Tag: Books

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.

Optimism? How can anyone be an optimist during these times? What grounds are there for being optimistic, anyway? Is it at all realistic?

A few weeks ago a friend asked me how I learned to see the good in life and the good in people. The question stopped me. I had to think. It’s true I look for the good in people and in life. It’s true I learned to do it.

But how? When? Why?

I remember being very unhappy in college. One time I sat on the steps of the house I had a room in (back at Kent State University), feeling sad. A couple walking by looked at me. The woman said, “You look really unhappy.”

A close friend of mine in college even went as far as to say I was “naturally pessimistic.”

Decades ago, on the streets of Dallas, jobless and sleepless with worry, I stood at a bus stop. A man crossing the street looked at me and said, “You look terrible.”

That doesn’t happen today.

No one says I am pessimistic today.

Why not?

Why am I smiling in this recent photo of Lynne McTaggart (author of The Intention Experiment and The Field)?

Why do I smile more often than not these days?

Why am I now “naturally optimistic”?

What happened to the natural pessimist?

Here’s the secret: I’ve spent a fortune to work on myself over the last few decades – meaning I read books, listened to audios,  attended events, and got coaches.

All of this personal development helped me erase the beliefs causing my feelings and behavior.

All of this led to a transformation that today is so dramatically different than what I once was, I’m only the same person by name.

The point is this: Anything can be learned. Anyone can change.

The new science of neuro-plasticity is proving it. So is the new science of positive psychology. We live in an exciting world where even science is starting to point to the miraculous.

But back to me seeing the good in people and in life.

I learned from legendary psychologist William James that whatever I focus on will expand. It’s basic Law of Attraction but without the woo-woo. It’s fundamental psychology.

If you look for bad things, you’ll tend to find them, focus on them, and then see more of them. Your focus will “expand” them into your life.

Change your focus and you change your life.

This is why the work of Will Bowen (author of A Complaint-Free World) and his complaint-free world movement is so important. I’m on his board of directors because I know the power of not complaining but instead stating what you want.

In Law of Attraction terms (as explained in my book The Attractor Factor) it simply means don’t state what you don’t want (the complaint) but instead declare what you do want (your intention).

When it comes to other people, Goethe had something to say about this, too:

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”

I’ve also learned that when you find the good in people and situations, you feel better. You’re happier, healthier, and ultimately wealthier.

People around you feel better, too. They don’t have to defend themselves from your complaining about them or trying to change them.

You love them and they feel it.

This is the core of the Zero Limits ho’oponopono process, as well. You don’t try to change anyone. After all, they are mirror images of you, anyway. Whatever you don’t like in them is something you don’t like inside you.

Might as well love what you see.

It’s you.

In short, reality is what you see, and what you see is what you choose.

Whether the glass is half empty or half full is a choice of perception.

It may not feel like a choice when you start practicing this way of living, but only because of habit. As you continue to pause, decide on what you want to see in any moment, and choose the positive view, you soon learn that being an optimist is a very realistic thing to do. It will become your new nature.

I love that more and people are learning to be optimistic about life. There are a long line of books and people teaching us you have a choice about how you can view life. Whether actor Michael J. Fox (author, Always Looking Up) or Joe Vitale (author, Attract Money Now), the lesson is the same: focus on what you want and you’ll tend to bring it about.

Where is your focus?

Ao Akua,

Joe
Dr. Joe Vitale

PS — Nothing works faster to transform you than having your own coach. Please check out my famous Miracles Coaching program. If you want to be optimistic no matter what, and live the life of an optimist breathing optimism, coaching can be your ticket to freedom. Forget reality. It’s only what you perceive, and your perception is under your control.

My father just sent me this High School graduation picture of myself. This was Joe Vitale in 1972 in Ohio:

And here is Joe Vitale aka Mr Fire last week in Bermuda with Jack Canfield:

And here’s another recent photo of Joe Vitale:

What the – ?

That kid in 1972 had no idea of the roller-coaster he was about to step on as he left High School: homelessness and poverty, confusion and desperation, anger and hurt, yet on to the nickname “Mr Fire!” and world-wide success, happiness, wealth, and fame, with thirty books (such as The Attractor Factor),  eleven movies (such as The Secret), and his own Miracles Coaching program helping thousands worldwide.

You explain it.

When people ask me how I went from nothing to something, they are looking for the magic pill answer. They want me to name the one book, or one event, or one person, or one action, that changed it all forever.

Well, I did do one thing.

And it may surprise you.

The one thing I did to transform my life was this: everything.

I read all the books, attended all the events, struggled and squirmed, panted and prayed, worked on myself, took odd jobs (some I hated) and more — all as I pursued my passion: to write bestselling books that inspire people.

Today I do that for a living. My next book will be available any day now. It reveals my original seven step formula to help anyone attract money now.

It’s called Attract Money Now.

And I’m giving it away, free.

Register to get it by clicking right here.

And then go look at your High School picture.

Ao Akua,

Joe
Dr. Joe Vitale

PS – Where did Joe Vitale get the name “Mr Fire!”, anyway? Back in the early 1990s I met a woman who began calling me that whenever we met. When I asked her why, she said, “You set a fire under the butt of everyone you meet. You’re always inspiring people. You’re Mistah Fire!” The name stuck, though the woman moved on. And onwards we go.

I of course know who Lance Armstrong is.  I have yet to meet him, even though we live in the same area of Texas and we’ve both been on the cover of Austin Fit magazine. He came to life for me when I read Daniel Coyle’s New York Times bestselling book, Lance Armstrong’s War. While I’m not a cyclist, the book was so well written that I was compelled to read every word of it. When I heard Coyle had a new book coming out, I pre-ordered it without a thought.

   It arrived a few days ago. It’s terrific. The Talent Code reveals the true source of greatness. And it’s not what you might think. As the author’s site (www.thetalentcode.com) for the book says…

What is the secret of talent? How do we unlock it?

Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle visited nine of the world’s greatest talent hotbeds — tiny places that produce huge amounts of talent, from a small music camp in upstate New York to an elementary school in California to the baseball fields of the Caribbean.

He found that there’s a pattern common to all of them — certain methods of training, motivation, and coaching. This pattern, which has to do with the fundamental mechanisms through which the brain acquires skill, gives us a new way to think about talent — as well as new tools with which we can unlock our own talents and those of our kids.

The Talent Code may be the most stimulating, inspiring and informative book I’ve read so far this year. I keep reading it, underlying parts, making notes, and reflecting. It helps explain many defining moments in my own life. For example —

Back in 1969 I failed high school geometry. Got an ‘F’ in it. I had to retake the course the next year. The funny thing is, the next year I got straight ‘A’s in geometry. How did I go from F to A? I had a different teacher. The second instructor – a Mr. Ron Posey, I remember – had me follow a strict discipline, right down to using a particular notebook, putting protectors around the 3-holes in the pages, handwriting meticulously, and more. It drove some kids nuts. It helped me get straight A’s. According to Coyle, that second instructor was a brilliant coach intuitively using The Talent Code’s secrets.

Back in 1972, when I learned how to fly a single engine plane, I went through a ten-week course that was the hardest thing I had done (and have yet to do) in my entire life. I either flew a plane every day or was in ground school studying every day, five days a week, all day long. I thought the curriculum was intense. Overwhelming even. It wasn’t until I read Coyle’s book that I realized Kent State Univeristy’s flight school was teaching me exactly the way I needed to learn: by stretching me beyond what I thought was doable.

But how does all of this work to increase talent?

What was my geometry teacher and that flight school doing to turn an average (below average, really) kid into a straight A student and a licensed private pilot?

Coyle’s riveting book explains the three things needed to increase talent and go toward greatness. One essential is “the spark” of inspiration. Something has to ignite desire.

That’s what happened in 1970 when I met Rod Serling, creator of the famous sci-fi TV series, The Twilight Zone. I realized Serling was human and if he could be a famous writer, than I could too. I then put myself through a self-study program that contained well more than 10,000 hours of writing, reading, writing and more reading; of being rejected for years, and yet trying again and again (and again and again). My first book wasn’t published until 1984. The spark of inspiration was Rod Serling. This “spark” is what begins a huge, deep transformation. It’s the beginning to unlocking talent.

The second ingredient needed is a particular kind of practice.

When I was learning how to play the harmonica some thirty years ago, I nearly threw the instrument against the wall. While it’s easy to just blow through a harp and get some music out of it, learning how to blow through single holes, bend notes, and control your breathing and the resulting music is a challenge. But I kept practicing. I practiced every day at 7 pm on the front porch of an abandoned house. After an entire year, I could play like a relatively good blues harpist. But it took practice that involved struggle, errors, correction, and more practice. That’s part of the secret to increasing talent.

The third secret is great coaching.

I’m currently taking private tutoring lessons with Berlitz instructors to learn Spanish, for my speaking engagement in Lima, Peru on June 4th.  While I have books, courses, CDs and more on how to speak Spanish, there’s nothing like having a personal coach there to guide my learning. When I failed geometry the first time but excelled at it the second time, it was due to a better coach. I learned to pilot a plane in a short amount of time due to great teachers. These days I have my own coaching program for people wanting to improve or breakthrough. It’s needed for noteworthy success. In fact, it’s a requirement.

Coyle’s book is essential reading for the hypnotic writing, the stories, the insights and more. At the heart of it is the news that a substance in the brain called myelin is what makes people great.

But the greater news is anyone — even you and me — can develop any talent by following the three elements Coyle describes. Doing so will build myelin. As the subtitle of his book says, “Greatness isn’t born. It’s grown.”

The Talent Code may just be “the spark” needed to turn wishful dreamers into talented greats that in the future Daniel Coyle may write about — just as he’s already done for a living legend, Lance Armstrong.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — The new and improved Joe Vitale Miracles Coaching program is at www.mrfire.com/miraclescoaching 

 Some books dig into your brain and lodge themselves there, even if you finished them decades ago. The Dice Man is such a book.

I read it in high school in the early 1970s. The memory is still with me. I still have the paperback book, too. It’s an unforgettable novel about a man who learns to make every decision by rolling dice. 

It’s an addictive read. It’s at times hilarious, at other times disturbing.

Inspired by the book, I remember rolling dice for high school decisions. It was liberating, but also dangerous. If you didn’t balance the roll of the dice with critical thinking, you could end up in trouble, as the book’s character reveals.

The Dice Man became a cult classic. It’s still an underground bestseller. One day there will be a movie of it. First editions of the book are nearly impossible to find.

So imagine my surprise when I roamed around a used book store and discovered a first edition hardcover signed by the author to his wife.

I instantly bought it, of course. I was so excited that I was tingling the rest of the day.

In that same book store I found a signed copy of Think and Grow Rich, the book that has made more millionaires than any other.

Napoleon Hill’s signature is worth gold, and I eagerly paid for the signed volume. It’s going in a locked glass display case with my other prized autographed books, such as ones by Neville Goddard, P.T. Barnum, Edward L. Bernays and of course Luke Rhinehart, the author of The Dice Man.

The author of The Dice Man also wrote one of the top five most life changing books of all time: The Book of est. I think it’s the greatest self-help book ever written.

The Book of est is even harder to find. Even the author doesn’t have copies. It’s a fictionalized account of the famous “est” training of the 1970s, created by Werner Erhard, and it’s one of the most hypnotic books ever written. I love it.

Last year Mark Ryan and I released it, with the author’s consent, as an e-book. You can get it at www.bookofest.com (In a week or so you’ll be able to order printed copies of the book from the same site.)

Some day we may get to re-publish The Dice Man, too.

We’ll just have to see what the dice roll…

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – The bookseller who sold The Dice Man to me was so influenced by the book that he carries dice in his pocket. He pulled them out and showed me. He said he makes decisions with the roll of the dice. I can only imagine he lets the dice advise him and not control him. At least I hope that’s the case.

Note: I know you may be curious, so here are the facts. I found the autographed books at Sam Wellers Bookstore. The list price for the signed Hill volume was $1,000; the signed Dice Man book was listed at $500. My rule of thumb is to reward myself after accomplishing goals. Since I had just recorded 17 audios and 5 videos the two days before, buying the rare books was an easy decision. I didn’t even need to roll the dice.