✈️ How to get everything you really want

“When you change how you see the world, the world will change how it sees you."  – Wayne Dyer

"SELQUIK" That's what I saw on the license plate when I looked to my right while driving down the boulevard. The crazy part is that my wife and I were deep into a conversation about selling my first startup at the time. I wasn't ready to sell. I was barely halfway to achieving my Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) for that company, but the external environment had changed so suddenly that I knew in my gut it was time. My head was just taking a little longer to catch up. That license plate changed my life. 💥

There's a lot of woo-woo and pseudoscience associated with the idea of Manifesting... bringing something into reality through thought, belief, and action 👉 But it is a mental discipline fundamentally based in science.

You've been manifesting your entire life. Whatever you have in your life today is the result of your thoughts and actions. If you don't like your current reality, change it. Literally, change your mind. I give you a 3-step process to do just that below. 👇

No woo-woo. No magic. 🧙‍♂️

Your brain has 6 to 10 million bits of information coming at it every second. But on a conscious level, we can only deal with 50 to 100. That’s 50-100 bits out of 6-10 million. Stay with me here for a minute while we geek out on the science...

💡 Repeating stories to yourself over and over (self-talk) embeds them deep in your brain's “default mode network". Many of our long-term decisions (relationships, health, wealth) are based on self-talk. 

💡 The stories you deem important (true or not) get your attention. Meet DAN, your “dorsal attention network”. DAN is like a camera lens. Imagine photographing a garden. We can’t focus on every flower, so DAN uses those 50 to 100 bits to bring the flower you believe is most important into sharp focus. "SELQUIK"

💡 Finally, your “central executive network” makes decisions with guidance from the long-term choices you embedded in your “default mode network”. When you see an apple and a cookie on the counter, you want the cookie. But you're able to choose the apple because of your long-term decision to be healthy.

Evolutionary mismatch.

The fight or flight response 🥊🏃 blocks your ability to manifest what you really want. We manifest best when we're in a restful and calm state of mind 💚 which is how we evolved. Until recently, fight or flight only stepped up in the face of immediate danger. For a minute. If you survived, you immediately went back to your calm state of mind.

The problem is that cultures and technologies evolve WAY faster than our biology.  Social media, divisive 24/7 news, something bad on the other side of the world that has nothing to do with us keep many of us in a chronic fight or flight state of mind. As a result, anxiety is now the most common mental illness worldwide. 😳 Worse yet, our brains are still wired to prioritize anxiety because it helped us survive up to this point in history.  We have to intentionally use those 50 to 100 bits to override the anxiety.

It doesn't matter where you are. It matters what you believe.

Your world is fundamentally the one you create. Your brain can't tell the difference between what's real and what you’re imagining, with emotion. By focusing on positive feelings of success, you can train your brain to expect it. But every time you focus on harmful thoughts and beliefs about yourself, someone else, or the other side of the world you're adding another bug to your mental "infestation". 🐜🐛🐞 

✨ How to get everything you really want. 

Step 1. Take time to understand what you've already been manifesting. Sit down (with yourself or a therapist) to separate yourself from your negative self-talk. It’s just a story, like any other story. You can begin to see what your childhood (parents, teachers, etc.) taught you to think about yourself and the world. Once you have that insight, you can decide if you believe it or not. And what you want to do with it.

Find a calm place where you're not distracted and can simply be present with yourself. And then just breathe for a minute or two. Nothing woo-woo. This is where people get lost. They think they have to sit like a Buddha. 🧘 And then they get even more anxious about it.

Step 2. Invest some time (5, 10, 20 minutes?) to think positive thoughts. It’s not fake. It’s not woo-woo. You just need to consciously choose thoughts that serve you. Use your 50 to 100 bits to replace negative self-talk with positive thoughts. Tell yourself that you're worthy, you're good enough, you deserve a good life. Imagine yourself living the life you want. Get emotional about it if you can. That's not fake. It's true. You just need to believe it deep down in your "default mode network".

Step 3. Now it's time to take action. 💪 There is no magic here. You can master this if you choose to. But it takes time and effort. You have to align your actions with your new, positive thoughts. Like any new habit, you have to do it over and over. Don’t expect perfection on day one. You can’t eat way too much crap all year and really expect to start eating perfectly forever on New Year’s Day. When you fall down, get back up. Read this article for more help with forming new habits.

Your brain manifests best when you’re focused on serving others. Shiny new stuff (cars, homes, clothes) can be wonderful. But don't let it define you. Let it be a natural consequence of helping other people get what they really want. When you’re caring for others, you’re rewarded with the release of oxytocin and other neurotransmitters that activate your pleasure and reward centers. (more science) 🤣 That’s where you really need to be if you want to intentionally manifest a better life.

Use your 50 to 100 bits to get everything you really want. You've got this! ✨

👉 Inspired by this conversation with Dr. Doty