Edit – got the audiosnippet from Viddler -

“Now, here’s the second law that changed my life forever in network marketing. I learned the law of sowing and reaping. And in the law of sowing and reaping is also the story of the law of averages.

Jot this down…the story of the sower. It comes from the Bible. I am amateur on the Bible, but this is such a useful story. Here’s what the story says, and take notes, because the drama’s in the details.

The sower was ambitious. Evidently, he was ambitious. When you read the whole story you’ll conclude yes, this was an ambitious sower.

Here was number two. He had excellent seed. The sower who sowed the seed had excellent seed. And the excellent seed could be an excellent opportunity, an excellent product, an excellent story.

So we’ve got an ambitious sower with excellent seed. But now here are the rest of the details of the story. For your information, for the drama of your life, so you can understand things better, learning some of this is how I got rich by age 31.

The sower goes out to sow the seed, but the first part of the seed falls by the wayside and the birds get it. So jot this down. The birds are going to get some of the seed. The birds are going to get some of the seed.

Now you say, “Mr. Rohn, what does that mean?”

Well, I invite John to come to a meeting. He said he’d be there Tuesday night. Tuesday night I show up. John isn’t there. I say, “I wonder why John didn’t make it.”

Now I know the answer. The birds! The birds! John had this great idea of coming to the meeting to look at an opportunity, and somebody stole it and said, “You’re not going to go see network marketing.” And he says, “Well, maybe not.”

So have you jotted that down now? The birds are going to get some.

Now when the birds get some, you’ve got two options. Number one is to chase birds. You say, “Well, let me get hold of the person who talked him out of coming to the meeting. I’ll tear him a new page.” I wouldn’t do this. Here’s what happens if you go chasing birds. You leave the field. If you go chasing birds now, you leave the field. Which is going to distract from your future, not add? So you can’t chase birds and try to straighten this stuff out.

Here’s what it is. It’s just one of those things, and here’s the best comment when things are a little disappointing.

“Isn’t that interesting?”

You just have to say, “I thought sure he would be there. He promised me. He promised me! But I know it was the birds.” And you just have to say, “Isn’t that interesting?”

Now here’s the rest of the story.

The sower kept on sowing. See, that was the secret to his success. He kept on sowing. And if you keep sowing, you can sow more than the birds can get because there aren’t enough birds. If you keep sowing, there are some birds but there’s not enough, because the Law of Averages will work for you.

My mentor taught me, “You know, Mr. Rohn, there are only nine or ten real nasty miserable people in the whole world. Now you know they move around a lot and you’re liable to bump into one once in awhile, but when you bump into one you say ‘There’s only 9 more like you–I can handle that–in the whole world?’”

Now here’s what else it says. The sower now keeps sowing the seed. Now the seed falls, the story says, on rocky ground where the soil is shallow. And the rocky ground where the soil is shallow is not of your making, because you had excellent seed and you were an ambitious sower.

So the rocky ground where the soil is shallow is not of your making. But here what it says happened. This time, the little seed that falls in the ground starts to grow and the little plant starts to grow. But the first hot day, it withers and dies. Not an easy thing to watch.

I finally get John started. Sure enough, three or four days later somebody says “Boo!” and he’s gone–doesn’t show up at the second meeting. And I say, “I thought sure John would last a week.”

What happened? Jot this down. The hot weather is going to get some. And this is not of your making. Here’s what you must say when that happens. “Isn’t that interesting?”

What can you do? The answer is nothing.

You say, “Well, I’m going to try to change this!” I wouldn’t take that class. You know, the sun comes up in the east and somebody says, “Why is that?” I wouldn’t spend much time on that. Just let that happen. Don’t go for this why, why, why stuff. I’m giving you the answers here. The answer is in the structure and in the consequences and is in the deal. The answer is in the deal. Anything beyond that is not worth studying.

You say, “Well, how come some just last a little while?” I wouldn’t sign up for that class. Here’s the answer: Some don’t stay. You just have to jot that down. And when some leave you say, “That’s one of those that don’t stay.”

Now, you know what category to put them in, and you can’t solve this now. It’s like rearranging the seasons. You can’t fool with that. All you can do is cooperate with the way things are set up. I didn’t set it up.

You say, “Well, it shouldn’t be this way.” Well, when you get your own planet you can rearrange this whole deal, but on this planet you’re a guest. You’ve got to take it as it comes.

Now, here is the secret to the ambitious sower with good seed. It said he kept on sowing.

Now, here’s what he had to do to keep on sowing. He had to discipline his disappointment. This is a key phrase now to use for the rest of your life. You must learn to discipline your disappointment. Because you didn’t set up the set up, and some are not going to stay, and that is not of your making.

Now, if you made gross errors and you ran them off, see that’d be different. Now you’re responsible for that. But if it’s in the normal course of things, this is the way things are.

Now, here’s what it says. The sower keeps on sowing. Now it says the seed falls on thorny ground. And somebody says, “Well, how much of this do you have to go through?”

Well, hang on. It’s not the end of the story now. Now the little seed falls on thorny ground and now the little plant starts to grow again but as the little plant starts to grow, the thorns choke it to death and it dies. So jot this down. The thorns are going to get some. And that’s not of your making.

And what are these thorns? The story even called these little thorns little cares, little distractions, little something’s. Who knows what all they are.

I said, “John, we had a meeting last night. You weren’t here.” And John says, “Well, I can’t make every meeting.” I say, “Why not? You’re part-time.” He said, “Well, the screen door came off the hinges and you can’t just let your house fall apart. You’ve got to take some time and fix things up.” And I can hear the thorns growing. He said, “Some extra trash had piled up in the garage. You can’t let mountains of trash take over. You’ve got to keep your trash hauled out.”

People who let little things cheat them out of big opportunities. People who let little things cheat them out of big opportunities, and you feel almost helpless. What could I do about that? And that’s nothing. And you say, “Well, why is this?”

I’m asking you not to sign up for that class. Don’t sign up for these, “Why is this?” classes. It’s just the way it is–like winter following fall and spring following winter. So have you got that? The thorns are going to get some.

But now here’s the good news. Let’s read the rest of the story now quickly. The sower now keeps on sowing the seed. Keeps on sharing the story. Keeps on giving an invitation. Yes the invitation can be more powerful for me as it was one year later than it was the first month, because now I’m saying I’m making twice as much money part time as I’m making on my full-time job.

Yes, the story can be more powerful, but the Law of Averages is still going to work.

But now here’s what the story says. Finally the seed falls on good ground. Finally the seed falls on good ground. Now put this in parentheses. It always will, if you keep sowing. If you share a good idea long enough, it will fall on good people.

But now here’s the rest of that story. Some of the good ground did 30%. And some of the good ground did 60%. And some of the good ground did 100%.

You say, “Well, why the difference in numbers?” I wouldn’t sign up for that class! Have I said that often enough now? Don’t register for that class. It’s just the way it is.

Now I tried to get the 30’s to do 60. Found out it was more than I could handle.

I used to say, “I’ll make them successful if it kills me.” I almost died. No, you can’t do that.

Here’s what you do. Let the 30’s do 30 to the best of their ability and keep doing 30, because that’s how they build their lifestyle and get what they want out of life. And let the 60’s do 60. And let the 100’s do 100.

Now how can you get some to do 100%? You’ve got to go through all these experiences and you’ve got to talk to all these people.

I remember hearing these kinds of warnings from my mother when I was about 19 years old. We were out walking in the woods, and I told her about my future plans for my life. At the time I wanted to live from playing and producing music – a dream that felt very real and very attainable from my perspective. Her immediate reaction was, “No, I think you should wait until you’re in your mid-thirties – then you will have more life experiences to share from… ” A year later I had funded and recorded eight tracks to take my music career to the next level…Always being the one who wanted to work with identity, feelings, expression, energy, colors, sensations and changing the world for the better and more beautiful she still called me up one year later, after I had moved to Copenhagen and all – she then asked me, if I would consider a trainee job in a bank in my small hometown… (Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with working in a bank if that is what you’re dreaming of – but it obviously just wasn’t my dream! If you had only seen my haircut and bootcut leather pants at the time, you would have known without speaking to me!)

I was 22 then and had a clear insight at that moment when I hung up the phone… She was scared for me.. scared that I might not “make it” – whatever that meant to her… scared that I might “run into trouble”, scared I wasn’t “successful” – scared of a lot of things, which in the end, would really have nothing to do with me… and she was acting just like many parents all over the world do… trying to influence their kids to take the safe path!

In this story my beloved mother is just a metaphor, for the voices we allow to hijack our attention. I have family, friends and acquaintances with all kinds of voices, when asked about advice -

Some want it to be perfect from start, others don’t want to see you fail, others are afraid about your competence, some are afraid you will ruin your image, some think you need a perfect well thought out and well planed strategy, some think you lack the strength to find your way through, some don’t think you know enough – some, no matter where you are will never consider you ready to take the next step. And it get’s even worse – because even though their advice wasn’t your starting point or general idea, you may begin to believe what they say, more than you believe in yourself.

I tend to think that the voices we hear on the outside, only reflects the messages from voices on the inside – and sometimes we start believing some of those scary voices, more than we believe some of the others… and by continually listening and believing them, we can end up paralyzed and immobilized… in total belief that what those voices once said, is now the only reality available to us… BUT IT’S NOT!

I’m here to tell you that no matter how it seems, there are always more options available to everyone of us. I’m here to tell you to keep moving toward your dreams – there will never come a time where things will never be perfect, timing will never be perfect, partners will never be perfect, money will never be perfect, strength will be perfect, knowledge will be perfect – perfect is an abstraction we can aim for but never have from the beginning. What will get you towards “perfect” is actually taking the next step – or the leap – into some unknown territory.

What will force you to grow – if you keep your heart open – both in action, wisdom and contribution to the world – is taking steps. Maybe you take a wrong step – so what? You correct the step and take one again… and again, and again. That was how you learned to walk by the way! We screw up along the way, that’s part of the process called learning – and life! Accept it and move on!

So instead of listening to the voices trying to scare you off, challenge yourself to become more, to develop more skills, to develop more character, to develop more strength, to develop more honesty and charisma, wealth and all the stuff you find good and beautiful in the world!

You build “new muscles” by going to the gym – NOT if you sit around at home thinking about which gym is better, what kind of exercises work better, where the best trainers are, what the others will think of you or if you should wear black or blue shorts to your new trainers… you build new muscle by going there, picking the weight up and train hard consistently for an extended period.

Likewise with your dreams – you work towards them everyday – even if you can only take the smallest of steps! Don’t get scared when people around you say, what you want to do can’t be done – what do they know? Listen – it’s way too easy to stop somebody from going after their dream and worst – it doesn’t take any courage to do! Don’t listen to the haters – consider them the real loosers in this game!

Don’t let it be you being stopped! Just because you know some people who are scared from going after their dream – telling you YOU can’t! Don’t necessarily believe what they say!

Beethoven once said to his primary violinist when he complained it was to hard to play a piece, “what do I care about your pitiful earthly matters, when divine spirit is flowing and speaking through me!?”

It has some truth to it – Beethoven could hear it played inside his head, that’s why he wrote it like that! Because the violinist couldn’t play it he had a hard time believing it could be played. It could – just took some more practice and today many violin players and a whole planet is enriched by this piece!

Likewise for yourself – you can’t expect the people around you, to be able to see what you can. You have to find that inner strength, push through and show it to them!

Most people live by the equation “When I see it, I’ll believe it”…. For yourself you HAVE to turn that one around, if you want to go anywhere. Make it sound a little bit more like “I see it, when I believe it!” – because that is the law of manifestation. Everything we as a species here have accomplished we have seen twice – first in the mind, and then afterwards in the physical world!

As we can’t look into the minds of each other we have to develop the strength and skill to communicate our ideas to others until they understand them and can see the same as ourselves. And that is one of the main traits a “leader” must have no matter who he leads – even if he only leads himself. Being able to see what others yet can’t – and first and foremost influence himself to go after that. Then influence the rest of us to follow suit.

Take these two advices from a friend -

• Learn to influence yourself, to continuously go where you most want to go in life.
• Don’t surround yourself with people who say you can’t do something.

What we can do, is unimaginable beforehand to most people.

To most people it’s not about what “we can do” but what we “are willing to do”… remember if you don’t “exercise” much you get tired easily, and you are left to push with your “will”. That is the experience many are left with. In my experience pushing with you “will” is like lighting a match, compared to drawing from the energy of “inspiration towards a dream” – inspiration it will light up as a burning oilfield besides that puny match!

So in the future when somebody tries to put you down, instead of getting angry or believing in their doomsday talk, thank them for testing your faith, courage and determination. Then leave them in the dust, while you continue to go after your dream knowing you are listening to your own true voice instead of a little scared one! Remember – the greatest revenge to the haters and nay-sayers is massive success !

Believe in your dream and go out there and make it so – no one else will do it for you!

Outtake from Mr. Robbins blog tonyrobbinstraining.com

“Many people feel like they’re “on the run” from financial problems, looming bills, and uncertainty. In this video you will see how John Reese experienced the same thing, but went on to make a million dollars in one single day …from his parents living room…on the Internet.

Take a look at the sixteen minute video here

http://theshadoweffect.com/

Sometimes, some of us fall into the trap to think “life should have no problems”… Yet most of us only musters the necessary force to break free once we get good enough problems to stimulate us to use our full resources and tap into our real potential – then we learn how to deal effectively with what we thought were our problems… only to find there are more problems behind that… :)

It is one of my core beliefs, that not only are problems good for you – but you need them!

You need them to continually develop and expand yourself into becoming even more than you were before.

Take a look at Nick teaching this lesson in his own unique way.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things…

They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius -

Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Apple – Think Different from Carlos Varela on Vimeo.

Marcus is talking so vividly about using your strengths primarily at work, I nearly fell of my chair the first time I watched the DVD set. Apparently according to Gallup only 2 out of 10 (17%) is using their strengths at work, which is sad to say the least. As far as i remember when reading Steven Coveys “The 8th habit” he said something similarly – that most workplaces where filled up with 80% of the people who felt that their capacity was used 50% or less… If you’re an owner or a leader of a company and that doesn’t make you stop and think, I don’t know what will… Either way – I challenge you to have a look at Marcus Buckingham and the “Strenght Movement”.

A good place to start is by watching “Trombone Player Wanted” – the shortfilm puts the message out there so loudly that it can’t be overheard. The film is a very well balanced mix between a well crafted short story, that  supports Marcus Buckinghams message as he is speaking to the camera. It is so well made, that it not only informs you but actually touches you beyond the usual way seminars or lectures do.

It blew me away!

You can watch the trailer here in fullscreen

Take a listen you won’t regret it if you’re a man!
http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/238-the-new-man

Wayne Dyer have had a remarkabe influence on me through the years. I still remember listening to his “Improve Your Life Using Wisdom of the Ages” CD-set again and when I first encountered it.

Soon after that followed followed “You’ll see it when you’ll beleive it” disc and his audiobook “Power of Intention” which I listened to on my ipod while riding in the then newbuilt Copenhagen Metro back and forth from work.

Obviosuly my library now also include the classic “Pulling your Own Strings” as well as almost anything else he has written. In that context I must admit though, that I really like listening to the more grown up and spiritually aware Dyer nowadays. Undoubtedly his background as a psychologist has served him well, but there so much more insight, intuition, life fun, freedom and juice in his books, his speeches and his voice now!

Everytime I hear his voice now, I am overwhelmed with a sense of compassion and love for all life, that I rarely find anywhere while listening to anyone else.

His clear message and insight into the inner workings of the spirit of man has attracted not only me, but millions of readers and sold out seminars all over the world.

No matter if you’ve been a fan of his works for the last twenty years or this is the first time you’ve read about him, you owe it to yourself to watch this show now. It’s Dyer at his finest and will at worst uplift, inspire and enlighten you and at best transform the way you perceive life!

Find your favourite snack and beverage and prepare to enjoy the next two and a half hours nonstop (…unless you need to go to the bathroom!) :)

“Power of Intention” with Dr. Wayne Dyer – part 1

“Power of Intention” with Dr. Wayne Dyer – part 2