mostprofitableblogintown

Beer though was another story. When I was about eleven or twelve, I didn't consider it an alcoholic drink. After all, my dad drank beer, and he didn't get obnoxious or disgusting. In fact, he seemed to be a little more fun when he'd had a few beers. Plus, I linked pleasure to drinking because I wanted to be just like Dad. Would drinking beer really make me like Dad? No, but we frequently create false associations in our nervous systems (neuro-associations) as to what will create pain or pleasure in our lives. One day I asked my mom for a "brew". She began arguing that it wasn't good for me. But trying to convince me when my mind was made up, when my observations of my father so clearly contradicted her, was not going to work.  We don't believe what we hear; rather, we are certain that our perceptions are accurate - and I was certain that day that drinking beer was the next step in my personal growth.   Finally, my mom reali...

If you're a doctor, isn't it true that the decision to pursue a medical career so many years ago was motivated by your belief that becoming a physician would make you feel good? Every doctor I've talked to links massive pleasure to helping people: stopping pain, healing illness, and saving lives. Often the pride of being a respected member of society was an additional motivator. Musicians have dedicated themselves to their art because few things can give them that same level of pleasure.  Think of the limiting pain and pleasure associations of John Belushi, Freddie Prinze, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison.  Their associations to drugs as an escape, a quick fix, or a way out of pain and into temporary pleasure created their downfalls. They paid the ultimate price for not directing their minds and emotions. Think of the example they set for millions of fans.    I never did learn to consume drugs or alcohol. Is it because I was so br...

One decision that has made  a tremendous difference in the quality of my life is that an early age I began to link incredible pleasure to Learning.  I realized that discovering ideas and strategies that could help me to shape human behaviour and emotion could give me virtually everything I wanted in my life. It could get me out of pain and into pleasure.  Learning to unlock the secrets behind our actions could help me to become more healthy, to feel better physically, to connect more deeply with the people I cared about.  Learning provided me with something to give, the opportunity to truly contribute something of value to all those around me. It offered me a sense of joy and fulfillment. At the same time, I discovered an even more powerful form of pleasure, and that was achieved by sharing what I'd learned in a passionate way.  When I began to see that what I could share helps people increase the quality of their lives, I discovered ...

Often an interesting question comes up in discussions about these twin powers that drives us. Why is it that people can experience pain yet fail to change? They haven't experienced enough pain yet, they haven't hit what I call emotional threshold .  If you've ever been in a destructive relationship and finally made the decision to use your personal power, take action and change your life, it was probably because you hit a level of pain  you weren't willing to settle for anymore. We've all experienced those times in our lives when we've said. "I've had it - never again - this must change now." This is the magical moment when pain becomes  our friend. It drives us to take new action and produce new results. We become even more powerfully compelled to act if, in that same moment, we begin to anticipate  how changing will create  a great deal of pleasure for our lives as well.  This process is certainly not limited to relationships.M...