Tim Ferris brings an analytical, yet accessible, approach to the challenges of self-improvement and career advancement through what he calls “lifestyle design.” His 2007 book, The 4-Hour Workweek , a self-improvement program of four steps: defining aspirations, managing time, creating automatic income and escaping the trappings of the 9-to-5 life.
Tim describes our modern worker society as believing that responding to email is doing actual work. We’ve become a society of digital bit pushers that have no more found a way to be happy than the pencil pushers that have come before us, except now everything buzzes, flashes, beeps and demands our attention. And it feels good to engage in that finite moment of Pavlovian validation so we keep doing it. But in the end we have accumulated nothing but a digital log of empty experiences that have done nothing to advance our respective goals in life and we wonder why we are so miserable.
Each of us has to face the truth of our lives based on the decisions and belief systems in which we have invested. If we don’t like the results then it is up to us to change, and that’s easier said than done because it’s hard to view yourself objectively and thus understand what to do next.
Are subconscious beliefs sabotaging your personal power?
What’s at your core? It’s not always easy to slice into the center and uncover our core beliefs and values. When we do this we may find some very negative ones left over from childhood. If you got more “I can’t” than “I can” messages as a child, you are probably having more “I can’t” than “I can” experiences as an adult. In other words, if you heard messages from parents and other authority figures that told you that your opinion didn’t count and that your actions didn’t matter, you are likely to have subconscious beliefs that mirror those ideas. The result is often a person with deep insecurities about their ability to positively affect the course of their lives.
Some people overcompensate for this feeling of powerlessness by making a career out of becoming powerful. Usually this sense of power is achieved by acquiring money, possessions and social status. Unfortunately, these external signs of power seldom satisfy the gnawing feeling of insecurity and powerlessness within. People with authentic power can have an abundance of money, possessions and social status, but their personal power does not come from the things they have, but rather from who they are.
Your self-esteem profoundly influences how others view you. If your self-esteem is high, other people will tend to see you that way also. However, if your self-esteem is low, others will respond accordingly with a lack of confidence and trust in you.
The way people treat you is a reflection of your subconscious beliefs. If you want to change how you are treated, you need to change the self-sabotaging beliefs causing undesirable treatment. As the saying goes, “If you can’t love yourself, you can’t expect others to.”
1. I deeply appreciate and accept myself.
2. I trust the decisions I make.
3. I trust the guidance I am receiving.
4. I do my best and my best is good enough.
5. I deserve to be happy.
6. I am worthy of the very best that life has to offer.
7. I acknowledge my ability and responsibility to make a positive difference in the world.
8. I actively embrace the opportunities that come with change.
9. I am true to my personal vision.
10. I am willing to take the risks necessary to live my life openly and honestly.
11. I give myself permission to do what I love.
12. I am proud of who I am and I am a good person.
To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.
The Internal Observer < – click the title to view the youtube video.
The Eternal Observer is a powerful tool for self-improvement and personal development. The Internal Observer is an aspect of the Self, the part of the psyche capable of self-observation, evaluation and reasoning. During our journey through life, we face different situations that are both challenges and learning experiences. Many times our paths seem to reach a crossroads. At these moments, the only resource to be accessed comes straight from the Light and the knowledge of ones own soul.
Through developing and installing an Internal Observer we widen our personal ability to be self-reflective and therefore enabling ourselves to be more aware of our environment, interactions and relationships.
The Humanity Healing Network is offering series of free classes to help you achieve Self-Mastery in your life. The Internal Observer is one of the tools you will learn.
Dear Timethief–This was a lovely piece! I just finished revising the parts of my book where I was first in recovery (and I finished this revision–yay) and as I read this, I recalled the affirmations I said to myself each day.
At first, I didn’t believe them–but over time, we can train our thoughts so that we begin to view ourselves in a more positive, loving light.
Your post was a wonderful reminder to all of us to do just that.
Love,
Melinda
Dear Melinda,
I have been reading your blog as I subscribe and I’m so excited about the progress you have made with your book. It must be difficult to prune but you are such an excellent writer, thinker and person that I know what you retain will be all the right stuff.
I have had a hard winter. I used to be one of a trio of three women who were very close for decades and this year when I unexpectedly lost both (aneurysm and and undetected congenital heart condition) I slid into a depression. I’m currently struggling with some health issues but my mental set is good now and I am ready to meet challenges head on.
All my love,
TiTi
This is a fantastic, incisive critique of Tim Ferris’ work. There are many aspects of this I agree with particularly the work we often have to do as adults to let go of the learned patterns of behaviour.
It is only when we can truly let go and give ourselves fully to a new set of values and constructs, that spiritual progress occurs.
We cling to old belief systems and destructive patterns because they are familiar and our ego is fear driven and removed from reality.
Often, great change occurs as a result of desperation as it it is only when we are completely broken do we become willing to listen to a different message.
Everything in this life, I believe, is given to us as a learning opportunity, it’s up to us to accept it with grace or reject it and remain entrenched in the old patterns.
“Nothing changes if nothing changes”
@Ladygoodwood,
What you have said is wonderfully said. I agree 100%.
Hello Timethief,
Wow! How interesting…
I am an old-school yoga teacher – been doing that passionately for over 10 years now. Last summer I had a series of visions which led me to a brand new alternative healing modality called Reference Point Therapy. I realized that I had to start healing people more directly – yoga is slow!
RPT is ultra fast. It was developed by Simon Rose, a successful, internationally recognised healer, who basically ‘came out’ and said: “you know what, alternative healing is generally less successful than a placebo” (the truth!).
I studied RPT, and am now practicing and teaching it.
The reason for telling you all this is that Simon has several times recommended Tim Ferriss’s 4 Hour Work Week! Now I will certainly get it :)
I love your article, and the way in which you are bringing integrity and ethics firmly into your business-like approach. Its so damn refreshing to see that!
One comment for you – you are absolutely right about subconscious beliefs blocking our success. However, there is another level which is more important than beliefs – beliefs are not the cause, they’re kind of between cause and symptom. The cause is usually a deep vibration, or feeling, that is connected to survival. I don’t have time to go into it too much, but if you read the article on COHERENCE on my blog you’ll get the gist of it, and if you really want to understand it deeply, have a look at Simon Rose’s blog here:
http://www.referencepointtherapy.com/blog/
(I think you’ll like it:)
With love,
Ben
Hello Ben,
Thanks so much for your visit and your comment too. I hope you don’t think I’m giving your comment short shrift because I’m not. I value it and I’m delighted to me you as we have so much in common.
This week I am running back and forth between medical appointments and I will not have the time to visit your blog, and to check into what you have posted in your comment until Sunday or Monday.
Peace be with you always,
TiTi
“But in the end we have accumulated nothing but a digital log of empty experiences that have done nothing to advance our respective goals in life and we wonder why we are so miserable.”
Hi Timethief ~ I found the statement above so very accurate and ‘telling’
I also enjoyed the video, but I worried a little about the using of probably copyright material as being ‘fair use’ – only a small worry.
It sounds a really good organisation – I just want it to have the most solid foundation.
It’s really good to have found you again
xhenry
Hello there,
It’s so good to see you. I confess I haven’t visited your blog in ages. I’ve been so down that I have reverted to reading the blogs I subscribe to by email without commenting.
I’m a paralegal and I’m not worried about the video as they want us to “spread the word” and embeds are allowed. This is Fair Use. However, I do intend to go through my whole blog and remove all videos and provide only links. This is not for copyright reasons. I just don’t want to use my visitors to use my bandwidth when they can click through and view on youtube.
Love and peace,
TiTi
Hi timethief ~ I’ve been going through your site and it’s really excellent.
I confess to hypocricy regarding the copyright issue.
I suddenly realised that I had used a YouTube video in my latest post, with West Side Story and although YouTube had allowed it to be released – copyright would still rest with the film-makers and it would I guess be up to them to have it taken down or left up.
So sorry ~ I guess I was a bit heavy on point 10
:)
henry
Dear Henry,
No you weren’t heavy and even if you had been I can take it. I’m updated on both American and Canadian copyright and other legal issues due to the contract work I do.
Today I am giving thanks because being at BlogCatalog where trolls rule the forum has helped me develop a very thick skin. It’s also helped me to see how insecure trolls are. I checked to see how often certain trollish members were posting to the BlogCatalog forum just before I returned. Their log-in records and forum posting patterns demonstrated they had by and large deserted. When I returned I checked once again and did so without logging out as I’m not a sneak. Predictably they immediately came out from under their rocks, increased their presence and postings to the forum and reverted to their asshole and doll tag team posting routine.
It’s truly pathetic to see human beings acting like tree peeing dogs marking “their forum”. Meanwhile we can continue to pray with open hearts for their release from their obsession with power and control over a dead forum that isn’t theirs to begin with, knowing that release isn’t possible until they do become conscious.
Take good care,
TiTi
Hey TiTi,
Having read the above comments and your last, I’d say that it sounds like you’re going through a tough time. I hope you’re feeling ok, and remember – everything is temporary in this world. When you’re down, it’s only a matter of time before you’re back up again… so ‘keep your pecker up’ as we say where I’m from, and keep on spreading the love!
All the best,
Ben
@Ben
I have been going through a dark time. I live with chronic pain and a spinal bone disease which is in recession. I have had over 20 years of this now. I endure periodic flare-ups and I’m in a full blown one right now. I prefer not to dwell on my health and disabilities in this blog as that’s not what’s it’s for. I do have a private journal blog and that’s where I pour out all my personal stuff and analyze it too.
I’m an introvert and in person I am the least chatty of all the females I know. Remarkably I’m more chatty online than I am off-line. My friends call me “taciturn” and I agree that their label is the right one for me. :) I read almost every post on the blogs on my reading list. I rarely comment, unless I feel I have something truly meaningful to say.
May peace be with you always,
TiTi
Friend of mine who now teaches kung-fu said that when he was a school-kid he took it up to stop getting beaten up. When he’d been training for some time he was very good in sparring and whatnot, but he would still get beaten up.
He had a great and inspiring master. One time when he got attacked he sort of channeled the personality of this master like a method actor, and fought ‘as’ him. I don’t know whether this was contrived or spontaneous, but it worked – he got his victory over his bullies at last. As the master-persona he was free of his usual self-doubt.
Now he considers this an inferior way to win. He says that rather than fight as some positive persona (regardless of whether it’s ‘my’ persona or someone else’s) it is best of all to fight as no-persona. This is in accord with manuals of war such as those written by Sun Tzu, Takuan Soho and Miyamoto Musashi. They all say that one has to completely let go of self and become at one with the activity in order to attain a full self-expression. Athletes who are deeply ‘in the zone’ experience something like this.
I think that positive affirmations get you past a hump, but real enduring personal power comes from discarding any defined, inflexible sense of self.
This is not like being an amnesiac: the flavour and quirks of the personality still manifest, but there is not the same insecure clunking awkwardness of being an ego trying to steer a mind and body like a car, if you see what I mean.
Hope this is helpful.
G
It occurs to me that I should refer you to someone who can talk about these things with real authority.
Ramana Maharshi:
[http://www.beasyouare.info/beasyouare.html]
Nisargadatta Maharaj:
[http://www.celextel.org/otherbooks/iamthat.html]
(The late) Douglas Harding has a good website as well:
[www.headless.org]
His ‘pointing’ experiments may seem dumb but they’re not.
Cheers !
I don’t know why you presume that I do not speak with my own authority or why I would have to seek authority without when I am tuned in within. However, thanks for your references and your concern.
I meant as opposed to my own very limited authority.
Whoa, was what I said so bad you had to delete it?
I certainly did not mean to be scornful or hurtful; I actually respect you and feel for you, tested as you apparently are right now with this and that difficulty and tragedy. I really wanted to help; sorry if I was ham-fisted about it.
Please point out any errors or transgressions in what I said.
Best wishes (for real!)
G
@G
I aim to publish in this blog twice weekly and I’m usually able to do that. I don’t know what deletion you are referring to. I received several comments from you and have not deleted any.
Strange – I would see ‘comment awaiting moderation’; would check occasionally for an answer, then it vanished from my sight altogether – so I thought it had been wiped. Referring to the anecdote about my friend; the first comment. Sorry!