Water for Elephants

Do you know the language of your Unconscious Mind?

Tonight I saw the lovely new movie Water for Elephants with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, and another very intriguing character: Rosie the circus elephant. The movie takes place during the depression in the 1930s when every business was desperately trying to stay ahead of the banks. The travelling circus that Pattinson finds himself amidst of is no different. Faced with the likelihood of going bust, faith (and the remainder of the funds) is placed on a new act: Rosie the Elephant. Though this majestic creature is a perfect fit for the already zoo-like collection of circus characters, what was overlooked was the fact that not one person knew exactly how to communicate with this docile animal.

Elephants, much like your household dog, are perfect servants, and very well behaved when trained properly, and treated kindly. Once they learn what their trainer wants them to do, they will do it consistently when asked. Once they learn the commands, they will produce the behaviours that accompany those commands.

Pattinson in the movie is given the task of training this huge animal so it can provide the circus with the fervour needed to draw crowds big enough to pull the sinking company from bankruptcy. Though he is trained as a veterinarian, and he understands animals very well, he is unable to communicate effectively with Rosie for quite some time. One evening, after a long day of training, Pattinson, in passing, speaks to Rosie in a whole different language entirely. Out of habit, he uses his mother tongue Polish accidentally and discovers that she responds perfectly to his commands. When she is spoken to in Polish, she does exactly as she is told every time.

As soon as he knew how to say what he wanted from Rosie, she could provide him with what he wanted.

This is a beautiful metaphor for the Unconscious Mind. Like an elephant with a rider atop it, or a trainer in the ring, your Unconscious Mind only works with what it is told, and in a certain specific language. If given instructions that are unrecognisable to your Unconscious Mind, like Rosie, it will not produce the desired effect. You will get spotty results at best.

And more to the point: If one is careless with the language used to communicate with the Unconscious Mind, results cannot be predicted, like the behaviour of Rosie the elephant.

The sooner you can learn the language of your Unconscious Mind, the more easily you will be able to focus on, and work towards what you want. If, however, the language you use to communicate is unclear, you won’t get what you want.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a great tool for communicating with the Unconscious Mind in a way that makes it easy and effortless to get any goal that you put out there. Once you learn the language, all that is needed is accurate instructions.

Have you been using the right language to communicate with your Unconscious Mind? Have you been clear about what you want, and how to get it?

When will now be the right time to learn? Check out the link for information on & trainings in Neuro Linguistic Programming:

http://www.confidentfuture.com.au/

How productive are you?

Maybe you should start with asking yourself how long it's been since you’ve seen the top of you desk . . .

Are there areas of your life that are not running as smoothly as you would like them to? Are you finding it difficult to become motivated or focused on tasks at hand in your business or career? If so, perhaps the first step is smaller than you think.

Work through this list to clean up your desk, your paperwork, and make a little more space for new challenges and goals at work:

1) Start with making a To Do List and put it in a place where you can refer to it daily.

2) Get an Appointment Calendar, or learn to use the one on your computer AND phone.

-Put all your appointments in it, and refer to it daily.

-STICK TO IT

3) Clean your house, car and office.

-Throw away everything you don’t use.

-A great general rule here is if you haven’t used it in 6 months, it needs to go.

-Anything outdated should be thrown out

-File all paper that you don’t throw away

-Clean up your car, and get it serviced.

-Clean out all filing cabinets.

-Clean off the top of your desk. Throw away unused materials, and unneeded clutter.

4) Get your checkbook/accounts balanced.

-Get all financial statements (Profit & Loss, Balance Sheets) up to date,

-KEEP THEM UP TO DATE

5) Pay all your bills or make arrangements and or agreements as to when you will pay them.

6) Make a list of everyone who owes you money, or who has borrowed things.

-Write and call them for repayment or return of the item, or

-Cross them off the list and decide it is complete

7) Make a list of all the things you have started but are not yet complete.

-Complete the list, or

-Cross item off the list and decide it is complete.

8) Make a list of agreements you’ve made.

-Fulfill all past agreements,

-Renegotiate and make new agreements with any that you cannot fulfill

9) Take responsibility for your business/career.

-Do only what you can

-Delegate the rest

-Do not overcommit without a plan to follow through

10) Take care of your physical body.

-Eat well

-Exercise daily

-Get adequate rest

-Be in charge of your emotional state.

Now that your desk, car, and house are clean, wouldn’t now be a good time to clean up the clutter inside? . . .

What’s on your Bucket List?

Are there things in your life that are incomplete?

Do you have projects at work that you have been putting off for a time in the future when you will have ‘more time’?

In your personal relationship, is there anything that you have been avoiding? Something you know has been bothering you for some time, but you have been neglecting? And are there goals that you have that you wish to achieve one day? You know the ones. The ones that are so big, sometime you think you might not yet have the tools to achieve them?

We all have these things in our lives, don’t we? The little things that have fallen by the wayside, and the big things that seem inconceivable to us.

But you know the truth is, that the more we deny either of these goals; The little ones, that when piled on top of each other can become overwhelming, and those big dreams you have for yourself. The more time and energy we spend on the action of ‘not doing’ the more energy we rob ourselves of for our outcomes for the future.

And I know what you must be thinking? But how can I get all my outcomes? There are so many things I want to do, and how will I know if I can make it happen? Good news, friends. There are a few simple things you can do now to get clarity on clearing your desk...and getting everything you want:

What’s on your list? I think we can all agree that before you can get accurate directions to our destination, we must first know where we are. But the next most important piece of information is knowing our destination. I used to be a delivery person in my neighborhood for the local news paper. Easy enough job, but you know what...not everyone in my neighborhood got a copy of the paper. So to make my job easy and efficient, I had to first make a list of where I had to go, and in what order. This made my job very easy and effortless. Get out the list, and the map, and get to work. So first, friends, you need to make a list of all the destinations you need to get to, and then you can consult the map.

Now, unlike my paper route, you have the luxury and ability to make a list of ANY destinations you can fathom. Take some time now and make up your own “Bucket List” for all the things you want in your life.

What would you attempt if you had guaranteed success?