Tag: mister fire

I was in Warsaw and Krackow, Poland last month. I love Poland. The people are loving and generous, curious and intelligent. One of them drove me to see the Leopard sports car, a hand made limited edition roadster. (I was the first American to ever drive the car.) On the way there he asked me some terrific questions. Here are a few of them:  (Picture is from Warsaw event.)

Do you read magazines?

A few. In general, the most accurate news is going to be in books. Newspapers move too quickly to check all their facts. Magazines have a little more time to check sources but still aren’t perfect. Books take longer to research, so tend to be more reliable. My preference is for books.

How do you read so many books?

I do what I call intentional reading. I know what I want when I pick up a book, so sprint through it, looking for the facts and stories. Of course, I’m always looking for the book so hypnotically written that I want to read and savor every word of it.

What was the most difficult time of your life?

Being suicidal in college in the 1970s was no picnic. Being homeless right after that was no party.

What’s the best way to write a book?

I take the advice novelist John Steinbeck told radio comedian Fred Allen: Write whatever comes to mind. You can always edit, shuffle chapters, and rearrange pages later. Don’t force the flow. Honor it.

What’s your dream car?

The Bugatti Veyron. While I’m still waiting to receive my Scorpion (the hydrogen-gas hybrid super exotic car made in Texas), the dream car has to be the 1,000 hp Veyron.

What’s your favorite city in Poland?

Krackow. I felt it to be a healing environment.

How do you attract a person back who left you?

You don’t. You allow them free will. Instead, find inner peace within yourself and the person may sense it and want to be around it. If not, you’ll probably attract somebody more fitting.

Did you put 10,000 hours into learning?

Yes. I wanted to be a writer so intensely that I put myself through a disciplined self-study program that no college could ever match. I studied writing books, author biographies, and more. I did writing exercises. I prepared myself as a writer. Since the Internet is text driven, being a skilled writer positioned me for success. Put 10,000 hours into studying anything and you’ll stand out in that field.

What was the first book you ever wrote?

The first book was a novel. I wrote it in college. I don’t remember the title but I think the tag line was, “When you have no where else to go, you can always go mad.” It was never published.

Did you write anything else?

I wrote numerous things, from poems to plays, before I started writing nonfiction. I wrote a one-act play about writer William Saroyan and saw it produced in 1979. I didn’t make a dime from it, but it was homage to an author I loved and it has always been a highlight of my life.

I love Poland so much I’ll be going back to it for the third time in late May, 2010. (Picture is of my editors for my books in Poland. Do we look happy or what?)

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS –  You can still read my new book, Attract Money Now, for free, by clicking on the below link:

I love asking people in the countries I visit about their customs. One of my favorite questions is, “What secrets do you have for attracting money or anything else?”

In Russia I learned about Hochun, the Siberian “wish maker.” I love him as a tool for focusing on intentions. Pat O’Bryan and I released our own version of him at The Secret Russian Wish Maker.

In Poland I learned that you can attract money if you hang a painting of a Jewish man counting gold coins in your home or office.

My friend Andrzej Batko said he bought such a painting, placed it in his office, and it worked. I of course wanted one, too.

We found one in Krackow. I loved it, bought it, and am having it framed right now. When my new office is completed, I’ll hang it where I can see it.

Actually, it’s now framed…

This raises the question: Do these items actually work?

I don’t know. But my theory is this: if it doesn’t hurt you to hang a painting or look at an image, then why not do it? When something is fun, adds to the positive energy for your desire, it has to be good.

Here’s something even more fascinating:

I met famed Polish photographer Grzegorz Syllain in Warsaw. He followed me around one day and took pictures of me shopping for cigars and clothes. His teenage daughter followed and helped.

When we stopped to have coffee, I asked his daughter what she enjoyed doing. She said painting. I then told them what I leaned about the Polish custom of having the money attractor painting. They both knew the power of the painting.

But they didn’t see what was coming next.

“When I go back to Texas and write about my painting, people will want one for their home or office, too. The thing is, I won’t have anywhere to send them to buy a painting. If you would set up a website, and your daughter would paint the art, I could direct them to you.”

His daughter loved the idea.

He loved the idea.

“If you do this, you could attract enough money for school or anything else you want.”

They nodded with excitement.

I then challenged them.

“I want you to start painting and to get the site up by the time I return to the States in three days. If you do, I’ll tell my readers about it.”

Grzegorz quickly agreed.

So did his daughter. “I don’t want a penny for this,” I explained. “I want to see you act on this idea. This is the secret to attracting success in life; when the idea is there, honor it and act on it.”

Sure enough, they honored their word.

Their site is now up at Polish Money Attractor Painting.

If I were you, I’d do two things right now:

1. Write down an idea you’ve had and haven’t acted on yet.

2. Act on it.

Oh.

And go get your own original Polish Money Attractor Painting.

What if it works?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS -The above photo of Nerissa and I was taken by Grzegorz in Warsaw, Poland. His site is at www.fotani.com The painting is by Grzegorz’s wife and daughter. Order it at http://www.gobeliny.com

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 now watch my new thirty minute TV show on how to Attract Money Now using the Law of Attraction right here. It will be airing nationwide next week. Here it is, in three parts:

Part two:

Part three:

If the above links don’t work, you can go direct to them here:

And you can still read the book Attract Money Now online for free right here. Or you can buy the beautiful hardcover printed version, which comes with a free DVD of a live presentation by me on how to use the Law of Attraction to attract money, right here.

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.