Category: Psychology
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Die your potential
Okay, here’s a chance for you to earn $20. I’ll give a Jackson, 2 Hamiltons, 4 Lincolns, 20 Washingtons or one-fifth of a Franklin to the first person who can send me a biography, autobiography, or recorded or printed interview with someone who says: “I have achieved my full and complete potential. I have done…
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You don’t deserve your rights
I’m trying an experiment on this post. I’ll suggest a concept, and you tell me what you think about it. Here we go: You do NOT deserve… anything And, you do not have ANY rights Needless to say, I think those two statements are true. Tell me what you think (and why) and, if necessary,…
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Wrong about being right
Every now and then the “check oil” light on your car’s dashboard turns red… so you add a quart of 10w-40 and go on your merry way… or your grumpy way… or whatever way you were going. Some time later, the light lights, you toss in another quart (unless you’re driving in Europe, where you…
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The Freudian Trance, Oprah style…
I didn’t mean to watch Oprah, honestly. But I fell asleep on the couch with the TV on and when I woke up, there she was, in the middle of a makeover show. This show was the 2nd part of a series about hairstyles. On the first show, Oprah took 100 audience members and matched…
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We *are* in the Matrix
What follows is a book review for a book I haven’t read yet (I just ordered it). I’m reprinting this here not only to point to what seems like a great read, but because the review itself highlights some of my all-time favorite cognitive biases and thinking errors. While neither the book nor the review…
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The Freudian Trance, part 1
Freud was known to poo-poo hypnotism, which is ironic considering the trance he has placed Western civilization under for almost 100 years. Here’s an example: We love good stories. It’s like we’re wired to tell them, to hear them, to make them up. The earliest cave paintings seem to be stories of the hunt. We…
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The Great and Powerful Allower
I was given a popular meditation book recently. Aside from the confusing fact that the cover blurb said, “The most American form of meditation,” yet the book taught basic Buddhist meditation practices, I was struck by the fundamental teaching: Whatever arises, simply allow it to be. Sounds like a great prescription for living, doesn’t it?…
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Rearranging furniture in imaginary houses
When I was 8 years old, my parents discovered that I had $42 in my piggy bank. “An eight year old shouldn’t have forty-two dollars!” they said, as if I had somehow come into possession of a stolen painting. And with that proclamation, they took my $42. Over the next 30 years, I attended all…
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I’m addicted to addiction
I was in a room full of people not too long ago, where the well-known and, in many circles, well-respected speaker announced, “We are addicted to unhappiness,” and almost everyone in the room began nodding with a collective sigh. Now, if you know me at all, you know that nodding is my cue to, instead,…
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How to make anybody do anything…
I can make anybody do anything for as long as I want, and so can you. Here’s how: Think of the goofy thing you want them to do. If you can’t think of any, here’s a quick list that might give you some ideas… Go to a specific building every week (or more) Speak or…
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I’m positively negative
I was featured in a Toronto Star article about self-help and The Secret (www.thestar.com/article/193263) and since then have been getting quite the collection of emails in response. My favorites are, of course, the people who agree with me and think I’m smart and funny. I love when people agree with me. But in second place…
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Look, Ma, no brains!
I got a phone call today. “This is Jim. I’m calling because you bought our ebook about affiliate programs — are you looking to make more money, or quit your dayjob, or are you not serious about changing your life?” “Well,” I replied, completely unaffected by his opening gambit, “it’s interesting to hear you frame…
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The (hidden) Secret
After weeks of reading/hearing/watching the back-and-forth about “The Secret,” tonight I realized that what *most* interests me is NOT whether it’s real or not, but the *type* of discourse that has surrounded it. More specifically, it’s incredible to watch both supporters and detractors cling tenaciously to a belief (rather than examine the belief, or even…
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Act “as if”… as if!
First of all, my apologies for the long gap in my postings… I got on such a roll with Amazing Magical Clothing (now at www.Delightenment.com) that I lost track of blog-time. Okay, now onto something that makes me want to scream… This weekend I ran into an old favorite of the transformation biz: “Act as…
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How to Become a Millionaire Self-Help Guru (it’s easy!)
Now you can become a millionaire as Self-Help Guru! Just follow this simple six-step plan and in no time you’ll be living the life you thought you would have if you followed the advice of Self-Help Gurus! STEP 1 – Pick some ubiquitous aspect of being human, something that a large number of people experience…