But guess what? Even mentors get blocks! That’s right. They’re human. They get held back by their own ‘stuff’. So, don’t be too hard on yourself if you know if you’ve been holding yourself back. The first step, is to identify that is even the case!

What I have for you in today’s post are the lessons I learned from a private coaching call I had with a mentor of mine (who wishes to remain anonymous). He shared freely and unreservedly about his own journey and growth through his projects. It’s quite amazing, because what I noticed is the same sort of ‘junk’ runs through most peoples heads regardless of whether it is only a small project or if they are playing a bigger game! It’s how you deal with it that counts.

For anonymity, we’re going to call my mentor Mystery Mentor (MM)

Distinction #1 – Don’t sit and hatch

MM mentioned he did exactly this for 9 months on a project he KNEW he would make alot of money. He said that it probably cost him $200,000 in lost income because he procrastinated. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t just sitting at home putting his feet up. He is one ‘busy’ man. But here’s the thing – EVERYONE is ‘busy’! The difference between MM and ‘everyone’ else?

Most people are ‘busy’ doing minor things. They go to work for an hourly wage (nothing wrong with that) but when they get home, it’s time to relax, watch tv and sit on the sofa. Sure, it’s still keeping ‘busy’, but what difference would it make if they majored in MAJOR things, like spending an hour a day dedicated to improving their wealth?

What other projects are you sitting on, that you feel should really be up an running making you money? How long have you been sitting on them? MM waited 9 months and lost $200,000 as a result. How much are you losing? What ‘excuses’ are you telling yourself as to why this isn’t happening? What are you going to DO about it?

Distinction #2 – Associate a meaningful reward and the possibility of losing something valuable to an outcome for maximum results

MM uses this exact strategy with many of his high net worth clients. Rewarding someone for an outcome is not new. For a few people, this movement ‘toward pleasure’ is enough to get them fired up. They see the end result, and it might be something intangible like recognition from peers or feeling a sense of achievement. A larger percentage though are motivated by tangible things, such as cars, houses, boats, money. In the example on the call, a lady was having trouble coming up with a topic for her new website. The reward? She really wanted a half day with MM . And he gave it to her!

Another, and MUCH more powerful driving force for people is the drive to move away from pain. Away from losing something valuable, away from disappointing others, even ones-self! People will go to much larger lengths to avoid pain than they ever will to gain pleasure. Studies have proven this time and time again. You may notice these very patterns appearing in your life (think of some examples where you’ve avoided pain and compare them to situations where you’ve been driven by pleasure).

So what did MM do on the call? Well, he told this lady to put her CAR on the line. If she didn’t come up with a topic the next day, MM would gain full ownership of her precious car. It wasn’t just a joke either. He was serious. If he was going to play fair and reward her with a half day with him, he would expect her to play fair and suffer if she didn’t deliver. I think you can guess the result – what took her weeks to decide (and she couldn’t even decide!) on a topic was resolved in one night, under the ‘right’ circumstances!

So how can you apply this? Well, first determine whether you are primarily motivated by pain or pleasure, but it is a lethal combination when you use both. Think of something important you’ve been putting off. Then make COMMITMENT to somebody else (not yourself) as to when you will achieve it, and what you are willing to put on the line if you don’t. I think you’ll like the results very much.

Distinction #3 – People ALWAYS have a good reason why

Let me elaborate on this. People always have a good reason why THEY CAN’T do something. I’m sure you’re aware of all the reasons people give to explain why they’re in a sub-optimal position. If you examine these closely, many of these reasons resemble exactly what this program is designed to assassinate – mental blockages. The most common reasons given are no time, no money, not enough skill, not a risk taker, must be perfect, must analyse everything, too busy, and too skeptical. I’m sure you know a person who makes up some or all of these. Maybe you know that person INTIMATELY?

If you’ve followed all the exercises I’ve given you in previous posts closely, you’ll already have come up with your WHY reasons – compelling, worthwhile goals to drive to. Follow the WHY and focus on that instead of the ‘WHY I CAN’T’ do something. Remember – whether you think you can or can’t do something – you are always right!

Part 2 coming in the next few weeks, so please drop by then to learn the final 3 lessons. You’ll be shocked at what they are!

Director, Lifestyle Practitioner Academy, Serial entrepreneur, Speaker, Former Bodybuilding and Power Lifting Champion

Before you even think about being wealthy, you need to be healthy. This was a fantastic call about the fitness mindset. As an owner, trainer and speaker in fitness for over a decade, I asked Adam about the patterns and behaviours of his fittest and healthiest clients. You’ll be astounded by what he said, and how easy it is to dramatically change your habits for a healthier life now!

In this interview you will discover:

- How Adam used visualisation to excel at body-building

- The traits, characteristics and attitudes of his healthiest and fittest clients

- Effective marketing techniques to get more members through your doors

- What you need to know if you are intimidated about joining a gym

- How to overcome any mental blockages holding you back from looking and feeling fantastic

http://www.lifestylepractitioneracademy.com

If you’ve never heard of me before, I’ve interviewed over 30 gurus and experts in all areas including, bestselling authors, movie stars, investors, business owners, speakers and more from all over the world. The beautiful thing is, when I first started nobody had ever heard of me. So, how did I manage to score so many high profile interviewees?

I’ll share some of my insights with you in this article.

First, start by practising with one of your friends. Watch Oprah. Watch Barbara Walters. Or any other well respected interviewer you like, and see how they seamlessly carry on a flowing conversation without really knowing much about the topic at all!

Once you’re confident you can start the following process

STEP 1: Shortlist some people you’d like to start interviewing. Start small to begin and work your way up. Trying to get Bill Gates for your first interview is not going to happen!

STEP 2: Create a private interview invitation page, where you have either shot a personal video or audio introducing yourself and what you do.

STEP 3: Sell them what THEY will get as part of the interview. I’ve never paid for my interviews but I give them a fully edited copy of the interview with master rights once it’s done. All they have to do is spend the time to record it, and they don’t have to worry about editing, rendering, mixing etc. It’s a pretty good deal!

STEP 4: When contacting them, cite something personal you’ve noticed about them, their site, their message. Blanket invitations will get you nowhere fast!

STEP 5: As you build up some momentum, use the combined pulling power of the people you’ve interviewed as credibility. When people see you’ve interviewed best selling authors, property tycoons, well known business leaders, they often feel honoured to be asked and can’t wait to be interviewed!

STEP 6: Do your homework! Research their message, their last few blog posts and some of their products. Write out every question you think would be valuable to ask then shortlist. The better prepared you are, the more content you’ll be able to get out of them!

STEP 7: Have Fun! Be yourself and be relaxed. My best interviews have come when I pretended I was having a ‘cup of coffee’ with that person. My worst ones came when I was too ‘structured’ and stayed reading my questions.

Some other things you need to know

* To protect yourself, always make sure you record the agreement/permission to record (before or after the interview), or get written permission.

* You can use the phone and record onto your computer from there, but I prefer using skype (pamela for pc and call recorder for mac) and I also have a backup line – my mobile (if my internet cuts out) which I can record directly onto my mac (with wiretap studio).

* To edit the audios I use a fantastic free program that my good friends Gideon Shalwick and Yaro Starak also recommend, audacity.

* My microphone of choice is the rode podcaster mic. It gives studio quality sound and a although its not cheap, if you are serious about creating some quality products, it retails for around $250-$300.

I’ll be sharing more tips and strategies in the future on this topic, plus some of my best interviews. So check back often!

Happy interviewing!

I wanted to share with you all the amazing lessons and reflections learned from the event.

Experiencing Anthony Robbins live was out of this world. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t see Tony as a ‘motivator’ – he has helped me improve all aspects of my life ever since I started to listening to him on audio a few years ago. It became a life goal of mine to go see him live, and when an opportunity came up I bit the dust and threw a few thousand $$ on the table for a front row seat.

The first day included the FIREWALK. But here’s the thing – it’s not really about the firewalk. The firewalk is irrelevant. It represents a metaphor – getting into such a peak state that any obstacle in front of you doesn’t exist. If you’ve ever played sport at a high level or done anything where you’ve been totally in the zone, this would compare to the state Tony helps put you in before the walk.

As we stormed out clapping in unison, chanting ‘YES, YES’ the whole crowd bonded and there was an atmosphere that I’ll never forget. Most of us had been totally starved for the whole day by now (Tony hadn’t given any breaks for 8 hours straight) dehydrated, emotionally smashed and beat up and many still coming to terms with potential ending up with severe burns on their feet…. but everyone was so revved up and the collective energy was a rare occurence that I might only have felt on the most memorable of New Years celebrations when the clock struck midnight.

By my calculations by nights end over 99% of the 5000 had done the walk, many 2 or 3 times. I saw elderly women aged 70+ do it and I also saw 10 and 11 year olds choose to conquer their inner demons. It was a liberating experience. Hell, after walking on fire, making a few bucks online doesn’t seem so daunting anymore.

So I just wanted to summarise the major things I got out of the workshop over the next few days. If you’ve listened to any of Tony’s programs before, the content would not be new. I had, but hearing Tony live is truly something I believe every human being who even has a moderate interest in improving themselves must experience. I believe he is one of the rare human beings who has even come close to realising his potential and fulfilled his calling here on earth.

I won’t regurgitate the content of the seminar as such – get any of Tony’s products and you can get a taste for how powerful the information is if you apply it. But I would like to comment on a few other things of note:

- I went to the seminar to create some powerful anchors and neuro associations to help me snap into a peak state when I need to. The trouble was, when I was trying to do this at home, I would always be worried about making too much noise or looking like an idiot to not only others but myself. There’s something about an immersive experience that cuts all those ties and lets you play the game full out. i create 5 POWER anchors – unique movements or gestures that i’ve linked to certain emotions.

Trying them out this week, it was quite freaky. For example when i squeeze my right hand into a fist my breathing rate increases automatically and I get a rush of adrenaline that just shoots me into state.

- I also went to gain better control of my emotions, and experience a richer interpretation of certain positive emotions. It’s quite sad that most people (including myself) go through life – supressing certain emotions or only feeling small doses of emotions. think about it – life lived to its fullest shouldn’t be toned down, should it? It didn’t disappoint. I laughed until I cried, I jumped up and down in pure joy, I cried and at one point I almost threw up I felt so sick (this was on purpose – Tony made us associate massive pain to limiting beliefs we had).

Try and imagine what 5000 people going through the same process feels like. Powerful stuff.

- Another massive aha moment was this. People work their entire lives dedicated to making money. They sacrifice family, leisure time and their health just to make money. Why do people want money? To buy things, for freedom, to give to other people. Why do people want these things? Because of the FEELING or EMOTION they’ll get after achieving it NOT FOR THE THING ITSELF. People don’t really want pieces of paper with deceased notables on it.

They want the feeling they can get by trading those pieces of paper. Now get this – those feelings you desire ALREADY EXIST inside of you. All you need to do – is transport yourself back to a time when you felt that and re-live the emotion all over again. How about going into the future and experiencing, VIVIDLY that you had already attained what you desire. Feel like you would feel, move like you’d love, breathe like you’d breath – make it vivid enough and you WILL experience the emotions….without spending another cent! How cool is that!

- Finally, on health day, Tony shed some really interesting facts which has led to some positive lifestyle changes for me. He was talking about disease, and also gaining exponentially more energy to power through your day. I had heard conflicting reports about Tony’s philosophies, but in all seriousness the proof in the pudding is Tony’s own energy levels. ANYONE who can go from 9 in the morning till 1am on stage and not lose an iota of energy has more than enough credibility – that alone made me all ears. I speak on stage myself and after about two hours I find I am emotionally and physically starting to wain.

People’s bodies and lifestyles are generally way too acidic. Acid producing foods consume us and it leads to lethargy, disease and a shortened life. What we need is to ALKALISE the body more regularly. Major acidic foods include dairy and meats. Toxins like alcohol,caffeine, sugar, drugs and smoking are obviously highly poisonous and put the body in a distressed state. Major alkalising foods include fruits and vegetables, wheat grass, lemon in water and foods that have high water content. We also need to supplement with omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids as our cell walls are made of fats and most are deficient.

Two more key things I implemented was to purchase a rebounder (mini trampoline) – and spend 5 minutes a day to stimulate the circulation of our lymphatic system which for most people is drastically understimulated, and finally retraining myself for deep, lower lung diaphragmatic breathing instead of chest and shoulder breaths like almost everybody does. The way to do this is make sure your belly really distends instead of your shoulder and chest rising. this ensures oxygen gets to your WHOLE lung and not just the top 1/3rd!!! Oxygen is THE most important requirement for your body, a few minutes without it and you’re dead. Don’t deprive yourself.

So there you have it, my major learnings and reflections.

I hope you can take away at least one learning and apply it into your life!

Cheers to your wealth and health!

West

Ps I’ll leave you with a video I shot of Tony getting 5000 people into a powerful, energetic state! Enjoy!