The Power of Affirmations

July 21, 2023

What’s Top of Mind Today?

Affirmations have been proven to be a powerful way to program our minds towards becoming our best selves.


Why that is important:

Consider this quote from motivational speaker Les Brown, one of my mentors: “The limitations you have and the negative things you internalize come from the outside. The thing that empowers you…the possibilities….come from within”. That pretty much sums up the programming most of us receive from birth. Our ability and willingness, or lack thereof, to install positive counter-programming can set the tone for our entire life.


The Big Picture:

There are volumes written about the power of positive self-talk as a remedy to “stinkin’ thinkin”, as Zig Ziglar was known to call it. Affirmations written in the present tense and recited daily, in front of a mirror, are an effective way to plant new, positive, seeds in our brains to nourish our unconscious minds to see ourselves in the light that most reflects who we seek to be.


Going Deeper with a Tweak

We each process information through a particular set of senses. Some folks are more inclined to be more open to visual references, others through the ears, still others through feelings (called kinesthetic) and others through thought. These all use various parts of the brain. We all use all these senses, and we each have one or two that are more dominant than the others. Those of us who needed to write notes out when we were studying were expressing a lean towards kinesthetic, even visual/kinesthetic. 


So here’s a little tweak that might make a difference in the processing and acceptance of your affirmations. Try wording your affirmations with words that express the way you believe you best process information. As an example, If you are very visually oriented, use words like “See, clearly, picturesque, colorful, vivid” in your affirmations. 


If you’re not sure what your primary processing sensory system is, schedule a 30 minute appointment at https://martycard.me and we’ll do an exercise that will enable you to calibrate that for yourself.

The Pistachio Effect

October 25, 2024
Recently, I was in an event with about 6,000 other people, and the keynote speaker was Jack Canfield. Jack taught us many things from his best-selling book “The Success Principles”. One of the concepts that really stood out was a formula he shared which guided how to take personal responsibility, which was E, an event, plus R, responsibility equals O, which is outcome. So E plus R equals O. And what does that mean? It is not an event that happens to us that really makes a difference, It's how we respond to it. And by taking personal responsibility for the Response, we have control of the Outcome and you can improve it. On the flight home I was considering Jack’s formula. Almost every weekday I begin my day by journaling the people to whom I am grateful and the things I grateful for. I do this in a study group with a friend. One of the things we journal about in that study group is sending positive vibes even to somebody with whom I might have a disagreement. Well, I thought about a person who's very dear in my life, which is my wife. Occasionally, my day will be going along just great and seemingly out of nowhere she will throw a criticism at me for something. An example is on the golf course and we are playing together when she says, “Tuck in your shirt, your tummy is showing” because my shirt came out while I was swinging, or maybe I loaded the dishwasher incorrectly, or something of that nature. Another mentor of mine, whose name is Robert Dilts, in his book, “Coach to Awakener”, said that when somebody's criticizing you, there is almost always a positive piece to that because unless the person is evil, they are coming from a place of being helpful. If you view the Event through that frame and you are grateful for the help then okay, what is that criticism all about? I thought about it on the plane ride home from the event, in terms of taking personal responsibility, and I named it the Pistachio effect. Why the Pistachio Effect? Well, when you look at a pistachio, you wouldn't eat the outside of it. If you bit on it, the taste and texture would be terrible. But, when you open it up, there's the sweet fruit inside. Visualize the shell of the pistachio as the criticism, the sharp object on the outside. And if you just bit on it, it would be pretty bitter and be harsh on your mouth metaphorically and your psyche for real. Yet, if you open it up and taste the sweet fruit (the positive message) inside, well, there you go. So the principle basically is remembering when we are being criticized to pause a second or two, open the nut and recognize the positive message inside.
A man with a beard is standing in front of a building with his arms crossed and smiling.

Genesis

August 23, 2024
I don’t use the word “Every” lightly because it tends to be an exaggeration in many cases. Having said that, I believe it’s accurate to offer that literally every action has a starting point as an idea.

True Energy of Sales

October 24, 2024
Science was not my favorite subject in elementary school because it often involved blood. I hate the sight of blood, particularly mine. Other than that I’m told I would have made a great doctor NoBody lol. But the one science experiment I always loved was when Mr. Dellelis would make a volcano erupt. Fireworks! I don’t light them myself but I love to watch them. Always have! The energy, the creativity, the timing, the beauty! Art only works when science does. Sales is also an art only when we understand the science. Yesterday I had one of those moments when energy was abundant and created by the chemical process of human connection. With my training partner, Valerie Johnson, we taught three awesome students the secrets, the science, and the system that will increase their ability to persuade and increase their sales by up to 300% in less time. The emphasis of yesterday’s training was on business and particularly sales situations. There is true energy when people connect in a common language. As our students began to understand and demonstrate the first level of fluency in the global B.A.N.K. language of BUY-Ology, the energy in the Zoom room was built geometrically. Next week we build on that facility with the power of B.A.N.K. to improve personal relationships. With their higher level of emotional intelligence, I am excited to hear how their results translate in Harvest Time!