The stick figure’s “head” is split in two – the conscious and subconscious. The subconscious is by far the larger of the two, and is your power center. Any thought you continuously impress upon your subconscious becomes fixed, or in the words of Michael Roach, “germinate, then expand.”

This is where the principles put forth by Roach really intrigue me. I see a lot of truth in these principles, and I’ll explain each in my own words.

The Four Principles:

1. Whatever it is you are currently experiencing always matches the general content of thoughts that were at one time impressed upon your subconscious.

2. The strength of the original impression continuously expands in your subconscious until it flowers and forces you to have an experience that directly relates to that impression.

3. No experience of any kind ever happens unless there was an original thought that had been impressed that relates to the experience.

4. Once a thought has been impressed in the subconscious, it must lead to an experience. No impression is ever wasted.

I’ll try to relate these principles to a practical application, so you can get a sense of their power. A young girl is told repeatedly that women don’t have a good mind for business. This thought is impressed upon her subconscious, and grows throughout her teens. What she sees, and the experiences she has are in alignment with this impression and cause it to grow. She goes through college, finds a job, and moves to an area that is experiencing a real estate boom. However, all the houses she finds are bad deals, or she arrives too late. Her experiences match the impression in her subconscious that she doesn’t have a good mind for business.

A second young girl is told that she can do anything she wants, and that she’s got a good mind for business. Her experiences serve to reinforce this impression, and by the time she moves to the same area as the first girl, she’s already created several businesses for herself. She sees incredible deals all over town, and jumps on them immediately.

Here we have two girls living in the same town. One sees great deals, the other gives up because she can’t seem to find any decent deals. One believes she has a knack for business, and the other is convinced she’s not good at business. The experiences they have and the circumstances that greet them on a daily basis match whatever has been impressed upon their subconscious minds.

How this Information can Change Your Life:

First, you have to realize that whatever it is you are currently experiencing is a result of thoughts and actions from your past. Current circumstances are no more or less than the expression of what has been impressed upon your subconscious mind. You are simply experiencing what you have prepared yourself to experience.

I see this as very good news, and here’s why. If what you’re currently experiencing is a result of past thoughts and actions, then doesn’t it apply that your future experiences will be a result of your present thoughts and actions? Yes it does!

You may have heard me talk about the importance of being in action, and about compartmentalizing your tasks throughout the day. That is, when it’s time to do email, you do email. When it’s time to work on a particular project, that’s what you do. This requires diligence and sometimes a great deal of practice to stay focused. When you act in this way, you start creating little successes in each part of your life. These successes and the focused attention create NEW impressions upon your subconscious. These new impressions will eventually surface in the form of new experiences.

Think of it a different way, and this will blow your mind. To experience what you want in the future, all you have to do is begin impressing into your subconscious the thoughts that directly relate to that experience today, then acting according to the feelings you have when you impress those thoughts. This is how you create new experiences.

Simply figure out what you want to experience, and work your way back from the experience to determine the thoughts and actions that will create the experience. This always works, without exception. Positive thoughts get reinforced through positive action, and negative thoughts through negative action. It’s an incredibly simple concept to understand, but takes a lot of patience and persistence to get right, and you have to stick with it.

Here’s a practical example. Say you want to get involved in flipping real estate, but your current experience is that everyone else seems to find the good deals, and that you always get there too late. Look back at your life to examine the thoughts and actions that were impressed upon your subconscious and resulted in your current experience. In “The Diamond Cutter”, Roach goes through 46 business problems people face, and identifies the root cause and how to create new impressions.

It’s likely that, if you’re always behind or left out, you had this image of yourself impressed upon your subconscious early in your life. Maybe your brother or sister got all the attention, or you had to wear his or her old clothes. These thoughts create feelings of inadequacy, resentment, or jealousy. Actions are then based on these feelings, and reinforce the impression of “not good enough”.

You have to break the cycle and create new, positive impressions.

What I like about Roach’s approach is how much it requires very specific action to create a new impression in your subconscious. People who don’t take the time to do a financial baseline or forecast are fueling the impression of lack – lack of time; lack of resources; or lack of money. To create the opposite impression in your subconscious, complete your baseline and forecast as a way of impressing the thought that “there is plenty of time to do what’s needed for my business, and I believe I can make my targets.”

It’s important to understand that the simplest tasks often create the most powerful impressions. Knowing that you have over 60,000 thoughts in a day, what if you took actions throughout the day that required you to have mostly positive thoughts?

In the above example, the person who feels that everyone else gets the good stuff would benefit from having a mini-celebration every time she hears about another person’s success. This impresses the idea that there are good deals to be had, and getting them is a very good thing. Yes, it’s that subtle, and that easy to create new impressions. Remember to give it time, though.

Creating the impressions that result in building wealth and the expression of your power

1. Examine your current situation and understand what has been impressed upon your subconscious.
2. Create the vision of what you want to experience in the future.
3. Determine the thoughts and actions that will most likely result in those experiences.
4. Define the strategies and tactics necessary to impress the right thoughts and take the right actions.
5. Go into action.

More specifically:

If you haven’t already created your 2006 baseline and forecast, do it as soon as possible to nurture the impressions of success.

Take the steps to protect your assets and your business. This helps to create the subconscious impression of your value and worth.

Develop real marketing plans for your business to impress upon your mind your ability to succeed.

Create or further develop your wealth team. Surround yourself with quality people you trust, and you impress upon your subconscious the energy or idea of quality. This results in quality experiences.

Celebrate in the success of your colleagues, and learn to collaborate instead of compete. Collaboration and celebration (and gratitude) create impressions of success in your subconscious, so that you may create future experiences in which you feel celebrated and grateful.

Summary:

These are extremely powerful concepts. Yes, you absolutely need to learn about and exercise the fundamentals of wealth building. Develop your plan and strategy. Create your baseline and entity structuring. But, perhaps most importantly, begin creating the kinds of impressions on your subconscious that will eventually lead you to the experiences you want to have. I am constantly working on my mental conditioning, as should you if you want to join me at the head of the table.

Know your purpose. Nothing will bring you joy more than knowing what it is that you are about on this earth. Not knowing bring sadness, wondering, fear and lack of fulfillment. Above all, find out what your unique purpose is here on this earth – then fulfill it! As you do, you will experience joy!

Live purposefully. This is a follow up to number one. It is one thing to know your purpose, but then you need to live according to that purpose. This is a matter of priorities. Let your actions and schedule reflect your purpose. Don’t react to circumstances and let them cause you to live without your purpose fully in site. Living without your purpose will cause frustration. Living purposefully will bring you deep satisfaction and joy!

Stretch yourself. Don’t settle into the status quo. That will leave you unfulfilled. Always look to stretch yourself. Whatever you are doing, stretch yourself to do more! Stretching yourself will break the limits you have set for yourself and will cause you to find joy in your expanded horizons!

Give more than you take. It brings happiness to accumulate. It brings joy to give away. Sure, getting the car you worked hard for will bring you a sense of satisfaction and even happiness. But it won’t bring you joy. Giving something away to the less fortunate will bring you deep, abiding joy.

Surprise yourself, and others too. The words here are spontaneity and surprise! Every once in a while, do the unexpected. It will cause everybody to sit back and say, “Wow, where did that come from?” It will put a little joy in your life, and theirs.

Indulge yourself sometimes. To much indulgence and you are caught in the happiness trap. Looking for the next purchase, celebration etc to bring you a little “happiness high.” But if you will allow yourself an infrequent indulgence as a reward for a job well done and a life well lived, you will appreciate the indulgence and experience the joy of it.

Laugh a little – no, a lot! Most people are just too serious. We need to laugh a little – no, a lot! Learn to laugh daily, even if you have to learn to laugh in bad situations. This life is to be enjoyed! The next time you go to the movie rental store, get a comedy and let loose! Let yourself laugh!

Joy can be yours! Look for it, pursue it and enjoy it!

The next likely question, then is, “I suppose you’d be happy, confident, cheerful, positive and enthusiastic if your spouse had just walked out on you or if you’d just lost your job?” Only if you desire reconciliation with your spouse, or if you want to remarry. Only if you desire to get another job equal to or better than the one you had! If you go around complaining, whining and criticizing your former spouse, telling everyone how unfair, inconsiderate, no-good, and difficult that person was, do you think they would want to marry you? If you criticize and complain loud and long enough, they’ll soon understand why your spouse left you!

Do you think a prospective new employer would want to hire you if you are critical, condemning and remorseful about your previous employer? Or about how thoughtless, unappreciative and unfair they had been to you? They probably already have their quota of sourpusses!

All of us regret the loss of a loved one, young or old, and there will always be a reasonable period of mourning. However, to hang on to, and dwell upon that hollow, hurtful feeling and painful memory for an extended length of time will begin to take its toll upon you physically, mentally and emotionally. And upon your love, appreciation and feeling for those whom you still have in your life, reflect lovingly upon the positive impact that person had upon your life, review the good times you shared together and celebrate their life, instead of dwelling upon their departure! Life is uncertain, no one is here eternally. Enjoy and savor the time we have (or that we’ve had) together, here, now, and today.

Our life, our health, our being, becomes what we THINK. YES, our cells are always eavesdropping on our thoughts. Thoughts are real things that cause actions that develop into habits that make us happy or sad, relaxed or tense, healthy or sick, rich or poor. Life is for living not just for enduring, not for just tolerating, but to be lived, savored and enjoyed.

Make today a good day and you’ll have enjoyed a GOOOD LIFE, today. Repeat the process, DAILY. It becomes a Habit!

So why do we need to do something formal like this? Why don’t they just give us their thoughts throughout the relationship? Primarily because most friends won’t, in the routine of our friendships, volunteer their true feelings, especially the ones they think we may perceive as negative. Most people simply keep their thoughts to themselves in order to keep the relationship “safe.”

So there is a warning here. This is not for someone who would be offended by their friend’s remarks. You need to go into this understanding that they care for you and have your best interests at heart and that you asked for the input! If you decide to go for it, here are some good questions to ask your friend. (Note: if you want some anonymity for your friends, give the evaluation to three or four friends and let them do it anonymously. You will still get their insight and they can feel a little less awkward.)

What is my greatest strength as a person?
What is my greatest strength as a professional?
What are three issues you think I need to address in my life?
What is my greatest weakness?
On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel I handle my money, given my desire for long-term financial health?
On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel I handle my health, given my desire for long-term physical health?
On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel I handle my emotions, given my desire for long-term financial health?
On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel I handle my spirituality, given my desire for long-term spiritual health?
On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel I handle my relationships, given my desire for long-term relational health?
In the preceding 5 questions, why did you answer as you did?
What one thing do you think I could start doing today that would most drastically increase the quality of my life?
What one thing do you think I could stop doing today that would most drastically increase the quality of my life?
What is the biggest obstacle you think I will need to overcome in order to see my dreams come true?

When your friend has given you the questionnaire back, take him or her out for a cup of coffee and spend some time talking about it. Remember, you are there to understand and learn from someone who cares about you, so ask questions and listen – don’t defend yourself!

This will not only help you in your life and work, it will probably deepen your friendship!

Did you get a clear image? Or did you starting thinking things like, “It’s silly to get lost in a fantasy,” or “That’s nice for someone else, but it won’t happen to me,” or even, “Who am I to think I could have that?” Some of us can more easily visualize our dreams than others, and when it comes to being wealthy, your ability to do this is a key factor in your success.

Absolutely Anyone Can Become a Millionaire

Anyone can become a millionaire. Yes, I mean anyone, including you. I don’t care how much debt you’re in, or your line of work. And, not just wealthy, but a millionaire. I know because I’m a wealth coach who specializes in doing just that: making people millionaires.

If you think you can’t become a millionaire, you won’t. But if you want to become wealthy, you’ll have to change your attitude and behavior when it comes to wealthy.

I cover the many aspects of this process in my book, The Millionaire Maker, but for now let’s just focus on the mental aspect. As essential first step in becoming a millionaire is the ability to open up your mind to the very real possibility that you can have whatever it is you dream of.

What would you do differently if you knew that you couldn’t fail?

Every circumstance you have in your life is the result of your thoughts, from which you base your behavior. When you believe you can succeed, you end up doing things differently.

Right now you probably have a lot of beliefs around why you can’t be wealthy. A large part of my work with my clients involves reconditioning their minds so that they can clearly see the abundance and wealth possibilities that constantly surround them.

The next step on the road to millions is creating a vision of wealth. This is where you write out specific financial goals you want in your life. I usually have my clients write out what they want by the end of a year’s time, so that their goals are measurable.

Your vision of wealth may include quitting your full-time job to start a new business, lowering your debt by half, or making $500 extra a month in passive income. It’s really up to you.

When you create this vision, you need to use what I call “unlimited thinking.” However, you also need to set goals that are realistic and do-able. This is where the help of a mentor or wealth coach is key. Such professionals will have a realistic sense of how far you can stretch your mind and still be able to achieve your yearly goals.

Lastly, you need to be patient. Becoming a millionaire does not happen overnight, it takes time. It also requires work and commitment. Millionaires are active creators of their futures, and they always have a plan. And although they ultimately expect to succeed, they don’t let failure (an inevitable challenge on the path to success) hold them back.

Your wealth is your choice. And the question is, would you rather dwell on what you don’t have and why you can’t have it, or spend your time creating what you do want?