​THERE ARE QUITE A FEW COINED PHRASES WE QUOTE AND MISINTERPRET AS TRUTHS. THE PRACTICAL OR LOGICAL LESSONS DEDUCED FROM THESE SAYINGS SEEM SOUND BUT ARE NOT ALWAYS ACCURATE. SOME WERE DERIVED FROM PRACTICES THAT MADE SENSE FOR THE CIRCUMSTANCES THEY ORIGINATED IN.  OTHERS WERE THE RESULTS OF SUPERSTITIONS AND BELIEFS THAT WE ADAPTED TO VALIDATE OUR PERCEPTION OF REALITY. WE LIKE TO CREATE OR REVIVE PHRASES AND SAYINGS THAT APPLY SPECIFICALLY TO TODAY'S PERCEIVED DILEMMAS. WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE TRUE IS HOW WE PERCEIVE LIFE TO BE. AS A RESULT, WE CREATE BIASES AND LIMIT OUR OWN ADVANCEMENT. LET'S IDENTIFY AND REDEFINE THE BOUNDARIES AND BELIEFS THAT RESTRAIN US.

We create our own limits. To consciously or subconsciously believe that we can’t teach old dogs new tricks creates boundaries for both the dog and the master. Such thinking undermines developing the skills which nurtures our ability to discover the unknown. New tricks may require new thinking and developing new abilities. Today’s problems will not be solved with the same level of consciousness and thinking used in the past. Old dogs like us can learn new tricks but the teacher must be patient and the dog must be willing. Relying on our present conditioning will not prepare us for our newest challenges.
There are so many sayings that we repeat, embrace and believe.
Does practice really make perfect?  
Are the best things in life free?
If we want something done right, should we JUST do it ourselves?
Why do we cry over spilled milk?
Practice simply makes improvement, if this were not the case, we would achieve perfection through the repetition of effort. The best things in life come with a price. We are not the only ones who can do it right. Crying over spilled milk is like regretting mistakes, isn't it? Doesn't it seem like a natural thing to do? We generally adjust to life’s situations by making changes and applying solutions. The traditional ways we solved problems always seemed to work, why change them now? Spankings and corporal punishment were the order of the day in times past. Are we totally dependent on the same methodologies? Some of the best, more effective and most efficient ways of solving some problems are yet to be discovered. Many of the unsolved problems we face are new to our existence and must be regarded as such. Many of them have been created by us through solving other problems. We have a tendency to battle unique circumstances from an old perspective of previous experiences. Conventional solutions don’t always work with new problems.  
PROGRESS MAY NOT PRODUCE ADVANCEMENT. SOLUTIONS MAY NOT CREATE NEEDED CHANGE.
Growth generally presents opportunity, but commitment and hard work does not guarantee success, it simply defines effort. Defining a problem is simple; drafting a solution requires an understanding of the problem. Significant change is not necessarily produced by just working harder at it. Working smarter or differently may sound good and still not yield a specifically needed outcome. When we do the same things the same way we should not expect different results. That is, by definition, INSANE!
Let’s modify that. Actually, by working harder, but doing things the same way, we can hasten the result. If we're going broke and work harder, but keep doing the same old stuff, we'll go broke faster, that’s all. If we are mediocre and work harder at being mediocre it will make us more mediocre, faster.  And if we are doing well, then doing the same things harder should help us do well, faster, shouldn't it?
Another dynamic comes into play. What if doing well has nothing to do with the area of concern? Maybe working hard was unrelated to the success associated with it. What if just by being in a good place and time things simply worked out?  When our beliefs are derived from conditions incorrectly  correlated to them we can deceive ourselves. The problem is associating yielded results with imagined or unrelated factors. Going outside in the winter without a coat does not cause a cold. But believing it does will affect future behavior. In life, when things start going in the opposite direction, we may think it can be fixed by doubling down on the past efforts of working harder, longer and faster.  Facing the reality of what does not work and discovering that it never did, opens a new spiritual reality of psychological, emotional and financial enlightenment.  When we finally understand the rules of the game after playing it for so long we may feel disheartened.  By studying and applying the newly learned rules we can take new actions and make adjustments we failed to execute previously. This will work in any aspect of life. Whatever has worked up to now has brought us this far; is that why we search for the answers in seminars, sermons, lectures and books?  Seeing things differently, eternally differently, requires honest answers to the following questions. Our new solutions can come from exploring areas of thought previously unknown. 

Are the efforts from the past still working in the present?
Can we discover a better working solution?
Can we execute the newly found solution?
How are we documenting our actions?
Who are we sharing our actions with?
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The answers to all of these questions share the same thread; think it, test it and track it. We're referring to a new way of processing thought. This involves thinking about thinking. The thought process is the first area of scrutiny to test and track. Without nurturing “Intentional desires” they fade, but the energy of “creative desires” can grow through actionable intent. Even the birth of diverse desires can create very similar feelings. Identical feelings may manifest themselves in divergent ways. We should interpret them for what they can become, not for how they feel in the present. Testing is as important as thinking. Simple scrutiny is inadequate.  This cannot be done by the seat-of-the-pants. This is not casual guesswork. We’ve got to run the numbers to know the impact. By tracking the results of our current endeavors we can find out how well things are or aren’t working. The next step is to try and find something better. Try something new on a small scale. We absolutely SHOULD NOT STOP doing our old standby efforts and chuck it all for new-fangled roll-of-the-dice attempts. Test with small samples and take those small initiatives to a portion of life and measure the results. Keep the old standby stuff rolling and keep doing the stuff we've always done at whatever level we do it. This is how we match the better with the good. We give it form by actually measuring it and comparing it. We measure it all! Remember, if we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it. Tracking is essential to answering the questions above and improving our lives. And once we’ve found something that consistently out-performs those old standbys, we retire the old so that the new program becomes the standard. Of course, as soon as that happens we repeat the process to find something even better. Here’s the point. Don’t commit to working harder or more. Commit to working different. Don’t commit to changing something. Commit to changing everything… to "change" itself. Don’t commit to a result, but commit to the process of ever-improving results. Now here’s the clincher. When we kick a bad habit we can declare ourselves winners by replacing it with a new habit. The struggle never ends without any further need for change. Feelings somehow have a way of distorting facts. The feeling of relief may disguise the real and rational facts that come from results. We may be fooled into embracing the superstitions of our conditioning that keep us looking for short cuts and the easy way out. What is in our heads and hearts is just a start. We need visible, actionable and tangible tools, not just our own narrative. Tools make weapons. Two of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal are enrolling others and keeping personal records, both have a life of their own and create accountability. Victory over any bad habit is good but it is only temporal. Life will always send us fresh challenges and the opportunity to win again. Remember the only insane thing is to keep doing things the same old way and expecting different results. When we no longer do what we’ve always done, we can no longer get what we’ve always gotten. And that’s a good thing! Now that we've gotten the point and know the clincher, here's the bottom line. TO GROW IN LIFE WE CANNOT JUST DO BETTER WE HAVE TO BE BETTER!

Results define the value of what we do or have done. Desiring to deal with and do the work of communicating, ordering our finances or organizing our lives is an ongoing undertaking. The very act of recognizing a problem "associates" us with that problem. What we do first determines what gets done in the end. By owning our shortcomings, we do things that involve insight and honesty. This post is the second part of a three part series that requires doing! Any participant must examine their own conditioning and beliefs by openly indulging each individual response. Our answers to the five questions are the key to discovery. The first question speaks to the core of our desires. We will examine our desires and their evidence in two ways. The first way we will call our intentional desire, what we are willing to do, and the second will be termed actionable desire, what we have intentions on doing. Both desires feel the same at conception but have very different results.
1. Are we trying to change our condition/environment or ourselves/thinking? 

Needs unlike desires require corresponding results. Addressing our needs rather than continuing to cater to our habits and wants is a transition that we must make in our own best interest. The results will become a product of our efforts choice, circumstances or pressure. Whenever the source to fulfill our needs are birthed externally we are denied the  personal choice to recognized, address and control them. Some may think that we are only the effect of our lives and not the cause. However, the opposite is true. What we do or what gets done to us is our responsibility first. Our drive to survive can dictate those actions. We take more control when we initiate actions that address foreseen situations.
​2. Do we take actions in response to anticipated needs? (which ones?)
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Creating our lives gives us more direct control over what we consciously want to happen.  We now have the knowledge of how to powerfully create our destiny in line with universal principles. Life will be created on purpose by what we do or by default by what someone else or society does. Something will be created, whether we are aware of it or not. During this week give out three predetermined compliments each day by plan or at random. Keep notes on the responses. Find someone to talk to about how we felt after each response. We can observe our power to create by doing this. The best salespeople, musicians and artist are very creative.
3. What effect does our creating have on ourselves, others and the surrounding environment?

Many of us set goals at the beginning of each coming new year. Most of these resolutions to do  different things typically go unfulfilled. Wishing without setting specific measurable results and establishing milestones is a setup for failure. We may pledge to perform, but a pledge without a plan is unproductive. A real plan requires a declaration and a full investment. Goals must have measurable criteria in order to be considered goals. An investments is when we put our money where our mouth is. We should consider calling our plans or goals "investments!"
4. Name a desire we sincerely have and want to achieve but have not invested in.

​Life is defined through language. The one thing we have total control over is speech. What we say connects to what we do. This also implies that whatever we're attached to is expressed in our feelings and behavior towards it. Personal objects are tangible representations expressed through verbal and logical reasoning. The thoughts and things we maintain are essentially us. This is why we must identify, confess and deal with our own faults. We can choose to find breakthroughs and not do business as usual.
5. Match an age or time in life that corresponds with all of the following events.
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a. When we were publicly praised and/or criticized and became the center of attention.
b. When we were not recognized for an obvious good deed or accomplishment.
c. When we shared a really private or intimate confession.
d. When we anonymously performed a public service or random good deed.
​e. When we were the victim or recipient of someone who did us right or wrong.

Everybody wants to get ahead. Needs and desires influence actions. What appeals to us affects our perceptions. Alluring ideas that captivate our minds can compromise our moral and ethical standards. Finding shortcuts and taking advantage of them is becoming an accepted and honorable practice! Cheating is a part of our culture, attitude and lifestyles. At some level it seems like everybody cheats. Yes we've cheated too. To gain an advantage or avoid the undesirable we feel inclined to cheat. Even when our intentions are honorable we may find ourselves cheating just to  keep up with the "real cheaters."  Unfair is more of a perceived position or state then an actual one. There is no substitute for righteousness. Desire and Competition creates the environment to cheat. Pride  and passion provides a motive to cheat. Reasoning and logic shows us ways to cheat. Cheating is a spirit. Remember we are spiritual beings having a human experience. This spirit is so subtle that its indistinct devious origins are often disguised until the manifestations arise. Having been victimized in the past, we should now be able to see how cutting lines, sneaking in movies, not paying fares, lying on applications, borrowing answers from others on tests and being unfaithful in relationships are all related. Robbing ourselves of integrity cheats us out of the power over many areas of our lives. The price we pay now is much higher than the cost of honesty then. There are cheat sheets for games, we cheat on our diets, we cheat on our taxes, we cheat in sports, gambling and in games. It doesn't take long to determine the areas in our lives that we've cheated on and/or are cheating in. We cannot go back and change the past but we can break the cycle that our past is projecting into our future.