one meaning for a particular event. Now as you look back through your memory you have the benefit of all the experience gained since back then. So, thinking back to some particular events now, can’t you see many more meanings that might apply for those events?

Most of these meanings that we created from these events are more likely to come from actions by your parents and teachers, who more than likely had your best interests at heart. They wanted you to do well. They learned how to bring you up by how they were brought and commonly pass on their experience.

Most parents are proud of their family and like to be seen with well-behaved children, getting good grades at school and being generally obedient. When our parents repeatedly told us to: “sit still”, ”be quiet”, “don’t interrupt”, “do as you are told.” And our teachers told us: “wrong”, “wrong”, “don’t be stupid” etc. Is it any wonder that when we grow up we are afraid to speak out, afraid to make mistakes, fear of public speaking, afraid of what people think of us.

When I was young, my mother quite often shouted and yelled at both me and my sister, seemingly for any event. I’ve since thought that all she wanted was appreciation and respect, which I don’t think she received much of. My father was away a lot and, with me and my sister being so young, we had not learned the value of appreciation, especially since we were frequently being shouted at. I learned to keep out the way and keep quiet. I’d made my mother’s behaviour mean that I was the cause of her upset. I had hated being shouted at and had adapted my behaviour to avoid it. I spent a lot of time thinking that my mother resented me and I consequently spent a long time resenting her too. Since I later changed the meaning in my memory from resentment for her ‘wanting appreciation’, my resentment of her has changed to appreciation. Life really does mirror what we feel and what we give…

Considering what our parents and teachers wanted for us, do you really think that the meanings that most of us created were really intended by them? As you consider your memories, did they really happen the way you remember? Or can you now visualise that event in your memory and give it a new meaning? For this reason, and for our reality, then the past is not set in stone…

Having been through this exercise of changing past meanings once, it should become easy for you to relive some of your memories and have a different perspective. I remember leaving school at the age of 17, thinking that I was a fully grown adult and that I knew it all. After all, 11 years of school is half a lifetime at that age. I had a small idea of the universe and thought that life was like a simple game, if you followed the rules and did as you were told then that’s all you needed to do for a successful life. I wasn’t too aware of psychology or the importance of feelings: logic was the key to life — that’s what had got me through school.

Einstein once said “we are boxed in by the boundary conditions of our thinking.” And it’s evident now that what I perceived at the age of 17 was not the whole universe, it only seemed like it. Looking back now and remembering some of my thoughts from back then, I can now see beyond those boundaries as far as the boundaries I have now, 30 years later.

It is not knowledge that will give us the life that we are looking for. Knowledge only keeps us within the boundary conditions of our thinking. To go beyond the boundaries we need to use our imagination and creativity and accept that we can never know everything, since gaining more knowledge pushes our boundaries out further: like climbing a mountain in the mist, thinking that you are nearly there but when you get to that point, the mist reveals that it stretches up still further — for the rest of your life.

For me, there was no magic revelation of other dimensions, psychic experiences etc, to bring me to a more balanced and aware way of living. It took the collapse of my reality in the form of an unexpected divorce. I had followed the rules and expected the rewards, but that loss revealed that my reality was an illusion. Sometimes, this is what it takes in order to grow and evolve. Although, great loss and severe shock is not required for such a great level of transformation. With an open mind and using a balance of logic, reason, Imagination and creativity we can explore new realities and understand that nobody else sees the world like we do individually.

Imagine a life understanding that everybody had their own individual filtered perception of reality. Would anyone bother trying to mould everyone else to their own model of the world. It’s a common mistake which causes frustration and grief. Once you are aware you can see the clues in people’s language: “you should…”, “you shouldn’t…”, “you can’t…” etc.

Concorde Collectibles

by Richard Cawte.

We are all different.

We are all the same.

Which statement do you choose to focus on?

Newspapers and television news reports would have us see ourselves as different from each other.  They would have us believe that we cannot leave our front doors without plunging ourselves into danger.  They would have us believe that we can trust no one and that the world is full of thieves and drug smugglers and people who hate us.  And so it has become.

Life is a mirror and reflects back at us what we choose to think into it and each time you choose to read the everyday newspapers or watch the evening news you choose to fill your mind with thoughts of struggle and chaos and by filling your mind with these images you increase the distrust of the world around you.  Your thoughts create it, your emotions forge it, and your subsequent actions rubberstamp it.

Newspapers and TV encourage people to live in fear.  They focus on our differences.  They put up boundaries where there are none.  They focus on fighting instead of on peace.  They would have us believe our world is one of struggle and terror and war in which the future lies in greater repression and less freedom of choice.  And so it has become.

The 20^th Century was the bloodiest century in the history of mankind and as we move into the century that follows on from it, what is the hope for us as a species?  Will we learn from our history and not repeat our mistakes, or will we continue to make a monumental hash of the whole thing?  A glance at history would suggest the latter, unless we make a quantum shift in the way that we treat other people, and that shift has to start with how we treat ourselves.

“Enforced Peace” is a contradiction in terms.

The starting point, for me, must be peace; peace that comes from within each of us and reaches out to others in the form of compassion.  That is what mankind requires if it is to grow and survive.

We are often our own worst enemies.  We distrust ourselves, we fear for ourselves and we undervalue ourselves.  In doing so, we distrust and fear and undervalue the world around us.  The key to the future lies in changing that perception of our selves so that we can look on others with different eyes, comfortable in our own knowledge.

One thing is for sure: imposed peace does not work.

You have only to look at what happens in any country where UN forces are introduced.  However good-natured the initial movement of troops may be, the simple fact is that you cannot enforce freedom with guns, because by doing so you are merely doing what the dictator was doing before you.

“Sending in troops is like trying to use a band-aid on a body that has scars on the outside, but cancer on the inside.  It has no effect on the cancer.”

Replacing tyranny with an imposed peace does not create peace.  It is not working in Iraq.  It didn’t work in Sierra Leone, or Bosnia, or The Middle East, and it will not work in Afghanistan either.  Sending in the UN troops is like trying to use a band-aid on a body that has scars on the outside, but cancer on the inside.  It has no effect on the cancer.

For a brief moment let us look at some of the figures from the last century before we move on.  You might be surprised to know that the estimated figures for genocide in the hundred years leading up to the new millennium stand at 80 million: that is 80,000,000 people who were killed by violence based on ethnic, religious and philosophical conflicts.  In many of the places where mass genocide occurred, peace-keeping troops were sent in afterwards.  In many of the places, they are still there.

Think of that figure for a moment:  80,000,000 lives in one hundred years.  It is an extraordinary indictment of our failings.  That is 800,000 every year, 66,666 every month, more than 15,000 every week.  Over 2,000 people each day.

More than one person killed for every minute of the hundred years that made the 20^th century and that does not include the murders, rapes, and violence of “civil” life.

How does that make you feel?

Are you one of the ones who would pull the trigger, detonate the bomb or plunge the knife to take another’s life?  Is your partner one of those people?  What about your friends?  Is anyone you know willing to be a part of a society that kills 2,000 people each day?

I doubt it.  Who is?

Yet those are the facts.

Instead of spreading peace, I see the media simply throwing more fuel onto the fires of hatred and anger that are bred in such uncertain times as they bring us more and more reports of riots and atrocities across the world.

We are, it seems, standing on the brink of a time of choice.  Will we choose to focus on our similarities or our differences and, beyond that, will we indeed show the wisdom to be willing to bridge the gaps of our differences with an understanding of our unbreakable unity?

I for one see much hope for change.  We can learn from our history if we choose.  We can remodel the way that we live, if we choose.  The key is to honour ourselves, to find peace in ourselves, for we then can honour and find peace in all others.  When each of us learns to value our own life, we can then see the value in ALL life: and that is the key to global change.

I have often written that freedom and responsibility go hand in hand.  At seminars people usually shy away from this idea.  We are taught not to want responsibility.  We are taught to blame others for the state of our lives.  We blame our parents or our teachers, we blame our friends, our our competitors: we blame the government or the boss.  Whoever it is that we blame, we do ourselves a disservice whenever we do, because we are handing our power to them instead of taking it for ourselves.  That is why freedom means being responsible.

To be responsible is to be “able to respond” to life’s challenges, to be able to take a choice for better or worse and know that life is a consequence of our choices, rather than blaming anyone else for what is happening.  That is why I am so against all forms of government intrusion and legislation that affect our ability to choose, because by removing that ability they make us less responsible, and in becoming less responsible we tacitly accept we are no longer free.  I see people willingly lose their freedoms of choice in the name of “terrorism” or “security” and I wonder when the human race will wake up to what is going on.

Soon is the answer!

Ten years ago I wrote an article entitled “A Vision for the next Millennium”.  In it I talked of man’s similarity to man being hand in hand with our unique identity.  We are all different: we are all the same.  A decade on I’d like to look at this some more.

To begin with, let’s take some so-called differences.  I am a male: you may be or you may not.  I have blue eyes:  yours may be brown or green or grey or somewhere in between.  My waist size is 32 inches: yours may be the same: it may be different.  I speak English: you may speak other languages.  My hair is brown: yours may be fair, or black or red.  The list goes on…

Do such differences matter?  Yes, they make us who we are.  In fact they are signs of a diversity that is necessary for us to evolve and grow.  But let us look for a moment at what we ALL have in common.  Let us look at some of the things that governments and media do not tell us very often.  Let us look at both the big picture and the small.

The Big Picture.

The “world” I live in is a big, big place.  So big, I can’t really imagine it.  I’m told it goes on forever and ever.  I would have to be a lot taller to comprehend that.  Yet it’s the very same world as yours.

My galaxy is 100,000 light years across: so is yours.

My galaxy has somewhere between 200 and 500 billion stars in it: and so does yours.

The universe I live in is 44 trillion light-years from one side to the other: and so is yours.  By the way, one light-year is the distance a light particle can travel in one year – and that is 9.46 trillion miles – so 44 trillion of those must be a long, long way!  If someone built a highway all the way across my universe it and you and I began to walk that road today, we would be walking many lifetimes before we reached the other side.

The place where I am sitting right now spins round the sun approximately once in 24 hours.  Yours does too.

The Small Picture.

My body is 60% hydrogen: so is yours.

My body is 3% Nitrogen: so is yours.

My body is 26% Oxygen: yours is too.

My body is 10% Carbon: just like yours!

My body has approximately 100 trillion cells in it.  Hey, so does yours!

Each cell in my body has 23 pairs of chromosomes in it that I call my DNA.  The same is true for you.

My heart beats approximately 72 times each minute: so does yours.

I have to breathe air, drink water and eat (some) food to live.  So do you.

My ancestors have walked this planet for at least 10,000 years and so have yours.

There are approximately 10 tonnes of air pressing down on my head right now.  Yet miraculously, thanks to the way my body is designed, I don’t feel a thing!  Do you?

When my first child looked up at me from my trembling hands I smiled and I cried.  You may have too.

When my mother tucked me up in bed and kissed me goodnight all those years ago, I knew the world was safe and sound.  You may have too.

I have felt joy and happiness in my life and pain and sorrow too.  Have you?

I have seen people young and old, black and white, tall and short, smile at each other with the smile of love.  Have you?

I’ve done things I am proud of and things I would do differently now I have learned a little more of how things are in the world.  What about you?

I remember and treasure the moments in life when I connected, truly connected, with another person or place, when the world made sense because I saw in them the reflection of my own essence.  Is the same for you?

Are we so different you and I?  And if we are: what of those so-called differences?  Are they enough to fight each other year on year until there is no peace left in the world?  Do we not need the differences within us to ensure the human race continues to evolve?  I know we do.

Let’s make this simple and go back to when you were a little child.

When you were small, did any of you think, “When I grow up I’m going to be a killer?”

When you were a child did you say to yourself, “My religion is better than anyone else’s!”

When you were young did you think to yourself, “When I grow up I am going to fill my life with images of hate and death and inhumanity?”

I doubt it somehow.

And yet so many people grow up to life lives fuelled by religious hatred and even more people fill their lives with the images of man’s inhumanity to man that television focuses on each day.  It does not have to be so.  All life is made of choice and we must each decide what happens to this tiny little world of ours, this miniscule blue planet, swimming in the oceans of galaxies and universes that reach out beyond the scope of thought.

The starting point is to look at ourselves, to stop giving ourselves such a hard time and to begin to show compassion to ourselves.  We did it when we were small and we can do it again.  All it takes is a moment to pause and breathe.  When you have finished this article, take a look in a mirror.  Hold your own gaze for a minute and then for another.  You will see who you really are.  Hold that look.  Keep on looking and don’t shy away.  Give yourself time to recognise who is inside that shell of skin and bone and blood and hair, that body of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.

I promise you, you are not a killer, nor a drug dealer, nor a person who hates all others.  I guarantee you are not a thug or a mugger.  I know you are not a religious fanatic or a lunatic.  Nor are you alone.  Nor are you vulnerable.  Nor are you worthy of your own distrust.

You are simple and small and yet part of all life.  You breathe and when you do life inspires you.  You are here in the now in that body of yours.  You are timeless and connected to the world around you.  What you feel is felt not just in your cells: it is mirrored in each living thing in the world.  And that’s why it is your responsibility to be who you really are.  You owe it to yourself and to all other life.

Try it some time.  And when you have done that, take a look at the people around you.  You might be surprised at how like you they are.  They are all just the same, beneath all the trappings.  They are all just like you, in their own unique ways.  They are simple and loving and caring and kind.  They are part of this moment and part of all moments.  They want all that you want and they deserve your compassion.

Right now, they are taking their next breath, just as you are.  They are inspiring themselves just as you are.  You can move away from them with fear if you choose, or you can recognise your self in their eyes.

Are you really so different, or are you the same?

The choice is a big one for we stand on the bridge of a time of change.

I for one trust in your judgement.

Metaphysics is often interchanged, in conversation, with religion and when we think of religion we often think of our own denomination. However, this narrows the scope of metaphysics and the true metaphysics definition is

“The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value.”

of course, religion achieves this but also, so does quantum physics and new-age thinking. While some of us might think of metaphysics an airy fairy subject, it affects our lives whether we take notice of it or not.  In the 18th century, Kant introduced the idea that the human mind is an active originator of experience rather than simply a passive recipient of perception.  In other words, perception is projection. Our reality is created by what we think about and what we believe…

So, what does Kant metaphysics have to do with wealth building?

If you think of wealth as a physical structure, like a house, then metaphysics is the foundation. While it may be possible to build a house without a secure foundation, its longevity cannot be guaranteed and cracks will soon appear. The more it grows, the bigger the danger of collapse. True wealth is created as a result of your beliefs. Your beliefs originate from your perception and experience of the world. If our beliefs and experience tell us that we can never be wealthy, then our beliefs will project onto our reality and ensure that we never become wealthy. Of course, wealth is just one example. This pattern occurs with what we believe about anything in life.

What is wealth?

For most people the definition of wealth is “An abundance of valuable material possessions or resources.” I would argue that this definition is only part of the story. If you could imagine a scale of wealth, graduated between zero and a hundred, where would you score your current level of wealth?…

What about health and happiness? If you think about it, without health and happiness your material possessions or resources will not seem very valuable at all. I like Richard Wilkins question of “Tomorrow when you wake up, would you rather have £200 million or to be not dead?” Of course most people answer “not dead.” and then go on to protest that it’s not the real question. But ask someone who’s in a hospice that only has a few months to live, and they are likely to be willing to trade their whole lifetimes possessions in exchange for just a few more months or years with their families.

So, thinking about that question now, what proportion of the fact that you are living today in this moment count towards your level of wealth. And on your scale of wealth between a zero and hundred, where would you score your current level of wealth now?

We are at the mercy of our subconscious mind power, the subconcious mind is something that we are naturally unaware of, yet it is so very powerful — much like the tides and currents of the oceans, they are not easily noticed on the surface that they are a huge influence on your destination.

If you are looking to become successful, manifest desires, become fulfilled etc. What are your chances of succeeding if you are pushing against the tide or current? Most of us know that to achieve different results we have to do different things. It sounds simple doesn’t it? But it feels just as difficult as trying to change the direction of the tide simply by standing in the water. So, to change results we need to change our behaviours and change our behaviour is we need to change our consciousness or beliefs.

How do you change your consciousness or beliefs?

It takes more than simply reason or logic. For some people it takes a near death experience, divorce, loss of a close friend or family member etc. For others it starts with a decision often followed by visualisation exercises, wealth affirmations, coaching and more, or any combination of the above.

We must not forget that our mind is not an independent organism. It is fully integrated into our physical bodies and is influenced by what we do and what we eat. If we want to be mentally optimised and stay emotionally on top of our game it would be wise to look at brain nutrition. This is a huge topic that we won’t cover here but one proven brain supplement is Krill oil. Fish in general is good brain food but Krill, specifically, is high in effective brain nutrients and is low on the food chain and so is less likely to have accumulated the heavy metals and poisons that exist in the oceans. Among other foods that are good for the brain are: Maca, Cacao nibs (the raw ingredient for chocolate), Goji berries…

ADHD is a big topic these days, and there is a lot of argument about the causes. It would be interesting to see what nutrients going to the ADHD brain. Likely, there won’t be much fish, fresh fruit or vegetables in the diet but plenty of processed convenience foods together with lots of additives. I’m not saying that diet is the only factor that I can see the evidence in my own children when they eat too many sweets or drink too much cola. Just for one last thought, where do all those growth hormones go that are given to cattle in order to make those big juicy steaks? there is probably some substance in that old phrase “you are what you eat.”  For anyone looking into ADHD strategies, diet would be a good area to look at. If you type in ADHD nutrition into Google will be over 3 million results presented.

wealth n.

Everybody’s definition of wealth is different – mine included.  For some it’s about becoming a millionaire. For others, a million is not enough but for a few it’s more than the dictionary’s definition above. It’s about a life balance.  You do not necessarily need a million pounds to consider yourself wealthy and, here, I hope to impress upon you why.

I spoke with a friend who told me about a man that he had met at a seminar that said that he found making money very easy and his net worth was then just short of £300 million.  My friend was puzzled at first since the seminar was about achieving success and since his own net worth was about £30,000 and sought to increase his income, he considered this man to be successful.  It turned out that the millionaire worked long hours, had been divorced twice and could not sustain a lasting relationship – he felt unhappy and that his life was unfulfilled.  For this man, more money would not solve anything.

Part of the seminar had people list what they were grateful for and the thought struck my friend that he was pretty happy with how his life was – great friends, decent house, loving family etc.

As the seminar progressed, there was an exercise that had people write out all their goals in life – what really mattered to them.  During the assessment, My friend looked at his list which included travel and activities that needed more time than money and suddenly realised that he did not need to be a millionaire,  he just needed a regular income and the ability to free up his time…  and £2000 – £3000 per month would do it easily.  He didn’t crave expensive cars and houses, he wanted to travel and see more of his friends and family and generally spend his time how he wanted: he was just unsatisfied in his job.

Interesting, two people with different situations, at the same seminar, looking for a similar result.  So what’s the commonality?  If there is one it is that money or “abundance of material goods”, by itself, is not the route to fulfilment or happiness.

In my view, my friend was already wealthier than the millionaire as he now knew what was missing from his life’s equation and all he needed to do was to start a business in something he loved doing.

The Millionaire had a different issue.  He loved his work but it left no space for him to create an environment to include anybody else in his life, or even time or space to satisfy his feelings of emptiness and misery left by his failed relationships… his issues were deeper inside himself than the case of my friend.

So consider this new definition of wealth.  It may not be true for you, but it’s true for me.

wealth n.

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• What Does Money Mean to You? (frugaldad.com)

While you may not make a great deal off that initial offering, there will no doubt be the chance to build on your initial rapport with your new client and engage in the task many sales people know as “up-selling.”

That is where the concept of the Profit Tunnel comes into play.

The Profit Tunnel is your pathway to building a relationship with your customer that begins with the purchase of initial goods or services. Once that initial relationship is established, you build on that relationship by evaluating the needs of your client and identify other goods or services that will also benefit your customer.

As you are able to acquaint, interest, and finally sell additional and often higher priced items to your customer, your profit margin will increase. The Profit Tunnel model works very well whether you are working with a brick and mortar business or going strictly with an online presence.

In both instances, the task involves winning the confidence of the prospect, identifying entry level products or services that will be of interest to the prospect, selling the prospect on the goods or services, and then continuing to offer additional products or enhancements that will make life even easier for that former prospect that is now your customer.

Low Ticket

When it comes to winning the confidence of a prospect, nothing speaks louder than a good deal. Persons who are responsible for securing goods and services for their employer love to save the company money.

It enhances his or her reputation with the officers and owners. At the same time, no one wants to end up with a low cost service that ends up being a dud. This means the good or service needs to perform well along with being cost efficient.

Your job is to match low cost quality goods or services with the business type of your prospect. Once you demonstrate how one of your low cost offerings will consistently outperform the competition and save money for the prospect’s employer, you will be poised to help roll out your low cost offering throughout the organization, making your profit in volume distribution initially.

Once your offering is functioning throughout the organization, you may find that not only do you have the ear of your initial contact, but now you have the ability to interact with persons throughout the organization that may be interested in other offerings that you can supply.

Providing additional goods or services that are in a similar price range will be another way you will increase the profit margin. This is sometimes referred to as lateral selling.

Simply put, you are not really pushing items with a higher price tag, or even enhancements to services you have already sold which would increase the profits. You are simply broadening your current situation to include more of the same, from a charge perspective.

There is nothing wrong with lateral selling. In fact, it can be quite profitable. However, in time it reaches a point where there is no more room for more of the same and you need to move on to the next level.

Mid Ticket

Now safely ensconced with several low cost offerings, you can begin to look at other needs of your customer. Chances are you have goods or services that may be used on a less frequent basis, but carry a higher price tag.

With your low cost items working just fine for your client, you will easily be able to gain attention for these mid priced offerings.

As part of your presentation, it is important to demonstrate not only what you have to offer today, but also be prepared to present the attributes of the offering in such a way that your client can begin to brainstorm possibly uses within the organization.

You may want to have one or two ideas ready, just to prime the thinking process, if necessary. But the more your client can come up with possible uses, the greater his ownership of using the mid ticket item will become, and the closer you will be to another sale.

Be prepared to have to wait until the timing is right to spring your mid ticket item on your client. If the item is only going to be used a few times a year, the interest level may not be there until the time is growing near for the next relevant event.

By all means introduce the item but if your client wants to put off the discussion until closer to time, lock in a date and time to renew the discussions.

High Ticket – Extremely High Ticket

The dream of selling high ticket good or services is often the goal of the salesperson. After all, who would not love to be able to sell five thousand dollar items in one afternoon, rather than spend the entire week selling hundred dollar items in order to make the same commission?

Of course, you want to be on the alert for any chance to introduce and sell a high ticket item.

You have a couple of things going for you at this point in your relationship with your client.

First, there is the matter of the proven track record of the low ticket and mid ticket offerings they have already tried and found to be great for their business operations. Nothing breeds confidence in a supplier the way that an ongoing record of excellence will.

Second, you have demonstrated a continual desire to bring their attention to goods or services that have relevance to the business. You are not laying your entire product line out on the table and asking them to figure out what they need. You are someone who does the legwork first and then brings items to their attention. That you care enough to understand their business and do some legwork on their behalf says a lot about your integrity.

What his means for you is that when you call your contact about arranging a demonstration of a high ticket item, you are already more than halfway to making a sale. The attitude will not be “prove this is worth my time,” but “let’s find out how we can use this.”

When you go into a live or virtual demonstration with your client working with that type of mindset, your chances of closing the sale are very high indeed.

The Profit Tunnel helps you understand that your relationship with your client works on several levels and in several phases.

Building upon the sterling reputation you establish with low ticket sales and rolling it into the sale of more profitable sales will not only ensure you a great commission, but also will provide you with a working relationship that will last for many years.

1)      Believing that positive thinking is enough to attract what you want

Positive thinking occurs only on the conscious level; this is why positive thinking is not enough to put into effect the law of attraction. It is necessary for belief to enter the subconscious as well.

The mind is always operating on two levels, the subconscious and the conscious. The conscious mind is being given hundreds of tidbits of information at any given time from all five senses. This is an incredible amount of information to process, even from such an advanced tool as the human brain. The mind would slowly go crazy if it had to deal with all of that information all of the time.

Instead, the mind developed the conscious mind, which serves as a filter to review the information sent to it by the senses and retain anything that it deems important. Anything that it does not deem important is passed along to the subconscious. It is the subconscious which will retain this information, acting as the guardian of repressed memories until such time as those memories are needed again.

It has long been held that the subconscious has a direct effect on the actions and beliefs of the conscious mind, a topic which will be discussed in greater detail a bit later on, but for now it is sufficient to say that if the conscious mind is attempting to think positive thoughts while the subconscious retains a negative energy the two will cancel each other out, and the desired effect will not be achieved.

2)      Becoming impatient

The universe works at its own speed; remember, every action carries with it an equal and opposite reaction. It is essential that the other environmental conditions be right in order for an event to occur just as it should.

This means that the law of attraction may take weeks, months or even years to effect a fruitful reaction to the desires of a single individual. People of today’s society are spoiled; they want what they want and they want it now. A new theory that does not produce instant results is not going to be received with a great deal of favor.

In addition to that, disbelieving in the law of attraction because it does not meet your established timetables (after all, it never says precisely when all of these wonderful rewards will be reaped, only that they will) is a direct violation of the guidelines required to see positive results in and of itself. You were merely testing the law in order to see if it will produce results; if you were confident in its ability to effect the desired results you would be content to sit and wait, knowing that what you want most will come to you in time.

On the other hand, the fact that you are not indicates that you do not have confidence in its ability to bring about the desired results. This means that somewhere in your being is a small kernel of negative energy, sufficient to throw a monkey wrench into the whole process of positive attraction. Remember, if you are vibrating negative energy you will attract negative energy back onto yourself.

3)      Determining ahead of time how and when you will attract what you want

Let the universe work! It is possible to become so focused on what you think is going to happen that you manage to totally miss the event when it occurs if it does not occur in precisely the manner you pictured it would.

As we said before, the universe will choose its own time and place for all thins to occur, and these events may take place through rather unusual means. By predetermining exactly how you will receive the rewards which you are seeking you are taking away the choice from the hands of nature, which direct the ebb and flow of the energies of life, and setting yourself up for a hard fall.

By taking the ability to choose upon yourself you are essentially saying that you do not have faith in the ability of the law of attraction to effect the desired results in time; again, by setting your own timeline for events to occur you will eventually come to disbelieve in the law of attraction (after all, it didn’t do what it was supposed to, did it?), which will cause your subconscious to radiate the negative energy which will drive the positive energy away.

4)      Allowing your emotions to be led by external evidence

In order to reap the full benefits of the law of attraction you need to believe that what you see now is a result of what you have been attracting to this point; again, it is essential that you realize that what has occurred in your life to this date and what will happen later on is determined by you. Whatever successes or failures you have experienced have been the result of the energies that your mind and body have released out into the universe.

It is very easy to look at the events of your life and think, “I certainly didn’t want that to happen; the law of attraction must be untrue because I would never wish for something so awful.” What you have to realize is that it is not always what your conscious mind wishes for that influences what your subconscious mind is projecting.

Which leads us to the fifth most common mistake

5)      Not removing limiting beliefs

There are many occasions in which people fall into a self defeating cycle because they are unable to control the thoughts and attitudes of their subconscious. A common argument against the law of attraction is, “Why is there so much suffering in the world if people have the ability to determine the events of their life?” No, these people have not chosen a life of starvation and servitude; however, due to their history many of them do not truly believe that they have any choice.

This disbelief in their ability to change their circumstances because “it is the way that it’s always been” means that they will continue to live this way. Their subconscious continues to project that disbelief and negative energy out into the universe, drawing back negative energy which will cause them to continue to live in this self destructive cycle of events.

It is those who have dared to dream, and believe in the possibilities presented by these dreams, who have effected the greatest changes in the world. Do you think that if the colonists had really believed that they would never be free of the British they would have been able to win the revolutionary war? If Henry Ford had not truly believed that man could ride in a car, do you think that the Model T could have been invented? If women really believed that they were destined to live the rest of their life under the thumb of their fathers and husbands, with no say in the lives they would leave, that women’s liberation would have occurred?

The removal of limiting beliefs such as these is absolutely vital to the ability of the law of attraction to work as it is intended to. If you truly feel that the law of attraction is not working for you, take a moment to consider the things that you are wishing for. Do you truly believe that these events can take place, or are you merely making idle wishes? Do you secretly believe that you have a “one in a million” chance of any of those things actually taking place for one thing or another?

In order to project the positive vibes which are necessary to draw the energies of the universe to you it is essential that you be one hundred percent confidant in your ability to effect a change and willing to believe that all of the events occurring up to that point have been a necessary prerequisite to bringing these events to be.

The key to the Law of Attraction is the ACCEPTANCE of YOUR responsibility.

The Law of Attraction: Getting Everything You Want Out of Life Through the Power of Your Own Mind. And Let Your Thoughts Determine Your Destiny

Imagine for a moment that you have in your possession a source of complete and total power. You alone can command the warmth of the sun, the fall of the rain, the turn of the tides and the direction of the winds. What would you do with this kind of power? Would you abuse it causing the world to fall into utter chaos? Would you be benevolent and merciful, using your power to help the people of your planet achieve their ultimate potential?

Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be) there is no way for a person to have that much power. Mother Nature controls the planetary systems according to her own rules and her own designs. You will never be able to have utter control over the environment you are inhabiting.

What if you could, however, have the power to determine the course of your own life? What if you could accomplish great things and acquire great riches just by using the power of your own mind? What if I told you that this does not have to be a “what if?” What if I told you that you possess in your psyche the power to chart the course of the rest of your life on whatever path you see fit?

Chances are you would tell me that I had obviously been watching too much Sci-Fi and needed to get out of the house more  often, not to mention my obvious need to expand my vocabulary, considering the number of times I have used “what if” in this conversation. You would be wrong (about the Sci-Fi, anyway). Every person holds in their mind the power to shape the events of their life to achieve whatever end they see fit. This power is what is known as the law of attraction.

The belief held by many theorists is that the universe is governed by a set of universal laws; these laws cannot be changed, cannot be broken and apply to every individual, regardless of age or nationality. These laws are the riverbanks which guide the flow of their lives on its journey to its ultimate end.

The law of attraction is one such law. The law of attraction is the belief that anyone can determine their destiny through the power of their minds.

“The Law of Attraction attracts to you everything you need, according to the nature of your thoughts. Your environment and financial condition are the perfect reflection of your habitual thinking.”  Joseph Murphy

The theory behind the law of attraction is the belief that energy attracts like energy in the vast expanse of space and time that comprises our universe. Each person’s being is constantly radiating energy out into space; the type of energy being radiated is determined by the emotional state of the individual in question and may differ from day to day-sometimes even hour to hour!

This emotional energy is what is commonly known as a “vibe” and is referred to as a vibration by scientists studying the law of attraction. Chances are that you are familiar with the term. Have you ever been with someone who is so happy they seem to be radiating a “glow which inspires happiness in all those around them? By the same token, have you ever spent time with someone who was so critical and unhappy that they consistently gave off a “negative vibe” which seemed to suck the life and happiness out of all those around them?

You do not have to possess psychic powers to be able to feel the vibes that people emit; this energy is very real on a psychological plane and will affect anyone, anywhere at any time. Our vibrations are usually an unconscious response to some form of environmental stimulus; something has happened which has caused us to feel happy, or sad, or scared, or confused, or stressed, etc., and our subconscious response to this (because vibes are generated and projected from the subconscious rather than the conscious) is something that is beyond our control.

Chances are the person who is emitting a negative vibe does not choose to be unhappy, nor do they wish to inflict their unhappiness on all those around them by the simple fact of their presence. (Before you say what you are thinking, yes,  there are some exceptions to this rule. Misery does love company and there are many who take a great deal of delight in inflicting their pain on other people. It is important to understand that this is not usually done in a desire to cause others pain but out a desire to not feel so alone in their unhappiness.

Have you ever wondered how you can make money from the Internet? If so, then there are many strategies to choose from. However, it is

very possible to earn great deal of money on the internet. Please realise that you should not take this opportunity lightly – the size of your results directly relates to the size of your efforts.

How many choices do you have?

What can you do to establish an online income?

Although you can choose anything from selling gifts online to providing  services like web design, one of the most simple and effective opportunities for you is online marketing. Do you need a formal marketing education? Do you need a diploma? These are commonly asked questions from those considering moving into online marketing, but the answer is a reassuring “no”

Online marketing is simply marketing products over the Internet. You’ll find many ways of doing this, too. You might find yourself marketing cosmetics, watches, cameras, tools, books and innumerable other items. Why is the Internet such a great choice for starting your own business from home? If you are looking to start making money online, then this is the fastest, simplest and most effective option around.

Additionally, you can easily transfer your interests and expertise into your online marketing business to good effect.. For example, let’s assume that you know more than the usual person about gardening and lawn care. Your interests and skills are your personal expertise.

Your knowledge of products that you use and know about can be put to use in online marketing. Your expertise will make it easier for you and will shine through in your marketing, ensuring your success.

However, you don’t need to have any expertise or knowledge in any particular field in order to be successful online. The internet is open to anyone at all to create an income through online marketing.

In the end, you should do what you love to do. It’s more than just about the money…

If you are looking to replace your job, then don’t jump too soon. Unless you have 6 months funds behind you, or you have a supportive partner, it could be tough since you are unlikely to generate a substantial income within the first few months. If you already have an income from a conventional job, use some of that money to outsource some of the tasks cheaply via elance.com or articlewriter.com.

With the advent of ‘The Secret’ hitting the cinemas and bookshops two years ago, a lot more people are aware of the law of attraction and manifesting abundance. The theory behind the law of attraction is sound; it is based on basic scientific principles that hold the entire universe together as well as human society. However, there is a little more to it than simply putting in your order for the good things in life and expecting them to come to you

1) Laws by their very nature are subtle and need more than a surface understanding to really make the best of them. Just as the law of aerodynamics when fully understood allowed a piece of steel to fly (a Boeing 747 is nearly 440 metric tonnes), so a deeper grasp of the Law of Attraction will enable all your efforts to be leveraged for maximum results.

2) When manifesting abundance by utilising the Law of Attraction it is important that you do everything while being firmly grounded in your core values. This is because any efforts to manifest abundance of any sort will not be fruitful if you cross your true values. There will be resistance in your self that will prevent the manifesting from working.
For this reason it is vital to recognise your inner values; the principles of living that you hold dear. Then you will naturally flow from in to out. Those values may be things like honesty, integrity, giving value, openness. Take a look at your self and what you look for in relationships and you will see what is important to you.

3) Spend time to step into the awareness that you believe you would have if you had already attained the things or the lifestyle of your dreams. This is not wishful thinking but a practical method for creating the right inner environment to allow the circumstances to manifest which in turn will attract your desired result. Remember that you and I and everyone else is continually attracting circumstances, people, things and wealth into our life on the basis of who we are on a deeper level. So if what you are on a deeper level is not congruent with your aims it is like throwing a spanner in the works.

4) Allow. That is allow or permit fortune, happiness or whatever you are manifesting to enter your life. This allowing is like removing the energy blocks that are present in the subconsciousness. Those energy blocks keep you stuck where you are no matter how hard you try. That is why trying hard doesn’t work. Allowing does. But allowing is not our usual state and that is why it takes effort to place oneself into the state of allowing.

By gaining deeper insights to the law of attraction and manifesting abundance you will start to find you sense of self awareness grow and as that happens manifesting abundance becomes increasingly your natural state. When you feel abundant you are going to attract abundance. Because you deserve it.

To get a very powerful manifesting abundance free report that has changed the lives of thousands, go to my manifesting abundance blog and enter your email address and I will send it over to you straight away.

Thanks for reading.

by Mark Fleming

www.manifestingabundance.org