"The Greatest Investment"

MAY 2009

Drew Rozell, Ph.D. partners with a select number of dynamic individuals, groups, and progressive companies who wish to harness the power the Law of Attraction to create better outcomes.

"It ain't luck!"

During a hike, my dog Tasha watches over the pond as the humans take a snack break. (She got fed too)

 

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MAY 2009

 

 

 

 

Welcome, my friend,

As the video shows, the world is green again, vibrating with new life.

I must say, I feel the same is true within myself lately. A good feeling. 

I hope this finds you living closer to your edge, stretching yourself, and learning more about who you really are.

'Cuz there's always something to learn and there's always a little better version of you waiting to be explored.

Also, please note I update the blog lots more that I send out newsletters these days. I like to think that I offer something positive, fresh, and occasionally insightful in my posts.

The good news is that you can have my missives delivered right to your inbox. 

Just use the form on the TOP RIGHT of this page or click here.

Or just keep doin' what yer doin' now…

Thanks for your support and thanks for reading this.

Really.

P.S. If you like this, please share it with someone. Or leave a comment.

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THE GREATEST INVESTMENT

I used to blame cell phones.

After all, they provide such an easy target - ubiquitous, loud, and rather foreign to me (I do not own one). But the other day I saw things more clearly. I saw cell phones for what they are -    bits of plastic and electronics - tools as innocuous as a hammer or a broom. My real issue is with the humans holding the devices.

Due to their prevalence and their function as communication devices, cell phones hold the power to reveal and amplify their owners' level of self-awareness. Self-awareness is the most valuable skill a human possesses (or lacks). The greater your mastery of this skill, the higher your quality of life.

Before making my case for the power of self-awareness, I'll describe the scenario that inspired these thoughts.

I was sitting in a café drinking a coffee and reading a magazine. A dozen other folks were scattered about the place. At the table next to me, a woman typed on her laptop, papers strewn around her. She drew my attention when she suddenly started speaking loudly (at least twice as loud as conversation level) into her phone. Her voice reached the farthest corners of the room.

My old script about cell phones kicked in and the dark thoughts rolled in.

Doesn't she know how loud she is? Why couldn't she have made her call in a private place? Doesn't she realize that her behavior is annoying the people around her?

Sitting eight feet away from her, I turned to face her, trying to lock eyes and give her The Stare of Death in hopes that 1) her face would begin to melt or 2) she would lower her voice. Within seconds, I recognized the Stare was no match for the power of her phone. She stood now, her eyes skyward, her hand slicing through the air to punctuate the seriousness of her situation. Her world was her own, one in which my unbroken glance did not exist.

I exhaled, took a spoonful of responsibility for my reaction to the situation, called off the death stare, and took it all in.

Her name was Susan. She needed an appraisal on her house. Of course, this was a "delicate matter," she explained. She was in the midst of a divorce and needed to know how much her home was currently worth as the legalities moved forward. She emphasized how she needed this conversation to be "on the QT" while shouting her full name, address, how much she paid for her house, and directions to her home to the strangers around her.

As Susan flitted from call to call, my initial feelings of irritation morphed into curiosity and fascination. One drama bled into the next. She had recently had a painful root canal. Her house still needed $150,000 worth of repairs. She argued with a company over the validity of $400 bill she received.

My point in describing this scene is not to criticize Susan. I believe that she's doing the best that she can and it's my responsibility to remember that her behavior holds no bearing on my life. (I can choose to get angry. I can choose not to be. I can choose to get up and leave.) Rather, in my observation of her, the coach in me could not help but envision how a slight redirection of her awareness could have massive positive effects on all areas of her life.

She struck me as someone who took responsibility for her life in the conventional sense. After all, she was taking action by making all these phone calls and seeking solutions to her problems. While we are conditioned to applaud busyness and taking action, action alone only addresses only symptoms, not the root causes of problems. For Susan to become more self-aware would require her to take responsibility for how she felt in any given moment. Right now, she wasn't very happy. But accustomed to going through her life this way, I doubt she really knew that.

I'd been in Susan's presence for 15 minutes and I had already I'd heard about her issues regarding health, wealth, and relationships. I suspect that she has spent a significant chunk of her life with her phone glued to her ear, expending her energy by throwing verbal buckets on one fire after another, oblivious to the fact that she was the one holding the torch in her hand.

In other words, if Susan were willing to shine the light of awareness on how she felt (and why she felt that way) as she moved through her day and made those calls, I believe that over time her life would be filled with a greater sense of ease. With some practice, she'd be a lot happier and leave the all drama of her life behind.

Taking responsibility for your level of self-awareness - the thoughts and feelings you choose in any given moment - is the most powerful skill you can develop to better the quality of your life. Not a powerful skill. The most powerful skill. When you manage how you think and feel, you take charge of what you allow into your life. The more you consciously project positive energy out to the world, the more you will experience that same positive energy in your life. Simple.

But while the process is simple, it's not always easy. In fact, it's much easier to remain comfortably numb. To continue to ignore your feelings. To rationalize. To tell stories. To make excuses. To complain. To blame.

Like any investment, self-awareness is not free. It requires you to commit yourself to seeing your life through a new lens, where you are creator of all your experiences. And yes, you can expect that things will get uncomfortable as you stop looking outside yourself and begin owning your life and your feelings.

But if you're up for the challenge, this investment in yourself dwarfs the returns offered from any stock market, real estate venture, or university degree. In terms of what mastering this skill can return in terms of health, wealth, and happiness, there is no equal.

Self-awareness pays off every day and it pays off for life. You can bank on it.

 

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So I've been meditating lately.

Really practicing each morning and night for a couple of weeks now.

I've always wanted to meditate. I mean it sounds all enlightened and such. 

I've bought products like Holosync and other CDs. 

They are all fine enough, but in the end I let them gather dust.

But I've been doing a different kind of meditation lately. More active. More visual. Less "clear your mind" of all thoughts.

And I really like it. 

I am drawn to do it more that feeling like I have one more task to complete.

I think it put me on a new path. Cleaner. Easier. Better.

Inspired to share, I created a 15 minute fulfillment meditation audio. A little gift for you, if you're interested.

Yes, it's free. 

But you need to make the space in your life to relax and listen if you want the true experience.

Download the MP3 file here.

Chillax and receive, man!

 

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A bit more on the power of investing in yourself…

 

 

Investing in yourself means hiring a professional. 

By paying out this money, you are really buying a better version of yourself.

I cannot convince you of the power of learning about yourself. The light and the dark. It's not all pretty, but it is all good.

But I wonder…

What's the last thing that you learned about yourself that really just stopped you in your tracks?

That made you feel uncomfortable? That made you feel relief? That broke a code that kept part of you locked away for decades?

In my book, that's LIVING my friend. 

If you're not doing that — at least every now and again — well, what is it that you're doing?

Invest in the only thing you really are in charge of… and the only that will affect every single part of your life.

YOU.

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I'm still on Facebook. But as B.B. sang, the thrill is gone. Too much of nothing much. But FB is excellent for sharing photos and just often enough, you can reconnect with someone from your past.  

click here if you'd like to be my new BFF.

Just send me a short note that you get the newsletter…

I promise not to "Hide" you. (fingers crossed)

 

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* A Book, A Movie, and an Album*

 

 

A Book: Just finished Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs. Russo has become one of my favorite writers. Each night I'd look forward to lying in bed and getting to know his superbly fleshed-out characters. Awesome read, to be enjoyed slowly.

A Movie: DVR'ed (and don't we love the DVR machine?) Forgetting Sarah Marshall as I had heard good things. Made me laugh out loud throughout and we've watched it twice. A smart comedy.

An Album: Ah, the album. Remember them? I do. I used to buy them all the time. Albums. Cassettes (ugh!). And CDs. I'd sit down with headphones, thumb through the lyric sheet, stare at the cover art, and actively listen. Those days are gone for me, mostly. A casualty of the digital age. But a few times a year, a band I give a damn about will put out a new album and I savor the experience.

This happened recently as one of my very favorite bands, The Tragically Hip released their new work, We Are The Same. Makes me sing.

 

 

A shot of my tower/deck where I shot the video. A cool place to visit.

 

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• Contact Drew :: To comment on this issue, just leave your thoughts in the COMMENTS section below. e-mail <drew at drewrozell.com> phone (518) 642-3111

ISSN: #1530-3101 Library Of Congress, Washington D.C., USA © Copyright 2009 by Drew Rozell, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved

"HELP"

MARCH 2009

Drew Rozell, Ph.D. partners with a select number of dynamic individuals, groups, and progressive companies who wish to harness the power the Law of Attraction to create better outcomes.

"It ain't luck!"

The feeder from my office as the snow fades. Like the vapor trail.

 

 

 

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MARCH 2009

 

 

Welcome, my friend,

"Help! … I need somebody… Help!… Not just anybody…"

I must say these lyrics bounced 'round my head as I wrote this month's feature. I think most people are looking for a little help these days and I hope you enjoy what I have to offer.

In the midst of the recalibration of the world, the season has begun to change. Just as winter can be long and trying, on the other end is the fresh, the birth, the emergence of the new. 

Along with the receding snowpack, I've been watching (and listening to) the birds. The robins came back in early February in the frigid cold (someone should have told them to hang back for a while longer) and I've spotted a bluebird and heard the vibrato of the red-winged blackbird outside my window. New birds seem to show up each day.

But the coolest was seeing a bald eagle fly right over my house last week. The experience was one of those "did I really just see that?" moments, but I was reassured when I saw a second one perched in a treetop 20 miles south (he flew away right as I was powering up the camera, I swear.).

While I've had a lot of fun skiing this year (and I still plan to get a few more great days in), the appeal of feeling some warmer air on my skin, opening the windows, and moving about in the world again grows with each day. 

Anyhow, where ever you are, whatever your situation, there are always new, better days ahead.  And that's a wonderful thing…

Thanks for your support and thanks for reading this.

Really.

P.S. If you like this, please share it with someone. Or leave a comment.   

 

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HELP

For several years now, I have felt the strong desire to write a book. During this time, I have spent several hundred hours writing, outlining, re-writing, submitting, re-submitting, and re-writing some more. I have spent many more hours thinking about the project; scribbling notes to myself or calling my voicemail with another brilliant idea. 

At one point I attracted an agent and had a few meetings with editors at large publishing houses in New York. The feedback from one editor was very positive. For the first time, I could see the finish line. A major publisher was going to pay me to write!

I wanted this as much as anything I could remember.

While the editor was a fan, she still needed the approval of the decision makers and marketing department. When I returned from the gym one day, I saw my agent's name in my inbox. I felt an adrenaline rush and clicked to read the sentence that would determine my fate.

"A mixed-message 'no'. Sorry man." 

The editor shared her disappointment and called me an "immensely talented writer," but I was already on the floor, sucking wind. In a few days, I pulled myself off the mat and began rewriting to meet the suggestions from the editor. But, as time passed, it became clear that the initial punch was more than a glancing blow. Indeed, the damage was done. After I resubmitted my manuscript, the editor and my agent seemed to have changed their addresses.

I had sat in some beautiful offices in Manhattan, feeling almost certain that my time had come, that I would finally see my book in the stores, on the beach, and in the airport kiosks. And now that sweet dream turned to ashes in my mouth. I was left feeling jaded about the business of publishing.

As time has passed, though, my desire hasn’t faded. I still feel alive and at home whenever I enter a bookstore. These places feel like my destiny. However, I notice that coupled with desire, there was also a feeling of longing. And an oh-so-subtle feeling of doubt. Underneath it all, I was still asking myself a question.

"How?"

That one three-letter word is a doozy. Because 99.76% of the time that you put that question to yourself, your mind replies with a three word reply:

"I don't know."

In one hand, I could feel my deep-seated desire. In the other, wondering how, I felt confused, stuck, and alone.

This is called a "conflicting intention." When we have two feelings pulling in opposite directions, we have little chance of manifesting what we want. I know enough about manifestation to know that I needed to keep my attention focused on what feels good (or at least better).

And right now I was feeling stuck. So what would feel better? What did I really want?

The answer was simple, but that does not mean it came easily. I had conditioned myself not to ask for what I truly wanted… help.

I wanted H-E-L-P.

I wanted someone who knew more about all this than me. I wanted someone to take in interest in my message, someone who believed in me, someone to encourage me. I wanted someone who was an expert. I wanted someone who would "get" me and be my personal champion. 

While the old tapes in my head told me there was something unmanly about asking for help, there was no denying that help is what I really wanted. This is what would feel better. This is what would feel like relief. 

Okay, so I want help, great. But how do I get help? I was almost off to the races, chasing my tail again, when I caught myself. If I wanted to attract help, I simply needed to connect to the feeling of what it would be like to have help. 

I did not need to write letters. I did not need to make phone calls. I did not need to bang on doors. I just needed to connect to the feeling place of what I desired.

And so, for several weeks, in the morning I would take 15 minutes to allow myself to visualize and feel how good it would be to have someone recognize me for what I had to offer and to serve as a guide.

While I live in a rural area, it just so happens that a very successful author lives just a few miles down the road. I'd read and enjoyed some of his books and we'd bumped into each other a few times throughout the previous couple years. In fact, two years ago, after meeting him at a local restaurant and sharing some conversation, I was certain we were destined to become friends. But it did not happen.

Until now. 

Along with being a talented writer, Jon Katz is passionate photographer who posts to his blog relentlessly. One day I noticed the photo of the sunrise he had posted was taken on the road close to my office window. Inspired, I wrote him a note. He suggested we get together.

That was a couple months ago now, and I am happy to say I have a new friend whose company I enjoy. We meet regularly to share ideas and he has become a mentor for my writing. Jon has encouraged me, pushed me, and challenged me to make my work better. In short, he helps me and the connection has been a blessing in my life.

Today, I still have no agent, nor do I have a book deal. But at the moment, I'm not focused on any of that. It will come around as all my desires do. I am certain of it all.

That said, my certainty is a reflection of my experience of asking for (and receiving) help. I think we all want some support and encouragement.

And you know what? It's out there. No matter what your desires.

Ask.

 

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If you feel like now is the right time to make a positive change in your life, I'm here to help.

 

Just ask.

And I'll be there.

 

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I hear from more people than I'd like that they just are not in the habit of reading blogs, including this one. 

 

I've been writing more than ever, and if you'd like something positive in your inbox, you can now receive my blog posts by e-mail.  

Just use the form on the TOP RIGHT of this page or click here.

 

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Yes, I joined. Won't spend a second trying to convince you, but click here if you'd like to be my new BFF.

 

Mt Marcy and the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mts from the top of Gore Mt.

 

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• Subscription Information :: To subscribe, just enter your information in the box to the right side of the page. To unsubscribe, just follow the link on ANY mailing to you.

• Archived Issues :: Find 'em here.

• Contact Drew :: To comment on this issue, just leave your thoughts in the COMMENTS section below. e-mail <drew at drewrozell.com> phone (518) 642-3111

ISSN: #1530-3101 Library Of Congress, Washington D.C., USA © Copyright 2009 by Drew Rozell, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved