Success & Hydrodynamics

THE STORY

Keep your elbow up. Reach and glide. No, keep the arm straight out, don't let it fall down. Fingers in the water first. Keep your hand cupped like a spoon--not a fork, not a knife, a spoon. Rotate your hips. Keep the body stiff. Your whole body should tilt to the side. Rotate your hips. Don't separate your legs. Keep them straight. Breathe every third stoke. Keep your elbow up. Reach and glide. Rotate your hips. Rotate your hips. Rotate your hips!

I thought I knew how to swim.

I mean, I love the water. I always have. I took swimming lessons when I was a kid and spent summers at the pool. I took the "tread water 'til you feel like you're gonna die" test and passed with flying colors. For a time I even thought I was going to be a marine biologist and swim with the whales for a living.

In fact, it was partly my love of swimming that made me choose to train for a triathlon in the first place.

You see, I was taking a life achievement home study course, and one of the exercises was to write a list of 101 things you want to do before you die. As I thought about what would really give me a sense of accomplishment, a marathon popped in my head. Boy, if I could finish a marathon, that would really be something. Trouble is, I don't like to run!

At the time, I had a friend who was training for a triathlon. I love to swim, I thought, and I do like to bike, too, so I wrote down a triathlon instead.

On my first day of swim training, I confidently got in the water. I set out to do my first front crawl across the lane and...I promptly injured my shoulder.

What? That never happened when I was a kid! What had I done wrong?

My investigation into my shoulder injury quickly led me to the conclusion that I did not, in fact, know how to swim.

Countless articles and YouTube videos revealed that in order to avoid injury, you must swim in a certain way. You must keep the elbow up. Your fingers must go back in the water first. You must draw your arm in front of your body, not to the side.

So I humbly began the process of "re-learning" how to swim.

And boy was it was frustrating. So many things to think about all at once! I could hardly keep it all straight. After awhile I was able to do it correctly when I went slowly, but when I sped up, I fell back on my old habits and just flailed in the pool.

I constantly had to remind myself that if I wanted to be successful, I must learn the principles of success--in this case, the principles of hydrodynamics. It would do no good to continue my old habits in the swimming pool. If I did, I would continue to get injured, I wouldn't be able to go as far, and by not being as efficient, I would lose steam quickly, and I would not be able to complete the race.

THE LESSON

Just like in the pool, the principles of success are part of the fabric of the Universe. It does no good to continue in our own way--we will only get injured or work harder than necessary to attain our goal, if we attain it at all.

No, the best course of action is to understand the Universal laws that govern what we are trying to do and work with them to our best advantage.

If I understand hydrodynamics--if I understand how to position and move my body in the most streamlined fashion--the law will work with me, rather than against me. The law will actually push me on toward my goal, instead of holding me back.

The laws of success are the same. In fact, Wallace D. Wattles, in his classic book, The Science of Getting Rich, wrote:

There is a Science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches; once these laws are learned and obeyed by any man, he will get rich with mathematical certainty.

The ownership of money and property comes as a result of doing things in a certain way; those who do things in this Certain Way, whether on purpose or accidentally, get rich; while those who do not do things in this Certain Way, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, remain poor.

The other day I was reading one of my triathlon training books and the author mentioned a technique that I had never heard of before. In fact, it seemed completely counterintuitive to me. It was not what I had been taught--not what I had seen other people doing. It did not make any sense.

Skeptical, I decided to try it for just one lap and see what happened. To my amazement, I was able to shave off FOUR strokes from one 25 yard length. Reducing my stoke count was something that I had been working on, but no matter how hard I tried--no matter how fast I tried to go--I had not been able to reduce it by even one stroke.

My success in the pool that day was the direct result of putting aside what I personally believed and learning to work with the laws of hydrodynamics, and still today I am amazed at how far I can go and how effortless it seems when I apply the correct technique and "go with the flow."

You really can have what you want. But whether you are learning to swim, working on becoming rich, or even figuring out how to bake a cake, you must stop fighting for "your" way of doing things and look instead for the Universal principles that will float you to your goal the easy way.

TAKE ACTION

Are you frustrated with the results you are getting in some area of your life? Take action!

Today's action step: Find someone who is successful at doing what you are trying to do.

Too often our tendency is to stick with people who are in the same struggle we are. If we're trying to lose weight, we often hang out with others who are also trying to lose weight. If we're trying to make ends meet, we hang out with people who are doing the same. But in both these cases, it is the blind leading the blind. It may make us feel more comfortable, but it rarely helps either party reach their goals.

Instead, decide today to get in contact with someone who has already lost the weight or who has already made the money or who has already done what you are wanting to do. Odds are good that they will be willing to help you--or they will be willing to find someone else who can.

© 2008, Margie Remmers, http://www.YouCanHaveWhatYouWant.com/

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Lesson 4: Some Simple Truths

Life is so amazing...and I am so blessed!

Have you ever been in a dimly lit room and someone comes in and turns on a light? Often I did not realize that the room was dark at all--I thought it was just fine. I did not think that I needed more light, or I would have turned one on myself. But then, when the light comes on, I think, "Wow, I never knew what I was missing!"

This concept of "what I never knew I didn't know" is the subject of today's lesson, and I continue to be amazed at how perfectly the lesson fits in my life and what I have been thinking about lately.

It starts off, "When we commit ourselves to excellence, and we do whatever is necessary to bring about the best in our lives, then remarkable changes take place."

This is so true! I have seen it come true just in the last couple of weeks. I saw it happen just yesterday!

When we boldly walk in the direct of our goals and desires, the Universe knows we're serious and will respond every time.

A few weeks ago I sat down and planned what I want to accomplish this year. I then planned what I needed to do to make it happen. Then I started doing the thing, and voila, life moved in sync with me! Strange and amazing things happened that I never could have predicted.

Here's a seemingly silly but powerful example.

One of my goals this month is to purchase new linens for my master bedroom. One of the steps required to do this is, of course, to go shopping. I decided that I wanted to do this on Saturday, so I wrote it down as an action item. Trouble was, I had no time on Saturday to do this. I had training in the morning, I barely had enough time to shower and get to rehearsal, then I barely had time to come home and get ready for a date with my husband, which would take the rest of the evening.

Regardless, I wrote down "shop for linens on Saturday" on my list. I didn't know how or when I was going to do it, but I was determined that I would.

On Friday, I went to rehearsal and was shocked when they announced that I didn't have to be at rehearsal until 2pm! I cried on the way home because I knew that this was evidence of the power of my desire.

But it wasn't just that. All sorts of similar things have been happening--the more I apply the action, the more the Universe corresponds.

Just yesterday I wrote in my "Ideal Me" exercise that I wanted people to comment on my beauty. Wouldn't you know that last night at rehearsal, one of my cast mates did just that? Last night. The same day I wrote it down!

I am just so grateful for my life. I am so grateful for this community, for my Beyond Freedom, for the princples that I am learning and applying in my life.

My vision is becoming so clear. I am beginning to see my potential--what I am capable of--in a way I never have before.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I have so much light--and I never knew it was dim before!

Lesson 3: What is Possible (cont.)

Life is perfect. Today is perfect. Everything is perfect. "God is in His heaven and all is right with the world." (Robert Browning)

I am just so grateful for my life, the community, my Beyond Freedom, my family--everything I can touch and see and experience.

So I have been chugging along on my goals, and I open up my Beyond Freedom, and what do I find, but that I did not finish all of the exercises in the last lesson.

Curious, because the first time I went through the course that happened, the second time I went through the course that happened, and the third time I went through the course that happened!

There is definitely something going on here that I am avoiding dealing with. I wonder what it is?

The theme on our Wake Up calls this week has been learning to deal with and control the "monkey chatter" in our brains--you know, all that stuff that tells you that you're not good enough, that you can't do it, that people will think you're crazy--I'm sure you've heard it. Tony said something on Monday that really struck me. He said, "You know that the voice? That's the voice of your old self fighting for its life."

Dani uses the analogy of "fighting for your territory." She says, "When an enemy is possessing your land, and you go back to reclaim it, do they just step aside and say, 'Oh, you want it back? Oh, OK, here you go.'? Heck no! They fight back!" And that is exactly what's going on in your brain. She tells us to expect the fight! "But," she reminds us, "It's YOUR land! You have a right to it, and God will help you possess it."

So, I don't know why I have been avoiding it, but here is my answer to the third exercise in Lesson 3.

Exercise: The Ideal Me

It's so amazing that I would be doing this exercise now, since I have just been working on developing goals in different areas of my life. I will write this based on the categories I had set up for those goals.

Physically
I am strong, energetic and healthy. I am slim, well-toned, and have glowing skin. I am beautiful and confident, and people comment on these qualities. I receive their comments happily and completely.

In My Relationships
I am happy and confident. I serve and connect with my spouse, my children, my family and my friends on a regular basis. I seek the company of those who are positive, uplifting, and successful. I maintain strong relationships with people who have what I want.

In My Personal Development
I am committed to being the best person I can be--kind, happy, energetic, and enthusiastic. I seek knowledge regularly out of the best books. I readily apply the principles I learn there to my life and I watch as my life gets better and better because of it. I express gratitude continually for all of the blessings in my life.

Emotionally
I am passionate about live theatre and its ability to positively impact the world. I actively seek live theatre opportunities that will bring light into my life and the lives of others.

Environmentally
I recognize that my surroundings have a deep and profound effect on my mind and my disposition--as such I constantly strive for my living space to be a reflection of peace, joy, and happiness.

Financially
I have the freedom to go where I want and do what I want and bless others with my time and means. My income flows to me easily and effortlessly, and I welcome it.

Setting & Achieving Goals

Ah...never doubt that God is magnificent in His goodness and stands ready to shower us with blessings if only we would let Him!

I am so overcome with joy for this moment and for the last two weeks of my life. What a wondrous time to be alive. God is good! He loves us! He loves YOU!

When the new year started, I had a house guest, so my intentions for the new year got a little derailed. The day after she left, I had to prepare and serve the food at the funeral of a friend's husband. Finally, on Sunday, January 20, I began something that I had wanted to do on January 1--take a good hard look at my goals.

I decided to take a radically different approach to goal setting this year--different for me, anyway--and not only wrote out what I wanted to do this year, but when I wanted to do them. But that's not all! I followed the advice of Mark Joyner in his Simpleology course--that is, to "backward plan."

Backward planning simply means you look first at the end result and then figure out what would need to be done immediately before that result, then immediately before that, then immediately before that...until you get to today. When you're done you have an action plan that if you just follow it will absolutely bring you to your goal.

Here is how my brainstorming session worked:

1. The goals themselves. First, I brainstormed what I would like to accomplish this year in the following areas:

• Physical


• Relationships


• Personal Development/Learning


• Emotional (what really means something to me)


• Passion (the pursuit of something I am really passionate about--this could be the same as Emotional, but for me they're different: emotion has to do with self-fulfillment, passion has to do with what changes I would like to see in the world)


• Trips


• Business/Money


• Rewards


• And a few other things that I am involved with

Some of these things already had dates associated with them--like the triathlon I am competing in on August 16 and the trips I'll be taking in March (Rome) and July (Hawaii)--so I plugged those in.

2. Monthly milestones. Once I completed the annual list, I looked at which ones I wanted to knock out in the first couple months of the year.

3. Daily action. Since January was nearly over, I mapped out the last remaining days and wrote down specifically what I needed to do each day to accomplish the goals.

4. Evaluation & course correction. I built into my plan that the last day of every month would be "evaluation" day. Everything else that day would be put on hold, and I would focus solely on how I had done the previous month, what I needed to change, and what I would do next month to stay on track.

Once I did these things, I simply set about to do the things on each day's list.

Well, January 31 was my first evaluation day. And it was awesome!

It was so enlightening to look at the past 10 days and see what I had done and what I had not done. What I needed to do or change in order to do better next time. How my behavior affected the reaching or not reaching of my goals.

I discovered that there were certain things (like my triathlon training) that I accomplished 100%--no matter what. And there were other things (like doing my Beyond Freedom every day) that were hit and miss. I also noticed that there were things I did 100% that were time wasters--not related to my goals in the least (like checking email). "What do these numbers mean?" I asked myself.

I got out a piece of paper and just started writing--journalling a conversation with my subconscious about why certain things seemed to be important, and other things (as shown by my actions) did not. The answer came clearly and strongly: I need to put the same amount of focus and effort into my other goals as I do in the triathlon.

In fact, the answer was so glaringly obvious that I wondered how I could have missed it--why on earth did it take so much time to be able to see it? I was so grateful that I had done this evaluation process--grateful that I had the opportunity to nip these bad habits--after only 10 days.

I began at once to map out the month of February--including as I did weekly goals in addition to the monthly one, and a "mini" evaluation day on Sunday in addition to the major one on the 29th (don't forget it's a leap year!).

And I am here to tell you that miracles have occurred since I have done this! Things have come to pass that I never could have predicted or imagined. It really is true that "the Universe will correspond to the nature of your song" (Michael Beckwith, The Secret).

I am so excited see what I will create tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...!