Hello everyone! Mike Arend here founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released book, "You're The One - An Adventure Into Truth" and, the Soul Mechanic.

As we move through life and things and events take place, it's natural to wonder "how" this is all happening. Are we actually doing anything, or are we just being done by something we'll never understand?

If you're looking for a scientific answer you'll be looking a long time. Oh, eventually science will come to the same conclusion that you already have. Yup, that's right, you already know the answer. You just need to remember, and you will when you leave the physical realm and "re-member" with the realm of the absolute. Although there's limited space within this blog, I'll try to jog your memory here. Are you ready to re-member? Good.

There is a "process" behind everything (one I will write about in an up-coming book!), and this process is responsible for everything that has been created, is being created, and will ever be created. This is where you fit in because as you know, you are a creator. In fact, you are both the creator and the created.

Like it or not, you are always creating your life. Whether you create it consciously or unconsciously (as many of us do), you are creating it, and that means you are 100% responsible for everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in your life (there goes all your excuses!). In other words, whether you are causing things and events to happen or sitting back and allowing things and events to happen, you, yup little old you, are creating everything.

You see, we are surrounded by energy (indeed we are this energy), and when we impart our thought, which is energy, upon this energy field, we start to form an image of what we are thinking about. The longer you think about it or imagine it (and the more of us that imagine it), the more physical the energy becomes. Until finally all this increased energy literally bursts into an image of itself onto what we call reality. This is in essence "the process" or the mechanics of the Universe. I like to call it "Soul Mechanics." Catchy huh?

So you can plainly see that even if you are not trying to create or believe that you don't have the power to create, you're doing it all the time with the thoughts you think. Which turn into words, which turn into actions, which turns into the things and events of your life. Thoughts become things, re-member?

So, are we doing anything or are we just being done by some outside force? Actually it's both because we "Are" the energy that is doing all of this. From typing a blog, to creating stars and planets, we "Are" this energy. Which means we are all one.

"Hello brothers and sisters!; have yourself a wonderful day!"

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
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Bye for now!

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released book, "You're The One - An Adventure Into Truth" and, the Soul Mechanic.

Success, we all describe it differently. However, what I've found on my journey is that the success that is portrayed in movies, on T.V. and so often in the business and sports worlds, is often very fleeting and only lasts in the moment.
You see, the very need for success is fueled by our desires. This desire to grow and evolve is inherent in every living thing on this planet and we're no different. We are compelled to evolve and grow just as the tree must continue to grow, blossom, and become the greatest tree it can.

The success I talked about earlier is really nothing more than ego gratification at it's finest because it is being defined by things that are external to us. We want something so bad that we're willing to crush any and all living things (including our inner self) to obtain what we set out to achieve. If we actually are successful in our ego driven endeavours, then the pinnacle of our achievement is only felt the moment it's achieved. Often times, the next day or even the next hour, we're actively searching for something to fill this insatiable void of ego driven success, no matter how big the prize we just achieved. Leading to always feeling unfulfilled, unhappy, and empty.

When gratitude guides our thoughts and actions however, our success is internal and will be fulfilling and meaningful. This type of success is different from the ego-driven success that seeks to hold, control, and keep the object of desire as a way to feel better about itself.

True success comes from inner fulfillment and with every success comes the desire for more. This desire to fulfill oneself, to become the greatest version of you that you can, is totally normal, natural, and not fed by the ego. In fact, the Universe is infinitely abundant and it waits to give you more when you ask for it. This is the type of success that society often overlooks.

What saves us from falling into the ego trap is to accept every gift that is given to us in life with humility and gratitude. Contrary to many peoples beliefs (and this is a biggie), it's not spiritual to shun external rewards as if it was proof that you're better or more holy than the next person (this in itself is an act of the ego!). In fact, accepting external rewards can be a sign that you're connected to your Source that wants nothing but the best possible life for you.

What we really want to avoid is the ego stepping into the picture and taking credit for all the good things in our lives. It's gratitude and grace that is responsible for our abundance, not the ego with it's selfish, anxious struggle.

"How can we tell the difference?" you ask. The difference comes down to fulfillment. If any good thing comes to you and you want to grab it, hold it, and feel triumphant, that's your ego. If instead you feel gratitude and warmth of the heart that these things have come to you, thats gratitude, the source of success that lasts a lifetime.

Ego gratification is temporary. Once it fades, and it always does, the only tactic the ego knows is to ask for more, and more, and more. Without external stimulation the ego feels completely hollow.

Gratitude, an the other hand, aligns your attention to the support of nature. You accept a deeper truth that success has always been present and all that happens on the surface is an unfolding of what was there beneath the surface all the time. This type of gratitude, that connects you to your Source, is totally life sustaining. It allows you to experience a life that just gets better year after year.

In other words, true success!

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
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Bye for now!

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released book "You're The One - An Adventure into Truth" and, the Soul Mechanic.

We're all the same. I know that's a bold statement, and a bit hypocritical because I've also recently stated that we're all unique. But as unique as we are, we all come from the same Energy Source and we all want the same basic things.
What I've found on my journey so far is that regardless of who we are, or where we live, we all want the same three things, and here they are:

Do you see me? Do you hear me? Do I matter?

As humans we are a social species. We have to be because we need each other to survive and procreate. With this it's only natural to desire some form of appreciation from our fellow humans. So we want to be acknowledged and we want to contribute, but the last one is the biggie.

Do I matter? This one, is of course, a matter of our own perception, yet we know it intrinsically when we matter to others. The way they talk to us, look at us, and treat us gives us a big indication. Unfortunately in today's world 99% of us are glued to the screens on our phones and this communication of "you matter" gets extremely dulled. I heard an amazing stat yesterday, if you live in a major city and you take public transit and don't stare at your phone while underway you are 1% of the ridership. That means that 99% of all people on the buses, trains and subways are staring at their phones instead of communicating with their fellow humans. Incredible!

Of course you DO matter because you came here to continue in your Soul's evolution and although we can't see it, we are intricately woven into the tapestry of all the other lives here on Earth. However, that doesn't mean that sometimes we can't start to feel lost, as if we don't matter.

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

Gandhi said that, and I've found it works every time. Yes of course I've felt lost too, and when I do I know I need to immerse myself into the service to others. It doesn't matter how small, sometimes a smile is all it takes to remember who you truly are and why you're here.

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
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Bye for now!

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released book, "You're The One" and, the Soul Mechanic.

"You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with."

A lot of people talk about our "true self" or our "false self." Exactly what does all this stuff mean anyway? "I'm alive and here on this earth, so I must be true." you're thinking. "How can I be false?"

Well, the answer is a bit more complex than that and in true spiritual fashion a lot of wisdom traditions and spiritual teachers seem to keep things a bit mystical and therefore more cryptic. I'll try to explain these things a bit more simply because hey, I'm a simple guy.

First of all we have to stop thinking so literally and trying to put everything into a physical perspective. I know we live in a physical world, but there's lots going on around us that we can't detect that is not of this physical realm, but of the realm of the absolute, heaven, or space if you prefer.

Now, 99.9% of people, even atheists, agree that some sort of higher power exists. Your "true self" then, is not something we created or will create while here on this earth. It was created by god, the Universe, source energy, or what ever you want to call your idea of a higher power.

It is the "self" we are in our depths, at our core. Our Soul, if you will. It is our capacity for divinity, meaning love, compassion, and joy. It is our ability to transcend this physical realm and contemplate our real home, which is the realm of the absolute.

Your "false self" is the person you've created. It's that voice in your head that doesn't allow you to trust others. Otherwise known as the "ego." That competitive, ambitious voice that says you must win at all costs. It's who you think you are - for example your job. We often say "I am a ..., whatever your job happens to be, but you're not that at your core. Your false self has just convinced you that you are that as a form of protection from invisible and nonexistent enemies.
Your false self goes on to convince you that you are what you own, you are what you drive, you are what you wear, you are what others think of you, and it goes on and on. Of course we are none of those things, we just are identifying with them. And if you look at all those who do this, they are often the loneliest people you know even though they seemingly possess so much.

Once you realize what, and who your true self is, you will be able to be fulfilled from within, not from without. You see, this whole mumbo jumbo spiritual journey is not a journey at all. It's a discovery, no, a "remembering" of who you truly are.

Remembering who you truly are is your purpose in life, all the rest is just fluff. It's what your Soul longs to do. As soon as we're born we're really all on a return trip, a one way ticket home. To the realm of the absolute. From which we all came.
So make the best of your short stay here on this marvelous planet we call Earth. Explore, smell, taste and drink this world in. Treat people with kindness and compassion and love your fellow Souls while here.
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Just remember who you truly are because once you know that, you will have realized your true creative powers and will never be lonely again.

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance.

Now, and always.

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released book, "You're The One" and, the Soul Mechanic.

"If it's to be, it's up to me."

Not sure where I heard or read this quote, but I did write it down and today it just stared me squarely in the face.
So many times in our lives we give our power away to others, we allow them to control our lives. We wait endlessly for something to happen before we "do" anything. "I don't want to do anything until I'm ready." we tell ourselves. The problem is we're never really ready. Have you ever been truly 100% ready for anything? No you haven't, but you did things anyway.

When we were young children we didn't wait for the stars to align or all our ducks to be in a row before we tried something new, we just did it because we intrinsically knew that even if we failed we would learn, and that can hardly be considered a failure. And incidentally the mother duck never waits for her ducklings to be in a row before she moves. She just moves and then they all follow her in a line, it's the same with us. We just need to "do" something, then our "ducks" will all start to form up in a row behind us.

So what's happened to us? We adopted an ego, and this ego is so big and such a hardy task master that it won't allows us to just be ourselves. "What would people think of me if it didn't work out?" we ask ourselves before trying something new. I love this quote from Jim Rohn:

"The day you take 100% responsibility for your life is the day you graduate from childhood to adulthood."

Every time we worry about what others think of us before we act, we're giving our power away. There's going to be a certain element of risk in every thing we do and on my journey I've learned to analyze the risk and calculate if I can deal with the results if it doesn't turn out the way I expect. Then make a decision on whether or not to move ahead.
If I'm not sure of what to do, then I do nothing. Yup, that's right, and I know this flies in the face of western culture, but I just get quiet and don't make any decisions. Usually I either get a feeling inside or something happens in my day to day life that sends me a signal. Then I know what I must do. It normally doesn't take long, but I've gone weeks without making a decision before because the answer hadn't come to me yet.

Bottom line is there are three components to the creation of our lives. Thoughts, words, and actions. Through thought the idea of what we want is given energy and sent out into the Universe. Through words these thoughts become concrete and gain enormous amounts of energy, until finally they are put into action, which is the expression of all that energy that creates our lives.

There's no one holding you back but you. "You vs You," if you will. The moment you realize no one is coming to save you, no one is going to do all the heavy lifting for you, no one is going to hand you a free lunch, that you are 100% responsible for everything that has happened, and will happen in your life, that's the moment that will set you free. That's the moment you'll realize you have the power to create the life you truly want.

"If it's to be, it's up to me!" Perhaps finer words were never spoken.

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.

Bye for now!

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released "You're The One" and, the Soul Mechanic.

Trust. This word means different things to different people, yet it's one of the most important words in existence. Typically trust is something we have in other people or situations, but trust like that is as fragile as the next unexpected event that could change everything.

At some point in our lives most of us have been betrayed, hurt or rejected, making it difficult to trust other people and many times it's not the fact that we can't trust other people, it's that we really can't trust ourselves. Best selling author and Spiritual Teacher Iyanla Vanzant says:

"There's no greater battle than the battle between the parts of you that want to be healed, and the parts of you that are comfortable and content in remaining broken."

This implies that instead of being in an external fight against this mistrusting world, you're actually in an internal fight with the part of you that says "You're not good enough," "You can't do that."

Those are the battles of the ego and they must be put aside if you wish to become your greatest version. You see, there's an unchanging and stable presence of awareness within, which is your true self, and once again the answers lie inside, not outside of us.

The key to trust is going within, trusting your intuition (Soul) and facing the unknown. Even though you can't control the unknown, you can control what you believe, and your beliefs are what determine what you manifest in your life. And when you allow yourself to be vulnerable, you can trust that no matter what happens, greater and grander Infinite Possibilities will rise up in your life.
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You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
Bye for now!

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy and, the Soul Mechanic.
There are two, three word phrases that I live my life by:

1) Thoughts become things
2) One with life

These are in no particular order because one supports and/or causes the other.
As we've discussed before in my posts, time is just a human construct and it doesn't really exist. There is no other moment than the moment that is taking place right "now" as you read this. Sure, time is helpful in an organizational sense, but it just doesn't exist in the physical or spiritual world.

Many of us look to the future for a moment of happiness or contentment. "I'll be happy when..." but when we get to that fictional time we don't even recognize that moment because we're not present enough for it. We're not present enough in the moment because we're not living our lives in the moment, we're living them in the future.

If you keep missing the moment you'll soon start to lose hope that it will ever take place for you at all. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be after all," or "I guess I'm not worthy," you'll tell yourself and then keep living your life in the future (or past) hoping that things will some day change.

Well, things can, and will change the moment you live your life in the "now." Let life carry you, don't try to carry it. Live in the present and move with the flow of that. The point of arrival is now. Allow the truth of who you are, your spiritual Self, to rule your life and get you into the flow that allows you to defeat the struggles that show up in life. It takes commitment to live this way, but it's so sweet when you start to feel the shift taking place.

Back to those three words: "Thoughts become things" and "One with life." These two sets of three words convey the secret of life. Being one with life is being one with the "now," and thoughts become things brings it all to you.
You don't live your life, your life lives you. Life is the dancer and you are the dance.

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
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Bye for now.

​Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy and, the Soul Mechanic.

"Worrying is like a rocking chair - it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."

Worry. We all do it to a certain degree, but what is it anyway? Wikipedia defines like this:
"Give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles."

It's really just a form of anxiety, which when left unchecked becomes stress. But stress, the father of both worry and anxiety, doesn't exist in the physical world. If I ask you to go out and get me a bucket of stress, what would you come back with? Now, you may stress out that you couldn't find any stress, but stress is not a physical thing so that means it must be a mental image of something.

OK, so now we're getting somewhere. Our minds spend most of their time trying to protect us from harm, that's it's number one priority. So when we don't suffer from physical danger (thankfully today most of us don't on a regular basis) the mind needs to make some of the far lesser things more important and "seem" like danger. In strides worry, followed by anxiety, and then finally stress.

So what can we do? Worry really starts when we feel that we no longer have control over the outcome of something so since control is at the root of worry, I try to follow this simple plan that usually stems the tide of excessive worry:
I ask myself the following question, "Do I have control over the situation that has arisen?" If the answer is "yes", then there is no need to worry because I have control and can directly affect the outcome.

If the answer is "no," I do not have control, then again there is no need to worry because I have no control over the situation. In both cases worry is useless and can do nothing to solve your problem let alone the problems of others. Now, if I could solve my own or others problems just by worrying, I'd be worrying all the time! But it can't so it makes no sense for me to worry.

When we allow our minds to be taken over with worry it comes up with all kinds of scenarios and almost all of them aren't even plausible. Things are very rarely as bad as they seem or that we make them out to be, so all that worry has gotten you no where, just like you were sitting in a rocking chair.

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you, sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
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Bye for now!

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy and, the Soul Mechanic.

Just the other day I was thinking of all the blessings that have come into my life and of all the other things, places and events I still want to manifest into my life. When we talk about manifestation, most of us think about a better car, home, or partner. But when you're able to get in touch with the desires of your Soul, your true Self, they will bring you closer to your spiritual aspirations of greater love, joy, inspiration, and spiritual freedom.

Your Soul is always trying to communicate with you, albeit in very subtle ways. It wants to experience all your human emotions and help guide you to becoming your highest divine Self. But how about all those better cars, homes, and partners. Just because we desire those things in our lives, does that make those manifestations any less worthy of our attention?

Many religions would have us believe that we can only be close to God when we have no possessions what so ever. So what gives?

Here's my take on it. Our highest true self, our Soul, is God. Therefore we are a piece of the divine as well. We are a piece of God. In fact we are God. There's no other way to say it. We must be like what we came from, right? There is only one. All races, creeds, colours, earthly life forms, alien life forms - everything in all the Universes is all, "Us." When we kill, we kill ourselves. When we love, we love ourselves.

So how could it be so terribly wrong to desire earthly pleasures while here on this planet? It's not! The secret is to desire that which gives you joy, not happiness, but joy. Happiness is fleeting, and comes and goes depending on our outlook to what is currently happening to us. Joy, on the other hand, comes from the Soul. If that better car gives you joy while driving it and in ownership of it, go for it.

As long as you don't harm anyone else or become judgmental of others in the process (remember, we're all one, right), then what stirs your Soul, and allows the joy already inside you to come forth, in my opinion, is a good thing. Remembering of course that all earthly manifestations are only temporary and we will leave them all behind soon enough. We came into this world with "no-things" and we will leave the same way.

While all those earthly possessions we manifest while here may serve us, remember that when we get closer to our divine selves, our Soul, they will start to mean less and less. You'll discover that perhaps that better car, home, or partner really isn't necessary after all. You are God remember, and there's so much more to experience once we leave this world and return home.

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic, and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and, Abundance. Now, and always.
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Bye for now!

Step 1 - Getting Unstuck.

Welcome everyone! I'm excited to embark down a new path of creativity where together we will learn how to get our lives "unstuck." We'll learn that getting unstuck means removing the often "self imposed" limitations we experience in the areas of our lives that frustrate us. It doesn't matter whether it's work, relationships, or finances, our old and ingrained patterns of behavior stem from our perceptions and beliefs. We believe our choices are limited to the ones we've always had or always made, not realizing there are infinite possibilities available to us.

I don't know about you, but I've been stuck many times in my life. It usually seemed to work itself out, but never to my expectations. Other than the details, many of us have the same wish; to lead a happy and fulfilling life. But, how can we be happy and fulfilled if we are constantly getting stuck in different areas of our lives. We may be doing well financially, but our relationships suck, or vice versa. We work every day at a job that we hate just to bring home the bacon. How could that ever even begin to fill us with the creativity to become unstuck?

Lest you feel you're alone in thinking this way, let me assure you that that the research I've conducted has indicated that "everyone" has felt stuck at one time or another and mainly due to relationship, work, or financial issues. And since the ever increasingly complex world we live in seems to accentuate that, let's start with a very simple statement that is, and has been throughout time, true:

The way I think causes the way I feel,

The way I feel causes the way I act,

The way I act gives me the results I get in my life.

Your task is to write this last statement down and read it to yourself when you feel any type of challenge approaching. This will help you think, feel, and act in a new way that reflects what will make you truly feel fulfilled. And when you act in a "new" way, you will get "new" results.
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 Step 2 - Getting Unstuck in Our Minds.

In Part 1 we learned that despite our best efforts, sometimes we find ourselves stuck in a situation that just seems to perpetuate itself and we just can't break free from it.

In this second step of "Getting Unstuck - Re-igniting Your Life," we'll learn what this stuckness is, why we get stuck, and what we can do about it.

Do you ever find yourself repeating the same actions, words, opinions and phrases over and over again? Well, that's your stuckness speaking! When you find yourself in that "automatic" mode where you're just blindly repeating programmed and learned behaviour, stop yourself. Just become quiet for a moment and realize and reflect on what you just said or did. These are the moments that we learn how much of our thinking and doing is actually done subconsciously.

Your subconscious mind is like a tape recorder. It's been recording all that has gone on around you since the day you were born. It's the reason we become like the people we hang around with the most. So when you're not actually consciously thinking or working on something, your subconscious mind takes over and starts replaying the tape. Replaying all the sayings, opinions, phrases, jokes, and actions that it has heard others do. As you've undoubtedly just realized, this may not be a good thing!

So who is actually saying and doing these things? Is it the real me? Is this the person I wish for people to see? Becoming unstuck frequently means getting in touch with your real-self in the "Now" moment. This means allowing yourself to connect with the creative energy that always flows within you and then almost like "magic," you'll begin to experience the great potential we all have for change in ways you just can't even imagine. As you open up to this powerful vibration of infinite possibilities, life just seems to open up wider and deeper, with more wonder and beauty. The present moment is never "stuck." This is where we make the choices that actually matter, and it's this present moment, the "now" moment, that can shift us and get us unstuck.

When we become distracted, new solutions for problems can't be found. We are not in our calm centered place, the present moment, that the world's meditation practices teach us. These teachings teach us how to identify when we feel calm and centered, but you can recreate the same state of awareness anytime you want.

Anytime you realize you're not centered in the present moment, take a moment to reset yourself and do the following:

Sit quietly, 

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, 

When you feel settled, open your eyes.

The next thing you see, is in the "now," and nowhere else. Even if what you see causes a reaction, before you react, simply remain in contact with the present moment. You are now "unstuck" The challenge is that going back to being "stuck" can happen very quickly. When old thoughts and stubborn conditioning returns, so does the stuckness.

A good way to be aware of this happening is to notice when you repeat yourself. If you repeat the same words, opinions, likes, dislikes and emotional reactions, that is your stuckness speaking once again. Fortunately it's easy to feel when your "unstuck" because you will feel fresh, happy, renewed, and worry free. This is the feeling, or way of being, you will want to try and maximize.

You will start to realize when you are consistently becoming "unstuck" because you will sense you are on your way to becoming the person you really want to be, and doing what you really want to do, not following other people's programs.

Now that you have a few tools at your disposal, your task today is to notice when you are "stuck" and then perform the simple reset (mini-meditation) procedure we talked about earlier. Have a look at a clock or set the stop-watch on your phone and see how long you can go before noticing old programs returning. This is the point where you are becoming "stuck" again. Keep track of your best times and see how they increase over the rest of the week. 
  
 






Step 3 - Getting Unstuck in Relationships.

 In this 3rd installment of "Getting Unstuck - Reigniting Your Life," we're going to plow straight ahead into one of the most contentious issues that people deal with, and that is, relationships.

We all have them, whether you're talking about the ones with our family, co-workers, or romantic partners. Every single interaction with another life form can be classified as a relationship. So why are they so difficult to maintain, what constitutes a good one, and how do I have a great one? Today we'll answer all those questions and more.

I've heard it said that all relationships are, is two people learning how to trust each other. That may be part of it, but certainly doesn't go deep enough, so strap on your scuba tank because we're going deep, right now.

When human love relationships fail, they fail because they were entered into for the wrong reasons, meaning not wholly beneficial or conducive to their survival. Most people enter into relationships with an eye toward what they can get out of them, instead of what they can put in them. There can be only one purpose for relationships, and for all of life for that matter: to be and to decide, "who" You really are. You need to decide what part of yourself you'd like to see "show up," not what part of another you can capture and hold.

It's very romantic to say that now that your special other has entered your life, you feel complete. Yet the purpose of relationship is not to have someone that completes you, but to have another with whom you might share your completeness. It doesn't matter what the other is doing, thinking or planning, it only matters what you are being in relationship to that. You see, it's all about you. If you can't love yourself, you can't love another and you certainly won't find your love in them. Many people make the mistake of seeking love of Self  through love for someone else.

Remember that everything you think, say, or do is a reflection of what you have decided about yourself; a statement of who You are. The first question to ask yourself then, when entering a relationship is always: What do I want here? Not: What does the other person want here? The reason your relationships are in such a mess is because your always trying to figure out what other people want, instead of what you truly want. Then you have to decide whether to give it to them, or not.

Then, in order to decide this, you have to decide yourself if perhaps there's something you want from them, which could be affection, sex, money, security etc. If there is something you want from them then your survival mode kicks in and you try to give them what they want, so you can get what you want. This is a very delicate game of "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine," and it may work for a while, or perhaps work with one of your co-workers, but in a romantic relationship it's just one long downward spiral that will leave you cold, old, and bitter in the end.

This is what I've learned on my journey. The purpose of all human relationships, as well as relationships between every other person, place, or thing, is not to figure out what "they" want or need, but what "you" require, or desire now, in order to grow. In order to be who you want to Be.

When viewed this way, relationships are not something we need to be "locked" into for all of time, rather, they can come and go in peace as we grow and learn Who we truly are. Relationships shouldn't be measured by how long we we're in them, but by the quality of the time we spent learning and growing about each other along the way.

Your task is to examine all of your relationships to see if they are serving and completing you. If they are, wonderful! If not, there needs to be some communication to help you create the relationship that "You" want, and "They" want. Working together to get it right can be so satisfying.
 
* This dialogue is meant for spiritual guidance only and is not to be construed as professional relationship advice. Always seek the advice of a professional counselor before making life changing relationship decisions.








Step 4 - Getting Unstuck at Work.

 In this fourth installment of "Getting Unstuck - Reigniting Your Life," we will exam some of the most common things that keep us "stuck" while at work. Since many of us spend a third of our lives at work, not feeling fulfilled in this area of our lives can cause a lot of stress and frustration.

There are really only four ways of generating income:

1. Employee - Has a job, exchanges time for money

2. Self-Employed - Owns a job, exchanges time for money

3. Business person - Owns a system, exchanges value for money

4. Investor - Has money working for them

In a recent worldwide study done by the Gallup polling organization, they found that there are twice as many people who dislike their jobs, versus people that like their jobs. And since the majority of the world's workers are employees, that's what we'll focus on here.

For the bulk of my life I've been an employee so I know exactly how many of you feel. We go to a job we hate, to make money to spend on things we don't really need, and then need to go back to work again, to earn some more money. Now don't get me wrong, I know you are spending money on many things you need, especially if you have children, but the advertising world keeps bombarding us with ads that tell us we won't feel good unless we buy their product. And for the most part it works. Well, the buying part, not the feel good part that is.

So how can we ever attain that feeling of fulfillment? That feeling that we have performed a valuable service and have been fairly compensated? Each of us has two choices: to live our lives by design, or by default; to live intentionally, or by accident. Successful people actively create their lives while others are created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life will take them next. If you're in the latter of those two groups right now that's OK, I'm going to give you a few suggestions to help you take more control of your work life.

First of all, never, ever feel like you have no chance to advance in your work, even if you are working where the wages are small and the cost of living high. Even though you may hate your job now, it's the one you presently have so that's where you'll have to start. To succeed in this you'll need to adopt a positive attitude and good work ethic.

Step 1 - Do all the work you can do every day, and do each piece of work in a perfectly successful manner. Caveat: Don't try to do more than fill your present role with a plan on pleasing your employer; do it with an idea of advancing yourself.

Step 2 - Concentrate on being creative instead of competitive. Create new ways of thinking about your job and being more productive. Don't bother with what your co-workers are up to, be concerned with your work.

Step 3 - Visualize the new position or job you wish to attain. 5-10 minutes every day is all it takes. Visualize yourself working in your new digs and talking with your new co-workers. Feel what it would be like, smell the smells of your new environment.

Once you have that vision, keep being the best you can possibly be at your present position and soon your employer, and others will notice that you have become too "big" for your present position. This will prompt your present employer to find you a new position or other employers will notice your confidence and get the overall feeling of "advancement" from you when you do decide to apply elsewhere.

There is nothing in your current circumstances or the business you are currently in that can keep you down, or hold you back. If you do all you can do every day at your present position, concentrate on being creative instead of competitive, and visualize the position you want, you will succeed. Whether it's at what you do now, or at something new, you will succeed.
I am living proof this method works. I was sick and tired of the job I was in and decided to do something about it. Actually, I've used the three steps listed above a few times now, and they have never failed me.
If your feeling "stuck" in your present position at work, give these steps a try. It worked for me, and I know it will work for you.

Your task is to write the numbers 1 through 10 horizontally across a piece of paper. Example;

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.

This will be your "happiness" rating of your present employment. Circle the number you feel represents how happy you are with your current employment, 1 being the least happy, and 10 being the most happy. Be honest with yourself, this is no time to fudge the numbers. If you are a 9 or 10, you don't need my help, you are already awesome!
If you are anything less than that (especially 5 or under), you are still awesome, but should seriously think about adopting the system I laid out above.

 

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Getting Unstuck - Reigniting Your Life with Money.

 Welcome to the fifth and final installment of "Getting Unstuck - Reigniting Your Life." So far we've covered what getting "unstuck" means, why we get "stuck", how to get "unstuck" in relationships, how to get "unstuck" at work, and today we'll finish off with how to get "unstuck" financially. OK, this is a big topic so let's get started.

A study I read a couple of years ago said that if you took all the money in the world and divided it equally among the 7 billion people in the world, in just 3 years time the same people would once again have all the money. How could this be you ask? Because people that are wealthy do very specific things with their money, and people who aren't wealthy, also do very specific things with their money.

It has nothing to do with how much money you make, but everything to do with your plan. Don't have a plan? Don't worry, we'll get to that. Another study I read recently said that in North America at the age of 65, 1% of the population is wealthy, 4% are financially independent, 5% are still working, 36% are dead, and 54% are dead broke. In one of the richest societies in the world! How could this possibly happen? Because most of us don't have a plan!

You see, the poor and middle class work for money, and the wealthy have money work for them. Anyone can become wealthy if they follow a sound, long-term plan. The challenge is that instant gratification is killing our dreams. Here's most people's financial plan:

Work - Save a little,

Work - Save a little,

Work - Save a little,

Spend! Spend! Spend! Stuckness, Stuckness, Stuckness!

We save some money, but it doesn't take long and we spend it on a want! We want something NOW, so we buy it. Instant gratification.

To help you get "Unstuck," I've put together a 5 step financial plan that has worked for me.

Step 1 - Set up your accounts.

If you are an employee your going to need five accounts with your financial institution. Yes, I said 5. They are as follows: 

Personal operating account - money to run your life

Charity account - giving starts the receiving process

Security account - No risk, low return investment

Growth account - Higher risk, higher return account

Fun account - Vacations, 2nd cars, what ever you want!

Step 2 - Divide your income.

This step is crucial to your success and the amounts can vary, but you must always put something into each account every payday. I would suggest splitting it up this way to start:

Personal account - 80% of your pay

Charity account - 5%

Security account - 5%

Growth account - 5%

Fun account - 5%

So if you had an annual income of $50,000.00 ($4,167.00 monthly) you would put 80% or $40,000 annually ($3,334 monthly) into your personal account. This leaves you with $10,000 to split evenly between the four other accounts, which is $2,500.00 each annually ($208.34 monthly) into Charity, Security, Growth and Fun.

Now before you get all up tight and say, "I can't live on that!," remember that these amounts are all flexible. You can always change your amounts to 90% into Personal, 2.5% in the other accounts, or even just 1% in the other accounts and 94% into your Personal account. You decide, but the key here is that you always put SOME money away. It has to become a habit. If your not disciplined enough, have this set up automatically at your financial institution.

Step 3 - Redistribute your profit.

Now here's the beauty of this system! Quarterly, bi-yearly, or yearly, you decide, take the money you made in your growth account, and divide it equally into your Security and Fun accounts. So if you made $1000.00 profit, put $500.00 in Security and $500.00 into Fun!

Step 4 - Measure monthly profit and losses.

Review a personal profit and loss statement and net worth statement monthly. I know this one's hard, because most of us don't really want to know this info, but what can be measured, can be improved. If you don't know where you stand how can you make good decisions.

Step 5 - Educate yourself.

Take the time to study what you are investing in. "That's what the financial adviser is for," you say. And you'd be right, but I tend to only invest in what I understand. If you want to invest in stocks, learn about the stock market. If you want to invest in Real Estate, learn about Real Estate. Simple as that.

This is a simple system that anyone can follow. If you're self-employed or a business person, you may want to add two more accounts. A Professional account with money to run your business, and an Income Tax account to pay "the man." That gives you a total of seven (7) accounts. Split up the funds as you see fit, but never spend your personal money on your business, and vice versa.

Needless to say that you should always, and I highly recommend that you do, seek out good financial, insurance, and tax advice when setting up a system like this.

Well that sums up the system to help you get "unstuck" financially and remember, it's not a get rich quick deal. Be patient; wealth is like a tree, it grows from a small seed.

If you've read this far, congratulations! You're already well on your way to getting your life "unstuck."

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic, and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
Bye for now!
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* Legal Stuff: This 5 Step financial plan has worked for the author, but no guarantee is made or implied that you will see the same, or any results at all.