About Taking Action
“There is no action someone can take that is not preceded by a stimulating mental image. When a forceful mental image is present, action is automatic.”
Matt Furey
Psycho-Cybernetics - See Yourself at Your Best
Matt Furey's Super Human Success Blog
by Matt Furey
About Taking Action
“There is no action someone can take that is not preceded by a stimulating mental image. When a forceful mental image is present, action is automatic.”
Matt Furey
by Matt Furey
“Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson.
If you have something you want to do, something you want to accomplish, but instead of moving forward you sit around and do nothing, I have some enlightening news for you that will turn your life around.
The other day I was talking with a client, who has written over 4,000 poems.
You might wonder how long it took her to write so many poems. That, my friend, is a good question, but an even better one is, how did she write so many?
At first it may appear that she must have had a BIG GOAL, one in which she would write 4,000 poems, but that is not the case.
She had only one goal, a daily goal, that she religiously repeated every day for over 10 years. What was her goal? It was to write “one poem per day.”
Now, this woman, despite writing 4,000 poems, never really thought about going through them and publishing the “best of the best.”
But then one day, the idea of publishing her poetry came to mind, and she immediately began moving forward. Soon, her first volume of poetry will be published.
The question I began with today: “Who’s holding you back?” may now come to mind when pondering this situation.
The answer to this question is surprisingly simple. No one was holding her back. She wasn’t even holding herself back. She just hadn’t thought about publishing her poems because she was busy helping all her clients, but as soon as she put her mental radar on this new idea, heaven and earth began to move.
Our thoughts, i.e. our mental pictures, are “what” either hold us back or launch us forward.
Oftentimes, we hold ourselves back out of fear, worry or self-doubt. But then there are other times when we’ve held ourselves back because we weren’t even thinking about the wide range of possibilities that are readily available to us, if we take the time to “imagine different.”
Here endeth the lesson!
Matt Furey
P.S. “Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm,” wrote Emerson. Well then, how do you increase your enthusiasm so that you accomplish something great? The answer will be revealed next Wednesday, February 19, in my Theatre of the Mind™ Intensive, being held at 7 PM EST. This intensive is not for Lookie Lou’s or tire kickers. It’s neither free nor is it cheap, as I want people who are committed to their success. Are you the type of person who is ready to turn your life around, for the better? Someone who wants to get his or her mojo back and GET your goals instead of setting them? If so, email me at goals@psycho-cybernetics.com for the link to the forthcoming Theatre of the Mind™ Intensive.
by Matt Furey
“There’s a fine line between imagination and reality and no one knows for sure where that fine line begins or ends.”
I spoke the words shown above twenty years ago in a Psycho-Cybernetics training, and today I find no reason to alter them in any way.
All your goals, all your actions, all your habits, are nothing but mental pictures. At first they are nothing but imaginary ideas seen upon the invisible screen of your mind, then they become reality if you move with them.
Contrary to the saying, “Just do it,” no one ever does. Those who think they “just do” are unaware of how quickly their brains process information that is acted upon.
Some people’s minds work so fast they are convinced they take action before imagining doing so. Sorry, that’s not the way your brain works. You see it first, then you do it.
You don’t laugh, frown or cry before seeing a mental picture of something that brings forth that emotion.
You choose your vocation, your hobbies, your to do list, what you eat and where you go on vacation, based upon what you see in your imagination.
Your imagination is real and how you use it can make your or break you.
Yes, you can imagine that your imagination is only imaginary, yet even that idea is a mental picture that you are imagining to be true.
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
P.S. Pure imagination is what I’ll be teaching in my next intensive on Theatre of the Mind. I imagine that it’s going to be a breakthrough experience for those who get to attend. You may be one of the fortunate few who attend. Drop me an email at goals@psycho-cybernetics.com to show your interest.
by Matt Furey
“With it (peace of mind and happiness), you have everything; without it, you have nothing.” – Maxwell Maltz, M.D. author of Psycho-Cybernetics: Updated and Expanded
Everyone knows someone who supposedly “has it all,” yet is miserable.
There are the so-called “rich” people who look down their noses at everybody else; the world class athletes who cannot get enough attention, who feel the need to continually beat their chests, proclaiming they are the greatest.
There are beautiful women and handsome men who see themselves as ugly; and creative geniuses who hide their talents.
There are doctors and lawyers who, when asked, cannot recall a single success experience, ignoring the most obvious fact that they have an advanced degree that required years of dedication, discipline and focus.
These men and women are highly capable of achieving external goals, but when it comes to an internal goal such as “being happy,” they have no sense of direction.
This begs the question: Is it possible to be successful both internally and externally?
The answer is a resounding “YES.”
But you cannot get there without practice. There is no arriving at happiness once you’ve accomplished a goal, at least not for long. 15 minutes is about all you get.
The key to living a creatively successful life is learning how to be happy on the way to a goal, and knowing how, after you’ve achieved it, to be happy on the way to the next one.
As Cervantes, the legendary author of Don Quixote, wrote, “The road is always better than the inn.”
Are you on the road from one achieved goal to the next? Or are you stuck, blocked, and filled with self-doubt? Are you in a dark room, or one filled with light?
When you learn to savor your victories in the theater of your mind, they become the fuel that drives you to the next one. And as you’re driving toward them, instead of being in a frustrated, dark state of mind, you are filled with gusto, enthusiasm and light. Most importantly, you are happy.
If you’re expecting the future to bring you happiness, forget it. You can have it NOW, long before you reach your objective.
With happiness and peace of mind in your tank each day, you have everything. And you are truly rich.
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
P.S. The Goal Getting™ Intensive we had last week was a smashing success. I promised two hours; it went closer to four. Time flies when you’re living in the moment, in the NOW, filled with genuine appreciation for the life you get to live. Next month I’ll be hosting a Theatre of the Mind™ Intensive. Interested? Well, it’s not for everyone. Believe it or not, a lot of people resist living the good life, internally and externally. But if you’re one of those people who really wants to get more living out of life -happy living, then email me to get the link: goals@psycho-cybernetics.com.
by Matt Furey
Two young boys who grew up in the same neighborhood pick up a crayon for the first time and begin to draw.
The first boy has parents who offer encouragement, regardless of whether he colors outside the lines or draws straight lines.
Whenever they see the slightest improvement in his drawing, they make note of it and tell him he’s getting better. They live in the present with their son, giving him realistic, achievable daily pointers. They refrain from comparing him to others his age. Instead they focus on helping him be a little bit better than he was yesterday. If he isn’t, no sweat. Just keep drawing everyday, if that is what you want to do.
Forty years later, the boy is a famous artist. Asked how he got so good, he says, “I did so gradually, step by step. There was never any pressure on me to become good, so I enjoyed drawing and kept doing it. Then one day I woke up and realized I was really good.”
The other boy’s parents were quite a bit different. The first time he picked up a crayon to draw, they immediately began telling him how much talent and potential he had; they even began talking to him about how he needed to “work hard” at this if he wanted to become a famous artist; to be the next Vincent Van Gogh, or Salvador Dali.
Instead of giving easy pointers to their son, they pointed out what he was doing wrong. They showed him the drawings of other boys and girls in his age group, and point out that his drawings were not as good as theirs.
The boy retreated into a shell, thinking that he could not draw. He gave up.
Forty years later, this boy remembered the mental pictures from his past, the ones that were the supposed proof that he “cannot draw.”
For the first time in his life, he wondered if his mental pictures were wrong; he asked himself if he was taught wrong.
He decided to give himself another shot with another teacher who would take things step-by-step; one who put no pressure on him to be as good as the great ones.
One year later, the “little boy” inside this grown man is stunned because he now sees a new reality. He CAN draw. He can draw in spite of the fact that he was convinced for most of his life that he couldn’t.
Here endeth the lesson.
See it. Feel it. Be it.
Matt Furey
P.S. Small incremental improvements without pressure is the way to go. There’s tremendous power in the flip side of the coin; the opposite of the “think big” approach. And this includes learning how to see yourself and what you want out of life in a new way. Many people have the erroneous idea that they cannot visualize, that they’re doing it wrong. It’s the same as growing up thinking you cannot draw. Yet, learning how to visualize is no different than learning to draw. And this is why I teach a simple approach, one where you don’t compare yourself to others, or to a fictitious standard of how you’re supposed to do it. I reveal this procedural method of visualization, and much more in my Theatre of the Mind Intensive, to be held Wednesday, February 19. It will be a “level one” training, containing key elements that even the most advanced practitioners have never learned. The fee for this intensive is $247.00. Interested? Email me: goals@psycho-cybernetics.com and I will send you the link to enroll. It’s going to light you up!
by Matt Furey
“Dear Matt.
I’m struggling with motivation to go after my goals. I’m frustrated with myself. I set all these goals that I want and then i don’t get off the couch to go after them. What tricks do you have for someone like me? I’m tired of lying around doing nothing.
Sincerely,
Leigh Zee
Dear Leigh Zee
As I have said for almost 20 years now, “Everything in life is a mental picture.” This means that you’re struggling and unmotivated because you have a mental picture of yourself being that way. That is how you see yourself. That’s part of your self-image. The good news is the instant you change your mental picture and see yourself “off the couch,” going after a goal, your emotional state will shift and you’ll get going, especially when you have a realistic goal.
When you are unable to get yourself going, it is almost always a classic sign of setting a goal that is too big. This unnecessarily large goal is an albatross around your neck. It creates resistance to action instead of a focused, motivated determination to succeed.
Inwardly, you realize the goal is too far out, so in response to this you do nothing. You resist and rebel against the very thing you say you want.
You’re not alone on this, either. It’s a BIG CLUB. Which is one of the reasons I am now teaching my Goal Getting™ (not Setting) method. I suggest you email me: goals@psycho-cybernetics.com to request a link to enroll in the Goal Getting™ Intensive I am having on January 15, at 7 PM EST. It’s not el cheapo. It’ll run you $197. Why? Because you need “skin in the game” if you’re really serious about changing your life. There’s only a couple seats left. Let’s see if you’ll claim one.
Matt Furey
by Matt Furey
“Each day is a lifetime to be lived now.” – Maxwell Maltz, M.D., author of Psycho-Cybernetics
A guy took a stool next to me in a local coffee shop. I looked away from my laptop and nodded to say hello.
The guy began talking about his day, telling me, “It sucks getting old.”
Then he started talking about all his frustrations.
After a couple minutes, I interjected: “Do you have a goal for today?”
He replied: “My goal for today? No, I don’t have one.”
“Everyone has a goal for today. Some people consciously choose their goal, others don’t.”
“I guess I would say that my goals go way beyond daily. I have big goals that I’m working on.”
“That’s great” I answered. “How’s it going?”
“Pretty good. Except for this feeling that I’m not accomplishing much of anything.”
“That doesn’t sound pretty good to me,” I smiled.
We ended up talking for about 15 minutes, during which time he told me he’s been setting long-range goals in every area of his life, yet never gaining any traction.
“I don’t have a single long-term goal,” I told him. “But it turns out that I accomplish well over 1,000 goals each year and these goals have lead to many major breakthroughs and accomplishments.”
“Over a thousand goals? Man, if I could accomplish a hundred in a year I’d be in heaven. Now let me ask, when did you start doing things the way you do them now?”
“Part way through my senior season in high school. I was a wrestler and was feeling lousy about myself and my 8-4 record. I had big goals, one was to win the state title, the other to wrestle in college, and I wasn’t even coming close to either.”
“Then what happened?”
“I switched gears and put all my focus on the goal of practicing my techniques three times per day, every day, without fail.”
“And what happened as a result of that?”
“I won 14 straight matches, upset the defending state champion, who was considered unbeatable, made it to the finals of the state, and then went on to wrestle collegiately.”
“And what have you done since then?”
“I’ve written best-selling books, created courses, traveled the world, won national and world titles in martial arts, got married, raised two great children, and so on.”
“So where do you think I’m going wrong? All the books I’ve read have told me to think big, to set goals that scare you.”
“Have you read Psycho-Cybernetics?”
“No, not yet.”
“Well, here’s a copy for you,” I said, reaching into my backpack. “After you read it, come show me where it tells you to think big and to set goals that scare you. I’ll be waiting…”
Here endeth the lesson.
See it. Feel it. Be it.
Matt Furey
P.S. The Goal-Getting™ Intensive I am having on January 15, at 7 PM EST, is getting close to sold out at the current fee. Interested? Email me for details: goals@psycho-cybernetics.com
by Matt Furey
The Essential Psycho-Cybernetics book is hot off the presses and ready to be delivered to your mailbox.
Earlier today I received a complimentary supply of this 700+ pages masterpiece that combines four of Dr. Maltz’ classics into one volume.
In fact, this book goes a bit further than I have promised because it also gives you selected excerpts from one other book, Thoughts to Live By. This means you are almost getting a 5-for-1 bargain.
The completed books in this tome are as follows:
The Conquest of Frustration
The Search for Self-Respect
Live and Be Free thru Psycho-Cybernetics, and…
The Magic Power of Self-Image Psychology
If you order NOW there’s a good chance you will receive the book by Christmas from the link I have provided. You can also order a digital copy.
This book will be a huge gift for friends and loved ones, and will be something you treasure yourself.
Click this link and you’re off to the races, ready to make 2025 your best year ever!
Matt Furey
P.S. I have another announcement forthcoming about my 2025 workshops on Goal GettingTM, as well as some other incredible opportunities. Make sure you’re tuned in as these will fill up fast.
by Matt Furey
Here’s an email I recently received, along with my answer:
Matt,
I recently subscribed to your (email) newsletter and I’m loving it so far but I have a couple of questions on the proper way to apply psychocybernetics. So, I’ve been experimenting and I’ve noticed a few things:
With that in mind my question to you is this. How do you pursue long term goals? Do you pursue them at all or do you break them down into short term goals and focus on those, or do you visualize your long term goal and then focus on your short term goals? What is the best way?
Julian
Great insights and questions, Julian.
First, I don’t have long-term goals, at least none in the five, ten, or 20-year range. I have never found them useful or effective, in part because the time-frame is too big. A one year goal works much better for me.
Second, I break my goals, including daily goals, into bite-sized, easily digestible nuggets. As I tell my students, “Grab the low-hanging fruit.” This gets you into action quickly and leads to momentum.
An example of the power of this is easily seen in the following: Back in 2008, I had a goal to write 8,000 words in a single day. This isn’t something I would recommend for a beginning writer, and it was a challenge for me that I wholeheartedly welcomed just to see if I could do it. Incidentally, unbeknownst to me, I had already written this many words previously (30,000 over a weekend), but I wasn’t keeping track back then.
So I got up in the morning and an idea for a book, 101 Ways to Magnetize Money, came to mind. I began by writing the title on a 3×5 card. Then I focused on making a list of the 101 Ways.
After doing this I had a feeling of momentum, so I continued with the next goal, which was also simple. It was to write the first sentence for each of the ways I had listed.
When this was done, I went for a walk on the beach. Upon returning to my laptop, I began writing until I had 2,000 words recorded. This was followed by another walk along the beach.
I repeated the above until I had written 8,000 words.
But by that point I had so much momentum established that I decided to continue until the first draft of the book was completed. I began at 7 AM in the morning and at 6:10 PM, I was finished.
I then looked at the bottom of the word document I was typing into and saw the following: 12,224 words.
This is the power of short-term goals.
But there’s more: That book went on to become a best-seller. In fact, the audio version of that product is now available from Nightingale-Conant, and can be downloaded at audible.com
The above illustrates why I primarily use daily short-term daily goals.
Do I have any goals that go beyond daily? Yes. I have one I am working on now with a finish line a few months away. It is an enormous project that I cannot finish in a day.
So what do I do?
Oh, I better add the following: In addition to the aforementioned project, I also carve out time to write and publish my two monthly newsletters, Info-Taining Zen Mastery and Theatre of the Mind Masters, both of which contain the insider-secrets of how I do what I do.
You may want to look into one or both of these as I reveal information that no one else is putting out there, and all of it is game-changing.
Here endeth today’s lesson.
Matt Furey
by Matt Furey
In order to get what you want in life, it’s often necessary to give up something that is blocking you.
Usually the thing that is blocking you is your engagement in an activity that could be classified as nonproductive, or a waste of time.
What is a waste of your time?
Is it too much time before the television? Too much time scrolling on social media? Too much time talking on the phone and/or texting?
There’s always something you can give up so you “have more time.”
Knowing what you want is a big part of the goal getting process, but so is eliminating activities that are standing in your way.
Ponder this for a few minutes with a pen in your hand and a journal before you.
Take some notes today as you imagine and feel.
Now is the moment you will succeed.
You know what you want and you make it real.
For you willingly give up what you don’t really need.
Here endeth the lesson.
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