Dr. Joe Vitale’s Blog

Who’s in charge of your mind?

Last night Nerissa and I watched the film Crash. A friend told me about it, I ordered the DVD, and we popped it in. We didn’t know we needed seat belts for the flick.

It’s intense. It stars a long line of greats, from Sandra Bullock to Don Cheadle to Matt Dillon. It’s about stereotypes, prejudice, and anger. The movie left me feeling uptight, and it left Nerissa feeling depressed. It’s a masterpiece of a movie, but not an easy one to sit through. So thank goodness I heard about the premier of No Pain, No Gain, an independent film which we just went to see today.

There hasn’t been a popular bodybuilding movie in decades, not since Pumping Iron, which I only mildly enjoyed. I didn’t know what to expect with this new one, but feared it might be boring. Even though I’ve transformed my body with bodybuilding, I don’t find the modern sport, with all its steroids, freak bodies and false promises, to be alluring.

Still, I needed a break from my office reconstruction and Nerissa was game to go. So we went.

Whew. The thing is inspiring. The key character is a likeable guy with enough brains to confuse the scientist he admires. He also idolizes the noble days of ancient bodybuilding, where you used your mind to command your body to get the results you want. His challenge is to prove his theories and enter a competition where the current king is a roid-injecting jackass.

There’s character, drama, tension, and a great story in this movie. The acting is less than ideal in most cases, but the lead character’s actor (Gus Malliarodakis) has big star written all over him. His arch enemy in the movie (Dennis Newman) also gives a command performance. The rest are adequate, but believable.

Nerissa, who has worked on major films and has a sharp eye, pointed out that the movie was filmed in and around Austin. We used to workout in the gym where much of it was shot. And a magician friend, Brad Henderson, has a moment in the flick. The music is upbeat. I want the sound track. The story is ultimately inspiring. My favorite line is repeated a few times:

“Your mind controls your body, but you control your mind.”

A friend of mine who has been into bodybuilding for decades didn’t think the movie was that great. He was the only person in the theatre in his city watching it. Nerissa and I might have had eight others watching it in our city theatre. But this was an independent film with little promotion behind it. Had Mel Gibson promoted it, there would have been a crowd. But this movie isn’t about Jesus, it’s about a man with a dream.

It’s about you.

I related to it.

I liked it.

I think you should see it.

After all, who is in charge of your mind?

Find out at http://www.no-pain-no-gain.com/

Ao Akua

Joe
www.mrfire.com

I’m getting a lot of requests these days on how to get my recent best-selling book for holiday giving.

This year, instead of getting gift baskets of goodies that grow their customers and employees waistlines, many people are instead trying to help their family and friends, clients and customers, have a better life.

“The Attractor Factor: 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth (or anything else) from the Inside Out” appears to be the answer for many this season.

So here’s the scoop: Just call Meg at 1-800-CEO-READ. If you’re out of the US, call 414-274-6406 and push 3 when prompted, or email her at [email protected]

She has prices that are better than I can offer you, and she is great at getting things out in a timely fashion. This is probably the best way for you to proceed if you are interested in getting 25 or more books at one time, at a very nice discount, to give as gifts this month. (She has a discount for less than 25 books, as well.)

After you dial 800-CEO-READ (800-236-7323) you can just push “3” when you hear the automated attendant, and you’ll be transferred to Meg. Tell her I said “Ciao.”

You can of course always get the book at Amazon, too. If you do, you can still have all of the bonuses I offered before. See https://www.mrfire.com/factor

Expect Miracles,

Joe

PS – And here’s a gift for you: You can still hear my first interview from last April where Alex Mandossian interviewed me about my book as it became a#1 bestseller (beating even Harry Potter) at http://www.AskJoeVitale.com/replay

I’m typing this on my laptop. Four guys are upstairs putting together my new office. I’m hiding downstairs at the kitchen table, trying not to cringe whenever I hear them bump something or say “Oops.”

Earlier two other guys were here. They are the ones who do maintanence for us, cut the grass, trim the trees, etc. I’m hiring them to build a walking/jogging trail on the back part of our acreage. While here, we got to talking. They came inside to pick up some of my old office furniture, which I donated to them, and they of course saw the mountain of books on the floor, lining the walls, etc. Turns out these guys are big readers, too.

I was stunned. I never would have suspected they were even literate, let alone book worms. I don’t mean that in any way as a negative comment. I like these guys. They are honest, dependable and talented. But both look and act like stereotypical Texas rednecks. They talk with a heavy southern accent, wear battle fatigue clothes, work outside all the time, chew tobacco, and never mention their interests. So how would I have guessed they liked to read books?

The taller of the two said his favorite books are on physics. He just finished a book called The Magic Furnace: The Search for the Origins of Atoms. He loaned it to his partner to read next. I haven’t read the book but it’s said to be about how we all started from star dust. Pretty deep.

Like everyone else, I often judge people based on a first impression. I’ve often been wrong, too. I need to remind myself to just look into people’s eyes when I meet them, meet their spirit, and ask about their interests rather than guess at them.

I wonder how many people mis-judge me, too, based on a first impression?

joe
www.mrfire.com

Several people want to know how I managed to lose 80 pounds and become the Charles Atlas of the Internet.

I think Lindsay Lohan is one of them.

I saw her the other night.

I could tell from the way she looked at me through the television that she has the hots for the new me.

She was on Jay Leno, but I know she was thinking about me.

She, like everyone else, wants to know my secret.

Well, I’m not telling.

At least not today.

I’m putting together my story and my system as a new info product I’ll offer to the world in ’06. I plan to make an infomercial, too. Look out Tony Robbins. Here comes Mighty Joe Young!

I mean, Mighty Joe Vitale!

I did a lot of things to change my life. Some of them were unusual and esoteric. (What would you expect from a guy who wrote Spiritual Marketing and The Attractor Factor?) I also gave up being Italian, but that’s a whole other story. For now, here are the three essential keys to weight loss in case you just can’t wait for the whole system:

1. Everyone needs an exercise program.

I found my exercise program in the Body for Life fitness contest. Bill Phillips started it, and later sold it for enough money to buy his own planet. God bless him, for he has helped millions of people. His program lives on, now going into its eleventh year. The people who have completed the 12-week program are overwhelming evidence that change is possible and the program works. I looked at all their before and after pictures, all of average folks like you and me, and thought, “If they can do it, I can do it.” I’ve been in four contests so far. They map out what to do and have lots of support. I’ve added to their support by hiring trainers, such as famous body builder Frank Zane and Body for Life winner Jeremy Likness. See www.bodyforlife.com

2. Everyone needs emotional support.

I knew I had to do something about my emotions, beliefs, and mindset toward weight loss and exercise, or else I’d just be on another diet that wouldn’t work. (I was in the Body for Life contest ten years ago but didn’t last three weeks. A fitness program alone isn’t enough.) I also knew that food is an addiction, but rarely acknowledged as such. We use food for comfort, safety, escape, diversion, reward, release, and more. I’ve been a food addict. I needed help. I’m forever grateful to Steve Siebold for creating The Mental Toughness Institute for Weight Control. This program elevated my consciousness. I took it three times, mostly for the weekly telephone support and to reprogram my mind. It helped me see that my body wasn’t destined to genetic programming, but to belief programming. See www.mentaltoughnessinstitute.com

3. Everyone needs an eating program.

This one can be tricky. A lot of information out there is contradictory. I began my weight loss adventure by simply cutting calories. That was enough to get me going. Then I followed the body builder’s advice of eating mostly protein. Then I learned from a dear friend, a physician, that his rule is, “No grain and no cane,” meaning no sugar and no wheat. I still follow that one, adding in “No dairy,” too. The same doctor introduced me to the Paleo Diet, which is often called the Caveman Diet. The Paleo rule of thumb is this: If a caveman can eat it, then you can eat it. A caveman wouldn’t eat a pizza because he could never find one, but he’d eat any animal he could catch. So lean meat is okay. These days I’m living a combination of high protein/Paleo Diet. I also eat something, however small, every two to three hours. As long as I do, I never feel hungry and I’m never (well, rarely) tempted to stray. And even when I am tempted to stray, I don’t. See http://www.paleodiet.com/

All of the above are the three essential keys I’ve found to lose weight.

Of course, I’ve left a few very important things out. For example…

Motivation.

If you aren’t motivated to change, then nothing will work. No diet. No exercise. No plan. No way.

If you have motivation, then any diet, exercise, or program will work.

When you have motivation, you won’t be tempted at holidays when desserts are put before you, or at birthdays when the cake is passed around, or at social gatherings where others are forgetting their figure in order to be accepted, or when it’s raining out and you don’t feel like going for a walk.

Where do you get the motivation to change?

Ah, there’s the million dollar question. I wrestled with that one most of my life. And that’s why I wrestled with obesity for most of my life, too.

So, where do you get the motivation to change?

I’ll reveal that, and the rest of the secret formula for permanently losing weight, in ’06.

You didn’t really expect me to give away the farm in this free blog, did you?

Unless you’re Lindsay Lohan, don’t ask!

Ciao!

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – Get more information about my physical transformation, including seeing before and after pictures, at www.GladiatorGym.com

PPS – If you really can’t wait for my system to be released, which means you must already be motivated to change, then go see Harry Johnson’s terrific program “Beyond Genetic” at http://www.thehealthandfitnesschannel.com/go.cgi?323355 He’s another Body for Life winner, and a wonderful guy, as well. Tell him hi from Charles Atlas. (You know, me.)

I’m neck deep in the de-construction of my office so the remodellers can come in this Wednesday and construct my luxurious new office, complete with two hanging monitors, glass-door bookcases, wooden filing cabinets, floor to ceiling shelving, and much more. The end result will be a work of art I can sit in.

For now, though, my office is chaos.

I haven’t completely cleaned out my office yet, but so far there are piles of books and papers all over the floor right outside the French doors. I’m moving stuff from the inner office to the outer library area. What a mess. I didn’t even start moving books for an entire week because the thought of it was so overwhelming. Now that I’m working at this cleaning and moving a little every day, it’s totally overwhelming.

How did I accumulate so much stuff?

Nerissa reminded me that most geniuses have messy offices. I thought back to guys I knew in college who never cleaned their rooms. They weren’t geniuses. Not even close. Of course, leaving your clothes and beer bottles on the floor isn’t exactly what I’m doing in my office. So maybe there is a difference.

I do know that since my world is books, it’s only natural that I would have a lot of them. I used to go to the library when I was broke. Now I built my own library right here. I have huge collections of books on marketing, fitness, hypnosis, psychology, metaphysics, and magic. Thousands of them. I’d like to say I’ve read all of them. I haven’t. I often read enough to get the gist of a book, and then put it aside. Sometimes I never get to a book, though I long to one day.

There’s gold here, of course. I have rare books, signed books, limited edition books; I have books signed by P.T. Barnum, the great showman and circus promoter. I have one copy of his autobiography with a news release he typed up and signed still stuck in it. It’s a treasure.

There are many treasures here. Another favorite is How to Turn People into Gold by Kenneth Goode. He wrote numerous books and was well known in the 1930s or so. His book on Showmanship in Business is wonderful. I often wonder what happened to him.

My all time favorite book is The Magic of Believing by Claude Bristol. I have two signed copies of the very early editions of the book, which apparently was first self-published. That classic is still in print today, while Mr. Bristol is long gone.

Of course, anyone who knows my work knows I love Robert Collier. I have every known book by him, including of course his legendary The Robert Collier Letter Book. I was an okay writer before that book; I was a Hypnotic Writer after it. I also have a rare brief biography of him that his daughter sent me decades ago.

Then there are the books by Walter Dill Scott, the early 1900s psychologist who wrote the first books on how the mind works, aimed at advertisers. I still love his classic The Psychology of Advertising.

I also love the old school publicists, such as Harry Reichenbach, who promoted movies with wild stunts in the early days of films. His unfinished auobiography is a real joy to read. It’s called Phantom Fame.

I have virtually every book by Alan Abel, a famous hoaxer who today is a friend of mine. He’s a true genius at getting publicity for events. Barnum would have loved him and his humbugs. He’s the brain behind the old movement to clothe animals — a fake organization that the media took seriously for five years. Abel wrote about that event in The Great American Hoax. I so respect Alan Abel that I just hired him to come up with a wild idea to promote the living daylights out of my next book (due out March 7th).

The list of gold goes on: I have many cherished signed books by Neville, the mystic who inspired my website at www.AttractaNewCar.com I even have one extrememely rare book by him, probably his first published work ever, signed, that I paid over $500 to grab on eBay. I later reprinted the book. It’s called At Your Command. (Amazon sells it.)

There are also dozens of audio packages here published by Nightingale-Conant, the company that produced my own program, The Power of Outrageous Marketing. www.nightingale.com

But by and large, the great population of things over-filling my office are books.

I love books. Obviously. But that’s not why I’m writing this post.

I’m writing this post because it’s a way to take a break from the chaos. It’s a way to escape.

Oh, I know the chaos is here. It’s at my feet, behind my back, whispering to me, calling me back…waiting for me to scream out…“I’m coming, already!”

No wonder I’m spending $166 on a bottle of hard booze.

This chaos is driving me to drink.

It’s also driving me to eat.

Nerissa and I went out for dinner last night and I had two bites of cheescake — my first dessert in a year and a half! I didn’t lose 80 pounds by eating desserts!

Breathe, Joe, just b-r-e-a-t-h-e.

A clean office reflects a clean mind.

That’s what I’m telling myself, anyway.

A clean office reflects a clean mind.

Though I think Einstein had a messy office.

Guess I better get back to cleaning this office, less I get drunk and fat and just keeping writing in this blog, forever delaying what needs to be done.

Joe
www.mrfire.com