I think we all need a reminder from time to time that we have internal resources. I got one the other day.

I was leaving the supermarket and noticed a woman who looked familiar. We exchanged “hellos” and went on our merry ways. I knew I knew her but didn’t know from where. I did the usual mental gymnastics that rarely work attempting to recall how I knew her. I finally let it go and a day later, while driving past the supermarket, it popped in. She’s the lady from the package store. It got me to wondering.

How often do we forget to remember that we have internal resources? There is a part of us that works on stuff. Notice we always go into competition with that part in an effort to do it all ourselves. That rarely works. Sometimes, you just have to hand it over and trust that your internal resources will work on what you’ve been working on.

We are a planet of people who overwork our intellects by asking them to do more than they are designed to do. We tire ourselves by expending mental energy on something that would be solved quicker if we just gave it a rest. There’s a reason they have rest periods in most of the major team sports. It not only recharges the body; it also recharges the mind.

We let our mind use us instead of using our mind. When we allow our mind to “un-cram,” we make a space for solutions.

Thinking is the most overrated function of the human mind. It’s a series of thought loops that keeps us going in circles. It’s productive to remember that we can truly benefit from a time out.

There is a certain level of trust necessary to allow your internal resources to work. We have misplaced our trust in thinking. We have set it up as an idol worth our worship, when it’s really a false god.

Our thinking works best when we give it a rest. Our intellect is very adept at assembling information. If you continually give it the same information, it will assemble the same solutions. Trying harder gets you more of the same.

Who hasn’t regretted dashing off a nasty-gram to someone that would have contained more effective language had they delayed it for a day or so?

Exasperation is the telltale clue that your thinking needs a break.

Remembering that you have internal resources and allowing them to work is the step necessary to prove the old axiom – “Work smarter, not harder.”

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com

How often have you heard or used the expression, “I don’t want to get involved”? For some people avoidance is a way of life. Such was the case for me. I would always be more comfortable as an observer on the periphery. I would always help when asked, but rarely offered unrequested assistance. To me it was giving people their privacy – something that I cherished.

Some people won’t ask for help. In the past, I was one of them. I carefully disguised any request I made so that it wouldn’t resemble me needing help, but deep down I knew that’s exactly what I needed. The result of this omission was that I didn’t get the help I wanted because I was too proud to admit that I needed it. People are not mind readers.

This practice is refusal to get involved with your own life. It’s a “Pollyanna” approach that falsely assumes everything will magically work out with no action on your part.

Getting involved with yourself goes well past meeting the wants and desires of the ego. It challenges you to admit to the human fear of being exposed, and leads you to discover the part of you that worships no false Gods. When you find this part of you, the outer walls come tumbling down and there is no “made up” you to hide anymore. You are open for inspection.

From this open perspective, you can ask for what you need without a hidden agenda of misrepresenting your request. That’s because you’ve chosen to allow people to see your true nature and true intent. This allows for more authentic responses because you are making more authentic requests.

Getting involved with yourself requires some action. The action is to dismantle, brick by brick, the façade you built that keeps your true nature from showing.

When we remove the window dressing of the ego and get involved with ourselves, we find a natural connection to others and their needs, and they to ours.

The longer you remain separate and apart, the more you believe in separation.

Getting involved begins first by recognizing there is more to you than a wall to keep people away. Next, your involvement has you take down that wall so that there is nothing to hide.

Honesty becomes our natural state when we remove the barriers and become involved. From a position of honesty, we can easily ask for assistance and respond to the needs of others without having to sacrifice a pseudo-self that no longer exists.

I can highly recommend getting involved.

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

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People who are perfectionists have a false sense of perfection. That’s why they usually come up short because they have an imperfect goal to shoot for.

A perfectionist denies reality by constantly expecting the upside and being highly disappointed with themselves and others when that’s not the case.

When people accept the reality that shows up, then they will truly know perfect. The Grasshopper reminded us that “Reality is Perfection.”

You can always count on reality to deliver what it delivers. You may be disappointed with what lands in your lap and decide to do something about it. That’s the nice thing about reality, it offers options. You can spend time by railing that the result is not perfect and endure the mental assault of your mind, or you can respond to the reality and create something different – another reality, another perfect.

There is an old saying that states, “You can’t push a river, but you can guide it.”

Perfectionists waste energy attempting to push the river. The river is going to do what it does and it’s too big and powerful to be pushed around. It can, however, be diverted and directed to where it serves our needs.

To guide the river, you need to first accept the results that you get. Notice I didn’t say settle for the results you get. Settling is giving up and being exasperated. That’s where most perfectionists wind up.

Yes, shoot for the moon and expect to get what you go after. That’s quite healthy. But not having a contingency plan for reality is as imperfect as it gets. Perfectionists are short-sighted and live in the clouds. They lack the flexibility necessary to deal with things when they don’t go as planned.

Having high standards and being a perfectionist are quite different. One knows the perfection of flexibility; the other attempts to live in the artist’s rendition of the home rather than in the home itself.

Make today a perfect day and respond to the perfection of reality.

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com

Webster tells us that “Dilute” means to thin or reduce the concentration of.

Back in January of 2005, The Grasshopper had this to say: “Water down your thoughts with the attention you give and you will feel the peace.“

There is a dual benefit to giving attention to another.

1. You make an instant connection with the other person by not being in your head. They can feel your attentive presence.
2. You feel the peace that comes without having thoughts fight for space in your head.

I discovered this phenomenon one night in Seattle. I was having a conversation with a friend’s son and noticed that I was going into my head and having commentary on what he was saying. I also noticed that I was not connecting with this young man. I immediately threw the clutch in and gave all my attention to what he was saying without having an internal rebuttal. The results were instant and astonishing.

I could actually feel the connection of the communication and the sense of peace that went along with it. I saw this young man’s attention come back to me in quick order and I offered him some direction that would have never surfaced if I didn’t dilute my thoughts. It was a breakthrough for both of us.

It’s the ultimate communications Win-Win.

Discipline yourself to stay out of your head when communicating with another and you will get surprising and productive results. You’ll never get this advice from the debating team coach. Debating is a strategy taught to win a war; communication is a framework to find the peace.

When you find yourself forming rebuttal arguments in your head while another is speaking, you are missing an opportunity to find the common ground that leads to peace. Give your full attention to another when communicating and notice what happens. By focusing your attention on them, you free space in your mind for something original to pop in – not the same old response that didn’t work before.

You may want to begin this practice in low risk situations like with conversations in the deli line. Then when you notice that the communication becomes richer, you can employ this attention giving practice in more and more situations.

There is always a benefit to watering down your thoughts and one of the best ways to do it is to give undiluted attention.

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com

It’s football season and I am reminded of something legendary coach Bill Parcells said. It went something like this: “Even great running backs look average when the offensive line doesn’t open any holes for them to run through.”

Our offensive line is our internal dialogue. When it’s chattering away, no one can hear the signals and the play goes nowhere. We get tackled in our own backfield again.

In order to open up holes in our thinking for great ideas to run through, we have to trust the signal calling of the quarterback and quiet down so we can hear them.

How often do we block ourselves? Every time we have mental arguments in our head we are chattering in the huddle and all parts of us don’t get to hear the play that’s being called. That’s because everyone wants to play quarterback. We have been convinced through our conditioning that we can call plays better than our quarterback. This same conditioning has us ignore that we keep getting tackled for no gain using this strategy.

Your quarterback knows what play will work best for all parts of you. You just have to get quiet and listen. Then you have to execute the play.

Here is the playbook that leads to failure: claiming all the glory for our touchdowns and deflecting all the responsibility for our fumbles. Notice how easy it is to say “I did it” when everyone is cheering, and how easy it is to pass the buck when we drop the ball.

When you accept that there is one player who has your best interest at heart and can call the plays that work best, you will find holes to run through. If you resist ceding power to this more skilled player, you’ll be known as the proverbial player with all the potential that never panned out.

We are tempted everyday to execute a play that has never worked before. The next time you notice that temptation, get quiet in the huddle and listen to your quarterback. And don’t be too surprised at how many more touchdowns you score.

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com

The word “Deserve” popped into my head yesterday. It dawned on me what an anti-reality word it is and how it causes so much pain for the user.

“I deserve a raise.” I deserve a promotion.” “I deserve an opportunity.” “I deserve better treatment.” These are the type of phrases that we have all used and they most often promote disharmony in our mind.

We set up a tug of war between what we’re deserving of and what we’re not getting. This leads us to the land of illusion instead of the realm of reality.

Reality is one force. “Is” or “isn’t” are the only true definitions of its manifestations. “Deserve” doesn’t fall into the category of “is” or “isn’t.” Our mind carves out this make believe territory in an attempt to convince us there is more than the “is” or “isn’t” of reality. It’s quite the game and we get hooked into playing time and again with diversion being the only result.

Either you got a raise or you didn’t. The same is true for a promotion, an opportunity or better treatment.

If you desire better treatment, “deserve” will never get you there. “Deserve” puts any necessary action on hold as long as you sit in its way station.

You can certainly get a group of people to agree with you that you deserve whatever you don’t have, but all the commiserating in the world won’t change “isn’t” to “is.” Reminds me of a story I’ve told before . . .

Many years ago I was out of work and was offered a job and a lot less money than I was making. I was telling my tale to my friend, Paul and said, “It’s not as much money as I was making. I deserve more.” Paul in his succinct wisdom responded, “It’s more money than you’re making now.”

What I discovered was this: You define your worth when you agree to compensation. You are worth what you accept. No amount of “deserve” will add to your paycheck or any other area in life.

You ignore the reality of the way you’re being treated, compensated, held down or bypassed by entering the wacky world of “Deserve.” If you stay there, you truly get what you deserve.

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com

I was chatting with my friend and John Morgan Seminars coordinator, Hali the other day and she brought up the topic of self-improvement. She was saying that it was too limiting a term. I agreed. I said that most self improvement is geared towards the wants and desires of the ego – more of this, less of that.

Self improvement is a buzzword that has drawing power and I will continue to use it because it’s the language most people speak. Yet the term casts too narrow a net and can only capture a certain type of fish when there are oceans full to choose from.

Personal improvement is a noble goal and pays dividends. It rarely delivers the big payday the ads would have you believe. The big payoff comes when you find yourself through self discovery.

Self discovery has you look inward versus outward. It has you peer into your soul rather than examine the contents of your mind. Examining your thoughts leads you to other thoughts which lead to a never ending loop of internal dialogue. That strategy produces wonderful arguments and theories, but too few solutions. To quote the late Dr. Dave Dobson, “Theory is bulls**t. Defending your theory is bulls**t squared.”

We spend far too much energy defending stuff that doesn’t work. Self improvement has a cadre of defenders.

Self discovery is something that’s not as sexy as self improvement so you won’t find as many people drawn towards it. It’s a path that always leads inward towards your source. Self discovery will never have you chase the horizon – but just enjoy the sunrise. There isn’t a lot of activity associated with self discovery, yet it does take work.

The work begins by quieting your mind – the caldron of self improvement chit-chat. Once your mind calms down and spaces show up between your thoughts, you start to get a peek at yourself. It’s more of a feel than it is a picture but the sensation is unmistakable. The calm clarity you find when you go inward is self discovery. You find you at the deepest point.

The grand offshoot of self discovery is that self improvement is its natural byproduct. There is less striving and more allowing. The things you struggled with for years and years get put into a different light and seen from a different angle. This allows new strategies to form naturally instead of being contrived. You allow your internal resources to guide you versus having your mind berate you.

The discovery of self is the most valuable gift you will ever receive and the giver is closer than your nose.

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com

I believe there are 4 basic ingredients regarding your intentions towards another person that are highly useful when communicating. Let’s call them LLHH.

LLHH is sort of like the “good” cholesterol. You can certainly add more than LLHH but if they are missing, your communication with yourself or another will be clouded. You may say all the necessary things but they all won’t get communicated unless you have LLHH as the foundation.

There are many conversations where LLHH are absent and this is more than sad. It’s impoverishing. You will have a poor communication without LLHH. You may get your desired outcome, but there will be “communication remorse” for you and the other if LLHH is missing.

My suggestion is, whenever possible, put off a communication until you can bring LLHH to the table.

LLHH aids communication even if the other person is your opponent. It belongs in everyday conversations, on up to treaty negotiations and presidential debates. If you are not intending LLHH to another, you can’t receive it yourself. Differing points of view and LLHH can peacefully coexist.

Take a moment before communicating with someone to include a silent intention of LLHH for them.

I’m sure you can think of isolated examples of where LLHH can’t be communicated. Rather than looking for the exception, the homework assignment for us is to look at the bigger picture and find out where LLHH intentions can be used more often.

I’m hesitant to use the word “always” because it’s so concrete. So as close to “always” as you can get, I recommend using the intention of LLHH in your communications. The only way you’ll know if it works for you is to take it for a test drive. I think you’ll like the smooth ride.

Oh, what’s LLHH?

Love, Laughter, Health & Happiness!

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com

There are some beautiful retirement communities that I have visited. They are loaded with activities galore from championship golf to appealing clubs of like-minded people. It seems the people whom I meet at these places have led, and continue to lead, interesting, active and full lives. My guess is I will never move to one.

The main topic of conversation I hear is one that I believe is counter-productive – Health. But that conversation isn’t isolated to retirement communities. It’s like dog hair; it’s everywhere. I think I read a statistic that said that people researching health topics on the internet was more prevalent than searching for porn.

Talking about health seems to be the rapport building topic of choice with a large number of people. To me, engaging in this chit-chat is more harmful than the plague and I find it a major drain on my energy.

As I wrote in my free e-book, THE SUCCESS TRIANGLE:

Many people hold their state of health in place with words. The most destructive label is

the word “My.” “My arthritis” won’t allow me to play tennis anymore. “My diabetes”

leaves me with little energy. Two things that will give you more power immediately are:

1. Drop the word “My” from any disease process.

2. Apply “In the past” to any limitation you ascribe to the disease.

For example: “In the past, arthritis has kept me from playing tennis.” “In the past,

diabetes has caused me to feel less energetic.”

“My” is a word, to which we’ve been conditioned, that means ownership. Who wants to

own arthritis? I’m not suggesting this shift in language will make arthritis or diabetes

disappear. What I’m suggesting is, if you refer to it “In the past” and remove the

ownership, you may find your situation more palatable. Better yet, if there is a way your

mind can help you ease or put this disease behind you, this new language will facilitate

the process.

Even more to the point, talk only about your health with the people that can help you – your physician or mental health care provider.

Talking about your health challenges ad nauseam keeps nausea in place. It never adds to the conversation; it always brings it to a level of stagnancy where the germs multiply.

It’s as simple as this: What you focus on, you keep in place. Place your focus of conversation elsewhere and see how healthy you can get.

When I find myself trapped in a social setting where health is the topic of choice, I immediately bring to mind a picture of a ripe, luscious looking apple and politely tune out. Most people are not open to the idea that talking about their health situations keeps them sick, so there is little hope of convincing them in that setting. Their belief has too much support from like-minded people. The sickest people I know are always talking about sickness. The healthiest people I know rarely do.

This is an invitation to get curious and monitor your social conversations about your health because the more often you drone on about disease, the more you contribute to the cause rather than the cure.

To your good health,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com

My business partner has a saying that goes something like this: “The reason it’s so difficult to climb the ladder of success is because it’s so crowded at the bottom rung.”

It seems accurate that our thinking keeps us on the rung we currently occupy. The major difficulty is we have set up some sort of competition with God that we know what’s possible for us. That is not only a limitation but hubris at the highest level.

What I remember from my construction days is that ladders can also be used to go down below decks as well. It seems we have it filed in our minds that ladders are only used to climb upward. That is one of the short-sighted mental limitations that we own.

We always seem to start at the bottom rung at ground level and we get into a pushing and shoving match not only with others but with ourselves. No wonder we stay in place.

We have convinced ourselves that we know the way up the ladder but the evidence proves our way is not working. I like to call it “a better way that doesn’t work.” We come up with the same tired solutions that have never worked before in the hopes that if we “try” harder, they will be successful this time.

Climbing downward below decks with the ladder is the first step to making our way back upward. There is no crowd at these depths. It’s from this deep, quiet place that you muster the energy and the strategy to climb higher.

When you use the ladder in this fashion, you have momentum built up when you reach ground level which propels you past the crowd elbowing for room on the bottom rung.

If you’re convinced that fighting for space is the way to go, you will be held down by the aura of mediocrity that surrounds you.

The key is to go in a different direction first – downward, deeper. This visit to the depths will make your climb more fluid and keep you from getting sandwiched in with the people competing with God who have a better way that doesn’t work.

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301

http://HypnosisForDogs.com