What Advice Would Einstein Give Bear Stearns?

In study and increasing intelligence the acceleration/adaptation template is somewhat famous, in regards to the beneficiaries of using this powerful force. Henri Poincare, famous mathematician and scientist; used the ac/ad template to erupt his creativity, producing some of the most important scientific works of his time. Einstein used to say that after wrestling with a difficult problem through arduous study and research; the aha moments would come during the casual bouts of everyday things. He once inquired to a friend from Princeton asking,"Why is it that I get my best ideas in the morning while shaving? The answer of course falls into the natural working of the creative mechanism; that works in the ac/ad format. Its almost an iconic symbol of sorts...the image of the scientist laboring arduously to solve a problem...researching, testing, questioning, etc.(acceleration). Followed by bouts of rest, sleep, recreation, etc.(adaptation)....leading to the solution, epiphany, or realization of the missing piece of the puzzle.
Economic cycles of the ac/ad kind are commonplace. The systems in place to regulate or deregulate businesses across the U.S. work with the intent of the common good. The Federal reserve board for example establishes key interest rate payouts as well as governmental watch over economic stability to ensure the "growth" (acceleration) of the U.S. economy and at times "deceleration" (adaptation) to maintain a state of productivity. Keenly aware of the dangers of rapid growth, government adjusts economic inputs to ensure a cyclic stability. Unabashed growth leads to dire consequences as is the current case in the housing market, with over appreciated property values across the majority of U.S. metropolitan areas. Ignited by profit insatiability, and lack of understanding of the underlying templates at work; investors over exploit market niche's and start to fantasize of a never ending parade of exponential growth and lead themselves to their own graves and taking with them other interconnected markets. Case in point, Bear Stearns, New Century, American Home, and many more yet to come. Its an interesting blind spot in most individuals as well as businesses and groups; that when "good" times are prevalent, such as the case with exponential growth we start to believe that we have somehow fooled the laws of existence. Continuous growth is definitely possible, and happens all the time; however, this occurs when the understanding of cycles and the ac/ad template is headed. Speculators and traders in numerous markets profit enormously on a continual basis, no matter what the market condition, because they are aware of "bull" markets (ac) and "bear" markets (ad), and adjust their bets accordingly.

"The monetary history of the last four hundred years has been replete with financial crises. The pattern (template) was that investor optimism increased as economies expanded, the rate of growth of credit increased and economic growth accelerated..." Manias, Panics, and Crashes, by Charles P. Kindleberger and Robert Aliber.

A classic example of a business suicide by neglect of the ac/ad template is Enron. The thirst for continual profit, that was unsustainable through their methods; caused fictitious selling up the value of Enron stock that really had limited value...metaphorically speaking they were "overtraining"...way beyond overtraining and eventually they dug their own grave, and down with them came billions of dollars in investor funds.

- Angel Armendariz, excerpt - Untitled

How Selective Are You?

The more you know, the more specific distinctions you can make about a particular subject. Obviously, continually educating yourself is as necessary as daily exercise. However, do not let yourself get hazed into a confusing onslaught of information overload. It is rare to see this; it's more often the case to see lack of information than abundance of it. It still remains true though that even unconsciously we are bombarded with millions of bits of info. daily, that can obscure the clarity of our underlying principles. A funny thing came to my mind not to long ago. Someone told me that I was very selective with what I listened to, who I spent time with, and even what I exposed my sight to. It was interesting to note someone making that observation. Than I thought to myself..."Why would you not be selective?"...."Why would you allow any random object or force invade your mind?"...a quick analogy followed..."It's like being a prostitute of sorts....isn't it?...except without getting paid"...I laughed and smiled about it. But if you honestly think about it that way, it sort of is. I mean, most of us are selective with who we choose to be intimate with, or our mates, because it is assumed under cultural rules that we will be with them "till death do you part." Well, interestingly enough every bit of information that enters your perception (hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, etc.) becomes recorded forever as well, throughout your mind and body. So then, wouldn't you agree that it would make sense to be selective about which channels of influence you allow to buy real estate in your mind? Of course it would. Passionate, non-conforming individuals should be aware of this, and be selective. Give yourself a creed. Tell yourself what standards of selectivity you will stand by. This will help you at all times make wise decisions that will have a cumulative effect on your Success and who you become.

- Excerpt from - Sales Gods II, New Pathways to Development, coming soon
www.godsofsales.com

How to Become a Sales God

"...Forget your feelings and thoughts. Simply listen with interest on the client. The more you're able to do this, the more the client feels good about being open with you. Think about something you do well, or enjoy doing; you'll find that when you are doing these things you aren't thinking about your thoughts or feelings; you are so engaged and in unity with the event that you transcend your self-talk and feelings. When focused intently on the client you go beyond yourself, and work from a higher level of performance. Furthermore, as you engage the client you become sensitive to reactions from their body posture, eye movements, skin coloration, and other responses the client is having at the moment. When engaged on the phone you want heightened awareness of the tone, pitch, pace, and mood of how your client is communicating. How something is said and how something is expressed by body movements is almost always more important than the content of what is said."

... "Everyone has a way of doing the things they do. From the way you choose where to go to dinner, to the way you decide what to wear to work. The actions you take and the decisions you make follow a certain pattern. You have your own individual way of coming to a decision, and of getting yourself to take action. When buying a product/service you might not even realize that there are specific steps you take each time you make a purchase decision. It would be pretty inefficient to use arbitrarily chosen steps to make a decision every time you had to make a purchase. We have consciously or unconsciously developed a specific combination of feelings/thoughts within ourselves that will cause us to "make sense" of the purchase decision, and buy. If we know the exact steps a person takes when making a confident purchase decision than we can provide our pr/s in the manner necessary to create the sale. It is much easier and wiser to use a pre-existing system - in this case a comfortable buying strategy, than to try to create a whole new buying pattern. "

Excerpt from my new E-Book How to Become a Sales God
available at www.godsofsales.com
Click to Order Online Now!

For The Beautiful Mind

Blog for the Beautfiul...
Current mood: awake

...as we lead our lives forward and we make it a habit to continually grow as a person and develop our abilities whether professional or otherwise we further realize that circumstances, results, and most anything that occurs in our lives is directly related to us. Failure to create this belief fuels personality types that embellish pessimism, that seek separation, that see differences, problems, and fragmentation as absolute, as real, and as immovable forces that block ones life. This realization is what empowers highly successful individuals. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they believe that the can change almost anything, they believe they produce circumstances, not out of vanity or ignorance, but usually out of experience and information. This is what leads one that achieves a high level of self efficacy to attribute results to themselves, to take responsibility; knowing full well that they have empowered themselves to be the primary factor in creating the desired outcomes. Napolean Bonaparte once said "Circumstances-what circumstances? I make circumstances." Now its imperative not to confuse the ends with the means or the process with the content. Very often you'll see the case were an individual, organization, country, or any such group of individuals loses awareness of the primary process that leads to these striking abilities to create circumstances. As previously mentioned, a multi-faceted array of factors are at play continuously in creation, and losing sight of this can lead to trouble. In the chapter dealing with acceleration and adaptation you will be introduced to one such factor, or template, that underlies creation and circumstances. Now, when you lose sight of the very fundamentals of growth and development that create the empowering offspring within oneself, and the enhanced abilities to create, achieve, and command circumstance; the reverse will become evident...you will become prey to the evolving circumstances. Dwelling in a self enchanted world of complacency has always been the recipe for decadence - personally, professionally, politically...basically in every living system from microbes to whole civilizations.
So we use the word Holon (borrowed from Koestler) to convey the fact of everything being both a part and a whole. A whole is autonomous and can function independently and assert itself, and a part functions within a larger whole and is integrative. As this relates to ourselves, I would like to include a little message from Confucius, the ancient Chinese sage, to put this concept into perspective:
"The ancient who desired to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the empire, first ordered well their own state.
Wishing to order well their own state, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they
first cultivated their own persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their heart. Wishing to
rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts,
they extended their knowledge to the utmost; and this extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were
sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their heart being rectified, their persons
were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their family being regulated, their
states were rightly governed. Their states being rightly governed, their whole empire was made tranquil and happy.
From the emperor down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person, the root of every
thing besides."

- excerpt, Untitled, Angel Armendariz

Interconnected

Entree for Thought? -

Our linear thinking limits our lives in many ways. This type of thinking is always looking for single and sequential causes. This such thing does not exist in our known Universe. Our minds, however, have the extraordinary ability to deceive us into believing such thinking is rational. Dr. David R. Hawkins own realization of such process goes, " It apparently occurred...that they were not at the mercy of the world but rather affected only by what their minds believed...It seemed that the great tragedy of human life had always been that the psyche is so easily deceived." Whatever we believe and look for our minds will find; it will purposefully, at your command, filter information to make it fit to your assumptions. Generally speaking, our logic as a society believes in fragmented lines of action, emotions, feelings; as well as in things like work, relationships, education, and politics. This leads to fundamental and structural imbalances in our state of being. The pattern typically is a simple form of if "a" then "b."
So for example: If I study hard I will get good grades. We give this issue value by the belief that everything has only one essential cause, and that the given circumstance is separate from everything else. So thus this type of thinking follows: If I study hard I will get good grades...my thoughts have no effect on the outcome, my emotions have no effect, my diet has no effect, the amount of water i consume has no effect, my workout routine has no effect, etc. This common form of thought process that we take for granted, that we make automatic, that we consider true, further reinforces our minds to exclude every other effect, cause, possibility, or perhaps error in our form of thought and gradually leads to disillusionment, confusion, and compounded blockages in our lives. Great minds make distinctions that create unique outcomes; that liberate onces power to do and be more.

excerpt, Untitled, Angel Armendariz

Natural Turbulence

The very nature of this dynamic play of forces in our life is quite amazing. Literary history records this underlying template as it has been interpreted through the lens of the understanding of that particular epoch. Lao Tsu, ancient Chinese sage, speaks of flowing with natures movement and of merging with nature's generative processes. As David Hinton, in the Introduction to the English translation of the Tao Te Ching put it, "Lao Tzu's thought is driven by a sense of exile that derives from a fundamental rupture between human being and natural process."
Ralph Waldo Emerson with his authoritative transcendentalism, effortlessly conveyed cohesive elements between man, his faculties, and natures processes. Emerson writes:

...The changes which break up at short intervals the prosperity of men are advertisements of a nature whose law is growth. Every soul is by this intrinsic necessity quitting its whole system of things, its friends and home and laws and faith, as the shell-fish crawls out of its beautiful but stony case, because it no longer admits of its growth, and slowly forms a new house. In proportion to the vigor of the individual these revolutions are frequent...But to us, in our lapsed estate, resting, not advancing, resisting, not cooperating with the divine expansion, this growth comes by shocks...

So, this brings us to now ask what are the consequences of not abiding by this natural template of growth? Emerson was accurate, in the last part of the statement above..."growth comes in shocks!" If grow isn't heeded...then shocks enter in life...now they come out of the very program of nature for one cannot defeat the forces of nature, and so after an extended time of no acceleration "shocks" will present themselves...usually unexpectedly to force your evolution (which is supposed to be a "good" thing, though few of us would consider abrupt shocks "good")...at last you cannot escape your growth, lest you surrender to an early self termination by continual atrophy of your self.
Emerson concurs, follow:

...Calamity...which seemed nothing but privation, somewhat later assumes the aspect of a guide or genius; for it commonly operates revolutions in our way of life, terminates an epoch of infancy or of youth which was waiting to be closed, breaks up a wonted occupation, or a household, or style of living, and allows the formation of new ones more friendly to the growth of character. It permits or constrains the formation of new acquaintances and the reception of new influences that prove of the first importance to the next years;..."
- excerpt, Untitled, upcoming book by Angel Armendariz.

Golden State Warriors and You!

Golden State Warriors and You!
Current mood: energetic

Yes, in case you've been slumbering under a rock recently, the biggest upset in NBA playoff history occurred a couple of days ago...Golden State (an 8th seated) defeated the Dallas Mavs (1 Seated)...As a banner a fan held up at the game said "We're gonna Shock the World" - and they did. How does this effect you? Well it just provides a living example of Congruency.
By congruency I mean a strong, complete, and belief laden intention. To be strong and complete means using all your faculties and aligning them to the intent. This is easier said than done. Dallas, I believe, partially lost the series do to a lack of congruency...it was evident not only in there playing, but also in post game interviews and just the way they carried themselves. They had somehow began to have doubt, or perhaps fear of their battle with the Golden State Warriors. As soon as this virus made host in the minds of a few Mavericks...it spread and it defeated them. Golden State on the other hand, partially because of the circumstance...had no pressure on them and no fear because the had nothing to lose. This allowed them to play with "abandon," fearless action is a powerful force that can pulverize obstacles.
We take this example and use it as a reference to learn from ourselves. Play with abandon and seek congruency. Congruency is a somewhat ephemeral condition, for congruency can truly be acknowledged subjectively. When you know without doubt, hesitation, and you expect your intention to manifest wholeheartedly you know that congruency is near completion. Lack of action towards your goals is also a sign of incongruency...usually doubt or lack of knowledge. If one fails to take action one must look at what information is missing from their current repetoire that is making the next step tentative. Supplant the missing pieces until action is confidently taken. The most important factor is always under your control...decisions...therefore you are infinitely empowered to create masterpieces as you will.

Explosions - Unlimited Self?

"The eye is heavenly in its nature. Hence man elevates himself above the earth only with they eye; hence, theory begins with the contemplation of the heavens. The first philosophers were astronomers. It is the heavens that admonish man of his destination, and remind him that he is destined not merely to action, but also to contemplation. The absolute to man is his own nature. The power of the object over him is therefore the power of his own nature...
Every limitation of the reason, or in general of the nature of man, rests on a delusion, an error. It is true that the human being, as an individual, can and must - feel and recognise himself to be limited, but he can become conscious of his limits, his finiteness, only because the perfection, the infinitude of his species, is percieved by him, whether as an object of feeling, of conscience, or of thinking consciousness. If he makes his own limitations the limitations of the species, this arises from the mistake that he identifies himself immediately with the species - a mistake which is intimately connected with the individuals love of ease, sloth, vanity, and egoism.
- excerpt; The Essence of Christianity, by Ludwig Feuerbach
- great book, by an often overlooked German philosopher....I thought I would share this interpretation of his....its a very interesting conjecture on limitations...hope this empowers you...

Strategy - How to Win

Strategy is the use of a plan to create a certain outcome. Under this definition, strategy has the qualities of immense value and immense power. How well do you strategize? Don't know? Well when was the last time you had a desire or goal and obtained it? How long did it take, and how much did you learn. You see strategy has many threads and repercussions...with strategy you empower yourself to create the life you want for yourself and others...and the repercussions include knowledge, evolution, and serendipities.
The fuel and fruit of strategy is information....information will open the world to you and further more make the universe surrender to you. As a time-binding species we need not "reinvent the wheel" we can simply use effective strategies of others (w/ information), and create the outcomes desired. Well, what about "new" outcomes, or "uncharted" waters? Look closely and you'll get the response....what strategy did Einstein use to come up with new theories? What strategy did Bill Gates use to open a "new" market, or Steve Jobs, or how did Warren Buffett amass such incredible results in the stock market?....Answer begins with focus (what is the "new" i want?) and information (learning, reading, asking). The repetition of this strategy at an accelerated rate equals results...(i'm presupposing action is taken consistently as well.)
Gerry Spence, the famous criminal attorney and writer puts it this succinct way "Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. And Win."
Same equation with different variables. Use it.

Recapitulation and Forecasting

To recapitulate is to remember. It implies a more conscious remembrance as if with purpose or intent. This amazing ability to use our hindsight can be used as a powerful weapon in our lives to achieve mastery in whatever we choose. It provides us with a personal gauge of where we have been, what we have done, how much we have grown, and further allows us to accept or reject personal behaviors that have led to certain outcomes.
The brother of recapitulation is forecasting. Forecasting is the ability to imagine future outcomes. Through forecasting our minds boomerang outcomes into the future for us to witness. Used consciously in a manner similar to recapitulating; forecasting is the ultimate ally to success.
Where do you see yourself in three years? What would you like to be surrounded by? How would you like to look? How much money would you like to make?
Questions like these help create the image and scene to be forecasted. This forecasting exercise to be effective needs to be challenging, and believable. In addition, it needs to be emotionally and viscerally witnessed...you need to feel the excitement, energy...you need to feel your heart beating faster...you need to feel the power!
You need to feel the FEAR...the terror of not changing anything in 3 years...imagine not a single thing getting better in 3 years...imagine going through the same motions, seeing the same things, feeling the same feelings...imagine all novelty gone...imagine being in a state of atrophy, were everything is breaking down!
The forecasting method if applied passionately and with constant reminders and conditioning will immediately change your behaviors. It will give you a map as to what must be done. The skills you need to work on; the abilities you need to cultivate; the routines you need to eliminate; the time management you must be conscious of.

Liberation

"We are never aware of this particular steady kind of 'emotional' tension, which involves hidden fears, anxieties, uncertainties, frustrations, etc., and through the nervous mechanisms of projection colour harmfully our attitudes toward the world and life in general. Such conditions result in defensiveness, which is no defense, but a wasteful, useless drain on the limited nervous capacities." - Alfred Korzybski, from Science and Sanity

To Imagine ourselves as a micro-economy of sorts would help illustrate Korzybski's insight. The state of your economical well being would be dictated by the adequate use of your resources. Our willful energy applied per unit of time throughout the day would be the gauge used to measure the economical efficiency of our selves. So in general, choosing, allowing, or accepting a state of fear, anxiety, frustration, worry, etc., would be an incredible waste of our willful energy . Its interesting to note that we have a choice on how to interpret our environment, circumstances, and opportunities; and unfortunately out of habit we many times choose the energy draining negative economy of painful emotional tension.
In a life affirming self-economy one would choose to nurture a state of great feelings, high expectations, confidence, and love. There is no need for additional energy, just simply redirecting and choosing a productive use of our willful energy.
Just as the emotional tension states create a limited life in shackles; the opposite creates a state of liberation that gives us a glimpse of the infinite potential within ourselves.

The Power of Problems

"...obstacles are very useful to man; if they did not exist they would have to be created intentionally, because it is by overcoming obstacles, that man develops those qualities he needs."
- G.I. Gurdjieff, from In Search of the Miraculous.

The word obstacles can be also replaced with what we call "problems," and "resistance," or even the word "failure"
Its interesting to note that it is by overcoming problems that we grow, become more peaceful, powerful, fulfilled. It gives us a certainty in our abilities. We are made to function as problem solvers...its inherent in every aspect of our beings. If you look at people who are "successful" most of them have "intentionally" created problems, in a simple equation #of problems/unit of time = success. The only thing you need to add is keeping your mind on what outcome your shooting for. Arnold Schwarzenegger was a champion bodybuilder in large part because he "created" more "problems." As a matter of fact he would spend about 2 1/2 hrs a day creating enormous obstacles for himself...its called weight lifting. Now, because he created more problems(weights) and overcame them (lifting the weight)...he created "success."
Michael Jordan, believe it or not, holds only 1 NBA record...the most missed shots...again a perfect example of this powerful principle at work.
Think of how this principle applies in sales, relationships, subjective experience, and just about everything. In sales it is commonly said that the best salesman/woman gets more "no's" than the unsuccessful sales person. That is, they encounter more obstacles, and are able to adjust there presentations to refine and hone their skill level. The good thing for us is that we can create artificial problems and develop a high skill level in any arena we choose to be successful in.

Truth and Inspiration

Today I have two profound statements from 2 wise individuals...one lived over 2000 years ago, and the other is still alive. Consciously becoming aware of this information creates a life support for success...

How To Know God- Deepak Chopra
" when a person is able to create outcomes in his life while another person merely experiences random events the difference is a choice not taken."

Inspiration

When you are inspired by some great,
purpose, some extraordinary project,
all your thoughts break their bonds;
Your mind transcends limitations,
your consciousness expands in every direction,
and you find yourself in a new, great
and wonderful world.
Dormant forces, faculties, and talents
become alive, and you discover yourself
to be a greater person by far
than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
- Patanjali 1st-3rd Century B.C.
author of the Yoga Sutras

Business Development +

"Yet it is dangerously tempting to keep on patching yesterday's garment rather than work on designing tomorrow's pattern." - Peter Drucker, Famous Business Consulting Guru.

This statement by Peter Drucker is a devilishly accurate bit of information. In consulting businesses Peter was ahead of his time and maverick in style. Businesses hungry for profits and intent on being the best should wholeheartedly keep this wisdom in mind. If all one does as the leader of an organization is solve current problems, that is, patching the garment; then he/she can be forsaking future profitability. Exploiting opportunities with integrity is what the opposite of being a patchmaker would be. Searching for tomorrow's pattern, and taking action to build it, is what this wise dictum is all about. Now the most amazing part of this statement is the fact that it applies not only to businesses, but also in our relationships, personal development, and spiritual awareness.

Sacred present

Have you ever stopped to think that you're living at the pinnacle of existence? Think about it, the "present" exists in perpetual continuity...so in essence you are the peak of all life in the Universe. I bring this up just to affirm the realization that enjoyment, happiness, and bliss is found in this "present" the future is inert without this gift. Furthermore, as you stop to realize this, make a commitment to allow yourself to enjoy these feelings of bliss...carry them with you...and share them with your social network. The mindset that says enjoy only until the end, or enjoy and move on is primitive...its based on the either/or dichotomy; black & white, this or that. Realize that it can be a multi-layered life you lead, that is, enjoy perpetually, continuously, and to higher levels....while simultaneously keeping action in focus towards your goals, commitments, and on going achievements on your exploration we call life.

Business, Personal, and Spiritual Efficacy/ Success

This post is dedicated to individuals committed to self improvement. The themes will center around general principles that apply to an individuals personal, business, and spiritual well-being. The information era that we are present in has provided most everyone with unprecedented opportunities...Information creates the potential for the realization of increased possibilities in each individuals life. I will act as a guide that filters pertinent information in all arenas of efficacy, and will distill that information into readily usable principles to enhance business, personal, and spiritual improvement. I encourage readers to comment, ask questions, and provide feedback...cheers!