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To clear things up from the get-go, this is not meant to be derogatory or judgmental to people of low or no means. 

This is a topic of “generalizations”, and not about pointing my finger at anyone, and calling them “poor”. 

In my mind EVERYONE has HUGE inherent personal potential. 

Having said that, I have lived for almost 2 decades in a developing country (Indonesia), and travelled to over 50 countries around the world (including most of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America), where I have observed – first hand – poverty. 

I am also a fan of the work of Margatte Wade an entrepreneur born in Senegal, who wrote an excellent book – ‘The Heart of a Cheetah‘ – and is very clear about why there is so much poverty in Africa. She believes the way out of poverty for many Africans, is free markets and economic freedom (i.e. ease of creating and doing business), to unlock the vast amount of entrepreneurial talent bubbling away throughout Africa. 

The first point I want to make is that this “case study” is a VERY common one. 

In fact, working on someone’s Belief Systems is the Number 1 thing I do with ALL of my clients.

Meaning, ALL of us have beliefs which are not serving us. 

Some are clear to us, and others, are so subtly invasive, and enmeshed into our identity and stories, they wreak havoc without us understanding why.

So what follows is a great example of a client I recently worked with. 

They were in their early 30’s, highly capable, intelligent, driven and what we might call a high-performer. 

However, they had this annoying little belief, planted when they were about 5 or 6 years of age, which made their life WAY harder than it needed to be.

I started writing this article, up in the mountains of Bali (near Mount Batukaru), and it is frankly a little chilly sitting here outside. 

So I might have to write a relatively short article today, so I can head down the mountain and warm my toes.

Short, but not simple, or unimportant. 

Because I have a good feeling, that a lot of you who read my newsletters, are in the top echelon of human being, and are kind, compassionate and empathetic. 

Am I right? 

I reckon so. 

But there is an interesting thing I will share today about EMPATHY, that I have thought about, paid attention to, and recently learned a bit of age-old wisdom in regards to empathy’s potential “downside”. 

Who would have thought? 

How could there be a dark side to empathy? 

Well let me share with you what I have come to understand. 

Once a month I will record a short 3-5 min video with a practical Tip, Tool, or Strategy. Today is the first edition, and is one of the most important (and simple) STRATEGIES that I teach all my private Coaching clients. It will improve your decision-making “RESULTS” by about 200%!

Enjoy. 

I am a fan of writing articles inspired by “real life stuff“, so it is actually relatable and relevant. 

As you probably know; we have been building a new house in Bali over the past 6-7 months. 

And any of you who have done the house building thing, or a major home renovation, know that it is a bit of a white-knuckle roller-coaster ride at times. 

Or for an added degree of difficulty, build in a foreign country where you don’t speak the lingo of the Javanese tradesmen. 

What a ride!

So close, and yet…

Anyway, after an incident the other morning, along with a conversation I had with a coaching client the other day, and my recent yoga training experience; I was pondering the subject of “MANIFESTING YOUR DESIRES” (with grace) and thought it would be a great conversation for today. 

Are you ready to dive in? 

Let’s go.  

I am still pretty pumped up after finishing my yoga training course at The Practice recently. 

I LOVED going deep, deep, deep into the (actual) traditional teachings of the yogi’s, which were trialed, refined and repeated over 1000’s of years. 

And you want to know what? 

They were most interested in HOW TO THRIVE (as opposed to creating content for their Instagram account…ha ha ha).

That goal does not sound too different from where we are today. 

Most of us are also trying to figure out what things will make life easier, more fulfilling, more meaningful, filled with more of what we most desire and with the vitality to enjoy all of the great things we create.

I reckon after a few 1000 years of refinement; we might also figure out the best way to do it.

So, let’s dive into this “thing” that both Neuroscientists and ancient yogi’s agreed was a key piece to the THRIVING in life game. 

I had a very interesting conversation the other day, when I was talking about writing and publishing my books, and the capabilities of AI. 

The person I was talking to was very familiar with AI (about 127 times more than me), and used it frequently. 

They were also about 2 decades younger than me, so grew up in a very different time and age, particularly when it comes to technology. 

It was quite a fascinating conversation. 

Part of the focus of the conversation was about what AI could do when it comes to writing, and publishing, especially when it comes to producing an audiobook. 

Something that AI can probably do in a heartbeat. 

We had different points of view and that is where I had the most interesting insight. 

I am currently coming to the tail-end of a 200-hr Yoga Teaching Course at The Practice, where I was once a co-owner. 

I am loving being immersed back into the (VERY) traditional teachings of Hatha Yoga; which is very science-based, in that the practices are taught in a very intentional, sequential and strategic sequence, to ensure that a specific feeling and mental outcome is created, which is also teachable and replicable.

A complete Hatha Yoga practice – always – has movement (Asana), stillness for integration (Savasana), intentional breathing to influence the nervous system (Pranayama), and meditation.

One of the primary benefits of this practice is to initiate a deeper connection to our physical body, at a dense level, but also at a more subtle energetic level. 

If you boil us down to the bare bones, we are all energy, frequency and vibration (I think Nikolas Tesla said something like that). 

So my very singular point today is about how well, and how deeply are you listening to you body. 

Before you answer that question, let’s go on a short exploration, and then cycle back. 

Once a month I will record a short 3-5 min video with a practical Tip, Tool, or Strategy. Today is the first edition, and is one of the most important (and simple) STRATEGIES that I teach all my private Coaching clients. It will improve your decision-making “RESULTS” by about 200%!

Enjoy. 

I like this simple formula: E + R = O. 

There is so much packed into it. 

I actually have it as the Daily Tip on Day 10, of my 30-day challenge (Ignite Your Inner Greatness). 

In the formula; E stands for “Event“, R stands for “Response” and O stands for “Outcome“.

Essentially, we are saying that the Event, plus your RESPONSE to the Event, determines the ultimate OUTCOME. 

The Outcome is not fixed. 

It changes, depending on your interaction with it. 

Which also makes you pretty damn powerful. 

And today, we are going to take this even deeper. 

We are going to look at one HUGELY IMPACTFUL sub-element of your choice of response. 

We are going to explore the ‘MEANING‘ you give something, during, after, and even before and event unfolds.