Lao

THE LAO ADVANTAGE Create the Life You Would Rather Be Living By Tobin and Russell

Five Simple Techniques to Change your Life In Less than One Minute a Day

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

The LAO Advantage: The infinite possibilities life offers when you have the skills and courage to....

LOVE WHO YOU ARE, ACCEPT WHO YOU’VE BEEN, AND BE OPEN TO ALL YOU CAN BE.

Larry Tobin and Randall Russell

The LAO Advantage PO Box 809 Ruidoso, NM 88355 (505) 937-3675 Version 1.1 [email protected]

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

Contents

Preface: To Succeed In Life You Need An Advantage The “5-Second Focusing “ Techniques in Personal Growth Anchor Your Advantage Affirm Your Intentions Design Personally Powerful Goals Celebrate Success Release Failure

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30-day “I Create My Day™” Journal

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

To Succeed In Life You Need An Advantage Some people are born to their advantage. They come into this world with unique talent, beauty, wealth or connections. Success is theirs for the taking—or theirs to lose. For the rest of us, success comes only with great effort. Rather than family connections to rely on, we have family history to overcome. Lacking obvious gifts, we search for hidden talents. Yet we each, in our own time, come to realize that there is one advantage available to everyone equally. Not an advantage given, but an advantage to be seized. What is your advantage? The ability to imagine a better life, and focus your mind to create it! That’s what 5-Second Focusing techniques will teach you —how to gain an advantage in life by wiring your mind to succeed. Let’s get started!

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Can You Imagine A Better Life? How you view yourself, and how you react to the people and events of your life, exist in your mind as neural patterns that have developed over time. This is the neural “wiring” that makes you who you are. This hasn’t been done to you—it’s been done by you. Your own thoughts, actions and experiences—the significant emotional events of your life—have created the wiring of your current view of life. In other words, you view life according to your own experience of life. Regardless of whether you consider this fortunate (life has been good to you) or unfortunate (life’s been rough), it’s simply the way the mind works. The important thing to understand is that this wiring is not permanent. (Phew…) It can change! You can re-wire your mind at any time. The 5Second Focusing techniques you will learn in this book will teach you how.

Wire Your Mind To Succeed Some people’s life experiences wire their minds to limitations. They dwell on failure, live on dreams, and walk and talk as if already defeated. If this describes your life now, it doesn’t need to any longer. You can change the neurological wiring that directs you toward negative thoughts and actions. Through the daily use of 5-second Focusing techniques, you will direct your mind to see life differently than you did as a child. You will build new neural pathways and become the person you now know you are capable of being. This is not only possible but far easier than you imagined.

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You just need to imagine a better life, and take the time—even less than one minute a day—to create it. Here’s how.

5-second Focusing—The Keys to Peak Performance and Quantum Personal Growth The five 5-second Focusing techniques in this book will teach you to: One—Live Your Advantage. Dedicate yourself each day to an emotionally healthy view of your present, past and future. Create success from your personal advantage. Two—Affirm Your Intentions. Affirm specific changes you intend for your life. Actively design the person you want to become each day. Three—Design Personally Meaningful Goals. Communicate daily goals directly to your subconscious mind. Envision your true creative potential and find that you amaze even yourself. Four—Celebrate Success. Build a neural network of success experiences. Enjoy the undeniable feeling of success each and every day. . Five—Release Failure Let go of failed goals and thinking. Direct your thoughts toward only what is important to your life now. Neurological-based peak performance techniques like 5-second Focusing are usually taught only in expensive week-long training. They are the elite skills in personal performance training. Yet, in this book alone, you will learn how your body and mind can work together to create the change you seek in your life. And, amazingly, how easily it can be done

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in less than one minute each day! (We guarantee it. But, more on that later.) You will learn to present yourself differently to the world, so the world will respond differently to you. And success, you’ll discover, is truly “at your fingertips!” (The LAO Advantage is condensed from the ebook, Wired To Succeed. This expanded ebook includes instruction on how to teach 5-Second Focusing techniques and other quantum personal growth™ skills to your children in the home or classroom.) Ready then? Let’s begin with the first 5-second Focusing technique, Anchoring Your Advantage.

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One

Anchor Your Advantage Successful businesses operate from a mission statement. Religions operate from a creed. Both describe in only a few words the basic principles that guide thoughts and actions. They outline the beliefs that make them different—that give them their unique advantage. You, too, have a unique “advantage” over others. And your advantage can guide you toward your success. In this first skill, you will discover your advantage and put it to daily use. First, however, a brief neurology lesson. We think you’ll find it interesting.

Neurology, briefly. Imagine your brain as an enormous, dense forest (think Amazon Rain Forest) crisscrossed by innumerable trails—some barely visible, others wide and well-worn. Hikers crossing this forest either cut their own trail (lots of work) or follow an existing trail headed in their general direction (much easier.) In a similar way, your every thought travels across your mind on neurotrails or pathways. And, just like the lazy hiker, each is drawn toward existing similar patterns of neural firing. This helps the mind to process efficiently. For instance, the mind rapidly recognizes that “four legs and tail” is probably a dog, and, if snarling, one to be avoided. Of course, the animal may turn out to neither a dog nor a danger. But, safety being a priority to you, “dog, snarling, danger” was still the dominant neural pathway at that moment.

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A child, on the other hand, not having built this neural pathway, would simply approach a pet dog as readily as a guard dog and begin his own lessons on safety. (Good thing we learn quickly.) In this same efficient manner, an optimist’s thoughts are drawn toward seeing the positive outcomes he has most often experienced, while a pessimist’s thought snap toward what will “most likely” go wrong. Each person’s thoughts simply hop onto the most practiced “trails” they find. In this way our thoughts tend to be consistent (that’s good) but also resistant to change (hmm, not so good.) It’s simply how the brain works most efficiently. And here’s how you can use that to your advantage.

Living Your Unique Advantage People who spend their days rehearsing only negative opinions of themselves and their life find that new thoughts tend to confirm these same defeatist attitudes. Going to a job interview expecting to “blow it like last time, “ their thoughts will be drawn toward the mistakes they expect to make. The interviewer, sensing their anxiety will probably not see all the positive qualities they might have intended to show. This is what we call “living your disadvantage,” that is, trapped in your past. Now imagine if you spent only a moment or two each day rehearsing a healthier, more confident view of yourself and your life. Imagine telling yourself every day (even if you sometimes have doubts) that you do love the person you are, warts and all. That you do accept the things you’ve done, even the things you would have changed. And that your mind is open each day to a better way, even when you’re not sure what that might be.

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If you were operating from these beliefs, consider how you might approach life differently. You’d probably become less critical of yourself, recognizing that you’re usually doing the best you can. You’d spend less time dwelling on the past mistakes and more time focusing on how to make the best of today. You’d probably find more joy in just being who you are. We don’t all have great natural gifts. But those who are “comfortable in their skin”—who like themselves, accept their past and are excited about their future—stand out in any crowd. They glow with an advantage that even the very successful can only envy. If this described you, wouldn’t others notice these changes? Not only would their impression of you change, but their reactions toward you as well. And this change would become positively contagious. Imagine each day, your new thoughts and experiences continuing to confirm your new perspective. As this thought-pathway grows “wider” with increased neural firing, it rapidly becomes the easiest “trail” for any new thoughts to follow. In time, you’ll simply find that you are living this healthy perspective just as consistently as you did your earlier defeatist one. A world of possibilities you never knew existed can open before you. You need only the courage each day to actively seek a better way. There’s nothing magical here. It’s just neurology. Just how the mind works—at peak performance. So here’s how to put this into practice.

The Power of Your UniqueAdvantage You have a special advantage in life—a unique combination of personal history, experiences and perspective. You are the only person who has

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lived exactly the life you have lived, and views life exactly the way you do. This unique advantage can give you an edge in life—a blessing—that can bring you great success. Or, it can be ignored and bring you nothing. The power of a unique advantage is only available to those who recognize and use it. (This is what successful people have learned to do—and you can, too.) You recognize your advantage when you fully embrace your unique family and personal history, accept responsibility for all you’ve done and learned, and stay open to all you are capable of being. Only from this healthy perspective can you avoid the traumas and limitations that define so many others’ lives. You use your advantage when you remind yourself of these things daily.

Living Your Advantage Later in this chapter, we’ll help you design your own brief advantage statement. In it, you’ll describe a healthy perspective on all that your life has been. For now, however, you can use the words of the LAO Affirmation below as your daily advantage statement. We call it your LAO Advantage.™ “I Love who I am, Accept the things I’ve done, and am Open each day to a better way.” The Lao Advantage™ (Love, Acceptance, Openness) defines an emotionally healthy view of one’s present, past and future. It’s a view of life you will soon be enjoying.

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To “love who you are” states your acceptance of the conditions, circumstances, and possibilities of your life. You recognize that “you” are your greatest tool to achieve success, and your only means to enjoy it. Embracing your absolute uniqueness, you honor those who have loved you and invested time in you just as you are. In the second phrase (“accept the things I’ve done”), you accept responsibility for all your past decisions, and the circumstances they created. You focus on what you have learned—not what you would change. You accept consequences, forgive others and yourself, and move on, embracing even the things you had to learn the hard way. To have a mind that is “open each day to a better way” affirms your constant receptiveness to change and growth—growth in your beliefs, habits, and lifestyle. You proclaim your willingness to change anything about your life the moment you become aware of a better, more positive way. The LAO affirmation addresses three primary origins of emotional difficulty and limitation in life: self-loathing, the paralysis of regret, and fear of change. Each repetition counters the thoughts and experiences that would create these feelings in your life.

Seize Your Daily Advantage Over the next weeks, recite the LAO Advantage™ (“I love who I am, accept the things I’ve done, and am open each day to a better way”) aloud or to yourself at least once a day, and particularly when you are feeling very positive about something in your life at that moment. Each time you recite your advantage, “anchor” these thoughts by pressing your left thumb to the tip of your left little finger. This gesture anchors sensation to thought (you’ll learn more about this later) and, stimulates the heart meridian as well.

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Anchor and recite your Advantage when you first awaken to start your day on a positive note. Take these few seconds to anchor an enjoyable moment with your spouse, children, or at work. Anchor the beauty of the sunset as you’re driving home. Each time you recite the LAO Advantage,™ or glance at the LAO Logo, you are building neural links to the warm feelings of that moment. With each repetition, you build mental patterns that are more fully accepting of who you are, who you’ve been, and who you hope to become. In the days and weeks ahead, you will begin to feel this positive perspective taking firm hold on your life. That’s a good thing. Let these few words “anchor” you to the wonder that you’ve found and the courage you’ve shown in life—and the unique advantage that your experience has given you.

Designing Your Personal Advantage On the following two Note Pages, you can list your own specific thoughts and images to recall each time you anchor your LAO Advantage™. Each specific memory makes the LAO Advantage™ more powerful to you. You can also design your own unique advantage statement to anchor throughout your day. Anchoring Your Advantage is the first 5-second Focusing technique. Next, you will learn how you can make even more specific daily changes in your life by wiring your mind to “become as you state yourself to be.”

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Giving More Power To Your LAO Advantage™ Each time you anchor the LAO Advantage,™ specific thoughts will come to your mind that confirm this healthier view of your life. Stating that you love “who you are” will bring to mind specific details of your family life, heritage, culture, and the personal skills and experiences that make you absolutely unique in the world. Similarly, you will recall specific past experiences you’ve learned from and “accept”, and dreams of the person you are “open” to become. In time, your every repetition of the LAO Advantage™ will anchor you into an ever-expanding neural collage of positive personal memories and feelings. As an example, a person might soon find that their simple, one-line LAO Advantage™ statement actually links to “l love. . . (being multi-ethnic, raised in the city, daughter of Sara, proud of my heritage, pleased with my art, caring of children, a Taoist at heart, proud of my grades, learning chess, lover of mornings, mysteries, movies and proud of what I’ve made of my life).” And continue on to “Accept. . . (last year’s mistakes, my parent’s shortcomings, the shape of my body, my features just as they are, the neighborhood madness I endured, the apologies I’ve made, the debts I’ve repaid, the time I wasted, opportunities missed, and everything I had learned the hard way).” And finally, “And I’m open. . . (to a fresh start each morning, any thoughts that give me more patience, not putting things off, finding a way to Europe, eating better, any ideas to improve my work, a different style of clothing, letting go of anger, a new thought each day, and any ideas that will help me enjoy my life more fully).”

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When you realize you have built and are tapping into a neural network of thoughts and ideas far more extensive than you could even begin to describe in words, you will appreciate the beauty of anchoring! On the following two pages, you can jot down just some of the main thoughts and ideas that build the power of your LAO Advantage™. As you state the following sentence to yourself, you further increase the power of your LAO Advantage™ by directing your subconscious to treat or “re-route” anything that has kept you from fully embracing these things about yourself in the past.

“Whenever I anchor the LAO Advantage I direct my subconscious mind to treat any thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, or emotions that have limited, or would ever limit my appreciation and celebration of myself as…” (State your family connections: e.g., son/daughter of, ancestor of, proud to be…)

“who enjoys…” (List your talents, interests, accomplishments, and virtues.)

“love and cares for…” (List the people, places, beliefs, and ideas that are important to you.)

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“accepts myself to be (or accept that I have)…” (State the unchangeable circumstances of your life—physical characteristics, early childhood experiences, family or cultural upbringing, etc.—and past events or decisions that cannot be changed.)

“and have the potential to (or am open to)…” (List your hopes, dreams, future plans, and any aspect of your life that you are open to changing or improving.)

Design Your Own Advantage Statement You may be inspired to combine the most important of the above thoughts to create your own brief, unique advantage (personal mission) statement that you would like to anchor each day. Write it below and then commit it to memory.

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Two

Affirm Your Intentions If you think of your advantage to be like the “operating system” of your computer, then the next two skills (Affirming Intentions and Designing Goals) are the “software” to help you make specific daily improvements in your life. A business grows by meeting or exceeding its objectives. In the same way, spiritual growth comes through the power of prayer. In peak performance, you use affirmative statements to direct your subconscious mind to help you achieve all that you desire, and become all you are capable of being. First, however, a few words on “anchoring” and the “subconscious mind.” Anchoring—The Body and Mind Remembering Together “Success is at your fingertips.” Haven’t you often wished that were true? You’ll soon discover it to be far more true than you ever imagined! As we mentioned earlier, every thought cuts a unique pattern of neural firing across the brain. These neural patterns contain sensory information collected from locations throughout the entire body. That is, the sensory information being sent by the body to the brain is also locked into the neural memory of every thought and experience. In other words, your mind registers both your thought and what you were sensing when you thought it. For example, you’ve probably noticed that when you recall your first kiss, or a championship ball game, you can almost taste, smell, and feel

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the moment. You’ve also noticed how that certain perfume or the smell of your baseball glove can throw your thoughts back to each wonderful evening just as easily. These connections show how both your thoughts and your feelings are linked together in memory. In this same way, when you anchor an affirmation with a specific physical action, such as the thumb-to-little finger gesture, it focuses the subconscious mind to build an even stronger neural link to this moment. That’s what you want—the body and mind working together to incorporate this thought into your daily life.

And A Few Words On The Subconscious Mind Your conscious mind guides your thoughts while your subconscious mind guides your automatic actions. Ever wonder how you can drive safely (for the most part) for hours while your mind is “miles away?” As your conscious mind is planning out your day, your subconscious mind makes sure you turn the wheel, check the mirrors, breathe, pump your heart, and a few other rather important things your conscious mind is paying little or no attention to at the moment. If a car suddenly swerves in front of you, the conscious mind will immediately re-engage to “think” about how to avoid an accident. However, until that instant, your subconscious reactions are in charge. It is the job of the subconscious mind to conduct your automatic bodily functions, such as pumping the heart, and also your minute-by-minute “automatic” reactions to people and events. It does this according to

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how your previous life experiences have “pre-programmed” it to respond to keep you alive and safe. Many of your everyday reactions are guided by the subconscious in this way. Sure, if you “really thought about it,” you might not reach for that next cigarette or finish that too-rich dessert, but the conscious mind often doesn’t engage early enough to intervene. The point: if you really want to change your behavior, it will help to have your subconscious working with you. How do you do that? Well, you trick it! (Hey, good idea.) You tell the subconscious what you want to be true about yourself, regardless of whether it is or not yet. In other words you affirm that you are “making healthier eating choices each day,” and with that statement, you initiate your intention to do exactly that. Then your subconscious will act on these best intentions whenever it’s in charge. And that’s exactly what you want. That’s the beauty of it.

How To “Become As You State Yourself To Be” Think about your daily life as you would like it to be. Not in the general terms of the LAO Advantage™, but in specific daily actions. How would you most like to act and react to the people and events of your day? Here are some examples: …I can listen to my boss without losing my temper. …I’m feeling healthy and exercising daily. …Each day I attract and seize new opportunities to make money. …I deal quickly with small matters and am greatly productive. …I’m losing weight and I’m feeling great. …I live the life of a non-smoker.

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To come up with some ideas, complete the following opening sentence: “My life will be better when… When you think of a completion statement you would most like to be true (even though you know it isn’t) write it down. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Congratulations. You’ve just written your first affirmation! It won’t sound like a “true” statement because, well, it’s not, yet. It’s an image of what you want to be true, and a directive to your subconscious to help you make it come true. Again, you will anchor this statement on your left hand. However, this time touch your left thumb to your left ring finger (a point associated with emotional balance). As you do this, state only your completion sentence (“I am…”) aloud or to yourself. Finish with a very deep belly breath. Anchor and recite this same intention every day for a few weeks. Repeat it in the morning after you anchor the LAO Advantage™ on your little finger. Recite it during the day whenever you most wish it were true. Do it as often as you’d like. You may include, at any time, other affirmations as well. Each time, finish with a deep breath and visualize your life as if this statement were actually true. Imagine how you would feel, what you might do differently, and how the world would come to view you. This mental preparation is critical in creating the change you want to occur.

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(Remember, you are trying to convince your subconscious that it is true, so the more detailed your visualization, the more convincing you will be.) Then continue on with your day. Remember, your subconscious mind is in charge while you’re watching TV later, driving, or engrossed in your job. And during these “automatic times” it will direct your mind away from food cravings if you’ve convincingly stated that you are “eating healthier everyday.” Wouldn’t it be great to have your subconscious helping you out? That’s the power of affirming your intentions. It’s another way you wire your mind to succeed. Affirming your intentions directly to the subconscious mind as if they were true, is a powerful peak-performance technique. Like objectives or prayers, you’ll find it works best with focused attention and daily repetition. It’s easy, takes only seconds, and you’ll be amazed at how soon your view of yourself begins to change. Yes, it may even be immediately. Try it out. On the following Note Pages, you’ll find a list of affirmations you might want to consider for your life. On the second note page you can write specific intentions you’d like to affirm in your life over the next weeks and months. You’ve now learned two important techniques. You’ve practiced anchoring your LAO Advantage™ to your little finger and affirmations to your ring finger. Practicing both will take less than 10 seconds (yes, that’s seconds) each day. That still leaves you 50 more seconds in your peak performance minute for other techniques. Let’s move on to the third 5-second Focusing technique.

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Sample Affirmations I attract loving, supportive people into my life. Every day and in every way I grow more capable. I take pride in my work. I am a warm and caring person. I am supportive of others. I am honest with myself and with others. I meet people easily and speak with confidence. My confidence grows with each day. I accept my past without regrets. I make small decisions quickly and am highly productive. I can focus my attention better and succeed. I easily find creative solutions to daily problems. I am caring and loving toward those who depend upon me. Each day I attract, recognize and seize healthy opportunities.

List below other affirmations that you enjoy.

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Write down specific intentions that you wish for your life. You can use the following “affirmative” preface statement if you are stating several intentions at once:

“My life is better (marvelous, successful, etc.) now that: Describe the person you intend to become—physically, emotionally, socially, professionally, spiritually.

State any ways in which you would like to react differently than you do now.

Describe exactly how you would like the circumstances of your life to change. How would you hope your life to be?

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Three

Design Personally Powerful Goals We all daydream. It can be very entertaining. But when important things we want for our lives remain only daydreams, it’s not fun. It’s just frustrating. Dreaming alone won’t get done all that you want to accomplish in a day. But designing meaningful personal goals will. The goals you set define who you are. They give meaning and purpose to your life. Through your goals you define what success means to you. You can direct your subconscious mind to help you turn dreams into achievable goals. It’s easy to do. In no time you’ll find that designing and meeting goals is every bit as enjoyable as daydreaming—and far more satisfying!

How Your Visions Become Reality Have you ever wondered how your mind sets your body into action? When you look out at a street scene, your mind fires neural patterns it recognizes to match those of buildings, people, animals, etc. Through these visual images, your mind makes sense of your world. Similarly, when you want your body to do something, (pick up a cup, for example) the mind works from images also—not visual images but mental images. Before it directs your arm muscles to fire, the mind first envisions your arm reaching out and picking up the cup. The muscles of the arm and

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hand then extend to grasp the cup to recreate this mental image as a visual reality out in the world. Every action you take first begins as a mental image in your mind. You imagine what you want, create an image of having it, and then mind directs the muscles to get it. When you create a mental goal image, it is the job of the subconscious mind to help you fulfill this image in the real world. To do this, your subconscious becomes hyper-aware of anything that might help you. It sorts through everything and everyone you’ve ever known that might link to the mental goal image you have envisioned. Suddenly, you notice just the tool you need, figure out a new approach, and remember the friend who might be able to help you. This is your subconscious mind at work. It is the unseen player behind every successful goal. Communicating a clear goal directly to your subconscious mind is the secret to effective goal setting. This is how you wire your mind to make your dreams come true. It’s a simple process you are about to learn.

Designing Personal Goals Designing personal goals is easily done with these four steps: 1) Select a worthy personal goal, 2) Anchor your vision of the goal-result, 3) Write down or take one physical action to communicate your commitment and 4) Evaluate how you’ve done.

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To get started, first clear your thoughts by either taking a deep breath or by saying to yourself, “Stop. Clear.” to set aside distractions. (This is good technique any time you need to focus your thoughts.) Then you can begin what is, at once, both the easiest, and the most difficult, task in goal setting: knowing what you want. This is where most people fail before they even get started. You’ve heard people say that they want “to be rich” or “be a star” or “be happy.” Expressing vague dreams such as these is not the same as stating an achievable goal. The subconscious mind needs a little more than this to go on! On the other hand, to decide that you will “make improvements and clear $30,000 on the sale of this house next month” is to state an achievable goal. It is clear and specific. It gives some idea of the steps necessary, and includes a time frame for completion. You can begin to achieve this goal immediately with a hammer, nails, and paint, while your subconscious mind is helping you come up with some great marketing ideas.

Imagining The Steps To A Better Life Time to give it a try. Take a minute to imagine a goal you want to achieve. Make sure it is reasonably specific, achievable—even if you aren’t sure exactly how you might begin to achieve it—and includes a time frame. Be certain that the goal you set is of personal value to you. If you set goals only to please others, your mind will only work half-heartedly to achieve it. Once you begin setting personally meaningful goals, you’ll notice the difference.

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When you have something in mind, envision the completion of the goal. To do this, complete the following statement:

“I’ll know I’ve accomplished this goal when….” In the earlier example this may be, “I’ve made the improvements, marketed the house well, and I’m signing the closing.” The completion of a goal this evening may be, “The kids are in bed before 8:00, and I’ve closed their bedroom door.” State only your completion of this sentence (“I’ve made improvements…” or “The kids are…”) In this way, you communicate only the result of your goal to your subconscious mind—the very image of your goal being successful. This is important. With an image of the successful result of the goal—including any specific sights, sounds, smells, and feelings—the subconscious approaches this goal as if it has already been achieved. With this mental image to work from, the subconscious sets about to (re-)gather resources and (re-)focus your attention on completing this goal with the belief and confidence that it has already been completed. (Tricked again!) Working from this image, your subconscious mind will come up with amazing ways to make the goal possible that you never would have imagined—though, of course, you did! (The mind and body are working together to make you great! That’s a good thing.) Now, to communicate even more clearly that you are serious about achieving this goal, take one physical step toward achieving it. The easiest, quickest way is to anchor your left thumb to, now, your middle finger while stating your goal result either aloud or to yourself. Finish with a deep belly breath while you enjoy your image of successfully completing this goal. (In traditional studies, the middle finger is associated with authority and decisiveness, both important to goal setting.)

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Next, if you have the opportunity, (for instance, you’re not driving, or in the shower) take a moment to write down this goal result. These two actions together, anchoring and writing down the goal result, clearly move your goal from thought into action. (Writing down tomorrow’s goals each evening is the single most important time management tool you will ever learn! We consider it so important, that we have included 30 days of goal Journal pages in back of this book. Once you begin, and find yourself completing things you’ve been setting aside for months or years, we’re certain you’ll want to continue. Just give it a month and then you can decide.) If possible, continue with one more concrete step toward achieving this goal. This may be to write down any resources needed, steps to be taken, or to actually get started. If your goal is to start an exercise program, call the gym, buy new shoes, or invite a friend to join you. The sooner you act on it, the better. Anchoring your goal result, writing it down, and taking additional steps toward achieving it, clearly communicates to the subconscious that this is not just a wish or a daydream—it’s an achievable goal you have already begun to fulfill. The fourth and final step is to evaluate whether you’ve succeeded or failed to meet this goal in the time frame you set forth. Doing this will help you recognize success, release failure, or refocus your efforts to retry. (Skills Four and Five will teach you more about the importance of this step.)

Putting It All Together Let’s briefly review the four steps you just followed to design your personal goals: 1) You selected a worthy personal goal, 2) You anchored your vision of the goal-result,

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3) You wrote it down or took one physical action to communicate your commitment and 4) You evaluated how you did. There is, of course, far more to actually achieving a goal (only Dorothy got to Kansas by just clicking her heels) but this is the essential underlying neurological process. In no time at all, setting tomorrow’s goals at the end of each day will become as automatic as flipping off the lights and locking the front door. In no time, you’ll be creating the life you only imagined possible. Designing powerful personal goals is your third skill in creating a life of peak performance. (Additional details on how to design worthy goals, prioritize goals, teach goal setting to children and other goals setting tips can be found in Wired To Succeed.) You’ve now learned three 5-second Focusing techniques you can practice daily. You can anchor your advantage to your little finger and an affirmation or two to your ring finger. Then, continuing on up the hand, anchor your main daily personal goal to the middle finger, write it down, and you’ve still taken less than 40 seconds of your day. (Not bad…) That leaves you 20 seconds yet in your peak performance minute. So let’s move on to the fourth 5-second Focusing technique—Celebrating Success.

Teaching goal-setting with the phrase, “I’ll know I’ve accomplished this when. . .” is terminology copyrighted by R. Russell, 2004.

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30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Sample Page

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

26 Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

Four

Celebrate Success You succeed at many things every day. But do you ever stop to celebrate them? Do you even remember them? Successful people do! They remember and celebrate their every success—big, little and barely noticeable. It’s a trick they learned early in life. You can use it, too. This fourth technique teaches you to anchor each daily success into your neural memory with a special gesture—your success anchor. This builds a pool of “success memories” to help you recognize all that you do well each and every day. It’s time for you to become good at celebrating success, because there is a lot more coming your way!

Success. Would You Know It If You Felt It? Do you know what success feels like? There are many people who don’t. Ironically, many of them are highly successful individuals. For some, the joy of success is instantly overwhelmed by a compulsion to do something bigger, something better. Others feel unworthy even when they do succeed. They remember each success as only an isolated event and never feel that they themselves could ever be truly “successful.” Others recognize success in their minds, but don’t celebrate it in their bodies. They “know” they’ve done well, but they feel no physical release and satisfaction. As frustration builds, these people sometimes turn to

27 Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

high-risk activities, or drugs to supply the body with the “rush” their career successes no longer deliver. There are also many who seek success with little idea of what exactly success means to them! They spend their lives seeking to achieve something they never stopped to define. In a word, they wouldn’t know success if it smacked them in the face (as it has probably been doing for years!) What does success feel like? Success is the sense of personal triumph, thrill, and satisfaction that comes when you accomplish something you set out to do. Success comes when you define a goal and meet it. This is why goal setting is so important. If you never state what you want, how can you ever be satisfied with what you get? Success is something you recognize in your mind and celebrate in the body. And you can do that all day long! After all, that’s what successful people do. And this is how.

Anchoring Success For the next few weeks, every time you successfully complete a goal, or feel successful for any reason, you’re going to anchor this feeling into both your mind and body. You may have a celebration gesture you already use (fist in the air, for example.) If not, we’ll suggest the more subtle action of snapping your thumb upward from both your middle and index finger on your left hand as a success anchor. (This action is different than the normal “snap your finger,” as it uses both fingers and snaps upward to a “thumbs up.” Again, not a gesture you generally use otherwise.)

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You can also include any celebration word you choose (“Yes” “Great”or “All right!”) either aloud or to yourself. For even better results, add a brief description of your success (“Yes, I’m getting this!”) Follow up with deep, full breath, and your celebration is complete. Together, these three actions (anchor, celebration word, and breath) release the hormones of satisfaction and pleasure to both mind and body. Each new success you anchor into this “pool” of success experiences builds this neural network stronger and makes it more satisfying to you. How often can you use this? As much as you’d like. (This is a good thing to become addicted to!) Each time you celebrate, the neural network of that action or thought increases its influence upon your mood and actions. In this way, you actively wire your mind to become the person you hope to be. When you hop out of bed early, snap your success anchor and say, “Alright, I’m on top of this day!” and take a deep breath. That’s a success. You grabbed an apple for dessert instead of the calorie-rich chocolate cake? Once again, anchor it (“OK, eating better today”) and add that victory into your pool of successes. The mind doesn’t distinguish between big successes (a million dollar contract) and little successes (remembering to fill up the gas tank on time). It registers each success equally into your neural network of success experiences. So anchor any thing and every thing you catch yourself doing well today. On the following Note Page you can write down past successes to wire them into this network as well. You’ll find you’ll enjoy it immediately. It’s fun to reward yourself, and recognize all you do well. Within weeks it will become a new, positive habit in your life.

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Success will never again be something you fail to recognize, or just register in your mind. Success will be what you feel throughout your body, throughout your day, and throughout your life! You’ve now learned four 5-second Focusing techniques. If you celebrate, say, ten successes each day, that adds on 10 seconds. That makes a total of 50 seconds each day to practice the four skills you’ve learned. Let’s see. That leaves you enough seconds in your daily minute for one more technique—learning to release failure.

30 Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

Celebration Notes Throughout this next month, jot down previous successes that come to mind as you anchor each new success. You can incorporate these past success memories into the neural-network of successes that you are building at this time.

“Each time I anchor a success, I direct my subconscious mind to recall the memory and feeling of success that I experienced when…” In childhood

Academic achievement

Relationship joys

Work success

Adventures

Small and incidental successes each day

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Five

Release Failure Not everything you do will meet with success. There are goals that fail, mistakes that are made, and things to forgive. This fifth technique teaches you to overcome failure and move beyond negative thoughts by interrupting a negative neural-pathway and creating alternate pathways dedicated exclusively to letting go.

The Importance of Releasing Failed Goals As you’ve learned, when you design a goal, you create a mental picture of what you desire. Then your subconscious mind organizes your thoughts and directs your attention to fulfilling that mental image out in the world. However, when you fail to meet that goal, your subconscious mind does not automatically stop pursuing it. It keeps on trying. Though this sounds good, it’s really not. Pursuing unmet goals diverts focus and mental attention from other truly attainable goals. In fact, continuing to fixate on unmet goals and negative thoughts can become a major stumbling block to your success. But they don’t need to be. When you release a thought or action, you interrupt the neural network it has created in your mind. This immediately reduces the influence that negative neural pathways have upon your thoughts and actions. In this way, you wire your mind toward the more positive views of life you have celebrated and affirmed earlier.

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You can learn to consciously release unmet intentions and free your thoughts to be truly successful. You can learn to live for only what is meaningful to you today.

The Importance of Distinguishing Failure From Success You’ve learned to create an image of the successful completion of each goal you design. This image is your measure of success, and you are the only person who can evaluate it. If what you create in the world is a close enough match, that’s success. Celebrate. If not, the goal failed. No problem, just release, redesign if you like, and move on. Failing to meet a goal doesn’t mean you are a failure—it just means you didn’t create exactly what you expected. Only with this clear distinction between success and failure can you improve your goalsetting ability to bring greater satisfaction. (Are your goal images often not what you really want? Are you too willing to settle for less? Are you satisfied with failing and feeling sorry for yourself? Why do you fail to create what you thought you wanted?) It is not “failing” that causes people to “feel like a failure.” That feeling comes when you direct endless attention to unachievable goals. The moment you accept having failed to meet a goal, you can feel the excitement of a new goal forming. And your mind is, once again, wired to succeed!

The Action of Letting Go To release failed goals and unwanted thoughts, again decide on a physical cue that you will use for this purpose alone. Maybe you pretend to wad up a piece of paper and toss it over your shoulder. If so, that will work fine.

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If not, we suggest folding your middle and ring fingers downward and covering them with your thumb and then “flicking” them outward from the thumb as if they had been glued together. This can be done on either hand. This release (a gesture traditionally associated with removing obstacles from one’s life) directs the subconscious mind to re-route the neural pattern of this thought and all that you associate with it. Now, while stating or thinking of the goal, thought, or intention that you wish to release, flick your failure release. You can also say, aloud or to yourself, “Away” or “I’m busy with today” or “Let it go. Move on” or something similar. Then take a deep breath and enjoy the moment of release. Finish with your LAO Advantage™ to return you to the warm feelings you’ve anchored to these words. This action can also be used to “reject” or release remarks made to you or about you that you don’t want to become part of your neural memory. Immediately release insults, name-calling, or discouraging statements using your release and a dismissing word, such as “I don’t need that” or “I’m not going there.” Again, finish with the LAO Advantage™ and a deep breath. Each time you flick your failure release, you practice the release of subconscious attention to failed goals or negative thinking. Each time you practice this, you get better at letting go. To release the emotional buzz of stubborn negative thoughts and emotions (and find creative solutions) you can combine this release gesture with your LAO Advantage™ in the following manner. Say, “Even though…” and state the emotion you’re struggling to move beyond while flicking your release. Then tie it to the statement, “…I still love who I am…, etc.” while anchoring your LAO Advantage.™ For example, “Even though I’m still angry at how I was treated at work last year (flick) I still (anchor) love who I am, accept the things I’ve done, and am open

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each day to a better way.” (See the bibliography for more on similar emotional freedom techniques.) Sometimes this action may be all you need to move on. Other times it may make you aware of needing to correct a mistake, repair damage or ask forgiveness, often of yourself, before you can move on. Try this for a few weeks and enjoy the feeling of focusing only on what is important to your life today. On the Note Page that follows you can record thoughts you intend to release over the next weeks. O.K. Let’s add five more seconds for five thoughts you need to release. In fact, we’ll even add four more seconds for a really bad day. And your total comes to 59 seconds—just short of a minute as we promised. (Ahhh. . . )

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Thoughts To Release List below any past failures, negative thoughts, memories, and words spoken to you that you want to release over the next weeks. What unmet goals do you still give attention to, though you know they proved impossible to achieve?

What memories do you wish to direct less attention toward?

Are there unhappy or unpleasant experiences you have learned all you can from, and are now able to release?

List any negative words that have been spoken to you that you reject and dismiss.

36 Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

A Day Of Peak Performance

You’ve now learned the five 5-Second Focusing techniques that you can use daily to achieve peak performance. They have been simple to learn and easy to remember. If you practice them daily, they will change your life. Even though practicing all five of these techniques only involves 60 seconds of your day, you may wish to establish a routine for those especially busy days. Many people anchor their LAO Advantage while still lying in bed. Others, recite it into their dresser or bathroom mirror. You may do all five at once over a morning coffee or tea. In less than one minute you can state your advantage, affirm a positive intention or two, anchor and write one achievable goal, celebrate a few daily successes and release a couple of old failed thoughts. Or you may prefer simply anchoring on your way to work. Either is a great way to start the day. Wouldn’t these be worth one minute of your day? Today is a day of peak performance personal growth. Today you begin to more fully love who you are, accept the things you’ve done, and remain open at any time to a better way. Today you seize your advantage!

37 Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

Finally, here’s our NO RISK guarantee as we promised. If, after 30 days of journaling, you don’t feel you are creating a more successful day mail the completed book, and a description of how you felt it failed to meet your expectations to: The LAO Advantage, PO Box 809, Ruidoso, NM. 88355. We’ll be happy to send you a full refund without question. We welcome any an all comments to TheLAO@gmailcom or by phone to Larry Tobin at 505-937-3675.

38 Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-day I Create My Day™ Journal Begin today using your I Create My Day™ Journal to record your daily advantage, affirm one intention, state one personal goal and list any additional To Do items. At the end of each day, evaluate your personal goal, and set a new goal (and list any To Do items) for the next day. This gives your subconscious mind all night to work on finding solutions and defining the resources needed.

39 Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 1

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 2

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 3

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 4

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 5

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 6

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 7

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 8

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 9

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 10

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 11

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 12

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 13

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 14

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 15

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 16

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 17

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 18

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 19

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 20

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 21

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 22

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 23

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 24

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 25

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 26

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 27

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 28

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 29

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin

30-Day ‘I Create My Day™ Journal’ Day 30

Date ____________

(My initials _______)

My Advantage Today: _____________________________________________________________________________

My Best Intention: (“My day will go well now that…)

_____________________________________________________________________________

My Personally Powerful Goal: (“I will know I’ve met this goal when…)

_____________________________________________________________________________ First action or resources needed? __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation: ___ Successful ___ Failed ___ To Retry

Additional To Do Items: (“Today, I also envision that I’ve…”) ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Copyright 2005 L.Tobin