Deconstructing Success...

[AndrewNC]

What does it take to become successful?

Luck?

This is for anybody out there who feels stuck...lost...depressed...wanting more out of life...waiting for their lucky break...wishing they were dealt a better card...wondering what it takes to become successful...has dreams of a better tomorrow..

Or anybody who simple wants to change their life for the better.

Is change possible? That's why I've set out to discover.

Lesson 1 - You have to start somewhere.

Where does the journey to write a best selling book, touching over a million people's lives begin?

With a blank notebook from Walmart, two pens...and packing up my entire life into a Honda CR-V for a change in environment.

Goodbye Scottsdale, Hello Seattle for the next 3 months of my life.

Why the change in environment to write this book?

You'll find out soon enough...

 

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[AndrewNC]

Arrived up in Seattle a couple of days ago to begin writing this book.....I have the general structure outlined, and have over 200 topics I want to talk about....I had writers block all of yesterday and couldn't seem to get the right words on paper, so today I decided to start writing anything, and keep writing until I get into flow state:

I will be posting a lot of what I write in this thread...The first topic is about how to take control of your life....




I've been on this journey for quite some time, and one of things that took me a while to realize, is that I am in full control of my future and the results I get in my life.

Once you realize that you are in control of your life, and not from the results of others, you are now empowered to make decisions with confidence that they will take you closer to your goals.

When I first started out on my journey to success, I never wanted to be wrong.

As a result of that way of thinking, I was never wrong, and nothing was my fault...yet I also wasn't getting the results that I wanted to get either.

Being from New York, when I went on job interviews in The South, I began getting frustrated that I kept getting rejected from jobs because I was from New York. Someone once told me they stereotype northerners down there, so something outside of my control was holding me back from my goals.

The pattern continued for almost a year. I had the work ethic, I had the degree (two of them to be exact), and I was completely qualified on paper...so the only thing stopping me from getting my job was outside of my control....others who stereotyped me.

That was until it wasn't what was stopping me at all.

"Could it be something other than being from New York (or insert other excuse here) that was stopping me from achieving my goals?"

"Has anyone from New York ever gotten a job in the south?"

Of course!

But when we get stuck in that mindset of things not being our fault, it seems so real. If there was a part of you that barked at what I said so far, and started pointing the finger of blame to others...that is the mindset I'm talking about that makes it seem so real.

Whether those people decide to shed their ego or not is their choice.

They would rather be right, than be successful.

Realizing that there is more out there than my narrow view on things

It finally took some waking up, and answering those questions to realize that maybe something else, within my control, was holding me back from my goals all along.

After talking to one of the recruiters, they said I was amazing on paper, but my interview skills did not show enough confidence for the job. He said if I practiced that part of things...he would invite me back for another interview.

Oh, and he also happened to be from New York. There goes the false blame I was placing around to make myself feel better.

After practicing my interview skills, I got a job within three months.

From that point forward, I realized that it is up to me, and me alone to create my future. There are not excuses or blame to be passed around to make me feel better about myself...

There is just the actions I take, and the results I get.

When I started to search for the areas of my life and actions to improve, I began realizing that I have more power to create my future than I previously thought.

What if the only thing holding you back from your goals is...yourself?

This is what worked for me.

I believe in Cause & Effect success. Everything in our life that happens to us is a result of some action (or series of actions) we took in the past.

• You won the lotto? You took action on buying a lottery ticket.
• You won the MVP award this year? You worked your a$$ off in the pre-season.
• You got hit by a bus? You decided to walk across the street that day.
• You got fired from your job? You bought into the illusion of 'working hard and being a good employee', and didn't provide enough value to the company.
• You failed? You did something that led you to where you are now.

Only the things you DO are the cause of where you end up in life.

Every time I fail on something, or something bad occurs...I trace it back to some action I took, and learned that this action doesn't work for me, so I adjust my behavior and do something else...and get a new result.

Yes, I know we can't control the actions of other people (well we can..but I'll talk about that in a later chapter), but we can control how we respond to events.

When I put on the frame of mind that everything that happens in my life is a result of some action I took...I finally regained control of my life.

A mentor once said to me "Do you want to be right, or do you want to be rich".

Stop blaming others, stop trying to prove your self to be right...and you will be one step closer to shedding the identity of the person you no longer wish to be.

That old version of your self, who wanted to be right, wasn't getting you the results you wanted.

Shed your old mindset, and you will begin to get better results.

 

[AndrewNC]

Do you realize that nobody else knows what the hell they are doing either?

How much easier would it be for you when you realize that nobody knows what the next step is...especially those people who you think have it all together?

Well there is one exception to that, but we'll get to that in a minute...

I began "mentoring" this girl who wants to be a fitness model. I call it mentoring, in quotes, only because she used the world mentor. In reality, I just share my experiences of what has and has not worked for me on my journey.

Nothing too profound.

Maybe she listens to my insights and avoids some of the common obstacles, maybe she doesn't and learns them herself.

Her choice. Both options will get her to hear goals. One of them is just a lot quicker.

The other day she said she couldn't wait to be where I am...where I know what actions I should take next.

She feels paralyzed because she doesn't know what steps to take next, or if her actions will lead her to success or failure.

But here's the secret...Neither do the rest of us. You just think we do.

The people you look up to and admire, are on this same journey that you are on...and they are going through the exact same struggles.

Not knowing what to do next is a normal part of the process. Embrace the unknown and you will be successful.

There are two types of people that begin this journey.

The first kind of person doesn't know what to do, feels lost, and begins feeling like they are a special case. They are not a special case. They are going through the same struggles that every other person on this journey is going through. But in their mind...it is different...it is harder for them.

They are the ones that get caught up in their head, and are paralyzed from taking action because they feel stuck.

It's not their fault though: Most people don't talk about their failures and struggles, and only share the stories of their successes. Come on, who doesn't want to brag about what they did right in order to look good? Talking about failure doesn't impress anybody...except people who are really successful. Because they already know that failure is the key to success.

Despite living off of my internet business for the last 18 months and achieving most of the original goals I set out to achieve (passive income, travelling across the country six times, etc.)...I still have no clue what to do when it comes to reaching the next level.

I've worked alongside hundreds of other successful people....and they have no clue what the next step is either.

In fact I just got off a call with a friend of mine who makes close to a million dollars a year with his business...HE has no clue what the next step is to grow it. "The next level" is just something we figure out as we go along.

But most people don't talk about this failure or stories making them look weak publicly...so in your eyes, it might seem they have it easier than you do.

Not talking about our failures does a disservice to other people, because in their eyes, they don't have what it takes.

This right here is the first time I talked about it though...None of us know what we are doing.

Up until this point, there aren't two types of people. We all face the same failures and obstacles of not knowing what to do, or how it will turn out.

But this right here is the moment where you decide if you want to go down further on this journey to success...

You can see all the obstacles and uncertainty in front of you and run back to your old ways...and feel stuck in the life that you want to break free from.

If you are reading this far, that probably doesn't describe the person you want to be.

The secret to success lays in what happens when you face this uncertainty...You run straight forward. Not knowing where it will take you.

Let me repeat this, nobody knows where it will take take them.

The only way to make progress is to experience the unknown. If you don't know what to do...do ANYTHING that makes logical sense.

When you fail (because you WILL fail, and failure is a normal part of the process), you learn what you did wrong, what you can do better, you then adjust your behavior, and keep pushing forward.

That is one trait that separates successful people from those who feel stuck.

When I hit my initial success of passive income and the freedom to travel, it was long after I began wanting or expecting success...I simply failed so many times until I accidentally didn't fail.

And that ONE time you don't fail...is where the success is. And it makes up for all those other "failures" tenfold.

And you usually won't realize how far you have come until you hit it...

When are you going to run into the unknown and start walking the path to success?

P.S. - Start meeting other people who have the same goals as you (being a fitness model, an entrepreneur, actor, singer, athlete. Reading this from me is one thing. Noticing that everyone else on this path deals with the same struggles you are struggling with...makes it a lot easier to realize that what you are pushing through now is normal. And you can also learn from their failures, so you don't make the same mistakes. This way you can grow faster.

P.P.S. - The second thing to do is get a mentor. Somebody who has been in your shoes before and can help you navigate those mistakes quicker then they did. I said earlier that nobody knows what to do next. Somebody who has achieved what you want to achieve can help you navigate the next step...but it is up to you to walk it.

While you do that, they will get back to figuring out what they have to do next on their "next level"

When are you going to run into the unknown and start walking the path to success?


....sometimes I feel that I try to include multiple lessons in one story: I think I should narrow it down one at a time to really get the point across. Thoughts?

 

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[AndrewNC]

Some Common Themes:
1- Nobody cares about your story, or what you are talking about..the purpose of your writing is to make them care. Make them want to read the next sentence, the next page, the next chapter. This is for them, not for me.
2- If a word, sentence, paragraph, etc. is not necessary, delete it.
3- First draft - is for me and everything I want to write down. The second draft is for the reader. The third draft is for the critic.
4- Write it with specific people in mind, like you are talking to them.
5- Carry a notebook around with you for when ideas pop into your head, so you don't forget it (you will forget it).


The Journey To Success (framework):

Asleep/Unconscious - Most people don't realize what they are capable of, and are scared to take action because of all the limiting beliefs in their mind. They buy into the story that was told to them through socially conditioned.

They don't believe it's possible.

The Alarm Clock - They may be at rock bottom, and start their journey to search for more (through self development ,etc.). They begin to hear stories of another way of life. They begin to see what's possible, but aren't convinced that it's possible for them.

They believe it's possible, but are lost.

Waking Up - They start to see more and more people who live the kind of life they want to live, and are in the process of pushing forward (without direction) towards some goal.

Awake - They realize that it's possible of them, have achieved some level of success, and know that the world is theirs. They regain control of their life, and can choose the future they desire...and make it happen.

Energized - (name subject to change) - Higher levels of thinking...might not include this stuff in the first book because most people who read this might not be ready for this 'higher level' information.

The story flow will be of a character who hits rock bottom, dreams of something more, and then goes through the entire process of achieving success and living their dreams.

Success, regardless in any area of our life (sports, business, etc.) has a lot of parallels, and mental obstacles. All the information in this book is based on real-life stories of people who achieved success, wrapped up into a flowing story.

 

[AndrewNC]

When I studied NLP last year, we have a concept called "modeling". Under this practice, you deconstruct the Environment, Actions, Skills, Meta Programs, Beliefs, and Values of the person in the shoes that you want to be like (best selling author, athlete, actor, singer, entrepreneur, etc.).

You model the areas that apply to their success (such as learning how to swing a golf club like Tiger.) And you leave out the areas that are not directly related to their success (insert marriage joke here).

When you have the same thoughts, mindset, skills, and actions of that person, you will get the same results of them (Cause & Effect success)

What do best selling authors do that makes them stand out from the rest?

Luckily we have a number of them on this board dropping hints along the way.

Here are those suggestions.

1) CREATE A FRAMEWORK EARLY FOR YOUR BOOK WHICH SERVES AS LOGIC FLOW

Frame the work against something visual, a roadmap, that the reader can follow. Perhaps a flow chart or something presented in the beginning, and as you move through it, it represents the flow and guideline for the reader.

In TMF , my framework consisted of the 3 roadmaps; Sidewalk, Slowlane, and Fastlane.

2) GIVE YOUR CONCEPTS A NAME

Label your concepts uniquely to you so that if your book becomes big, those concepts become synonymous with you. Despite my name being ripped and copied, anytime someone says "Fastlane" as it relates to entrepreneurship, they know they are talking about my concept. Likewise, when someone says "Slowlaner!" or "Sidewalker!" we all know what they are talking about.

And others that are easily accessible through the power of the internet (Tim Ferriss & Neil Strauss)...

It's funny that when I listen to the words of all three, I begin to notice patterns...

 

[AndrewNC]

This is fantastic! I will follow this thread closely and will definitely buy your book.

My thoughts on the intro: It may not come off nearly as arrogant if people could see your body language and hear your tone of voice. But everyone assumes the worst when it's all in text.

However, the intro did its job hooking the reader and leaving them wanting more (it did that for me). So I would keep the intro almost the way it is, but just be mindful that the reader may take things the wrong way (arrogant) and maybe tone it down a bit.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the feedback. I am getting a lot of feedback that it comes off a little arrogant.

Still debating if that's a good thing or bad thing if it keeps people reading....but it will set the tone for the book, and arrogant is not my normal state of being or writing style.... this is probably the 6th draft that I pasted below..

I'm going back and forth with my editor, and she said I should start off being more relateable to the target reader's current state. Which is important...but I notice a lot of best selling books start off with the positive vision of their future.

The part that is blowing my mind about this book...is that the story in there is actually true...When it literally used to be my dream of living, which I never thought was possible.


The Summer Vacation of a Lifetime

Remember that feeling you used to get on the last day of school as a kid?

It’s a long time ago, but when you remember it, those feelings will come back. Do you miss the days of exactly how that felt?

As you count down the hours on the clock, that feeling of freedom just ahead of you gets closer and closer.

That anticipation….the buildup…and then the final bell.

It was me waiting for that final bell on June 11th, 2014….in fact, I was moments away from graduation.

My plan was to not get a job for the summer, but instead, spend my summer vacation traveling across the country, meeting new people, having new experiences, and having the time of my life.

What is your ideal life like?

If you had the freedom like those days of summer vacation as a kid, money was no issue….if you could do anything, what would you do?

As September rolled around, and I was in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, all the kids were getting ready to go back to school.

Parents and adults have been forced to downgrade from those summer vacation days. 14 days spread throughout the year, and then back to work.

But I didn’t want my summer vacation to end.

So I stayed on my adventure throughout the fall, and into the winter.

After going home to see my parents for the holidays, I continued on my adventure, travelling for six more months.

This time, I was in the southwest United States.

I got to explore the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Southern California, and Arizona this time.

What happens to us when we finally get a taste of complete freedom and happiness?

Naturally, we want more of it.

Those feelings of freedom and happiness when summer vacation just began…what if they never ended?

Back when I graduated in June 2014, it was a big moment for me.

It would be a big moment for any 27 year old.

But I didn’t graduate from school.

No.

Something bigger than that.

Graduating into a life where you create summer vacations whenever you want, regardless of age, and you also get to choose when they end...if you want them to ever end. And those big dreams you’ve always wished you could achieve?

You can experience those too.

Yes, it’s possible. Even if it doesn’t seem like it now. By the end of the book, you will understand.

So in summary, my graduation was a graduation into the exact type of life I wanted to live....

I graduated into the life of the top 1%.

Currently, I choose to spend six months each year not working, travelling, writing books, going hiking, and partying until 2 in the morning with college kids.

Because why the hell not?!

How else would I want to live when I’m 28?

Sure beats the way things used to be.

When the New Year comes around, my friends and family say I should go back to the real world…

Why would I want to go back to the real world, when I can do the following:

After spending the holidays with my family, I am going to hop on a flight to Southeast Asia to experience some of the most beautiful and exotic beaches of the world.

I have two amazingly beautiful women who want to join me. I’m not sure if I should bring both of them, just one…or go this one solo?

Thailand, Bali, and the rest of Southeast Asia.

It’s funny writing this, because traveling the world with attractive model types, while making money in my sleep, used to be one of those “impossible” lives I dreamed of once living not too long ago….and now I’m actually living it.

…It is funny because I can still remember the days where I didn’t think it was possible for me.

Sometimes we shouldn’t complain about what we got. Both of the girls are coming.

Not What I’m supposed to do? Check.

Sounds Far Fetched? Yes, for now at least (you will wake up)...

Irresponsible? I’m in good health, I made more money before I woke up this morning than I used to make in a week at my old 9-5, and I’m completely free & happy.

Irresponsible? Absolutely not!

Are you getting sick of living in the “real” world yet?

If so, snap out of it, and wake up to the life you’re about to live.

What if you could actually live the type of life that you always dreamed of?

OK, I get it. World travel, models, and partying might not be your thing.

That’s cool.

We all have our own goals in life.

Mine may be different than yours. It’s ok.

I only shared that story because it will allow you will realize by the end of this book is that it’s possible.

Not only is it possible, but it’s possible for you…and I will show you how to make it happen.

Seriously.

Why am I so confident that you can get there?

What if I started my journey in a much different place?

You only heard about the end of my journey (at least the end of this chapter of my life before I move on to the next).

The journey to living the life of your dreams always starts in a very different place.

Four years ago I was flat broke.

It isn’t until we hit those rock bottoms in life, that we begin searching for another way.

Another way of life that is a different life…a better life…a better life than where I currently feel stuck.

The life I was told to live has failed me, and I went searching for another way…

I began my journey to discover what it takes to become successful.

· What does it take to become Millionaire?

· What does it take to become a Celebrity?

· …a famous actor or singer?

· …a professional athlete?

In summary: What does it take to break free from where we are into the top 1% of society?

Do successful people have some type of knowledge that the rest of us don’t?

It started when I picked up a book of a man sharing a story about his journey. He described a life that I wanted to live. He was a millionaire, drove exotic sports cars, and lived in a big house.

Since I don’t know any millionaires or celebrities at this stage of my life, I figured this book would be a good start.

Not only did he write about business knowledge, but the more important lesson from this book is that our future can change, regardless of what our past is.

Over the next four years, I continued to go further (Sp?) down the rabbit hole.

About two years in, I have worked my way inside the inner circles of the top 1% of society. Multi-millionaires, celebrities, athletes, and even some vegan hippies. Yes, there is a reason I threw them into the mix, and you’ll understand why later. There are valuable lessons to be learned from everyone.

My friends from my old life say I got lucky when I worked my way under their wing for mentorship.

Where does the journey to success begin for each and every one of us?

It begins, with a desire for something more.

After spending four years of my life being mentored by some of the most successful people in society, I come back to you…to teach you that knowledge that has been hidden from you all along.

If you ever wondered where to get started on your path to success, this is it.

It started with reading a book for me, so that is why I wrote this book for you.

To wake you up.

What’s the next step?

Turn the page…

 

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[AndrewNC]

I've been learning a lot from Neil Strauss and his writing through this process. I like his writing style and how it keeps you engaged the entire time. I remember a cult-like following when The Game came out a number of years ago, and everyone loved it.

On one interview that I may have linked before, him or Tim Ferriss said,

1. The first draft is for you. (cover what you want to cover)
2. The second draft is for the reader. (give them a reason to read the next paragraph, the next page, the next chapter)
3. The third draft is for the critic. (people who will poke holes in everything)

I published two books before, which were not edited heavily and were more like information-dumps, but they cover a lot of the same topics. I'm going to unpublish them, and those have been worked into the basis of the first draft of the book. Because the content in there is great, that sped up a lot of the process for the first draft.

I know for a fact that I'll be adding more to it, but i'm now transitioning into the stages of adding more story and entertainment to the book (the second draft).

This may provide less of the lessons I intended to write about, but it will reach more of the mainstream and cover the most important topics for them.

For the target audience, I feel a lot of the more advanced stuff is too far out of their scope of reality to handle...so I'm balancing putting that in the book or not. I'll decide later.

For now, it's time to turn a textbook into something fun to read

Target audience: People who feel stuck in life, regardless if they are socially conditioned, or 'woken up' and don't know how to reach that next level.
Main topic: Getting the mindset to get past their fears and take action to chase their dreams. Definitely giving a shout out to this forum in the book because this is where I got started.

Rough draft of the first two pages, before the preface and intro:

 

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[AndrewNC]

Environment
“Emptiness is the starting point. In order to taste my cup of water, you must first empty your cup. My friend, drop all of your preconceived and fixed ideas to neutral. Do you know why this cup is useful? Because it is empty.”

-Bruce Lee

Project Scottsdale

The view of our balcony was a clear view of what would surpass any high end beach resort: Palm trees, year-round sunshine, a pool with a waterfall, an outdoor clubhouse with a bar and big screen TV, cabanas, and a volleyball court all directly below our third story balcony view.

Our apartment had golf carts that picked us up and took us to some of the most luxurious nightclubs of Scottsdale, Arizona. Still being in the 80s in November, taxi cabs weren’t needed.

If you haven’t been to Scottsdale, it is a hidden gem in the middle of the desert. Hollywood style nightclubs, upscale dining, exotic cars a common sight, and high end living, at the fraction of the cost.

If you wanted to be surrounded by success, you couldn’t ask for a better place.

A six month lease for this luxury living in a three bedroom condo was $1,500 per month, split between myself and two other aspiring entrepreneurs.

While this type of living might sound like the end of my journey, it was far from it. With total living expenses being just above $1,000 per month, it was only the beginning of our ascent.

Six months of building our online businesses, going out to nightclubs, attaining the wisdom of millionaires, and expanding our network was the goal.

How much can we grow in just under six months?

We named our place Project Scottsdale after reading the book The Game by Neil Strauss. Him, and a group of pickup artists rented a place together years ago and they called it Project Hollywood. That experience turned him and his roommates into some of the best pickup artists in the world.

With our goal of becoming some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, and also surrounding ourselves with success, we found Project Scottsdale to be a fitting name.

Six Months of Success

Contrary to the views from our apartment being a paradise, the inside was far from it. By traditional standards at least...

· Where most people had couches, we put our computer desks to do work.

· Instead of putting up a television to watch, we had a classroom-sized dry erase board on the wall.

· The only television in the entire apartment was not for entertainment. It was hooked up to my laptop as a second monitor to do work on.

· Between the three of us, we had 16 computer screens, three laptops, two tablets, and three computers.

The condo was filled with books, camera equipment for recording online training courses, and only things that would support us with reaching our goal. The people we networked with were a mix of positive-energy social people, millionaires, and others like us pushing full steam ahead on their personal journey to success.

A couple of times, one of our millionaire mentors flew into the city for business and stayed with us for a couple nights at a time. He gave us guidance when we were facing failure, helped us navigate obstacles, and overall gave us a kick in the rear to stop procrastinating and make something of our lives.

And then things started to take off.

By the end of the first month living together, one of my roommates made $12,000 in sales from his online business and was able to quit his 9-5 job, achieving our goals of financial independence.

It’s one thing to read stories of people making lots of money and being very successful, but seeing someone else in my shoes rise up from where I am in life really allowed me to realize that this type of success is possible for any of us.

Not even a month earlier, we used to send each other pictures of Ferraris, talk about the girls we were dating, and dreaming of one day making it ourselves. By the end of the second month, he is now raking in more money in one month than I did in my entire year at my day job.

If he can do it, so can I.

In December alone, he did $45,000 in sales. My other roommate made $20,000 in the first week after releasing a course he created. Inspired and motivated by seeing other normal people, just like myself, get results like this, I began working away to catch up.

By January, the app I created surpassed 60,000 downloads.

After two years of dreaming and feeling stuck, it was Project Scottsdale that brought us together and set us free.

The work done in these six months resulted in over a quarter of a million dollars in revenue, 840,000 app downloads, and the belief…no… the knowing that it has always been possible for all of us.

When the six months of upscale Scottsdale living, and business growth were over, we parted ways. My two roommates moved to Albuquerque New Mexico to continue their mentorship from one of the millionaires that has helped us on our journey, and I left my corporate job to live in Boulder, Colorado for the remainder of the year, living out my dream of making passive income and enjoying life.

…but that’s not where it all started.

The thing that changed us was when we finally chose to let go of the old, and finally make room for the new.

All too often people try to hold on to what was, while trying to bring in what will be…

It doesn’t work like that.

(continued...)

 

[AndrewNC]

Latest writing....Not quite sure where to put this in the book, but it'll come together.



It was 4:30 pm on a Friday afternoon, and while most of the country is counting down the minutes until the weekend begins, I was hightailing my Honda CR-V out of the wilderness of Northern Montana franticly searching for the nearest emergency room.

“Next town, 96 miles” the sign read.

911 doesn’t work when the bars on your cell phone are replaced by the words: “No Service”

I step on the accelerator.

The color of my fingertips matched that of the blue skies of the high country and my heartbeat could be felt through my chest over the rumbles of the engine as the speedometer just crossed the 100 miles per hour line.

Please let there be a cop hiding just out of sight for this one time in my life. Maybe he could save me.

Unfortunately, there was nothing but the mountains of Glacier National Park fading into the distance of my rear view mirror and endless fields of wild horses running through the countryside.

On any other day, I would pull over to the side of the road and run after them, camera in hand. But I had other things on my mind today.

Looking at my reflection in the rearview mirror, my face just turned to a dark shade of red and I began feeling a slight burning sensation throughout my body.

My breathing starts to speed up.

What happens when you are breathing in your final breaths?

Unable to drive any further, I pull over to the side of the road, got out of the car and decided to sit on the side of the road, gazing off at the horses running through the wild.

They just looked so…alive and free.

With the car still running, I hear the music from my road trip playlist in the background.

The song playing was “One Day/ Reckoning Song” by The Mojos.

“One day baby, we’ll be old…and think of all the stories we could have told”

They say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes.

As I sat there, breathing in my last breaths, it wasn’t my life that was flashing through my eyes.

Instead, my mind was filled with the regrets of things I could have done.

· I would never finish this book that I wanted to write.

· I would never build that billion dollar business that helps change the world.

· I would never fall in love, get married, or raise a family.

· I would never be able to live out my dreams of traveling the world.

Did I live a life worth living?

There’s nothing I could do to change that when you’re about to die.

The thought that plagued me the most was that all these things I dreamed of doing were things I could have already done.

Why did I never do them?

I always told myself I would do those things “someday”.

What if that “someday” never comes?

The wild horses are covered by a shadow from the thousands of birds flying in formation over the open fields, living their life without a thought of tomorrow. To them, there is only the moments of today that really matter, and today is all there is.

In these moments, I felt connected to the birds, the horses, and the world around me. For one of the rare moments in my life, I felt completely free.

Free from those doubts, fears, and excuses that plagued my mind.

Those “rules” of the way we’re supposed to do things in life faded away.

Why did I ever listen to the way others wanted me to live my life?

Those thoughts in my mind of all the reasons why I can’t live the life I want to live don’t matter anymore either.

In the end, you’ll only regret the things you didn’t do in this life and those days are counting down fast.

What can you do today to make this a life worth living?

When you are dying, does any of those reasons why you couldn’t do something matter?

Now, as I force in a deep breath and try to regain control, I close my eyes and clear my mind, night begins to fall…with those lyrics playing over and over in my mind:

“One day baby, we’ll be old…

Oh baby, we’ll be old.

And think of all the stories we could have told”

 

[Supa]

Just wow. One of the best threads I read on here! I hope you link your book on here, or if not send me a pm with a link to it, I will buy it. I love how you go deep into details about how to change your mindset and beliefsystem, because thats the point where everyone should start imo.

 

[AndrewNC]

So Emily...this 18 year old girl from here in Seattle is looking to become a fitness model, and I notice that she is different than the rest. While most girls go for the freelance modelling gigs, she is talking about things such as building a brand, and her own clothing line. And then she tells me about her story about her goal to inspire others.

The funny thing is that she is telling me about all the mental struggles she's going through with her goals...and they are the exact same ones I was facing when I was starting out.

I know she will make it if she takes the right actions...but she doesn't fully believe in herself yet. And shes finally on the verge of the time where she is starting to take major action forward...

A lot of my writing from this point forward will be as if I'm talking directly to her.

She said she feels like her friends are holding her back.

Most people who are in your life now don’t understand the type of life you and I are choosing to live.

They bought into the dream of how they were told to live growing up.

They honestly think they are doing you a favor by trying to talk you out of chasing this dream. They will do anything in their power to have you cling onto their way of life. Don’t get mad at them for this, they simply don’t know any better.

I’m sure there are times when you will try to convince them on your way of life being the better way to live.

Don’t do that, you’ll be wasting your breath.

There actually is a way to convince them, but that will come later. Just have a little bit of patience with that that, while we work on something that has to come first.

At this stage of your journey, you’re going to have to choose to make some changes on yourself first. You’re going to have to be the change you want to see in your life.

I’ve heard the same advice in a few different cultures

The self-development people say you are the average of your 5 closest friends because you hang out with people who are similar to you.

The spiritual people say that we all live in some type of virtual reality game where the people you “attract” into your life are symbolic representations of who you are as a person, calculated by the frequency of your energy.

So which explanation is correct? The reason doesn’t really matter, we just want to reach our goal. Too much analysis will just slow us down.

Once again, I was faced with a situation with some strange information in front of me that I have no clue if it will work or not, so I go back to my motto that gets me through this stage of my life,

“Don’t ask if it’s right or wrong, ask if it’s useful.”

Keeping an open mind, I was curious for an answer, so I pushed forward to search for it.

And the answer, terrified me at the time…

I was going to have to get rid of my friends.

At the time, it seemed like they were holding me back, but over time I learned that the only thing that was holding you back from reaching the next level of your life…was your desire to want to let in the new life, without letting go of the old one first.

Doesn’t it seem kind of scary that you’re about to let go of the life you’re so accustomed to living?

You’re faced with a big risk by making these changes, but the risk is worth it.

On the other side, you will realize this leap of faith you’re about to take is, or never has been a risk after all.

It was the very thing that changed your life for the better.

Empty the cup, fill the cup

Do you want a taste of the good life, or do you want the whole thing?

Imagine the life you are in right now being just like a cup of dirty, disgusting swamp water, sitting right in front of you.

Right next to that, you have a gallon container of your favorite drink in the world…and you’re thirsty!

Many people try to take in the life they want before letting go of the old.

That is like pouring your favorite drink right on top of the cup of dirty swamp water.

First of all, it will overflow because you haven’t made room for it yet. And any taste you do get, will be watered down and short lived, almost immediately being overridden by your desire to hold onto the way things have been in the past.

This applies to every area of your life.

Instead of trying to begin to take new actions, first realize which actions no longer serve you, and let them go now. Habits are things you don’t know you’re doing. When you realize what you need to stop doing, it is no longer a habit. It’s a choice.

Likewise, before you can bring in a new empowering belief, you’re going to have to remove the old limiting belief that you can’t do it first.

Your external environment is a reflection of your internal environment.

When I was in your shoes, the best way I could perceive the previous statement is in terms of your perception. For example, if you’re feeling particularly happy one day, you tend to notice more happy people when you go out that day. If you’re sad, you may perceive the world to be sad that day.

When in reality, the world is always the same, but your perception is the cause for what you see.

Notice in both examples, the internal state of mind determines whether they see happiness in the world or sadness.

The change in themselves is where it all started.

So how do the spiritual people interpret this at a much deeper level?

As always when I listen to their way of thinking, I put on the filter of “everyone speaks in their own language” so they can relay a message more effectively. What is the message, forgetting about the reason this works.

Your life is like a radio frequency.

The spiritual people would say that your body and existence is nothing more than trillions upon trillions of particles of energy, all vibrating at a specific frequency.

Your current situation in life is represented by a specific frequency (such as on a radio dial).

They say, when you are “tuned into a specific frequency”, you can only attract other energy particles that are also vibrating at the same frequency as you. If you make $30,000 a year and play video games all night, you’re going to be at the same frequency as others who are in that type of life, and the frequencies will unconsciously attract to eachother.

When you turn the radio dial to a new station, the music on the old one stops playing, and you can finally listen to some new music.

The way it works in your life, when you change the dial (change who you are, what beliefs you have, your actions, the people you choose to be around, etc.), you begin to notice new results in your life, and some of the old things you wanted to get away from, begin to fade away.

It all begins with changing yourself first.

After that, the rest is handled by the magic power of the universe.

So what is all this hippie talk leading to?

You can’t drink your favorite drink until you get rid of every last drop of the old swamp water first. Just when you think you got rid of all of it, take a second look and clean it up some more.

You must be willing to get rid of the old life, and the parts of it that don’t serve you anymore, before you are able to let in the new.

And just like a radio frequency, the change always has to begin internally. Because if you don’t like the music you’re hearing, it won’t go away until you choose to change the dial.

When you do finally choose to change yourself into a new person, you must be willing to let some things go, and will finally be able to make room for the new life you’ve been waiting for.

Signs that you’re on the right path

1. Friends will begin to fade away, but new ones will begin to appear. And the ones that do appear in your life will be a symbol that you became that you are turning into a new type of person who is about to get some very new results in your life.

2. Your environment will begin to change.

3. You notice yourself taking new actions that you’ve never taken before (this is a big one, because this is what causes the rest on the list to happen).

4. You have new perspectives about the world, and begin to see things at a deeper level now.


Then one day, in the not too distant future, the same people who tried to talk you out of chasing the life you want to life…will someday reappear to ask, with jealousy, how you did it, and how you got so lucky.

When you hear the world “luck” and cringe…because you finally learned that luck is replaced by hard work and persistence.

That right there is a sign that you’ve made it to your destination.

Have you ever thought what you’re going to do next? The next level goal for the moment you realize you are already where you’ve always wanted to be?

My Journey

It was really hard for me to do this at first. I felt a loyalty to my friends, and they’ve been the people who were in my life for a while. I didn’t want to make it feel like I was abandoning them.

I really wasn’t growing as a person when I tried to latch onto that old type of lifestyle – going to bars on the weekends, spending time playing video games, etc.

It wasn’t for me.

My friends from work always used to try to drag me out, when I wanted to stay in and work on my online business.

What I was trying to do didn’t seem normal to them, they wanted to party and have fun, and loved doing that – so they tried to change me.

For a while, I tried to appease them and go out just a couple times a month.

I still wasn’t having success with my business!

Their persistence to suck me into their lifestyle almost seemed like a test from the universe to see if I really wanted this new life or not. The more I struggled with this decision to let go, the more their disappointment showed.

It was towards the beginning of 2013 where I finally decided to let go of this old life that was trying to latch on to me completely.

I finally let go.

I let go, cutting ties with friends, and distanced myself, burying myself in my work. At the time, it seemed as if I was all alone, by myself.

It was just me and my work. Not where I planned to be.

When the student is ready, the mentor appears

And it wasn’t until I finally decided to fully let go now, and face that final test of solitude, and take my work seriously, that I met three other aspiring internet entrepreneurs at a conference.

My new 5 closest friends were almost as if they were a mirror reflection of the current life I am living now.

My new life has arrived. A life that is simply a reflection of the new me.

The very moment, when you feel that it’s physically impossible to turn back, is the moment when you are there.

Why didn’t I choose to change myself sooner?

Because it felt hard at the time.

It’s almost as if that radio frequency analogy actually exists…

All it took was changing myself first, and allowing to let go of a way I used to live.

The explanations from these hippies sound crazy, but for some reason, the lessons they teach, is actually working.

Authors note: I somehow feel like combining my knowledge as an entrepreneur and the “crazy” mindset techniques of hippies, visionaries, and Buddhist monks is giving me some type of advantage over anybody who sticks to one area of life.

It’s almost as two pieces of the same puzzle. I have the vision, but I also now have the tools that can make it happen, simply because I finally decided to open my mind up to new ways of thinking.

Also, as you read this, you might see leaving your friends as an absolute thing and in a negative tone. I still catch up with some of my old close friends from high school, college, the police academy, my old job and we are great...but I'm simply not living in their reality anymore

 

[AndrewNC]

Note: I might use some fastlane terminology in this post to fit it to the audience of this forum. The actual wording of the book will be different to appeal to a more general audience looking to achieve their goals.

Note 2: Not edited AT ALL, and possibly disorganized. Right now Chase told me to 'just write' and come back to it later, so that woke me up to trying to perfect one section before the whole book is done.


What if you're walking down the wrong path to success?

It all starts with where you want to be in life.

And I'm not talking about making $100,000 a month or "wanting a big business". I'm talking about the kind of life I want to live, and the kind of world I want to live in. I used to want $3,000 a month passive income as one of my first business goals. But why did I want that?

I wanted that because I wanted to have the freedom to travel the world for as long as I want.

You might have some surface level goals, but the real goal that I like to focus on in the beginning is...What do I actually want my life to be like?

I want to travel the world care-free, party, and have a good time.

After I experience this, this goal may change in a couple of years. But for the next eight months of my life will be this happening.

At this point, we want to reprogram our reticular activating system (or I can use the word brain for simplicity?) to spot opportunities that align with our goal. How do our brains know something has happened? Through our senses. What will I see, hear, and most importantly feel when I achieved this goal?

Once you set this destination, with a specific date that you are living that life, I want you to imagine in your mind that it is that date in the present moment, and that you are actually living that life now. See what you see, hear what you hear, and really get those emotions and feelings as if you've already achieved this goal.

I personally do this to the point that while I am visualizing, I literally convince every part of myself that I actually achieved this goal. Since our brain can't tell the difference between real and imagined, it's possible for us all to do.

Why spend the time on all these visualizations?

There are countless interpretations about why this works. Whether the spiritual people say it's to adjust your "vibrational alignment with the universe", or the psychological explanation...we don't care.

We just need to know that it works.

My personal explanation of why I feel doing this is important? It allows you to look at the same problem from a different perspective, so when you train your brain to be the brain capable of such a goal, you can look "back" from where you are visualizing achieving it and ask yourself "What did I do in order to get here?"

At this point, I walk it backwards to the major steps I took to get there.

For me, it is being in a position to sell products online that make me money from any area of the world, and in order to get there I have to continue running advertisements to my products.

Then ask yourself "what is the first step?".

When you do that, begin taking action.

If there if some action you are feeling an emotional blockage from taking, and it prevents you from taking the action you need to do, you now have the tools to reprogram the area of your unconscious brain that is responsible for the blockage...and you can take that step forward.

If I wrote a book on all of the tools I use to accomplish this, it would be a thousand pages, but here is an example.

I know I need to continue to run advertisements for my business, and let's say I'm not doing that...now I need to figure out which level is the cause of me not taking action.

Level 1 - Environment - Am I in the position to take that action in my current environment? If no, fix the core issue in the environment. (Ex. get funding to use on ads, get a quality internet connection if I'm in an area of the world that doesn't have one, etc.)

Level 2 - Unconscious filters - Am I running towards my goal, or running away from what I don't want? In the past, I used to be broke so I often times ran away from losing money. Instead, I not have the filter on that I am investing money to make more money. And this is the filter that allows me to take action towards my goal. There are about 5 main filters that we can talk about shortly....

Level 3 - Skills and Capabilities - Do I know how to take this action effectively? If no, learn how to do it or get a mentor.

Level 4 - Limiting beliefs/Emotional trauma - If I don't believe I can have success with this, I do a 20 second visualization exercise to immeditately remove any trace of this limiting belief.

If there is a negative emotional event in my past that caused that limiting belief, I have another exercise I use in order to remove that emotional trauma from my mind and body, so that blockage is gone.

Level 5 - Values - Is the action I'm taking going against what I feel is important in business? If I value selling a quality product and the thing I'm advertising is not quality - I will have the incongruency there when it comes to taking the action.

If you can take another action to get around these values to your goals, do that. If not, it is time to take a look at if your values are aligned with your ultimate goal.

Level 6 - Identity. Am I acting as if I'm the person who has already achieved this goal? It's more than simply "fake it until you make it". Alight all your thoughts, beliefs, words, and actions to be someone who is achieving this goal...and the actions are guaranteed to build this goal you want.

 

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[AndrewNC]

February 2015 - Same But Not The Same

They say that when you write a book like this, your words should resonate with your readers.

To do so, I went back to the beginning. I gave it all away. I left myself with nothing.

I did this so I can experience what the beginning of my journey was like.

I went back, to the time I had nothing. but it wasn’t the same.

• The same circumstances on the outside.
• The same numbers in my bank account.
• Pushing for the same exact life that I once held…

But it wasn’t the same, because I wasn't the same.

Once again, I had no job, no income. I had debt I was forced to pay. Once again I make that leap. Alone and without a home. A world away from the safety and comfort of my “backup plan” without any hope to get back.

Once again I’m immersed in a new chapter of my life with no money, no contacts, and nothing going for me.

But this time I don’t feel stuck.

I have what it takes to break free. I know that my life and my world is expanding. I know that opportunities are abundant.

With everything the same on the outside, it's not the same as it was when I first walked down this path.

I’m a new person in the same body.

No matter what happens on the outside, I am prepared on the inside.

Could this mean that, all along, during all those struggles, during all those frustrations, the only thing that ever was standing in my way was...

Myself?

 

[AndrewNC]

I often struggle with DOING. I know & understand the path that needs to be taken. The vision is clear. It's the pulling the trigger that gets me & I don't understand why that is!

I don't understand what I'm afraid of - because I usually face my fears head on - whether is doing a firewalk or singing/dancing 'She-Bang, She- Bang' - William hung style, wearing a tiara & a pink tank top infront of lunch goers on a busy CBD strip.

I'd say the school system breeds us into the problem you mentioned.

Study study study. take tests. study more. take more tests. and it pushes the application of the knowledge into the indefinite future.

It's a habit and habit is only broken by action, not thoughts.

This is what I'm doing with my most recent program from limitless - I'm turning it into a "learn by doing" or "learn by experience" method. When you retrain your mind that DOING is the only way we can truly learn...then that's the only way to do things.

 

[AndrewNC]

The final introduction is done...

 

[Imgal]

Loving those concepts! I was talking to someone who is pretty much at The Alarm Clock stage yesterday, but been exactly in the state of Asleep / Unconscious for some long (her description not mine). I was trying to show her the amazing journey she has in front of her if she sticks with it. Wish I'd seen this post before that conversation as you are a whole lot more articulate. I seriously can't wait to read the book and will be following this thread very closely!

In regards to the Energized stage, I'd love to read more on that level, but as you say it may well be too overwhelming for a newbie who goes through the book and is still struggling with the first stages and then decides nothing is possible (sounds extreme, but I know I've done it in the past). Personally I'd consider making it the base for a whole new book or a clever Part 2.

 

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[AndrewNC]

While spending a week driving up the Pacific Coast Highway, from Phoenix, to Southern California, all the way to Seattle, I recorded some YouTube videos that are in line with the message from my book...

This video was recorded in wine country and the topic is realizing that short term "failures" are a normal part of the journey to success, and the only real failure is the long term failure of giving up on your dreams.

 

[AndrewNC]

Obstacle 1 - Who am I writing to? Do I want to piss people off? Should I sensor my tone?
I typed the following intro with the intent of painting a picture of the type of lifestyle the reader can live when they decide to chase their goals.

There are two types of readers for this book:

1-The ones that don't believe more is possible in life and need a wakeup call, and
2- people who woke up, but still could benefit from the advanced mindset training material I want to teach through the story.

The first group of people will enjoy the story because it gives them a belief that something more is possible in their life.

While the second group of people - people who are already having success on their journey, but haven't learned the mindset training things I'm talking about yet...this group might roll their eyes at the intro because they don't want to read another 'it's possible' book - and might put the book down and not read the valuable lessons that come later.

So first thing I'm doing now is realizing who exactly I am writing to.

Possible intro:

I like to spend the second half of the year not working, travelling, writing books, go hiking, chasing girls, and partying until 2 in the morning with college kids.

Because why the hell not?!

How else would you want to live when you’re 28?

So after I spend the next 3 months living the life I once dreamed of living, my friends and family say I should go back to the real world…

Why would I want to go back to the real world, when I am choosing to do the following instead:

I am going to drive across the country again, celebrate the holidays, and then hop on a flight to travel the world next year to some of the most beautiful and exotic beaches of the world. Not only that, but I’m also bringing two of the most beautiful models you will ever meet with me.

Thailand, Bali, and the rest of Southeast Asia.

We may backpack through Europe on the way home.

Oh, and I made $300 before I woke up this morning

How’s the real world treating ya?

What if something more is possible for your life? What if I only bragged about this to you because it's possible for you too?

 

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[AndrewNC]

More random typing - rough draft.


Create The Success Identity (Program the future you).

This is where things get really fun and you can create any future version of yourself that you want.

At this point of the book, you should be aware that you can achieve any of these goals that you want to achieve, so now it's time to learn how to do it.

I know you're new to this, so some limiting beliefs might slip in here. Since that is most likely the case, I want you do do this while you you pretend that anything is possible.

Imagine a circular hologram person in the center of a room, and you have a computer to program this person to be anybody that you want it to be.

When you program this person, they ARE living the exact life you want to live.

This is the type of image I Want the reader to get with my description - with you sitting at a control panel for this person.


Mine is an athletic looking 29 year old who is travelling the world and making money while doing it (among other things)

Did you know there are multiple paths to the same destination?

I could become a singer, an actor, or a public speaker who is doing a world tour while enjoying anything I do over there.

What route did this person take to make that real goal possible?

Be very specific.

This holographic avatar you are programming from your computer in front of you....what path did they take? Make it look like a future version of yourself. A little older, a lot wiser, and the person you want to look like, and they sold candles to candle shops.

Mine is an entrepreneur who has online businesses and used google advertising to get there.

You have to play by the rules of life

You are now programming this person's past history. And I'm talking about the time between where you are right now and where this person is with achieving that goal you currently desire.

Since the person you are programming on the screen is a future version of you, he had to get rid some of the old programming along the way, before it can make room for new programming.

There are certain actions that get you closer to this goal, and there are certain actions that don't.

What actions did this future version of yourself STOP taking that weren't helping him or her reach their goal?

Assuming you live in an infinite reality, where anything is possible, what limiting beliefs did he have to get rid of?

What skills does this person know, that you currently don't?

What environment was this person in during their journey to become that person?

What people did they associate with?

You don't want to guess here

There is rules this person has to live by in the world, and you want to make sure you are programming your future self the correct way.

You are going to do this by modelling. You find a person who already has the life you want to live. Talk to them. Ask them what they did in order to get there.

My friends who travel the world have online businesses that they run from a laptop.

The sentence above is a good start, but you want to get detailed.

There are many people out there who document their journey to success and help others get there. I am one of them. I can help people on the journey to make money as an internet entrepreneur, and people could model the actions I took to get to where I am today.

But you won't model my actions to become a world class singer.

Find someone in society that has what you want, and study them.

Discover what actions they took to get there, and break it down to the first action.

Now you know what actions to stop taking, what skills to learn, what limiting beliefs to get rid of, and what incongruencies are standing between you and your goal.

You also know what actions, skills, and beliefs to replace them with.

You also have the tools to reprogram your mind to be this person.

Take that action right now to begin walking the next steps of your journey.

It is a long road, but you will get there if you follow this process and don't ever stop running.

 

[AndrewNC]

unedited

You Are What You Eat
Have you ever done heroin?

If you haven’t, it’s actually quite the euphoric drug.

In 2009, I used to live on Long Island, New York where heroin was rising up to be the drug of choice amongst a growing number of young adults.

Four nights a week over the summer, I would walk down to the waterfront and see kids laying around in the park, high with their friends. I often wondered what it would feel like to be in their shoes. From what I’ve heard, you get this warm feeling of euphoria, happiness, and all your worries in the world begin to fade away.

Some people even describe it as “being wrapped in a warm blanket of heaven”.

Standing behind the badge, I got a front row seat to witness both sides of the experience. In the nice part of town, high school and college age people were having the time of their lives, but when I patrolled the streets on the other side of the village, it was a different story.

Up there, I saw what happens when you continue to put this drug into your body.

By the time the paramedics got called out, the junkies that congregated by the homeless shelter were covered with skin infections, their immune systems were destroyed by diseases including HIV, veins have collapsed, and then there were the overdoses.

What do you put into your body?

“You are what you eat.” That is the saying that I’ve heard all my life, and most of us are well aware that the food we eat is what we literally turn into when it fuels our cells long enough.

You see this in everyone from the jelly rolls of the fast food addict to the six pack abs of the health nut. What we put into our body is something we have complete control over. I remember what I looked like when I ate fast food six times a week, and I know how I look now that I haven’t ate fast food in over a year and a half.

I prefer the latter, and it all came from controlling what I put into my body.

But how often do you control what you allow into your mind?

(continued...)

 

[AndrewNC]

For six months straight, I never felt tired. Not even once.

Literally.

In June 2014, after years of balancing the corporate world, starting my own business on the side, and living a typical American lifestyle, I needed a change.

Before I made this change, virtually every day was the same:

• Hit snooze too many times until I realize I wake up 20 minutes before work.
• Choosing the most wrinkle-free button up and slacks from the pile of laundry on the floor.
• Cursing at every red light and slow driver because I'm going to be late once again.
• Since I'm late, I might as well get fast food and Starbucks coffee for breakfast.
• Getting to work in the morning was always a race against the punch clock.

After the first hour of work, I fall into a mix between a sugar crash from the coffee and food coma from the food. I'm mentally exhausted and drained, and my day didn't even start yet!

Another five sugar-filled coffees from the break room barely got me through the day.

When I was living in this reality, this was normal.

I wasn't the only one living this busy life where I lacked energy, focus, and never seemed to be able to operate with peak performance. Because this was the normal way of life for all of those around me, I thought this was just the way the real world was, and there was no other way.

Then, I made the decision to change.

After two and a half years on this journey, I made the decision to pack my car once again, leave my old life behind and venture off into the unknown.

When my boss offered me a promotion that would lead to a six figure income the following year, I quit my job on the spot.

The following week, I packed up my car, left Scottsdale and drove 13 hours to Boulder, Colorado where I would embark on the next chapter of my journey, and once again transform my life to the next level.

Endless Energy....

 

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[AndrewNC]

Everyday was Saturday

This is the chapter of my life where I made up for lost time.

I was woken in the middle of the night to the sounds of deadmou5 and Avicii echoing throughout the neighborhood.

It was 1:30 in the morning on a Wednesday and the college students next door decided to throw a mini-party. Like anyone in my position would do, I get out of bed and knock on their door.

"Hey, I just moved in last week (pointing to my house next to theirs) and ....", I was cut off before I could finish my sentence.

"Sorry man, we didn't realize what time it was, we'll turn it down.", my neighbor replied.

"No no no, I was wondering if I could join you guys. I just moved here from Arizona and I'm looking to meet some new friends." I replied.

At this point, my business was 100% passive, and I didn't have to work.

My apps were making me money around the clock, regardless if I worked or not. The only thing I had to do at this point was watch anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000 get deposited in my bank account at the beginning of each month.

Other than that, my time was free. I was free.

By 3:30 in the morning, we were all on the front patio and two girls were singing some interesting mix of Spanish and folk music while one of them was drumming on the back of a banjo and another playing the guitar.

By four in the morning, our highly-stressed neighbor comes out of his house all jittery, face red, veins popping out of his forehead like he was about to have a brain aneurysm.

We could hear his frustration and sense the onslaught coming before he even got over to us.

Before we could say a thing, it's like a nuclear bomb hit us, "First off....the music was bad enough!!! THEN... no...THEN the drumming...THAT is what pushed me over the edge. Some of us have to be places in the morning.. SHUT UP!!!"

He jaggedly walked back to his house before we had a chance to reply.

"What a buzzkill." Alyssa said before we all started laughing.

We made our way to bed shortly after, and I get woken up by the sounds of the violin and the birds chirping the next morning.

Then something interesting happened.

Despite only getting a couple hours of sleep, I wasn't tired.

I woke up feeling energized and relaxed. In fact, this wasn't the first time I noticed this, and I wasn't the only one.

The next morning, I decide to go for a bike ride up into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. As I ride down the road, I pass by one of my neighbors who was walking to one of her morning classes.

Just like me, she was full of energy and ready to start her day. We chatted for a bit before she mentioned she was late to class, where we parted ways and I went on my adventure.

At first, I attributed this new sense of energy to my recently acquired lifestyle of being an entrepreneur who makes my own hours.

That definitively contributed to it, but when I noticed others around me living fairly normal lives have this level of energy, there has to be some deeper reason behind why some people seem to be energized throughout the day and others feel like they are ready to go back to bed before the day even starts.

I return from my bike ride along Boulder Canyon Creek around 10:00 and as I'm pulling into the shared driveway right off the back alley entrance to my house, I come face to face with the highly stressed neighbor from the night before.

Almost as if he didn't realize I was one of the people he was yelling at the night before for being too loud, he goes off into another explosion of anger about a cigarette but non the driveway below my balcony.

"OK, I get that marijuana is legal now so I can deal with the neighbors smoking it in their houses, but THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!! Who has the f***ing nerve to leave trash from their DIRTY HABITS on MY DRIVEWAY!"

I don't even smoke.

After assuring him that I hate smoking as much as he does, I said it's probably from the girl on the third floor, and I'll tell her to be more courteous next time.

He rushes off to class, over-stressed and in a hurry.

When I told this story to my other neighbors, that is when those of us who saw the movie The Wolf of Wall Street gave him the nickname "Mad Max" because of his hair trigger temper.

For the ones who didn't see the movie, he was simply "our highly stressed neighbor".

• He always felt in a rush to be somewhere.
• He took the smallest things in life way too seriously.
• He found each and every excuse to get frustrated.
• He never took the time to step back and learn how to break free from this emotional fortress.

And that's when it hit me...

We are, and always have been, in control of how we harness and use our energy. The first step is learning how to control it.

When I return from my bike ride, there's a strange middle aged man standing in my apartment, doing the dishes.

If this was anywhere else, I would have held him at gunpoint until the police showed up.

But I didn't want to risk the chance of having to do the tower of dishes myself, plus this was the magical land of Boulder, Colorado where nothing can go wrong so I said hi and went to put my bike helmet in my room.

It turns out this man’s name is Pini.

 

[AndrewNC]

The step-by-step path to success always leads to a viscous collapse.

It's our brain's natural instinct to follow the path of least resistance, and seek immediate pleasure.

Thinking back to the days where our tribal brain evolved, this makes perfect sense. Would you cross the river at the stage 5 rapids, or would you walk downstream a bit and walk through the calm creek where the water is barely above your ankles?

The desire for the path of least resistance is build to keep us alive, but on this journey, it won't help you thrive.

At this stage of my journey, I was just woken up that it's possible for me, and were (and still are) people out there who prey on this psychological exploit so they can make a quick buck off of you.

Which advertisement sounds more enticing?

1. Get rich quick with this copy and paste formula.
2. Work hard, fail, alienate your friends and family, fail some more, go broke, keep pushing forward, get lost, confused, and frustrated for months on end...and then one day...maybe one day, you'll be successful.

The truth is that the second one is the way success really works, but people respond to the quick fix. Why? Because those advertisers are marketing to your psychology, and setting you up for long term failure in the process.

This isn't true in just in business. Why do millions of people dish out their hard earned money for the miracle diet pill, only to eat fast food later that night?

This is most easily demonstrated in the pickup community. For those of you not familiar with the pickup community, let me explain. There is a movement out there where men are taught how to pickup women.

Back in 2007, it first became mainstream when the book The Game by Neil Strauss came out. Men of all ages everywhere who struggled with dating their whole life were woken up that they too can have success with women.

But back then, the pickup artist gurus taught these guys what pickup lines to use, they taught them that if they dress extravogantly, they would stand out and attract more women, and all this other scripts to follow in order to get a girl to go home with them that night.

And all of this worked...to an extent.

In the short term, the scripts started to work because they tied into manipulating the girls' psychology, and a lot of men had short term success.

The girls fell for these lines, and they began dating.

While I was too busy following those "get rich quick" formulas in entrepreneurship, my friend James fell for the pickup lines and "formulas" in the pickup artist world.

When following the script, James had some success and within a month, he was dating a girl named Katie.

Katie saw him as funny, charming, charismatic, but her entire perception of him was based on some script he was rehearsing for a month straight.

When he deviated from the script, she began noticing "the real him" come out.

• The perception of charisma went away and brought back his insecurities.
• The funniness from the rehearsed lines ran out, and he became boring.

And since hundreds of thousands of young men across the country were taught the same tactics and the same script, girls finally caught on to what was happening, and all of them that relied on this crutch was left off worse then when they started.

Because their so called "success" was built off of a flimsy foundation, everything came crashing down.

Game over, right?

Wrong, well for some of them.

There are those guys out there who were so reliant on some external source in order for them to get results, they gave up when the going got tough.

• The copy and paste formula was gone, so they didn't know what to do.
• The step by step path was not lit up, so they turned around and gave up.
• There was finally hard work in front of them, so they went to the path of least resistance..and gave up.

But James was determined to learn from his failures, and build that foundation so he could have success over and over.

Instead of relying on some cheesy pickup lines or script to follow...James decided to build those solid foundations that will lead to lasting success.

He improved his confidence, his charisma, his energy...through hard work, trial and error. He failed a lot and got rejected a lot by girls.

But guess what?

He was learning to become resourceful, and even if some girls reject him, he has what it takes to approach the next girl, and get her attracted to him...by being his natural self.

Building a foundation for long term success.

When my copy-and-paste for formulas in business, which seemed all so easy at the start, gave me some short term success, but left me crashing and burning as well, I decided to build my foundation for long term success.

They say you could give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. But if you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime.

I took that a step further. What if you teach a man to teach himself how to fish? It's called resourcefulness. When I teach myself how to learn one thing, I can teach myself how to face any obstacle that is standing in front of me.

How is that for taking full control of your future?

The only way is to take action day in and day out, learning, failing, learning from your failures, adjusting your behaviors and keep pushing forward until you have the reference experiences behind you to go off of.

When you gain those experiences from your failures...that is the moment you crossed the line to taking control of your success.

You are now faced with two options:

1. Search for that step-by-step formula, pickup lines, or miracle diet pill, not realizing that the only reason these things are so popular is because people know how to take advantage of your psychological instinct to follow the path of least resistance that once kept you alive in tribal days. You may have short term success, but one day everything will crash and burn and you'll be back worse off when you started.
2. Get the experience yourself. Learn by DOing. Fail. Keep pushing forward when you fail. Adjust your behavior. Don't learn how to navigate THIS obstacle, but instead learn the process that will teach you how to navigate ANY obstacle. Build that foundation because when things come crashing down, you know exactly how to pick yourself up much quicker the next time.

Do you want the short-lived quick fix, or do you want to be successful?

 

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[AndrewNC]

Mentorship
Tonight is my formal initiation.

I am getting my first millionaire mentor.

It’s well past sundown and the lodge was located through twists and turns in the industrial part of town. Nothing but dimly lit roads with the occasional flickering of a streetlamp.

I was sworn to secrecy and blindfolded as we got close to the lodge. The only thing that entered my senses was the crumbling of gavel under the white Cadillac Escalade that was taking me to the ceremony.

The car comes to a stop and the driver gets out.

Next, I hear the sound of the garage door to the warehouse get pulled open before we make our way inside.

The driver grabs me by the arm and ushers me through a dimly lit gathering, with a few whispers echoing off the walls, until we reach a room in the back where I can see nothing but the lights of candles radiating off the ceiling.

I stand in the front of the room blindfolded as we wait for the millionaires and billionaires to arrive for the ceremony.

The echoes of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bugatti’s flood the warehouse as they pull in one by one. I can’t see the faces through my blindfold, but through the bottom, I can see these wealthy millionaires dressed in the nicest suits and wearing $100,000 gold watches.

As they hang their jackets on the wall, they began putting on black robes, to make way for the ceremony.

The sacrificial lamb hangs upside down by chains from the rafters in front of me.

I can’t tell you what happened in that room this night, as we were sworn to secrecy, only allowed to release the information with others who carry the mark, tattooed on their ankle, and those who deliver the secret handshake.

But what I can tell you is this...

None of the above actually happens. Mentorship is not some serious formal thing like they make it out to be in the movies. There is no sacrificial lamb, secret handshakes sealed in blood, or anything like that.

What is the whole purpose of mentorship?

(continued...)

 

[AndrewNC]

ATTENTION: THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY THAT IS ABOUT TO GO OUT OF BUSINESS

There is a very grim outlook for the life coaching and personal development industries.

Markets suggest that in early 2016, an event will unfold that will start putting virtually all life coaches and personal development teachers out of business.

This is really good news for anybody out there who is feeling stuck in life and wanting more...because pretty soon, they won't need any outside help to attain all those goals in life they've once been dreaming of.

By the spring of 2016 - you will already have full clarity on your purpose and path. You will already be taking the actions you need to take, and most importantly, you will already be getting the results you once couldn't even dream of.

By early 2017 - the majority of people who were once considering a life coach to help them change will already be far past that change they once wanted to make in their life.

If you want to be a life coach or personal development instructor in the upcoming years, its is seriously time to consider a new profession..BECAUSE...

THIS is the book that will put virtually ALL life coaches out of business.

BECAUSE...

By the time you finish this book - you become the creator of your universe.

By the time you finish this book - you will have full control over every aspect of your human experience.

By the time you finish this book - your life will already be filled with opportunities and abundance.

You will have full control of your life, and you will already be living your dreams..

When you finish reading this book right here -> </sales copy>

 

[AndrewNC]

I really like this chapter, and want to fit it as the third part of the intro...but I don't know if it fits the storyline there...


First Principles of Success
“Before you are ready to learn, you must first unlearn.” The billionaire said to me.

“But I came here to learn! Why do you want me to forget everything I’ve already been taught!?” I thought to myself.

A lot of the things he was saying contradicted everything I was told to be true growing up, but one thing is for certain: This guy is already living the type of life I want to live, so I should listen to what he says without question.

First Principles Thinking

The first lesson on my journey came not from that millionaire I was driving to meet for lunch in Scottsdale. Instead, I heard the guiding principles of billionaire entrepreneur and investor, Elon Musk, when he began speaking about a rule in physics called First Principles.

When Elon Musk speaks, people listen.

Not only is he the cofounder of Paypal, Tesla Motors, Solar City, and SpaceX, but he is also the man who is saving the planet, and turning humans into an interplanetary species by colonizing Mars.

Yes, he is actually doing that.

First Principlesstates that instead of basing what you do off of the way most people do things and the way things have always been in the past, you must first unlearn (what you thought to be true), begin from the most fundamental truths of the universe, and then work your way up from there.

Thinking Like a Billionaire

“It’s important to reason from first principles, rather than by analogy.” Elon began, “The normal way we conduct our lives is we reason by analogy. We are doing this because... it’s like something else that was (already) done. Or it’s like... what other people are doing.”

In the late 1800’s, if you asked anybody how to travel faster, they would reason by analogy and tell you to find a faster horse.

Before the automobile was invented, people lived in a reality where they couldn’t believe the future would be that much different than the way things have always been in their past.

They accepted the way things are now as the way things will always be, and this kind of thinking has done nothing except limit what their future holds for them and it holds them stuck in the reality they’ve been living in.

When most people try to move forward in their lives, they make slight adjustments from the way things have always been done, and mimic the way most other people do things.

But what would happen if they broke free from the way there were supposed to do things and began walking a path less traveled?

What if they created their own path? Doing so might seem harder at first, but it’s the only way to reach uncharted territory, and begin to live a life they once thought to be impossible.

Would that kind of life be worth it?

Elon accredited first principles thinking for some of his most profound accomplishments in life.

For his space company SpaceX, the Russians quoted him in the tens of millions of dollars for old cold-war era rockets which he would then turn into spaceships. When the finances of the deal didn’t work out for his business, he used first principles thinkingto break the rockets down to its most fundamental building blocks (cost of raw materials, assembly, etc.) and began determining the cost of each rocket from a clean slate.

After he realized that he could build a rocket for only 2% of the price that any rocket cost to be built in the past, he was awarded a $2 Billion contract from NASA to resupply the space station.

$2 Billion was a nice payday after he put 100% of his $165 million fortune into his new companies, and was forced to borrow money for rent and sleep on his friends’ couches just a couple years earlier.

This is what happens when you break free from the norm, and re-learn the “rules of life” from the ground up.

When people were screaming for a more fuel efficient car, he didn’t try to improve upon existing gasoline engines. Instead, he ignored the way everyone else believed to be the only way, and he invested in a company to build a 100% electric engine from the ground up.

This formed the basis for the multi-billion dollar company, Tesla motors.

But first principles thinking doesn’t only apply to large companies and innovations. It applies to the making a breakthrough in your life so you can transform from who you are into who you want to be.

First Principles for Success

Just like most people, I fell into the trap of building a faster horse.

I used to think that my past equals my future, and that I should do things simply because it’s the way most people do them:

• “You’re a ______ and therefore you’ll always be a ________.”
• “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
• “Nobody does that! You’re crazy if you do that! Everybody else does it like THIS…”
• “Successful people came from some type of privilege, or they just got lucky.”
• “If you want to make more money, go back to school.”

It was that last one that finally woke me up. When I graduated college into a recession and couldn’t get a job, the only way I thought I could make more money was to get my Master’s degree, because that is what everyone else is doing (this was me arguing from analogy, not first principles).

When I finally was awarded my advanced degree, the jobs I once was under-qualified for, I’m now “overqualified” for.

Quite paradoxical, isn’t it?

Translation: I was left unemployed and broke, single and alone, when I did things the way I was supposed to do things.

Reasoning by analogy does not create major breakthroughs in your life, regardless of where your starting point is.

In fact, I would argue that the worse off you have it in the beginning, the greater the breakthrough you will experience on your journey.

Do you ever notice that it’s those rock bottoms in life, where things seem like they can’t get any worse, are the very moments that propel you in search for a new way of doing things?

Now, when I meet people on my journey and they tell me how bad they have it, I let them know how excited I am for them!

I say to them “This emotion you’re feeling right now, whether it is rock bottom or simply feeling stuck and wanting more...is the very thing that is pushing you to search for a change in your life. One day you’ll look back and realize that this may have very well been one of the best things that has ever happened to you.”

It’s a lot to digest when you’re going through the struggles, but it’s true.

The time is now to apply first principles to your life, today.

You are here today because you’re ready to reach that next level, you are reading this now because you’re ready to realize that your past doesn’t equal your future, and that means you now know the way you’ve been taught to do things in the past will only get you the results you’ve gotten up until this point.

You don’t want a faster horse. You want to step on the accelerator to success.

This first principles approach to doing things differently than the “normal” way of thinking is where your self-made success begins.

The Unlearning Process

When most people try to learn what it takes to become successful, they skip the unlearning process and begin their journey trying to learn something new.

Of course you need to learn something new, but here’s the thing…

Trying to learn the new without first getting rid of the old is like taking a glass filled to the rim with a thick chocolate milkshake and pouring water on top of it, expecting the glass to retain with water.

What’s bound to happen? Yes, you may have a few drops of the water floating at the surface, but the new content you’re trying to learn is going to overflow and come pouring out the sides.

And then you’ll gain weight, get diabetes, and perhaps die from heart disease at a young age…

But you don’t want that. Instead, you want this new life of success, don’t you?

You won’t retain this new information…this new life, and you’ll feel stuck in your old ways if you don’t first get rid of the old. That feeling of being stuck is nothing more than a feeling.

It’s not real.

You break free by letting go…

Let go of the old life, and make room for the new. This means to stop doing the things you’ve done in the past that have been holding you back before you begin doing the things you need to do in order to be successful.

You break free by waking up and taking this next step…

These old guiding principles got you the results you’ve got up until this point in life. But just because you are reading this now means that you want more.

Instead, it is not only important, but necessary to begin this journey with first principles thinking. Now that you’ve already accepted the old got you to where you are today, and the things you haven’t even heard of yet will get you to where you want to be in the future, it leaves you with only one possible option: approach these learnings with an open mind.

Warning: This book is going to challenge a lot of the things you’ve been conditioned to believe is “true”.

It’s human nature to defend our beliefs. Think of when somebody challenges a strong belief of yours: Abortion, religion, politics, gun control, welfare, or whatever you feel most strongly about. If someone challenges your belief, you begin to defend it, and it usually makes it stronger in the process.

This book WILL challenge your beliefs, and you must be willing to let some of them go if you want to reach that next level in your life.

Let go of the things that are no longer serving you on your journey to your new life and new reality.

Some of your beliefs are good to have (like how you shouldn’t kill people or jump off a bridge), but I’m not talking about those. You can hold onto them. I’m talking about the ones that are holding you back.

Here is a simple test to see if a belief should stay or go:

1. Does this belief help me get closer to achieving my goals?

2. Is this belief holding me back?

Beliefs are nothing more than electrical impulses going through your brain…they aren’t real.

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right”.

So I ask you for a compromise. Approach the information you are learning here today with an open mind. I’m simply sharing my lessons learned from some of the most successful people on this planet. Some of this information may be for you, and some of it may not.

One of the main premises of this book is a thing called social conditioning.

Social continuing is the process by which society unconsciously conditions the population to act and behave in a certain way. They do this to preserve order and the greater good of society as a whole.

The world needs police officers, garbage men, fast food workers, firefighters, and countless other jobs that overwork and underpay people. Governments, the media, the school system, and even our friends and family program our minds to behave a certain way from the very moment we were born.

This is good for society, but it limits the growth of an individual. Living a life by the rules of social conditioning is the same thing as reasoning by analogy. There are enough people out there to keep society running. It’s ok if you choose to let them take care of the dirty work while you live the life of your dreams.

The world needs leaders like you…

Virtually all of the millionaires and celebrities I’ve met on my journey woke up from this, and guide their actions by first principles thinking…choosing the road less traveled.

They don’t simply do things because other people do them. In fact, most of the things they do or believe go against everything you’ve been conditioned to believe growing up.

Now that you are aware, you are already waking up from this conditioning and already breaking free. When you put the lessons you learned in this book to use, today, you are now open to an entire new and exciting chapter of your life, which begins now.

So what’s it going to be?

Do you want to continue to live the live you’ve been living, and keep walking down that path to the same destination you’ve been to time and time again? You already know where that is going to lead…

Or are you ready to stop doing things simply because other people around you do it that way, or it’s how you’ve done things in the past? When you follow this new path you are ready to start learning from the ground up (first principles thinking) and take that next step on your journey to success...

Now is the moment you are ready to make be that change…

 

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[Imgal]

Get in the queue @sija1 ... I'm first in the queue for the book. I hear the first buyer get a signed copy and balloons for a year. Seriously I am so looking forward to reading the finished product. Love the direction Andrew is taking with all this!

 

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[AndrewNC]

A lot of my writing from this point forward will be as if I'm talking directly to her.

Actually, I correct this statement.

I just completed a whole section on finding the direction to her goals. I met up with Emily for a few hours yesterday in Bellevue, WA and realized that she is a perfect target reader for certain parts of the book....but not for others.

I'm slowly breaking down all my information into major stages people go through in achieving success, and people seem to be appearing in my life that fit each stage.

So instead of writing the whole book to one person, I notice that other people in my life come to me for help at other stages, so each stage will be directed at a different person.

...and the really interesting part is that each and every person that I notice go through this journey to success - goes through the same exact stages at the deeper level.

 

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[Imgal]

Weird thing I'm doing....you ever notice how songs are triggers that bring back certain emotions and thoughts from your past?

I want to relate to the reader's emotional pains and struggles from what they are going through. I pushed through one thing in 2011. So I'm listening to songs I listened to at the time while I write that section.

I have totally found that. I tell you what is even weirder... I now partner with one of the people I listened to most in my teenager angst years and it took me a while to realise that her songs had such emotional connections to me that for quite a while I'd end up transferring that emotional mindset when working with her!

Back to your writing though... just caught up. LOVING the progress (we both already know I'm totally obsessed with your writing). The breakdown of limiting beliefs into different levels is awesome. Those are the kind of things that make it much easier for people to identify with and also stops overwhelm. I also think you're bang on directing chapters to different people. The reality is the core principles are the same so anyone can identify with them but this really gives the book the chance to appeal and connect on multiple levels... you might for instance really see yourself in the person in Chapter 4. The truth is you're more likely connecting with an issue faced by both, but we both know people much prefer to bond with other people than a principle!

 

[AndrewNC]

181,157 words and I still don't feel I covered anywhere near what I want the readers to understand...

I think I'll need to do some trimming down.

 

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