Failure is such an ugly word. It shouldn’t be. There are a lot of people who are doing it. Maybe they know something the rest of us don’t know. According to the U.S. Census there are approximately 49 million who live below the poverty line in America and another 53 million who are at or near poverty. That’s a lot of people. There must be something to failure. So many people can’t be wrong.

I spent five years researching the daily habits of the rich and poor and I’ve accumulated an enormous amount of data on exactly what you need to do to achieve either long-term success or long-term failure. I thought I’d share with you some of the habits that will help you succeed in failing. These habits, once adopted, will stop success in its tracks and get you on the path to long-term failure. Let’s not waste any time and get right to it. [Read more…]

As many of you who follow me know, I’ve accumulated an enormous amount of research data on the habits that are responsible for creating a life of abundance (wealth) or scarcity (poverty). But there’s more to living a “rich” life than the accumulation of money. Money, as an end to itself, does not create a “rich” life. A “rich” life exists only when we find happiness. [Read more…]

I am just back from the Titan Summit in Toronto. Four days surrounded by billionaires, deca-millionaires and fearless entrepreneurs. All of these success-heroes brought together in one room by the legendary Robin Sharma in an effort to make success a habit and elevate their game. Each with a story to tell; fraught with mistakes, failures, obstacles and setbacks. But in no single story will you find the narrative of a quitter. No, these individuals all possess an outlook that can only be described as positive certainty; moving forward, inch by inch, day by day, towards success. All great men and women who are true heroes because they pursue big goals, life dreams or their main purpose with a passion and enthusiasm that burns away the doubts, fears and uncertainty like an acid.

The Titan Summit of 2014 is over. While the rest of humanity suffocates itself in negativity, turmoil and human politics, these like-minded individuals will continue their mission: to pursue success and improve the lives of millions. They are the world’s great achievers. They persist, where most fail because “IF” does not exist in their vocabulary. “IF” is only for quitters. And none of them are quitters.

When successful people describe flow, it almost sounds like they are describing an experience typically associated with drugs or a sexual encounter. In a state of flow, we are in a state of unforced focus; the most powerful type of focus. This is a state in which humans are able to accomplish tasks efficiently and effectively. Creativity explodes during the state of flow. Inventions, breakthroughs, insight, seeing opportunities we didn’t see before, all occur during flow. In order to understand flow, however, we need to understand brain cycles, because flow happens during two of those cycles: beta and alpha.

Our brain has 4 brain cycles:

1. Beta – We are in beta when we are driving, talking, working, reading, exercising etc. It represents the brain’s highest state of alertness. In beta, our brain cycle is the highest, 20 cycles per second or more.
2. Alpha – This is the period of time just prior to sleep. We’ve left beta and we’re about to fall asleep. When we meditate, we are generally in alpha. In alpha, our brain cycle is between 7-14 cycles per second.
3. Theta – We’ve left Alpha and are now sleeping or in deep meditation. In theta, our brain cycle is between 4-7 cycles per second. This is also when REM (Rapid Eye Movement) occurs during sleep.
4. Delta – We are in deep sleep. When we are in delta our brain is at it’s slowest.

When we are in flow, our brain is cycling somewhere between beta and alpha. It is where we want to be because when we are in flow, we are taping into our genius. How do you get into flow? 5 to 10 minutes of light meditation, followed immediately by action, will put you in a state of flow. How long it lasts depends on how motivated or passionate you are about the activity. If the activity is something you love and are passionate about, flow could last for hours. If it is a boring task, flow could last for minutes. Ideally, you want to put yourself into flow when you are pursuing a big goal, dream or engaged in your main purpose. Big goals or following your dream or purpose in life keeps you in a state of flow. Passion, keeps you in a state of flow. Great achievements are the byproduct of being in a state of flow. E=MC squared, the lightbulb, the automobile, T.V., the iPod, Google, Facebook, the paper clip, post-it pads and many other inventions were born in a state of flow. So go out there and get your flow on. It’s where genius happens.