Archives for August 2016

Edgar Allen Poe suffered from depression. If you lived his life, you probably would have been depressed too. He was born in 1809 to a couple of actors. He was two when his father abandoned him. His mother, unable to take care of him, left him with John and Frances Allen. His mother died soon after that.

Poe was rejected by the literary circles of his time, which was a result of his reputation for being a crazy drunk without any talent. Poe often referred to bipolar disorder through his themes using the “double self.” Later it was called a split personality and today it is referred to as bi polar disorder or schizophrenia.

There are days when everyone gets depressed. Monday mornings are famous for triggering depression. An end to family get togethers can lead to depression. Seeing your kids off to college is another trigger for depression.

You are definitely not alone when it comes to depression. We all experience these momentary bouts of depression or sadness.

One of the anti-depression strategies I uncovered in my five-year study of the daily habits of the wealthy involves engaging in a creative activity. Depression seems to fade away during creative pursuits.

It’s in our genes to create. When we create we are at our most human state and when we are at our most human state, we become happy. Creativity creates happiness and happiness displaces depression.

We all have some creative skills. It’s hardwired into our DNA. We are all creative beings. For me, it is writing. For others, it is painting or music or knitting or building. I actually have grown to envy builders because builders get to create for a living.

When you are immersed in any creative pursuit, the right side of the brain takes over and suppresses that part of the brain where depression resides. It’s hard to start a creative project when you are in the midst of depression and that is why you should plan your creative project far in advance of the depression-triggering event.

As you get older, you get better at identifying when those events will likely occur. Setting a date for starting your creative project, far in advance of the depression-triggering event, will help you process the reversal of the approaching depression.

Humans are the only species on earth who have the innate ability to create tangible things from mere thought. We have the ability to dream and turn those dreams into reality.

Each of us is endowed with the Creativity Gene. Those individuals who harness their Creativity Gene change the world and become wealthy in the process.

When you add value to society by creating something society wants or needs, society will reward you financially.

Only when we create are we truly being human. For some unknown reason, we were the only species on earth blessed with this unique gift to create. Those who spend their lives creating, are the happiest human beings. That is life’s reward for utilizing the Creativity Gene. Happiness. Creating is our purpose in life.

For most, unfortunately, the Creativity Gene remains dormant. When we ignore our purpose in life we find ourselves unhappy, eking out a living, never reaching our full potential. Making use of this Creativity Gene is the path to happiness. Ignoring it is the path to unhappiness. If you want to be truly happy in life you must create. You must activate your Creativity Gene.

Some of the greatest historical figures worked diligently at self-assessment and self-improvement.

Benjamin Franklin and George Washington created lists of good behavioral activities to help them eliminate any defects or bad habits they thought they had.

Benjamin Franklin’s list became know as the 13 Virtues of Life. He compiled this list at the age of 20 and spent the remainder of his life trying to live by those virtues.

George Washington’s list is known as the Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior. Washington created this list while still a teenager.

Is it an accident that these two self-improvement fanatics had enormous success in life?

Rich Habit #1 is known as the Self-Assessment Rich Habit. One strategy I uncovered in my research is to create a list of all of your bad daily habits and invert them into good daily habits.

Another strategy I uncovered is the five-year letter. This is a letter you write today about the future you. Included in this letter are all of the qualities and good habits the future you possesses. When done, you have a life plan that will act like a blueprint for pursuing the life of your dreams.

I get a lot of emails every day, mostly from readers of my books or blog. But every now and then I get emails from individuals trying to sell something.

The other day I received an email from some “expert” who was bragging about helping an author sell 50,000 books. In the email he was trying to sell their book promotion services to authors.

My first thought was, “how do consider 50,000 books successful?” I then deleted the email.

But it forced me to think about the definition of success. From the perspective of a new author, I suppose selling 50,000 books would be a major success. You see, your perspective affects your definition of success.

If you are eking out a living, struggling to get by, you might view anything that helps you earn more money worthy of pursuing. You might even drop $100 on some scheme that promises if you do X, Y & Z you will be able to earn an additional $500 a month. That $100 could make you $6,000 more a year. It’s worth the $100 and your time. To you that’s a successful investment.

It’s success because of where you started – broke. That $500 a month puts an end to being broke. It alters your circumstances in life.

Now consider an individual who just got a bonus for $100,000. They run across the same ad. And they think to themselves, “why would I invest $100 and my valuable time to make only an additional $6,000 a year?”

So, they ignore the ad. From their perspective, the prospect of making an additional $6,000 in exchange for $100 and their valuable time is simply not their definition of a successful investment.

Your definition of success depends on your perspective. Your perspective is determined by your current life circumstances.

Opportunities for success are all around you. Whether or not you take advantage of those opportunities depends entirely on your perspective. One man’s definition of success is often very different than another’s.

You could be told by 100 different people that you need to lose weight, moderate your consumption of alcohol, read every day in order to grow, call your mother, or (fill in the blank).

Most ignore the advice given by others. Until something happens in your life that opens your eyes and your ears. When your perspective changes on something, you become more receptive to advice.

It may be a visit to your doctor, where you learn that you suddenly have high blood pressure or learn  that your liver is unhealthy. Suddenly, you find yourself exercising, eating right and moderating your consumption of alcohol.

You might get fired from your job. Suddenly, you find yourself reading more about the things you need to know in order to become more expert in what you do.

You might learn that your mother is unhealthy. Suddenly, you find yourself calling her every day.

Those who succeed in life are perpetual students. Their eyes and ears are always open. They don’t wait until the timing is right in order to take the advice of others.

Keeping your eyes and ears open to advice is a Rich Habit. It takes practice to develop this habit.

Don’t be like everyone else and wait until some outside event forces you to open your eyes and ears to advice. Make it a daily habit of being open to the feedback and advice of others.

How?

Create an Advice Binder. In this binder you write down all of the advice you get from others. Then review your Advice Binder once a week. This keeps your eyes and ears open to advice. This habit will help program your mind to do the right things in life; to live your life in such a way as to avoid having to face circumstances that force your eyes and ears to open up.