Psycho-Cybernetics - See Yourself at Your Best
Matt Furey's Super Human Success Blog
My dear brothers and sisters.
HA!
Hey, listen up.
In addition to giving Combat Conditioning away for free – I’ve also started a totally kick-ass YouTube channel.
Here are the links to watch the first two:
Be sure to watch, like, subscribe and pass around to all your friends and cohorts on social media.
Kick ass – take names!
Matt Furey
P.S. One last thing: Updates going up on the Matt Furey Inner Circle site today as well. Lots of mind blowing information.
If you want to make seemingly quantum-like changes in your life, then you’ll want to avoid the trap of attempting to make a whole series of changes at once.
I realize the temptation is huge. You read Psycho-Cybernetics and you listened to Theatre of the Mind, and you get so incredibly pumped that you want to change everything about yourself, everything you hate, everything that is holding you back – and you want to change ALL of it NOW.
One of the most overlooked principles in Psycho-Cybernetics is called over-motivation. In short, it’s wanting something so badly, wanting to make quantum changes so quickly, that you get in your own way and stumble over your own shadow, not to mention your feet.
When it comes to money, over-motivation can be an enormous hurdle. Same goes for weight loss, or winning a championship in sports.
This is why you make one change in your life at a time, rather than 50.
Once you decide to make a specific change, you track it, and do so in such a way that everyday is a victory.
Here’s an example of how it works and how it doesn’t work:
How it Doesn’t Work
A guy I know wants to become a copywriter. He reads one book after another on HOW to write effectively. He even goes to seminars and enrolls in online courses on the subject.
It appears, on the outside, that this person is DOING. But studying a subject, although important, is NOT DOING… nor is it LEARNING.
There’s no everyday victory for this person, no confidence building going on. It’s just study, study, study. All he can do at the end of the day is say that he read something.
Great. But what did you create?
The joy in life comes from creating after you study or think. The joy comes from the practice of something.
Studying and thinking are important components, but without the DOING you have nothing.
This person is over-motivated. So motivated, in fact, that he will buy everything and enroll in even more because he wants to be the BEST copywriter the world has ever seen. But when shove and push want to get together, he’s got no oomph. Over-motivation ruined this person’s chances of success.
How it Works
Person number two is also interested in copywriting and buys the same courses and attends the same seminars and workshops as Mr. Over-Motivation. But she does one thing different. After she reads about a specific skill or facet of the trade, she closes the manuals or shuts off the recording and PRACTICES the one thing she just learned.
And at the end of the day, she gains greater insight and clarity about the craft because she’s practicing. She can also hold something in the air, in her own hands, and say, “THIS is what I wrote.”
She created something. She did something.
And if she continues to do this every single day, and tracks it, she has a million times better shot of making it than the person who only studies.
This is how it works, my friend.
Do one thing.
Do one thing everyday.
Track it.
Get good at what you’re tracking.
Then learn another thing – and do it.
And another.
One change at a time – and pretty soon you have 50 changes.
Make cents? Or sense?
Good.
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
P.S. If you dig my style of email writing, and want to learn from the master himself, in a Psycho-Cyb/Zen sort of way, then GO HERE
Everyday it’s the same old drivel.
“I’m not worthy. I feel like a fraud. I’m not good enough yet. Who am I to write a book, teach a course, train people, etc.?”
If you’ve ever entertained such thoughts, you’re not alone – and it’s a big freakin’ club.
So big, in fact, that the author of a 35-million copy best-seller, a CLASSIC that changed the world of self-development forever, had this same crappy thinking rummaging around in his brain, too.
Yes, Dr. Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics, experienced what I call “Success Reluctance.”
Who was he to write about psychology? After all, he was JUST a plastic surgeon!
Who was he to write about a virtually unknown subject called the “self-image” – and how a person who changes the way he or she sees this invisible “self,” can dramatically change outcomes, results, talents, skills, abilities, and so on?
Maltz was also reluctant because of the troubling question: “What will my colleagues think?”
Getting over this inane, inner hypothetical was vital to him moving forward with what he envisioned.
What’s interesting though, is how the same person who experiences “success reluctance” thinks it only affects him. No one else has this thought. Just me.
Uh-huh.
As a coach of M.D.’s, Ph.D’s, and plenty of other professionals, I’ve yet to meet the person who has never experienced self-doubt or reluctance.
So it’s not a matter of whether you have it or not – as much as it is amplifying the imagery of what you want, what you envision, while refiling the reluctance and doubt.
If you’ve ever gone to bed filled with positive aspirations and opened your eyes in the morning filled with doubt, once again, you’re not alone.
But if you want to separate yourself from your doubt, and free yourself from self-inflicted bondage, you’ll move on in spite of the negative.
If you wait until all the doubt clears before you move, you may be waiting forever.
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
I’m thankful for the little things that are so easy to overlook,
Such as my skin, bones, tongue, teeth, and fingers shaped like hooks.
I’m thankful for the breaths I take, the coming in and going out,
And for the feelings of happiness, yes, even an occasional pout.
I’m thankful for the friends I have, even those I never see,
And for the people who write kind words, and do it naturally.
I’m thankful for the hair I’ve lost and the ankles that I’ve sprained,
As for my feet and toes, my knees and nose; I better not complain.
Then there’s the books I read, the Holy and the wholesome,
Who along with family, keep me from being lonesome.
I’m grateful for the bloodstream that moves inside my veins,
And for the water and dopamine that runs around my brain.
I’m thankful that I’m grateful, in body, heart, mind and soul,
And I give praise to the Creator, who makes all this possible.
Matt Furey
P.S. I’m thankful for the people who say or write, “Happy Thanksgiving” and don’t add, “if you celebrate it.”
Inside each and every human being is an automatic mechanism that operates in one of two ways: As a creative success mechanism or as a failure mechanism.
Which mechanism we are using at the present, depends largely upon what we’ve programmed into our minds – or what we’ve unwittingly allowed others to put into us.
The mental imagery we habitually picture in our own minds is what we tend to get out of life.
Whether we realize it or not, the people we associate with play a large role in either helping us move up – or keeping us stuck. Hence the saying: Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.
Whether we choose to believe it or not, we are influenced by the people we associate with.
Every interaction counts.
Whether we talk face-to-face, over the phone, over Skype, by text, Twitter or Facebook – everything counts.
When I look at HOW I got to become a champion athlete, there are many factors that went into it – but having a great coach was a major part of it. The same is true of my study of martial arts, business, and so on
Somewhere along the line I was influenced by someone who knew more and knew better than I did.
Now, the question many people have is, “Can you break out of the doldrums when you’re surrounded by people who want to keep you down?”
The answer is yes.
But there is a process because most people aren’t going to instantly manifest the very person who can and will help you.
The process starts with beginning to think BIGGER..
Not BIG.
I said, BIGGER.
You begin to see yourself rising UP and OUT of where you are.
How do you begin to SEE YOURSELF this way if you’re surrounded by negativity?
Well, subscribing to this email is a start. Understand that “readers are leaders” – or, as Mark Twain would say, “The person who does not read is no better off than the person who cannot read.”
Read the classic best-seller Psycho-Cybernetics, and discover the unstoppable power of a positive self-image.
Get audio programs on Theatre of the Mind and Psycho-Cybernetics as well, to reinforce the message while you’re driving.
As you begin to do these things, keep them to yourself. Your job is lifting yourself up first, not those who are negative. You cannot help others unless you’ve helped yourself, so keep your vision, your goals, your mental images locked inside your own mind.
Everyday, begin to think BIGGER. Not so big that you’re fearful and timid about taking action. But big enough that you can see yourself in a better place.
Once you’re in a better place, think BIGGER again.
And keep doing this until one day you come to a realization such as, “I believe I can do anything I set my mind on.”
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
P.S. Another thing you can do is be a part of the Matt Furey Theatre of the Mind Facebook group. You’ll be able to watch videos that are helpful, including one I am putting up this week on How to Defeat the Failure Mechanism.
Pick up a self-help book and most of the time, it doesn’t take long for the author to begin espousing the glories of positive affirmations.
Many of these authors are well-meaning, but in almost all cases, they are just repeating what someone else wrote or said.
The sad truth is that many of these authors pass on what other authors wrote when they have no proven track record whatsoever of it working in their own life.
One book tells you that you’ll get rich if you write affirmations about “having it all.”
Tell yourself, I AM RICH.
Or, I AM A MILLIONAIRE.
As you begin to follow this advice, things often go in reverse.
The authors will then tell you that the reason you’re struggling is because you have “limiting beliefs.” You’re advised to take note of what all your limiting beliefs are, then change them to their positive counterpart.
Thing is, you might have a million and a half negative or limiting beliefs, many of them unconscious, so you’re not exactly about to figure out what ALL of them are, must less record them, so you can reverse them.
Ugh!
There’s got to be a simpler way than this.
And in fact, there is.
Let me begin with a simple question:
What if the notion that you need to change your limiting beliefs was just an idea, and not necessarily an idea that is true?
What if the notion that all these limiting beliefs are keeping you from being rich, prosperous, famous and highly fortunate were, for the most part, a very clever marketing ploy designed to make the author of the book wealthy – but not YOU?
Well, all I can say is, it wouldn’t be the first time someone sold something that doesn’t work – and didn’t care – so long as it made him a bundle.
The reality is that MOST affirmations are a crock of crap.
And most of your so-called limiting beliefs that you’re being advised to fix, aren’t holding you back in the least. There’s no need to fix them because they’re not relevant when you have your mind focused in the most effective, efficient and natural way.
Now, let me clarify something: I am in favor of SOME affirmations. I am not in favor of MOST.
In fact, I have taught thousands of people to do the exact opposite of what the positive thinking books advise, and whaddyaknow, the method I taught worked far better.
Por ejemplo, you’ve probably heard about the three P’s of positive affirmations. If not, the theory is that whatever you affirm must:
Be positive
Be personal
Be in the present tense
This means that you would not say or think, “I’m hungry. I am going to go get something to eat.”
No, no, no. Don’t do that, even though you’ve successfully filled your belly for an entire lifetime doing precisely that.
Instead, be a good little self-help disciple and follow the three P’s.
Instead of “I’m hungry” you should write “I am well fed now.” Or, “I am always eating enough food.”
Now, don’t laugh too hard. This is el Furecat reducing self-help to the ridiculous, and for a reason.
You would never in a zillion years think of being hungry as a negative or limiting belief, would you?
Why? Because it’s the truth, at least once a day, isn’t it?
Why not report the truth then? What would be the harm in doing so?
“Oh, but the gurus say….”
Forget the gurus. Think. Really think about what I am writing to you about.
Why would you write an affirmation such as, “I am a millionaire now” when you don’t even do such a thing for simple everyday accomplishments such as feeding your face (and stomach)?
It appears to me that saying, “I am hungry” and “I need food” is working out pretty well for you.
But maybe this is too complicated. Perhaps we need another scenario for validation.
Alrighty then, let’s say you’re driving around town and you look at the fuel gauge and it says that you’ve got five miles left before you’re completely out of gas.
What to do?
Oh, I know. How about this? “My car is now completely filled with gas.” Or this, “The universe always supplies me with all the gas I need.”
What do you think?
Is that going to put gas in your tank?
I don’t think so.
In fact, I know so.
I don’t even “believe” it to be so. I absolutely, 1,000% percent KNOW that saying, “My car is now completely filled with gas,” makes about as much sense as a fart in church.
If your goal is to travel another 100, 1,000 or 10,000 miles, you better say to yourself something very limited, such as: “I need gas. I’m almost empty. I better stop at that gas station over there (first one you see).”
To be continued…
Here endeth the lesson!
Matt Furey
P.S. Want more on this topic – and soon, then be sure to join my Facebook group – Matt Furey Theatre of the Mind
When you compare those who win to those who don’t, you’ll often find a few variables worth examining, such as:
1. Thinking v. Over-thinking
2. Motivated v. Over-motivated
3. Creatively Alive v. Inhibited
Sports played at the highest level are often a superb way to analyze the ways of the winner versus the ways of the loser.
One coach allows the team that brought you to the show the opportunity to play.
The other team puts out a different team each day, mostly based upon what the computerized data shows.
So, even when you must win or your team is eliminated, instead of putting the very best players out there, you put what the data shows.
And you lose… again.
One man with Correct Thinking beats the over-thinking of computerized data, or the constant shuffling and platooning of players.
This same scenario plays out in my world of info-publishing as well.
Here’s how it looks:
A person comes up with what could very well be a best-selling title for a product, but then the person starts to over-think. Months, even years, can go by as the person fidgets with the title. Meanwhile, no progress is being made.
I see this happen every single day. I’m guilty of doing it myself, at times, as well.
It’s not good.
Here’s why:
Let’s take a look at what many people have told me is a HORRIBLE title for a book.
It’s called….
I didn’t write the original, so don’t blame me.
And don’t blame me for the fact that the book has sold over 35 million copies worldwide.
With a bad title that truly sucks.
I wrote a book back in 1999 that was published in February of 2000.
It’s called…
One of my brothers called me to tell me it wasn’t a very good title. He said I should come up with something that targets people a little better. He told me to do some research and come up with something with more appeal.
I ignored him.
My book went on to become a best-seller – and I became a pioneer in the field of bodyweight exercise.
Thinking is good. Over-thinking is a disease.
As one of my mentors used to say, “Think, don’t Stink.”
Coming up with the PERFECT title for anything is impossible. It’s about the same when naming your unborn child.
How many people do you know who were given the PERFECT name at birth?
Perfection is an imagined reality that exists in Nowheresville.
There is always something better.
A better title, a better name, a better lineup for a ball game.
Put your thinking cap on – but know when to remove it and get in where the action is.
Win, lose or draw, action will give you information on what you can do to improve – but NOT what you can do to be perfect.
Perfect doesn’t exist.
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
To the fans and media in Boston, their pitcher was a bust.
He couldn’t win in the postseason and he couldn’t beat the Yankees.
On top of that, adding insult to infamy, this pitcher was getting $30 million a year.
And logic has it, if you’re getting $30 million per year, you are a loser if you don’t beat the Yankees, or win when it counts, in the playoffs.
In a playoff game a couple weeks ago, this loser pitcher didn’t even last two innings against the Yankees.
The ruthless fans showed their love, sung to the sound of “Booooo”as he walked off the field.
This morning, these same fans are in love. Their loser pitcher is now a hero.
He went from 0-9 in the postseason, to winning three games without a loss. Most importantly, he was the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the World Series.
He deserved the MVP for his efforts, but those things matter not when everyone knows you’re “the Man.”
David Price, rose from the fire of the abyss and transformed himself and his team into world champions – and did so within a few short weeks.
The talent and skill to win in the playoffs was there all along – but something was activated inside of Mr. Price after the pounding he received from the Yankees, and the Boston fans.
Coaches and players and the player himself can talk about a change in mechanics or some other physical detail all they want – but no change on the outside ever happens without one taking place on the inside.
As an observer, you can look into the eyes of a pitcher, quarterback or leader in any field, and you can tell who the warrior is and who’s the Nervous Nelly.
Becoming who Price was over the past couple weeks, comes from mixing your intention with your imagination. Not one or the other.
Both.
It also comes from being willing to move through the pain, to accept it as part of the process. Growth without pain (or pangs) rarely exists, regardless of what level of success you’ve already attained.
Price wasn’t just a pitcher in the Major Leagues. He was also a former Cy Young winner.
He was far from being a loser – but was considered one because he didn’t win when the fans thought it mattered most.
Now he’s proven to himself and the fans, at least for now, that he’s a winner – and a deserving one at that.
David Price’s monumental turnaround, proves to all of us, once again, that failure is never final and that when we are stuck in the deepest canyon, we are simultaneously in perfect position to scale the world’s tallest mountain.
See it. Feel it. Be it.
Matt Furey
Earlier today I received an email from a medical doctor who is both a friend and a client. He’s always coming up with seemingly unique ways to apply everything I teach him, mostly due to his incredible schedule.
Anywho, the doctor informed me that he’s visualizing having a cup of coffee while he’s in the shower. On top of that, he pictures himself exercising, seeing his patients – and doing everything he is obligated to do each day – but now with a…..
SMILE.
IMAGINE THAT.
It’s not just that the doctor is picturing and visualizing himself doing what he’s already planned on doing.
It’s that he’s doing so with a positive countenance – something so very few people enjoy each day, when they’re engaged and enraged in an invisible cage.
My, my, how life opens up to you when you relax the frown and furrowed brow, when you lift up the sides of your lips – thereby lifting your heart.
Well, well, what’s been the result of the good doctor picturing a Cheshire Cat smile everywhere he goes in everything he does?
Remarkable and miraculous flow.
Now, to give you even more of the story…
there are some other things as well as words you can use when you visualize, and the ones I teach ramp up the power of your smile even more. In fact, they ramp it up to such a degree that your whole body smiles.
I reveal these words one of my best-selling products.
You can listen to it as you’re driving around town, or stuck in traffic. It’ll unstick your mind and help you reel in the type of life you really want to live.
I’d say “Doctor’s orders” – but I’m not a doctor.
So, enjoy the 300 or so ideas you get from listening.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The title is 101 Ways to Magnetize Money – in Any Economy – but the reality is that some people will tell you they heard 300 ways, and that’s when they stopped counting. Either way, we’re looking at an absolute STEAL on WHEELS.
See it. Do it. Own it.
Matt Furey
P.S. Follow me on Instagram – @mattfureysays
Here’s the A-HA:
Many people get up each day and read from something inspirational or motivational. They may read for 30-60 minutes to start their day. This is very sound and practical.
Here’s a slight twist to the above: Instead of reading for 30-60 minutes, I pull out a quote, a passage or a poem that I’m fond of. Then I open my journal and instead of writing about my day, I do as Mark Twain advised, and record something I want to remember.
Think of this. If you hear or read something profound, but you can’t recall it verbatim, you don’t completely own it.
But when you can recall the verse, passage, poem or quote, it becomes a guide in your life.
I write all my entries in cursive because it’s proven to fire up the brain at a much higher level than printing or typing. In fact, it’s not even close. Research for yourself if you don’t believe me.
While focusing on my breathing, I write something in the very best handwriting I can muster on that day. I relax and breathe as I write.
For the first few days I may write the same passage this way, with no pressure to remember. Then, after a few days, I decide if I want to memorize it. If so, I begin using the Power of Mental Imagery to memorize it rapidly. If you use mental imagery (not rote memorization), you can memorize much, much faster.
Where to begin?
You could pull a passage from the Bible, such as Psalm 23. Or you could uncover Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken.
Or you could find a quote you love that you want to be guided by during the day.
Give this a whirl and let me know if you have any other questions about it.
Matt Furey
Hello and welcome to Psycho-Cybernetics.com - the official site for the original (and expanded) teachings of Dr. Maxwell Maltz, author of the 35 million copy best-seller, Psycho-Cybernetics. I’m Matt Furey, author of the best-selling Nightingale-Conant audio book, Maxwell Maltz’ Theatre of the Mind.
When you subscribe to our Psycho-Cybernetics emails, I will immediately send you an email containing a FREE PDF ($100 value) of my Theatre of the Mind Masters Newsletter called Defeating the Failure Mechanism, which also features a Dr. Maltz piece, When Positive Thinking Doesn't Work. This highly regarded newsletter will show you how to apply the suggestions contained within it into your own life… and make changes for the BETTER!
Best,
Matt Furey
President, Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation
