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The Most Powerful Force In The Universe
Challenge
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You've heard me say in previous issues that I believe the most powerful force in the universe to be Imagination. Everything humans have ever created began with an idea, a vision for something that didn't exist before. I mean everything. Orville and Wilbur Wright didn't accidentally make an airplane. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't lead the civil rights movement without a vision of equality and justice. The computer or paper you're reading this on right now came about as the result of someone imagining a better way to communicate. OK that's what I believe. But I'm open to other candidates for The Most Powerful Force in the Universe. So I want to hear from you: what do you think it is, and why? Love? Creativity? Courage? Justice? Write me at robin@robinjones.biz and let me know. Next month's article will contain excerpts, so share your opinion and experiences. | ||
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Feature Article: Choosing Among Your Personalities | ||
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judge. I have a jury. I suppose I have an executioner too; I'm just thankful I haven't met him yet. I also have a sixteen-year-old James Dean wannabe, a seducer of beautiful women, a cross-legged top-of-the-mountain guru, a smirking skeptic, a fierce tiger, and a whole lot of other folks that show up inside me. They each put in an appearance depending on the situation at hand and try to take over, pushing for their own agenda. It's my curious explorer that's showing up right in this moment to help me write this; I feel a little like Magellan, sailing across the uncharted waters of my mind. This is when writing-getting to communicate something to you, my lovely readers-becomes the most fun. It feels like sitting in the sunshine with my laptop, a peach smoothie, and a liberated mind and body. It's when I let my judge get involved in the process that I get in trouble. I wouldn't really call it trouble, but when I allow him to call the shots, he sometimes puts me in a jail of my own making. This feels more like sitting in my concrete basement, chained to the washing machine, writing with a pencil that keeps breaking. Here's the process in a nutshell: 1. I write a few paragraphs with the intention of giving you, the reader, something valuable to mull over. 2. My judge shows up and either approves or tells me it's no good, in fact that my readers will think I'm a crackpot. In fact, as I write this, I realize that when my judge is there, I make you into my judge and absolve myself of responsibility for the criticism. 3. I quit enjoying the creative process of writing and my creativity shuts down. 4. I either (a) struggle through and get the article done, (b) quit for a while and come back later, or (c) ask my judge to take a hike and surrender myself back to my curious explorer. Of course, the key here is awareness. So often in my life I'm not aware of what's going on in my mind or body or heart. I'm just immersed in whatever I'm doing without being present to how I feel and what I think. So when my judge shows up to criticize my writing and I'm not aware of it, my writing suffers, as does my mood, and the results are far from what I want. It's only when I become aware that my judge has arrived that I can choose something else. I can choose something else. For my money, that's perhaps the most important element in creating a successful life. Becoming aware of what's going on and if that's not what I want, consciously choosing something else. One of the greatest discoveries I've made in the process of discovering all these personalities popping up in my mind was that while they are all part of me, I am not them. "I have a skeptic that I can choose to listen to or not," is quite different from, "I'm a skeptical person," which implies that I am powerless to be any other way. This way, I get to welcome my skeptic into my life without fighting to be someone different. So where am I now? I'm aware that each of you will have your opinion of what you are reading in this moment. Some of you will take something valuable away, some won't. My judge is around, but not saying much. What I choose is that I'll keep focusing on providing something of quality, and just as important, the rich, warm feeling I get from feeding my creative explorer. That's success for me. What success do you choose? Attached is a worksheet to help you look at that question, and who shows up to make it happen. It's in PDF format, so you may need to download a fr^ee reader from Adobe.com. Until next month, keep choosing the inner-folks that bring you success, RJ | ||
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© 2006 The Actor's Success & Robin Jones. All rights reserved. Robin Jones is a Certified Professional Life Coach specializing in helping actors beat the odds of the business and build thriving careers. Visit www.ActorsSuccess.com to move your career forward now. Help me reach my goal of 3000 subscribers by 2007 ~ forward this to a friend or colleague!
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The Most Powerful Force In The Universe Challenge