The Captain, The Ship, and The Mirror

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There is a Universal Law that sits at the center of your existence, much like the creamy filling in a metaphysical Twinkie. It is the law of cause and effect, of mind and matter. But often, we act as if we are merely passengers on a ship tossed about by the stormy seas of circumstance, wondering why the buffet is closed and why the captain is drunk.

The truth, my friend, is far more expansive and slightly more terrifying: You are the captain. You are the ship. You are the ocean.

We are starting a journey today into the science of "Psycho-Cybernetics." Now, that word might sound like a funk band from the year 2099, but it is actually the instruction manual for your own mind. Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon who realized that fixing a nose didn't always fix the person, gave us this term. It comes from the Greek for "Helmsman."

You are the Helmsman.

Most people treat "positive thinking" like a band-aid on a bullet wound. They paste a smile over a deep-seated belief of failure and wonder why they bleed through. Psycho-Cybernetics is not passive; it is "positive doing." It is the art of steering your mind to a productive, useful goal, with the ultimate destination being the greatest port in the known world: Peace of Mind.

We live in a world of duality, a "Tale of Two Paths." It is like choosing between watching a beautifully directed documentary about puppies or a 24-hour marathon of news about landfill fires.

First, there is the Tale of Two Environments. We spend so much energy trying to fix the world outside—the traffic, the economy, the fact that they discontinued your favorite flavor of chips. But Dr. Maltz teaches us that the pollution of hurt feelings and the riots of resentment inside your own skin are the real disasters. You must master the inner world to have any hope of enjoying the outer one.

Then, there is the Tale of Two Images. When you look in the mirror, who stares back? Is it a person ten feet tall, radiating confidence like a star? Or is it someone ten inches small, shrinking away from life?

Here is the secret the universe has been whispering to you: You have a choice.

You have an internal engine, a servo-mechanism, waiting for your command. It does not care if you succeed or fail; it only cares about the coordinates you punch in. If you input "I am a clumsy mess," it will dutifully steer you into coffee tables and bad decisions. If you input "I am a master of my fate," it will part the seas for you.

As you continue to read these emails, the more success you will have in spotting these automatic patterns. It is as inevitable as gravity.

You see, you have a second profession. You might be a baker, a banker, or a candlestick maker, but your primary job is to be a Professional Human Being. This requires practice. It requires rising to find your "big self."

I am so glad you are here. In fact, I suspect that as you digest this, you are grateful for having clicked the links in my email, because you sense that we are about to hand you the keys to the kingdom.

But here is the rub: You have this powerful machine inside you, a guidance system that could out-perform a heat-seeking missile. But do you know how to program it? Do you know the difference between the "Success Mechanism" and the "Failure Mechanism"?

Tomorrow, we are going to pop the hood and look at the engine.

If you had to describe the "captain" of your life right now, would they be awake at the wheel, or napping in the cargo hold?

Best,

Bradley Woods

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