“Act without trying.
Breathe without interruption.
Laugh without smiling.
Go without moving.
Love without hate.”
– Matt Furey
Try Nothing – Do Everything
“The most vulgar word in the English language is only three letters: t-r-y.
The person who tries to do something – or anything, accomplishes nearly nothing.”
Telling Yourself Positive Lies
“I am a billionaire.”
“I am seven-feet tall.”
“I am a basketball player in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors.”
“I am … I am… I am….”
In the uncanny world of self-development, none of the foregoing statements are lies – even though they are.
If they’re not lies, then, what are they?
In positive thinking speak – they’re called…
“BELIEFS.”
Delusional. Hallucinatory. Exaggerated.
Absolutely, they are – but try to convince the positive thinker otherwise and you’re fighting a losing battle – unless you’re armed with high-powered persuasion skills.
Even then, though, you’ll need someone willing to drop all the pretense and bluster and be real.
But wait a minute – isn’t Psycho-Cybernetics all about being a positive thinker?
Psycho-Cybernetics is about changing your self-image, the way you see yourself. It’s about being honest with yourself – in terms of your past and your future.
It’s not about telling yourself you are something when you aren’t.
If you’re not a billionaire or millionaire, there’s no thought crime for stating the truth. Being honest will help you go to the next level – whereas the phony positivity has far less chance of helping you.
If you want to go somewhere in life, you must know where you are now. You cannot set proper coordinates if you tell yourself you already are where you want to be.
This is probably one of the main reasons why Psycho-Cybernetics has such grand appeal with athletes and coaches.
You cannot hide the truth about your record.
How many wins v. how many losses?
What’s your free throw percentage?
How many steals?
How many tackles, interceptions or fumbles?
How fast do you run the 40 or 60?
I’m talking about real data you can see on paper and verify.
“I am MVP of the league?” – well, let’s check the record books and see.
Whereas…
“I want to be MVP of the league…” – that’s a very different story.
You have a goal. You recognize you are not there yet.
So you put the time in.
You picture what you want – but you also picture where you are NOW – in relation to the goal.
That’s Psycho-Cybernetics.
It’s positive and life-changing because it deals with the way things are as well as the way you want them to be.
If you want to achieve your goals and dreams – and do so without fighting with yourself about what you believe, then take the next step forward.
Start where you are – then move.
Matt Furey
P.S. If you already have Psycho-Cybernetics and want to know what’s next, then be sure to grab a copy of Theatre of the Mind – the audio program I created with Nightingale-Conant.
Ancient Bad Advice that’s True
2,500 years ago, in the Chinese classic called the Tao Te Ching – Laozi wrote the following….
“Act without doing.”
As you read these words, you might do a double-head shake. At first, these words barely appear reasonable or accurate, especially in a whirld* wherein the maxim of the day is to…
“take massive action.”
Hmmm, put thee pondering cap on, my friend, as you’re about to enter the zero resistance zone.
Consider the superb professionals in ANY field and how we regard them:
The professional speaker who makes the very thing many people fear the most look easy.
The surgeon who is operating for eight or more hours on the same patient and has no sense of time.
The NBA star who swishes free throws without looking.
The writer who is in a trance-like state as she cranks out a novel.
The chef who tastes his dish to reassure himself he’s still living on planet earth.
All of these people are acting – but none experience themselves as a DOER.
These pros are so much in the NOW that neither time nor resistance to action appear to exist.
They think, they imagine and then they are spontaneously catapulted into doing – albeit effortlessly so.
Whether they are taking a few tiny steps each day – or 100,000, they never really feel as though they’re doing anything, because ultimately there is only…
“one step at a time and one breath at at time.”
Being aware of this, LIVING this, means you are in the FLOW STATE, the Zero Resistance Living state of mind.
This is…
“act without doing.”
See it. Be it. And do it without doing it.
Matt Furey
P.S. A few recommendations for you in regard to the above:
Zero Resistance Living
Theater of the Mind
Psycho-Cybernetics – Updated and Expanded
P.P.S. I would also encourage you to join my
Theater of the Mind Facebook group
The Myth of Goal Setting
A great many people who’ve attended courses in self-development, have a negative reaction to the word “goal.”
The word “goal”registers as an expletive, a filthy four-letter word. Every time these people hear it they are reminded of ALL the goals they set and never achieved.
In fact, many people who set goals, despite all the rah-rah of the self-help teachers, cannot honestly point to much success at all using the process.
You can test your internal reaction when you read the following phrases:
“What are your goals?
You gotta have goals!
You cannot be part of the top 3% unless you have clearly written goals with plans for their accomplishment.
You cannot get rich, lose weight, become a (fill in the blank) without goals.
No one ever succeeds without a clearly written goal.”
What if I told you that ALL of the above are not necessarily true?
The idea that your goals MUST be in writing and MUST be clearly defined fits in the same category as the equally false advice about making sure you THINK BIG, take massive action, set goals that scare you and get out of your comfort zone.
The above may be true for a very tiny group of society, but it’s NOT true for everyone – myself included.
Many of my top achievements were NOT written down, nor did I have written plans.
How about you?
Am I against having written goals? Or plans?
No.
What I’m for is helping you figure out who YOU are and how YOU get things done.
I can thank my children and tai chi for helping me discover what I’m telling you.
Almost every day I practice the so-called slow motion martial art known as tai chi.
I’ve been going at it for years – and I am continually and continuously improving.
Yet, I have no written goals about the art and how good I should be.
Even so, I”m on the trail of tai chi and am constantly thinking about it – looking for tiny or seemingly insignificant ways I can make myself a little better.
As a result of looking at the SMALL – doing the opposite of thinking big – I’ve made major and dramatic improvements. So much so that every time I think I’m getting good, a new wave hits that catapults me to unexpected heights.
My daughter is the same way with dancing.
She’s never had a written goal about it. And she’s now on her 10th straight year of constant improvement.
In my son’s case, whenever he has set very specific goals, he has faltered. Yet, when he focuses on the journey and the process, his concentration and his results are staggering.
I can go on and on about this subject for days, but the real person I want to help is YOU.
Take a few moments and ask yourself a few basic questions:
1. What percentage of the goals I set for myself do I actually achieve?
2. How often do I feel paralyzed with fear and/or frustration a day or two after setting goals?
3. Am I taking less action or more after I’ve set goals for myself?
4. How often am I able to live in the present moment and enjoy my life?
5. Have I ever set goals and noticed that “all hell breaks loose” – i.e. the opposite of what I intended begins to manifest?
Again, these are some basics to get you rolling.
Matt Furey
P.S. Want coaching in Psycho-Cyb, Info Publishing, etc.? – then go here and fill out the application. We’re in the process of interviewing over the next couple weeks and would love to see you go to the next level in all your endeavors.
Motivational Myths – Part One – Rising Early
True, yet not true.
That’s what I think on an almost daily basis when my clients bring up yet another motivational maxim for me to opine and re-position.
Here’s today’s example, followed by my commentary:
“You need to go to bed early and get up early if you want to be successful.”
Most people I know get up early each day – and most of them do not consider themselves to be successful.
Yet I know others who moonlight and sleep in, and they’re more successful than those who rise early. Almost every pro athlete goes to bed late and gets up later than the rest of society – and they’re making bank.
Same goes for rock n’ rollers, artists and performers of every shape and size.
The other day I was listening to Bruce Springsteen talking about his “glory days.” He told how he sleeps in until noon.
I guess he’s got it wrong.
The fact is that many, many, many people are early risers, and they lead very unfulfilled lives. Some early risers have extraordinarily successful – and then there are those who formed a “how to” around the habits of the early risers.
Rising early definitely works for those whom it “works” for.
But it’s unwise, even for Ben Franklin – or anyone living today to form a “must” or “need to” around this habit.
Rising early is a good habit that I utilize from time to time, depending upon where I am in the world and what I’m doing.
Yet, the grand majority of my greatest productivity has always come when I stayed up late – often until 3 a.m. – writing, crafting, creating and manifesting.
In an earlier time of my life, I was up at 5 a.m. and in bed by 9 pm – six days a week, and I was broker than broke.
I guess this was because I took the seventh day off. Yooouch.
Moral of the story: Be careful about universalizing a “how to” on sleeping habits of the rich and famous – or those we deem to be a “success.”
Instead, think about what works for you as a free-thinking individual. When you’ve been most successful in the past – what were your habits?
You may find that moonlighting is the ticket for you. It might be rising at 5 AM. It may be some crazy combination or amalgamation of more than one method.
Then again, you might be one of those who sleeps sparingly or sporadically – four or five hours per night.
Whatever works for you is the way for you to live your life. It’s what will probably produce your greatest successes now and in the future.
The key is reviewing your life to determine which way works the best for you – then doing it.
Matt Furey
P.S. Want some private and/or Mastermind Coaching in 2018? Then take a minute to visit psycho-cyb.com/coaching
Turns Imagination Into Reality
Throughout the ages the great ones disagree on a number of topics, but when it comes to the use of your imagination and the power of your thoughts, they get into single file.
“Imagination is more important thank knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” – Mark Twain
“Imagination is the elixir of life.” – P.T. Barnum
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir
I can go on and on with examples such as these, but perhaps my favorite is the way my wife would say it:
“No imagination – no food.”
Oh yes, the naysayers scramble, sneer and squirm as they opine: “You really think your imagination helps you create what you want? How can it do so.”
These questions, incidentally, are from the same people who scoff about the importance of breathing, as if your very life doesn’t depend upon it.
The mere questioning of the power of imagination shows a clear misunderstanding and ignorance of how the human brain works. What the scoffers are essentially saying is, “I don’t think my brain has anything to do with anything I do.”
They’re also revealing, without realizing it, that they have no idea what a hippocampus is, or the frontal lobes, or where their memories and knowledge are stored.
My favorite line is when the sneerers say, “I don’t think about it. I just do it.”
Really?
So you took action without any thought whatsoever?
How is that possible? Explain that one to me so I can present it to my neighbor, who happens to be a neuroscientist.
Another great line comes from those who study Eastern thought: “You teach all this self-image stuff – but the reality is there is no self.”
To this statement I reply: “Is there a spirit or a soul?”
“Oh yes, you have a spirit and a soul. There just isn’t a self.”
“Great, so call it soul-image if that makes you feel better.”
To recap, these so-called intellectuals believe your imagination doesn’t serve a valuable purpose, it’s just loitering in the lobby of your brain. Deep breathing is not important because you can survive on very shallow breaths. And best of all, there is no self.
Let me give you the straight scoop from personal and professional experiences, wherein I’ve succeeded at a high-level in several endeavors:
When you are blocked, when you can’t seem to achieve, when you can’t get good grades, when you can’t get yourself to take action, when you don’t believe you can get physically fit or accomplish something BIG – you need a revamping of your imagination.
Jump into action all you want. Use your will power as much as you can.
And soon, you’ll run out of steam and be out of gas.
With your use of IMAGINATION, however, you tap into the seemingly infinite and unlimited powers of the brain.
Show me the mental images you have ruminating in your brain and I’ll easily and accurately predict where you’re heading in life.
Let me hear the way you speak about yourself and your life and I’ll quickly ascertain the type of results you can expect to achieve.
I’ll close now by repeating my wife’s line, which really should be a Chinese Proverb:
“No imagination – no food.”
Matt Furey
P.S. Want to learn how to use your imagination in a way that puts the food you want on your table, the kind of clothes you want on your body, and the kind of home you want to house yourself and your family? This is a small part of what will be revealed at The Undiscovered, Unrevealed and Unparalleled Secrets Seminar being held in February. I look forward to seeing you there.
Message for a Happy New Year
新年快. That’s Chinese for “Xin nian kuai le” or Happy New Year.
Yes, it’s 2015 already. Did you ever think you’d live in a time like this?
As Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times – it was the worst of times.”
So true. Always.
The worst is always here. So is the BEST.
There are always good times ahead – and tough times. There are always tough times behind us – and good times.
But we can make the tough times easier and the good times even better by how we picture them in our own minds – and by how we talk about them.
Yesterday I was working with an athlete on some exercises that are currently difficult for him.
As he struggled I caught myself saying, “It’s hard, huh?”
After catching myself for saying such a thing, I added, “It may feel difficult right now but it’s going to get easier and easier and easier the more you train it.”
Before the session ended he’d made great progress.
The other day I took a line from Shakespeare and rewrote it:
“Nothing is easy or difficult until thinking makes it so.”
Consider the baby as you ponder the above.
All able-bodied babies learn to walk as well as talk. Yet, I’ve never heard of a parent who told his infant that walking is difficult. Can you imagine how stupid it would look:
“Son, pretty soon it’s going to be time for you to walk. And let me tell you, it’s really hard. It’s really difficult. You’re going to need to work real hard on it if you want to learn how.”
Ludicrous, right?
Yet, everyday coaches, parents, teachers and friends tell you that what you’re working on doing is hard, too hard or difficult.
In order for work to have any value it must be “hard work.”
Really?
Did the baby put in a lot of “hard work” to learn walking, talking and everything else?
No.
The baby gets an idea, a mental picture of what he or she wants to do, then he playfully practices. It’s not “hard practice” – it’s “playful practice.”
The baby is having fun – no matter how many times he falls.
And then one day, the baby walks.
Imagine that.
As I look back over the years, everything I got good at could be lumped under the category of “hard work.” But if I really take the time to think about it, the “hard work” wasn’t “hard.” I was having a blast. I was doing and am still doing what I love to do.
Writing a book is hard – according to most. Yet, it’s really isn’t hard when you’re in flow and the words are pouring out of you.
Teaching a seminar or class is hard – but then again, it isn’t when you know your material and you’re flowing before a responsive audience.
Learning a foreign language is hard – but then it’s not if you’re immersed in the culture (like a baby) and you give up whatever resistance you have to learning.
Advanced math is difficult. So is running a business. So is everything, especially when you think it so.
But the second you allow yourself to think of your difficult task or hard work as EASY – even when it isn’t, space gets freed within your brain, body and central nervous system, and what you’re doing gets easier.
So here we are in another New Year.
Are you going to make it more difficult than it already is by telling yourself that it’s hard?
Or are you willing to experiment in the art of making tough tasks easier by seeing them as easy – even if they aren’t?
That’s the question and the challenge.
The truth is that whatever you’re good at now – at one time, it wasn’t so easy. But by practice you made it so.
So, why not accelerate the process by being baby-like? No matter what you’re doing, regardless of how difficult, avoid thoughts of it being hard. Just get on with it. Just do it.
But before you do it – t ake a few minutes to picture what you want to be doing n your mind’s eye. This will make all the difference in the whirld to you.
It’ll help make the difficult a LOT EASIER.
Yours,
Coach Matt Furey
P.S. By the way, don’t make any New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight, exercise or anything of the sort, either. Instead, picture yourself doing, then watch as you flow in the direction of action toward what you want. For world-class guidance on this, I recommend you become part of the Furey Faithful.
The Habit of Happiness
“Happiness is a habit. You don’t suddenly become happy because you achieved a goal. You practice happiness all the way to the goal. And when you achieve your goal you’re still happy. Never think achieving a goal will give you lasting happiness. It can’t because happiness doesn’t suddenly arrive and stay put. You nurture happiness. You make happiness a habit and then it becomes one.”
Matt Furey
Author of Maxwell Maltz’ Theatre of the Mind
The Mirror Talks
“You can look in the mirror and tell yourself you look good. But there comes a day when you look in the mirror and the mirror says you look good. And that’s an achievement.”
Matt Furey
