Tag: Books

Around 1994 my life was changed by a book called Spiritual Politics.

It helped me see the big picture of global conflicts and gave me an elevated view of what was happening. It delivered a fascinating analysis of the cosmic, karmic and metaphysical reasons behind politics, world affairs and current events.

It revealed that I had to work on myself to make a difference in the outer world. It’s a large, detailed, and exhaustive work on the hidden reasons behind the superficial news and talk show bantering. It’s all about change as an inside job. I never forgot the book.

Recently the same authors came out with a new book, The Practical Visionary: A New World Guide to Spiritual Growth and Social Change. I was so eager to read this one that I bought the Kindle edition from Amazon and instantly started reading it on my iPad. I liked what I saw so much that I went back to Amazon and bought copies of the paperback to give as gifts. I then reached out to the authors, Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson, to interview them.

The Practical Visionary offers overwhelming proof that every social problem you can name is being addressed by some person or group. There are entire chapters stuffed with resources. It does the soul good to see so much being done in the world to move us forward to unity. In a time when the mainstream media rarely nods in the direction of the good deeds people are doing, seeing all this evidence for the positive is wonderful.

None of this is to say you or I are off the hook. We can’t let others solve all the problems we see. We have work to do. But the best way to do it is to align with your connection to the Universe and do what’s right for you. As you do what you are called to do, you become The Practical Visionary.

Besides all the resources, wisdom, and optimism in the book, another reason I love it are the meditations in it. Early on there is a vivid one about pretending to turn an inner knob to raise the vibration of your energy until it matches that of Spirit. I was a little tired as I began the meditation, but just imagining playing with an inner frequency dial that raised my energy actually did raise it. Nice.

The Practical Visionary reveals eight keys for transforming yourself and the world. It’s not an either-or approach. As you work on yourself, you work on the world; as you work on the world, you work on yourself.

1.    Shift from what’s dying to what’s being born: discover the new world of practical visionaries all around you;

2.    Understand the big picture and the higher evolutionary plan: find your part and get engaged;

3.    Make your livelihood a social change strategy: be a spiritual warrior, an innovator, a reformer and/or an exemplar;

4.    Invoke the magic of your soul: explore the new world within you and make friends with your subconscious;

5.    Turn within to find a source of spiritual strength: develop a regular meditative practice to receive clear guidance;

6.    Clarify your higher purpose and vision: create a mission, practical strategy and right timing;

7.    See money as a spiritual asset: trust in the abundance of the universe—and be practical and wise;

8.    Transform duality and conflict into a higher synthesis: find common ground personally and politically to change the world.

The Practical Visionary is a mind-expanding and soul-enriching book that helps move you into a new paradigm. You might even call it The Abundance Paradigm. 🙂

There are some statements in the book that make you sit bolt upright and take notice, such as:

“To progress spiritually, you shouldn’t just go with the flow of whatever is happening, as some people mistakenly advise, as some flows of energy are good and some are harmful.”

And —

“On a deeper, metaphysical level money is concretized energy or prana (life force).”

And —

“Schedule your activities. While planning is an intention, scheduling is a commitment.”

There’s so much more in The Practical Visionary that I just want to keep writing about it. But instead of reading this review, go read the book. I love this book and suggest you read it, share it, and act on it. It’s at Amazon, in book stores, and available from the publisher: Unity.

Remember, The Practical Visionary is you.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Here’s a YouTube video from the authors about their book:

Many authors influenced my writing style.

Jack London, Shirley Jackson, Rod Serling, Robert Collier, William Saroyan and Mark Twain, to name a few.

Over the years I’ve attracted rare signed books by and about most of them.

Recently I took the prize by attracting one of the most sought after (and expensive) items of all: a photograph hand signed by Twain himself in 1909.

You have to imagine how this feels.

I wrote about Twain influencing me in such early books as CyberWriting, which was one of my first books on Internet marketing. (1995, now out of print.)

I’ve recently been reading volume one of Twain’s newly released uncensored autobiography, which is a delight.

And I’m greatly enjoying Michael Sheldon’s new biography, Mark Twain: Man in White: The Grand Adventure of His Final Years, which reveals the marketing savvy of the great author. The book explains a lot, including the reason Twain started wearing his famous white suit. I’m loving it.

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” – Mark Twain

For me to finally have this actual photo, which was Twain’s favorite, and held by Twain, and hand signed by Twain to a friend of his, is huge. It’s inspiring. It reminds me of what great authors and memorable writing are all about.

Looking at it mentally transports me to a place where I am sitting beside Twain, chatting, smoking a cigar, and laughing at life. I’m mind melding with the legend.

It feels great.

You can do this, too.

Just pick a person you admire, read everything by and about them, and then imagine having a dialogue with them. It’s a type of mental mastermind.

In my book on P.T. Barnum, There’s A Customer Born Every Minute, I include an interview with the great showman (who knew Twain and almost coauthored a book with him).

Obviously I never met Barnum. But I imagined what I would ask him, looked through his books for the answers, and turned it all into a dialogue. It’s one of the most popular sections of that book. (And it was recreated in theatrical form in my first Nightingale-Conant audio program, The Power of Outrageous Marketing.)

Again, you can do this, too.

If you had the chance, who would you brainstorm with?

Who would you interview?

Who would you talk to?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – One of my ancient articles on what an aspiring writer or speaker can learn from Mark Twain is still online at https://www.mrfire.com/article-archives/ancient-articles/mark-twain-secrets.html (It’s an excerpt from my out of print book, CyberWriting.)

Member BBB 2003 – 2011

Thought you’d enjoy seeing a couple of quick video endorsements* for my Law of Attraction book Attract Money Now. The first is in English, the second by the same woman but in Spanish. Here they are:

Member BBB 2003 – 2011

* Both are paid endorsements from a woman who loves the book. Her endorsement is her own, in her own words. I paid her five dollars for each video for her time and trouble. Found her on Fiverr.

How did Hercules stay fit?

What did the greatest bodybuilder eat to stay healthy and win all those awards?

What can you and I learn from the nutrition secrets of the man who influenced more superheros than anyone else?

You may or may not know that I’m a fan of Steve Reeves, the actor who played Hercules, and the bodybuilder who won so many awards — Mr. Amercia, Mr. World, Mr. Universe — before steroids.

I have everything from Steve’s car (1976 Jaq XJS) to his home gym (commercial grade Universal).

Recently I teamed up with Reeves’ friend and business partner, George Helmer, and wrote an unusual cookbook about what Reeves ate as an actor and bodybuilder to live a long and healthy life.

It’s called The Hercules Cookbook: The Recipes and Nutrition Secrets of Steve Reeves.

This is far more than a cookbook. It’s packed with full-color photographs of Reeves on and off the movie set, and contains terrific stories about Reeves. It reveals what the world’s first film action hero ate to stay fit — before fitness was considered cool.

We are going to offer this collectible book as a downloadable e-book very soon. But I wanted you to know that if you wanted a limited-edition printed copy, signed by me and George Helmer, that we only have 250 available.

It’s just $29.95 (a screaming deal) but there are strictly only 250 copies being printed (and I’m keeping a box of them myself to give out as gifts).

This book has great stories from people who knew Steve best, great color photos, information on how he became an expert on nutrition, and what he ate during his years in bodybuilding, starring in films, and on his ranch. We have had this information for many years and now want to share it with you.

The book measures 8′ x 10′ inches and has 108 pages of little-known information and amazing color photos. You’ll love thumbing through the book, reading the stories, looking at the pictures, and trying out the recipes.

And don’t think Steve only ate nuts and bananas. He wasn’t a monkey. He enjoyed normal food made in special ways – including brownies!

We are now taking orders for this limited-edition printed book and will not charge your credit card until we ship your book. The books are due to ship on December 11, 2010, so you’ll get yours in time for the holiday season (assuming you order today).

Order by clicking right here. (If the link doesn’t work, go to http://www.stevereeves.com, click on the online store, and search under ‘books’.)

The book is a historic work, perfect for anyone interested in cooking, eating, nutrition, health, fitness, movies, classic bodybuilding or of course the great Steve Reeves.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Remember, there are only 250 copies of the printed, collectible, signed book. To get yours, go to http://shop.stevereeves.com/store/viewItem.shop?idProduct=273 or go to http://www.stevereeves.com, click on the online store, and then search under ‘books’.

Member BBB 2003 – 2011

Recently I struggled with an inspired idea. I’ll share the personal story with you here as it illustrates how the Law of Attraction actually works.  If this pushes any buttons in you, use that as an opportunity to get clear of any limiting beliefs you may have about abundance. Those “buttons” in you are restricting beliefs currently wired in your brain. You can change them. This is your chance to experience a miracle.

Here goes:

Years ago I wrote about buying a $700 gold cigar lighter. (You can see the gold lighter and hear the story on the free DVD that comes with the hardcover version of my book, Attract Money Now.)

The lighter became a teaching tool to help people experience their limitations about money and deservingness, and to release them. After all, it’s not about the lighter. The lighter is just a lighter. It’s more about what the lighter (and the price of it) triggers in you.

With that in mind, let me tell you the following story…

A month or so ago I ordered an expensive ($10k) watch for myself. It’s a limited-edition Spyker inspired collectible Swiss timepiece, made out of turned steel and French Bouveret hand-stitched leather. It’s designed to replicate aspects of the Spyker car. It was engraved with my name on the back, and my Spyker car production number (174) on the side. It arrived, I put it on, and I’ve been loving it ever since.

The people who sold the watch to me (Expression d’Artistes) wisely kept sending me magazine reviews of their watches. That’s good marketing. It prevented any buyer’s remorse, and it kept their products top level in my mind.

But every time they sent a review, another watch kept leaping out from the photos. This other one is black French leather, pink 18-k gold with a black dial. The first time I saw a picture of it, I loved it. But I didn’t do anything about it.

The second time I saw the watch, I decided that it is calling me for a reason.

So I asked how much it cost.

Turns out it is over $30,000.

I paused to take that in.

Thirty thousand dollars for a watch?

I know luxury watches can sell for many times that amount, but still.

I know that a gold watch can be a sound investment, but still.

The world’s most expensive watch may be the Big Bang Chronograph, which sells for $1,000,000. Yes, one million dollars. It’s practically nothing but diamonds.

But still.

I wasn’t drawn to it.

Even so, the $30,000 Spyker gold watch seemed really expensive to me, and even for me.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about that watch.

Every time I thought of it, I wanted it.

The thing is, it was triggering my wealth comfort zone. I was hitting my own ceiling of deservingness, something I talk about in such books as Attract Money Now.

I really wrestled with this.

I did clearing and cleaning.

One memory that surfaced was this: It was decades ago. My late wife was cooking dinner. She picked up a jar of tomato sauce but dropped it. It shattered. And we didn’t have the two dollars to buy another one!

Memories like that one needed erased.

So I kept clearing.

I kept hoping the desire for the watch would leave me alone.

But it didn’t.

So here’s where I had to get ruthlessly honest with myself.

I reminded myself that I teach people one of the seven steps in Attract Money Now is Prosperous Purchasing. I was even reminded of how I explained this on national television last year when I was visiting a friend the other day and she played that very TV show for me. (She wanted me to see how good I looked on her giant flat-screen TV monitor. I was impressed.)

There I was, telling people, “When the desire is there, and the money is there, buy the thing!”

I said it’s a way to experience and anchor abundance. I also said don’t buy anything if it will put you in debt or make you feel desperate. Otherwise, if the passion is there, the product or service is there, and the money is there, buy!

Was I going to take my own advice or not?

Nope.

Not yet.

Then I remembered another key statement I teach people: that when you change your beliefs about scarcity to abundance, then spending money and giving money become ways to attract money.

That’s worth repeating:

When you change your beliefs about scarcity to abundance, then spending money and giving money become ways to attract money.

Did I believe what I teach or not?

And with my new audio program coming out tomorrow about abundance, called The Abundance Paradigm, with me declaring you can easily shift from the scarcity mindset to the abundance mindset, was I coming from scarcity or abundance when considering buying the watch?

Well?After doing just one of the advanced clearing processes in my new program, I finally got clear and decided to order the $30,000 watch.

Ah, life is so much better once you make the decision you wanted to make all along. 🙂

And here’s where the magic appeared.

The very day I wired the deposit for the watch, I received a royalty check from one of my publishers.

I was surprised as it seemed early. I was even more surprised when I opened the envelope and saw the amount.

It was the largest royalty check I had ever received — ever!

Buying the watch would be a tiny percentage of the check.

Clearly letting go of my scarcity beliefs, following my own advice, and staying in the flow of life rewarded me for my action.

Do you see how this works?

Inspiration was asking me to do something: get that gold watch.

Clearing was helping me dissolve the beliefs I had about taking action: you deserve what you desire.

Action caused me to complete the inspiration to get the watch as well as to attract more than enough money to pay for it: action leads to attraction.

The formula looks like this:

Inspiration + Clearing + Action = Magic!

Remember, this post isn’t about a $30,000 gold watch.

Not any more than the $700 gold lighter was about the lighter.

Instead, it’s about following your passion, honoring your inspirations, and letting what comes up be a personal development tool to raise your vibration and your deservingness level.

Everything that occurs in your life is designed to help you to awaken.

I’m telling you, there’s real magic and miracles in the world.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

What is inspiration asking you to do?

What is this moment asking of you?

Do it!

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Terrific new videos explaining the Law of Attraction, and three secrets to make it work for you all the time, including an amazing new clearing process I personally lead you through, are ready for you to view right here.

Note: My new audio CD program releases tomorrow. It’s called The Abundance Paradigm: Moving from the Law of Attraction to the Law of Creation. It’s the most spiritual, practical, and experiential program of my entire career. You will love it. Curious? Click here.

Member BBB 2003-2011