Humans over-complicate all too much, and achieving what you desire boils down to four simple steps.

1. Belief – 100% Belief and Conviction
2. Action – Take Massive Action
3. Reinforcement – Continual and Constant Reinforcement
4. Reward – Meaningful Reward Upon Completion

Continually follow these four steps of the Cycle of Achievement and you can achieve ANYTHING.

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” ~ Walt Disney

Books are great.  They are a way for knowledge and wisdom to be passed down from one generation to the next and a way to continually educate yourself in just about any subject you like just as long as you have a little bit of self-discipline.  I never went to college or even read books as a kid.  The first book I ever read was How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael Gelb at age 19 and have been hooked on reading ever since. I read voraciously and would say that consistently I have at least 3-5 books, audiobooks, and eBooks going on at any one give time and am constantly consuming as much information as possible on a daily basis.  All that said, it’s a choice to pick up a book and ready instead of turning on the tube for some reality trash, or listen to an audiobook while working out instead of jamming to Metallica.  I have read hundreds, if not thousands, of books and am not about to stop reading anytime soon. If anything, I wish I where like the robot in the movie Short Circuit where I could read hundreds of books a day from the bookstore bookshelves!!!

Some books, however, are better than others. Obviously, I’m not telling you anything new.  However, when you are someone like myself that would be considered very well-read in the areas of psychology, personal development, self help and the like, you start to become finely tuned for books worth reading and ones that are a complete waste of time.  It’s simple really: if it’s a great book, you refer it to your friends.  If it’s not, you don’t. There is one main exception, which is also the topic of this post:

Value

The past couple weeks I plowed through the books Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman, Flow by ­­­­­Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Excuses Begone by Wayne Dyer. Well, to be completely honest, I read Learned Optimism, listened to Flow in my vehicle, and listened to Excuses Begone from my iPhone while working out. All three are all very similar, yet all very, very different.   The first half of Learned Optimism had me wanting to read more and more, although his research-based writing style can be quite boring for the average Joe. I was just about to give his book a rave review until I got the last half of the book. What a massive disappointment.  Seriously. Learned Optimism, in a nutshell, explains why people are optimistic vs. pessimistic, why we think the way we think, and offers advice on how to change your improper negative thought patterns through clinically researched methodologies proven by rats, dogs, and humans.  But here is the thing: It doesn’t give practical advice for the everyday American to be able to apply these techniques to their lives. I’m sure it was greatly appealing to research psychologists (this book was a bestseller), and I’m a huge fan of Mr. Seligman’s pioneering work in the field of positive psychology, but I just get perturbed when smart people don’t have the ability to relate to others in a practical, easy to understand, simplistic way.

So then I decided to move onto Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who also is an innovator and pioneer and has worked closely with Seligman in the field of positive psychology.  Again, highly disappointing.  And to believe both of these were best sellers! Pretty sad really.  Both of these men are research psychologists. Their writing is for research purposes, so I guess it makes sense their books are not going to provide practical solution-based advice but, rather, fact-based reason for why something is or isn’t. Essentially, that’s psychology in a nutshell.  The problem with that nutshell is that you can get stuck in it-and never get out.

Lastly, I just finished Excuses Begone by Wayne Dyer, which is what inspired me to want to write this post.  For starters, he essentially gives the same/similar message as Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, has the same educational accreditation (not that that matters, in my opinion) yet gives the readers a practical way to put into practice the core message of the book.  America is full of people who like to voice their opinions and in reality have nothing of any value to add.  We are far better off as a species and culture to provide others with the tools necessary to help them become better people in all areas of their life.  This goes without saying for areas such as your personal life, like in this book, but should also be applied to areas like politics, education, health, and in my opinion, most importantly our how we think which is the foundation for our thinking an everything we do in life.

Excuses Begone is another one of Dyer’s greats, and I’m pretty sure I have read all of his books. It’s no classic by any means, but is worth a days reading to consume a new approach to getting what you want out of life and, like the title says, get rid of excuses.  While this book is worth the read, the other two you can check off your list knowing that your friend Matt wasted many hours reading something that could have been summarized in under a few minutes.

I’m partial to books that better the mind, body, and soul, and that’s not for everyone.  I have a strong conviction that more people should read books such as Happiness Is A Seriousness Problem by Dennis Prager, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl, and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill rather than wasting time and energy on Danielle Steele type novels that are really just as much an escape from their reality and life as television is.  But I can’t force anyone to do anything.  You have to want to better yourself. You have to want to increase your intelligence.  And you have to consciously decide and choose to read books that will make you a more well-rounded, open-minded, and cultured individual.

“Reading has changed my life and taught me more than family, friends, or schooling ever did and I truly hope that it has or will for you too. “ ~ Matthew Crowe

Today was an interesting day.  So has been my week, month, year, and life for that matter. I take every day as a wonderful blessing and learning experience and live in the present moment attached to nothing.

However I find myself continually asking myself a question? A deep curiosity inside of me for many years has wondered why? Why about one thing. One thing that comes in and out of my life.  One thing that I believe comes in and out of everyone’s life.  One thing that makes us all alike.  One thing that I find myself asking in good times, and in bad.  One thing that seems so fundamental yet is so complex. One thing that even the most wise have trouble answering.  One thing that I do not have the answer to and would like to understand further.  One question that could save so many people from pain, suffering, heart ache, loss, turmoil, failure, problems, and any other “bad things” that happen in life.

Still reading? Good. Let’s continue…

What is age? What is wisdom? What is knowledge?

What good are any of these things if they are not passed on?

Why do humans guard these treasures so close unwilling to share?

Why are most in life for themselves, willing to hurt others for their own internal benefit?

Here is the thing…Since we as humans have been around for tens of thousands of years and only a very select few individuals have been able to see even a glimpse into some of the most notable wisdom that’s out there in the world, I believe one thing to be very troubling…and it is my “unanswered question.”

The unanswered question that no one else will ask is this:

Why must we as humans time and time again, generation after generation, go through the EXACT same problems?

Religion would give you one answer.

Ancient Indian or Chinese Philosophies would give you another.

Astrology would say something different

Science would tell you the fact.

So what is it? Why?

From my perspective, I come from a place where (and is probably from much continual temperament in my life) that I feel it is my duty and obligation to pass on ANY AND ALL of the knowledge and wisdom I have gained in my life to help others so they never have to go through what I have gone through.

Whether that is in life, business, family, friends, relationships, spiritually, whatever it is. I want everyone to benefit from the collective knowledge and wisdom we as humans have gained all through out time.  Not just the elite. Not just the enlightened.  But, anyone who would like to participate in what I call the “unanswered question.”

If you liked this article, and think it would benefit someone you know, please share it by email, on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, or Twitter.

We all struggle in life.  Some struggle more than others, some struggle differently, and there is bound to be times when things just are not easy. The thing to remember is this happens to all of us and its what we make out of the struggles’ that matters.

I know for myself, I have struggled a lot in my life.  I also know that out of those struggles is what has developed me into the person who I am proud of today.  My learning curve exponentially increased during those times of struggle as well as change seemed to be a daily practice.

Looking back at all of the “bad” times in my life is when in actuality; really good things were about to happen. However, it can be really hard to persevere on when the outlook seems so dim.  Remembering that good times come out of bad is what makes it increasingly easier to go through hard times.

What should we do when we have these struggles?

1.    Fully Accept It – Live in the moment, don’t fight it, and know that the current struggle will pass.
2.    Find The Good In It – there is something good in everything bad.  Focus on the positive not the negative.
3.    Learn From It – There are lessons in everything in life. Learn from the experience and apply it going forward and next time around.

We all struggle, but you have the CHOICE of what to do with it.

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Anyone who has read any of my writings or listened to me speak would know that a lot of what my message in business are very philosophically based which I believe is the foundation to anyone’s success. A strong psychology of ones self, and a healthy philosophy on life is the foundation that you need to become highly successful in any endeavor: business, relationships, family and just life in general!

There are many great example of this, but today I decided to do something that I normally wouldn’t do and use an excerpt from the Bible to best describe how important it is to have a solid foundation:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” ~ Matthew 7:24-27

Now, take that passage for what its worth. For some of you who are not religious or Christian just take the important fundamental message – which is…you MUST have a solid foundation in life.  Having a solid foundation internally is what sets apart the winners from the losers, the successful from the failures, and building your foundation doesn’t come easy.

If you want to live a life of success and abundance then build or RE-build your foundation so strong so that you are prepared for anything and everything to happen in life. Because if you don’t, life will continually blow over your house and you will continually have to rebuild over and over again until you do the one most important thing in life….

Spend time building your sound foundation.

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For some time I have wanted to host a radio show and today I am proud to say I have finally made that a reality and will officially be hosting my own radio show!! Now, it’s no nationally syndicated drive time show or anything, but in any event….you have to start somewhere and what better way to do it than in a very 2009 way – streaming over the Internet where anyone with an Internet connection can listen live and/or call in anywhere in the world.

So instead of me blogging on Fridays, I have decided to host a weekly radio show every Friday at 1:00 p.m. CT for 1 hour called “The Matt Crowe Show”.  During each segment I will talk about things that matter to people who care in the areas of business, entrepreneurship, philosophy, and life.  Over the course of the next month I will define my niche even more specifically and pin down specific show topics, and who knows….if my listeners really enjoy the show you never who where you might hear me or see me next!

The very first episode will be August 7th, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. CT so click on the button on my website where it say BlogTalkRadio or click here to tune in. On my first live episode of The Matt Crowe Show I will introduce a little about myself, the show, and a general overview of what we will be talking about on the show moving forward.

Wish me luck, tune in, and enjoy!!

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Listen to Matt Crowe on Blog Talk Radio

I believe this is one of the hardest things to do in life.  All humans whether consciously or not hit a point where there is a need for more meaning in life. More that just going through the motions.  A time of deep reflection and soul searching to find oneself.

We go through life not knowing where to go and what to do. You read self help books, go see your shrink, and ask everyone imaginable “what do you think I should be doing”, still coming back with the same results…more confusion because of not knowing EVEN MORE  – what to do with life?!?!?

In addition, some of the things that should make it easier actually just make things even worse. Information and technology coming to you at lightning speeds, allowing you to read and research about everything under the sun with completely different positions, viewpoints, and reasoning’s.

Think about this for a moment…. Do you think its possible that we already have everything inside of us that we need? Could it be possible that we are born with everything we need, and life just adds unnecessary layers? Lots, and lots of layers. Layers of social conditioning, fears, challenges, experiences, knowledge and overall just makes it really hard to be who are meant to be.

So what is the answer?? How can we not fell so lost in this vast world of exploding growth, chaos, and change??

We can’t find ourselves until we are ourselves.

Just be. Don’t think about what to do, just be. Don’t think about the worries of tomorrow, because everything will work out. Finding yourself isn’t about finding at all; it’s the exact opposite.

Act in having, being, and doing. When you search you are telling yourself there is something missing. When you don’t search and have, you are confirming that you have already found and more of that will come your way. Nothing in life can come together until you allow yourself to be yourself.  No one knows you better than you know you, and stop searching and start living.

You will love yourself, your life, and YOU will be YOU.