Tag: Books

Now that my breathtaking new office is done, with wall to wall and floor to ceiling bookcases, I’m trying to decide what should be the first book I bring into the new sacred space.

Should it be one of my own books?

One of my friends?

Or one of the many rare, even autographed books by authors I love, such as Neville Goddard, P.T. Barnum, Claude Bristol, Joseph Murphy, Edward Bernays, Jack London, Mark Twain, William Saroyan, Shirley Jackson, Robert Collier, Napoleon Hill or – ?

I have a huge collection of books on marketing, copywriting, publicity, metaphysics, spirituality, fitness, muscle building, magic, hypnosis and more.

But of all these books, which one deserves to be the very first to gain entrance into my new office?

I went out to dinner with friends and told them of my challenge. One of them was an author and of course wanted his book to be the first in my office. Another friend suggested I have a contest and let people vote on the book that should be first.

None of it felt exactly right. We left dinner and went walking. We stumbled across a new art gallery. Inside was the artist showing his work.

It was called “Art that makes you laugh.”

I asked the artist why it was called that.

“Follow me and I’ll show you,” he said.

He brought me to a painting of two sharks swimming, headed to a judge’s bench in a courtroom.

I didn’t see anything funny about that.

“Read the caption,” the artist said.

I looked and read, “Counsel approaching the bench.”

I laughed.

Turns out the artist has been drawing humorous pictures like that one for decades. He’s known for his unique art. He’s a former advertising guy turned artist. Apparently he’s doing just fine.

I bought three of his paintings for my new office.

And a copy of his book.

His book is a collection of his funny art, titled, Are You Laughing At My Art?

I took it home and put it in my office.

Before I knew it, I realized I had finally brought a book into my new space.

But it didn’t feel like the right first book, as I had no previous relationship with it, so I didn’t put it on a shelf.

Instead, I grabbed my signed copy of Napoleon Hill’s famous book, Think and Grow Rich, and a first edition of Hill’s book, How to Sell Your Way Through Life.

Those two books are classics of success literature. They look wonderful on my shelf, too.

Now, what will be the third book I put on the shelf?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — The artist is Jeff Leedy. That’s him in the photo with me. Funny guy. His site is right here. Top photo is of my new office with Food Powers Queen Nerissa Oden posing in it.

The other day a woman asked me for the secret to life attraction.

I didn’t understand the question.

Most ask me how to use the secret Law of Attraction to attract money or attract a partner. I’m not used to the question, “What is the secret to life attraction?”

As I thought about it, I realized the secret to attracting anything is the same: be clear about what you want and clear inside so you can attract it.

But what does that mean?

Being clear about what you want means to be so detailed and specific that you can tell it to another person and they could repeat it back to you, or maybe go get what you asked for. They would not be confused.

No matter what you ask for in life, the clearer you can articulate your request, the easier time you’ll have in attracting it. You’ll have a destination. You’ll have a target. It all begins there.

Of course, you can’t ask for a specific person or thing. You have to allow room for something better to come your way.

Being clear inside means you don’t have any counter-intentions stopping you from attracting what you want.

In other words, if you want to attract a new job but also feel you don’t have the skills or experience, or the economy isn’t right, then your internal belief could slow or even stop your progress.  You need to be in alignment with your goals. You need to be congruent. You need to be clear.

Being clear means you are consciously and unconsciously in alignment with your desire.

I don’t think you could name anything in life that doesn’t require the above two steps. Whether you want to attract money or health or work or a relationship, it all boils down to knowing what you want and being clear about deserving it. To me, that’s the secret to life attraction.

Obviously, there’s more to the story.

You still need to take action. When inspiration hits, or an opportunity appears, your job is to take action. When I was on FOX News & Friends November 8, the first thing I told the viewers was they had to to do something to attract and achieve results. It’s a major secret to success.

So now we’re up to three secrets:

1. Know exactly what you want

2. Be clear about accepting it

3. Take action to attract it.

Are there more secrets?

Of course.

When I was on Donny Deutsch’s TV show, The Big Idea, November 19, 2007, I explained the five step formula from my book The Attractor Factor:

So are those five steps the complete secret of life attraction?

Life can’t be distilled into one blog post.

This is why I have books, such as Attract Money Now, and audios,  such as The Secret to Attracting Money, and DVDs, such as Zero Limits: The Final chapter, and of course my Miracles Coaching program.

It’s all available for you to choose from and enjoy, so you can finally understand the secret of life attraction.

But you have to do something to make any of it work.

What will you do now?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — You can still read my latest book for free by clicking on the banner below:

I saw Barbara Ehrenreich, author of the book Bright-Sided, on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last week. Her book reveals  “How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America.” I love Jon Stewart’s interviews and was keenly curious about this author and her book.

As I watched Ehrenreich on television, I got the feeling she’s a wounded soul. She talked about being diagnosed with cancer and how people around her told her to just think positive. I know from having my own cancer scare a few years ago that her feelings were justified. When you’ve been diagnosed with the C word, you’ve been kicked in the gut. Smiling people don’t help.  I felt for her and agreed with her. Positive thinking in that dire situation isn’t welcome, at least not at first.

As I often do after seeing a Jon Stewart interview, I jumped on Amazon and ordered her book. I was so curious that I paid extra for next day delivery.

Well, it arrived.

It’s a well written historical overview of positive thinking. It mentions all the positive thinkers you might guess, from Napoleon Hill to Joel Olsteen , Jack Canfield, Will Bowen, Bob Doyle, Rhonda Byrne; to the teachers in the movie The Secret, including me.

Turns out Ehrenreich heard me speak a few years ago at the National Speakers Association annual convention. There were more than 6,000 people there, so I never met her. But I apparently left an impression. She says in her book –

“Vitale, who looks like a slightly elongated version of Danny DeVito, offers the theme of ‘inspired marketing,’ and also love. “

Inspired Marketing is the title of a book I wrote with Craig Perrine, and love is the core  of everything I do.

But Ehrenreich didn’t say either fact.

She mentions I’m a disciple of P.T. Barnum in her book, too, but doesn’t explain that’s because I wrote a popular business book on him, titled There’s A Customer Born Every Minute.

For a journalist, she cleverly left off statements that would justify what I, and others she mentions in her book, stand for and teach.

The message of her book seems to be to use critical thinking, not positive thinking, in order to make a difference in your life and world. For her, positive thinking can be delusional, while critical thinking can give you a well-rounded view of your choices.

I agree with her.

The thing is, most people who say they are critical thinkers are actually skeptical thinkers.  They quickly dismiss concepts without trying them, or demand scientific proof for concepts that are still being researched. That, to me, is delusional.

The most powerful books I’ve read on the subject of critical thinking are by Steve Siebold. His books are wake-up calls to your brain. Read his book 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, or Die Fat or Get Tough, or read his forthcoming book on mental toughness secrets of the rich.

While I prefer positive thinking over negative thinking, I have to admit that positive thinkers can sometimes be blind to reality. When I had my cancer scare, I didn’t just think positive. I also took massive action. I searched for cures, I contacted all the healers and medical doctors I know, I tried every method offered to me, and I stayed persistent. The end result is a clean bill of health. But I didn’t get there by putting on a happy face and sitting in a corner.

Bright-Sided is a bestselling book and Ehrenreich is getting lots of publicity for it.  While she ends the book with a call to be more critical in our thinking, and to take action to get results, I suspect it will mislead many readers. Too many will jump to the conclusion that positive thinking doesn’t work at all. They’ll use the book to justify not being optimistic, or not choosing to feel good. They’ll just keep on complaining.

My reminder to you is that you always have a choice: When confronted with any moment, you can look at it cheerfully, unhappily, or objectively. I prefer the latter but with a positive expectancy.

When I got the heath scare, I at first was walloped with the news. But then I set an intention to find a cure. I expected one because, as I say in my book The Attractor Factor,  there’s always a way to handle any problem. My critical thinking — or maybe it’s better called objective thinking — included the possibility that positive action and positive expectation would be better than just unhappiness, happiness, or no action.

I appreciate critical thinking, but it’s subject to delusion, too. Most of the people I know who claim to be critical thinkers still have limiting beliefs and negative attitudes they aren’t even aware are in their own head. They are actually skeptical thinkers as a form of self-protection.

Combine all this with the Law of Attraction and you might see where critical/skeptical thinkers will find evidence for their beliefs, and positive thinkers will find evidence for their own beliefs. They’ll simply attract what they need to support their mindsets.

So how do you get out of this maze so you can have a clear-headed, productive life?

For me, the fastest thing that helps you get mentally clear is having the right coach. I know I’ve said it before but it needs said again: Every high achiever I know has a coach in their area of expertise. The coach can help them see their thinking patterns. The coach can help them stay accountable. The coach can help them achieve the results they want.

If having a coach is part of what Ehrenreich condemns as something that has “undermined America”, then I have to disagree with her. In fact, I’d go so far as to suggest she get a coach to help her unravel her own thinking about “Bright-Sided” being  negative. It could also help her heal her psychic wounds.

But as she openly says, it’s “reckless optimism” that bothers her the most. With that in mind, I suggest she’s correct. You don’t want to be recklessly optimistic, but practically optimistic.

In other words, choose what you want, have an optimistic expectancy about the results, take action to attract it, and monitor your progress for feedback and course changes. That’s how you make practical use of the Law of Attraction.

That’s not being “Bright-Sided”, that’s being smart.

Finally, decades ago I had a landlord who made fun of me for reading success literature, such as positive thinking books.

I was struggling, broke and unknown at the time. I was paying him two hundred dollars a month to live in a dumpy little room in his house. I didn’t look like I was going anywhere in life.

He caught me reading a Norman Vincent Peale book (probably Enthusiasm Makes the Difference) and said, “You believe that shit?”

“I sure do, ” I said.

While at the time he questioned me I had no evidence for any future success, and any critical thinking person could have dismissed me as a dreamer, today I’m wealthy and well known.

Was it because I read positive thinking books?

Was it because I chose to be “bright-sided” about life?

Was it because I took massive action and kept a positive expectancy about my future?

What do you think?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Check out my Miracles Coaching program by clicking right here.

Note: The T-shirt I’m wearing in the photo of me and the book says “I Create My Reality.” It’s backward writing. When I look at my shirt in the mirror, I see it clearly. It’s a direct message to my unconscious, and a real conversation starter for others who see it. Call it “Bright-Sided” clothing.

You can watch a brief video of last Friday night’s grand opening of the Vitale Cigar Bar (upstairs in the new Black Forest restaurant in Wimberley, Texas) by clicking on the below image. You’ll also get to see the hardcover version of my latest book, Attract Money Now, which arrived the day of the opening. Excuse my tired look and puffy eyes. I’m still recovering from my harrowing adventure in and escape from Russia (which I’ll post about later this week). Enjoy.

I haven’t jogged in more than twenty years but I’m ready to put on barefoot running shoes and hit the hills.

Why? What’s got into me? Why am I now “born to run”? And why barefoot??

I’ve been reading the most riveting, stimulating, adventurous, outrageous, mind altering, fun, shocking and simply unbelievable book of 2009. I’m talking about Born to Run by Christoper McDougall.

The thing is, well, hypnotic.

It’s the true story of the Tarahumara, a peace-loving small group of mega-distance running people who live hidden in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. The author heard of them and went on a quest to find them. What a quest it was.

He didn’t just dodge drug dealers and dangerous mountains, but he climbed, walked, ran, and struggled though a maze of twists and turns that make this book the healthiest detective story of the year.

Only it’s all true.

Part of the secret to the Tarahumara’s ability to run forever — literally — is the fact that they don’t wear shoes. No Nikes. No New Balances. No spring-loaded computerized made-only-for-your-feet shoes.

If anything, they wear what some would call Jesus or gladiator sandals: just a slab of thin leather under the sole with a leather thong tied around the foot and ankle. That’s it.

Of course, these running savants love to run. They smile as they run. They are like kids at play — kids who smoke black tobacco and drink corn beer — but kids in spirit, even when they’re senior citizens dashing over mountain tops.

Go figure.

You’ve got to read the book. It’s a masterpiece. Read it for the writing style. Read it for the adventure story. Read it for the amazing characters. Read it for the inspiration. Read it to be shocked. But read it.

Off with the shoes and out the door to freedom I go.

Or not.

I’ve yet to get my head around running virtually barefoot over roads and rough terrain.

I think I’ll finish Born to Run first and then decide.

Ao Akua,

Joe
Dr. Joe Vitale

PS – Here are some resources for you:

Info on Tarahumara
http://www.mexonline.com/raramuri.htm

“White Horse” leads trips into Mexico’s Copper Canyon
http:/www.caballoblanco.com/

Details on Barefoot Running
http://barefootted.com/labels/tarahumara.html

Book site for Born to Run
http://www.borntorun.org/

Vibram Five Fingers are “shoes” that look like slippers a frog would wear. Yet people run in these “barefoot running shoes.”
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Note: Remember to read Joe Vitale’s new book Attract Money Now FREE by clicking right here.