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Sean Combs (aka “Diddy”) did this remarkable interview with Donny Deutsch’s “The Big Idea”. Sean Combs speaks about how he transformed from being an entrepreneur as a child hustling paper routes for money to becoming one of the greatest marketers of our time and leading a billion dollar corporation.

A must view for all entrepreneurs.

I’d love to here your thoughts. If you would like to share, please sign up for our mailing list at the top right hand corner or e-mail me directly at manifest@dreamandseek.com.

Define your destiny with the help of one of the world’s greatest personal development coaches HERE.

“… learn Karpov through Kasparov.”—Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

Josh Waitzkin was a former chess prodigy and the main character and inspiration in the film, Searching for Bobby Fischer. His quote, “learn Karpov through Kasparov” reflects an essential part of learning that is often overshadowed. Waitzkin was naturally an aggressive, creative chess player like Kasparov. As he matured, chess masters tried to “mature” his game by having him follow a different style (Karpov) which suppressed his natural, creative self and caused disharmony and flux in his game.

We all have dormant creative forces that are naturally innate within all of us. These creative forces are so core to how we interact with the world, we do not have to consciously call upon them. They are intrinsic to how we think, act, and feel… they are naturally part of us. But often times in the pursuit of success and excellence we get lost in the methods and teachings of “gurus”. While their advice and teachings can be very profound and helpful, ask yourself if it is congruent with your natural authentic self.

Anthony Robbins once said, “Success leaves clues”. Many achievement coaches speak about modeling greatness in order to accelerate your success. But often times in seeking to increase and expand our potential, we replace who we are and try to overlay our authentic self with someone with who we want to be. When this happens, our authentic self is suppressed and our creativity is hindered.

I’ve made the mistake before- trying to find someone who had the money, lifestyle, career, health, etc. that I wanted. So I read everything I could to try to attain that level. But when the success didn’t come, I realized I was trying to force myself to become someone I wasn’t. That is when I learned the value of stepping into your own. For a while, I was uncomfortable with myself because I thought and learned differently, so I read and studied people I thought I wanted to be. I tried to replace my core competencies with different systems and teachings. It didn’t work.

It didn’t work, because it wasn’t congruent with my authentic self. I was trying to hide and suppress who I really was. The Universe gives us all talents and gifts that make us unique from one another, cultivated and expanded properly we are all able to share the beauty of life in our own style and way. We are able to share and learn from each other. But it is only until we embrace who we are, to recognize our core competencies is our greatest gifts and not weakness, we will not be able to expand and give of ourselves.

I just received the video below and wanted to share it with everyone. A few of you may know that some of the top thinkers, achievers, and success coaches in the world have teamed up to share an intrinsic quality that they all share which have brought them massive wealth and success. They have just released some short clips of their interviews.

The above video is John Assaraf, CEO of OneCoach, and one of the most famous wealth and business experts in the world. He was featured in that film some of you may have heard of called “The Secret” and is widely recognized as the one who helped raise the awareness of the utilization of vision boards for manifesting.

In this rare and raw footage, John is being interviewed regarding his secret on how and why he uses meditation in his daily practices. I wish I could summarize this for everyone, but I would not do the interview justice. There are so many levels of awareness and metaphysics that they cover in a short amount of time that it is worth just watching it.

These videos are being released slowly to a select group. If you wish to get these incredible videos, CLICK HERE.

“Your opus isn’t what you do. It is the legacy of what you become.”—The Opus

The quote above is what The Opus is centered on- creating your legacy. What you materially gain throughout life will dissipate, but your legacy is what will pervade throughout time. Who you must become to achieve your dreams is what will be remembered and inspire others.

The Opus is centered around the story of Vincenzo Vivaldi- an immigrant who came to America with a passion for the violin. On his way to America, Vincenzo hears a sound so beautiful that he wanders throughout the ship until he finds it. There he meets the old man playing the violin who immediately sees Vincenzo’s instantaneous love for the violin. The discourse between the two leads to the key of creating a legacy: belief in yourself and vision. Below is some key concepts and my thoughts on the film.

Vision

The beginning of creating a legacy begins with a vision. You decide who you are- make a choice. It’s not defined by your situation, family, friends, wealth, etc.- it is defined by your intuition. The inspiration comes from within- from your heart, Source, or whatever you want to call the unexplainable voice in you that calls you to be great. Find your own medium towards greatness and make a vision of what that looks like. Back it up with feelings, but always remember to create from within. As Steve Jobs said in his Stanford commencement speech, “…your heart already knows somehow.” Forget social conditioning, what your teachers told you who you should be, what your family thought you would grow up to be, what your friends think you should do- turn inwards to create a clear, vibrant vision of who you know you were destined to be. The greatest moment is when you decide the true you that will have an impact throughout time and effect and inspire those around you.

As one of the speakers on The Opus states, “You are the greatest that you will ever be.”

Plan

How do you go from vision to achievement to leaving a legacy? The film details a foolproof plan to achieving your dreams… ready… get started, don’t wait. No matter how small your first few steps are, there is no insignificant step when you are getting closer to your goals.

In anything worth doing, there will be moments of uncertainty. People who fail run away from uncertainty, achievers embrace the unknown and step into it. The Opus states the top achievers are never perfectionists, they are the greatest improvisers. The present moment is the only moment you have to take action- yesterday will never come back and tomorrow will never come.

Once you take those first steps, your thoughts and feelings are energized with your actions- the answers will unfold to you.

Help from Others

Another important concept of the film is not journeying your path alone… there is no need to embark on your dreams by yourself. Surround yourself with people who support and believe in you. These will be the people who help you move past obstacles, when you have doubts, when there is uncertainty.

The Opus also touches on the fact of modeling successful people. You are your own person, but success leaves clues. Open yourself to learning from others. Follow those who you admire or have achieved goals and dreams similar to yours. Take the characteristics of success that are congruent with who you are and to step in to your own.

Adversity and Failure

Anything new will require failure. It is part of the process and it is the one thing that keeps people from succeeding. One of the most important things about the process is how you feel about yourself, how you are able to stand in the face of adversity and move on. Disregard what others may think. You have to play from the soul- meaning you can not let external circumstances hinder your ability to follow through. Your vision of who you are and what you can leave behind is what matters.

One of my favorite analogies in the film came from a fighter pilot- In order for a missile to properly hit its target, there is a requirement of error in order for it to correct itself. It is the same in achievement: think of anything great you have accomplished, on the path to achieving it there would have to be some type of error or obstacle that you had to overcome in order to learn and realign yourself.

Above were the highlights of the film that inspired me to keep pushing through on my path towards becoming an entrepreneur. I hope the film inspires thousands more.

Thank you:

• Many blessings and a shout-out to Douglas Vermeeren who is the creator and one of the speakers in the film for sharing his vision with the world.
• The entire cast for sharing of themselves and being such an inspiration.
• Everyone who is willing to open their minds and hearts to find and live a passionate life full of achievement and inspiration.

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?”- "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran

You carry a gift that goes along with you no matter where you go, no matter what adversity comes about, no matter your emotional state. It is the greatest gift you can give to anyone and it can be given at anytime.

Your greatest gift is the gift of yourself. No matter where you go, there you are. Humans are a unique species in that they are one of the few (if not the only) specimen on earth that can actively go out of its way to show gratitude, compassion, and care at the same time.

Each of us have amazing characteristics and qualities that are universally accepted and can be felt by anyone. I bet you that there is a person in your life you can turn to when you need a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, make you laugh hysterically, go to a store so you are not alone, etc. Why do we have these people in our lives? Because they demonstrate the ability to freely give of themselves. Some of it is conscious, some of it is unconscious, but at the heart of the matter these people are giving you the greatest gift they will be ever entitled to give- their self.

You have the ability to help change the way people feel and act about themselves and how they interact with their own reality. You can give of yourself each and every moment of the day if you make the choice to become part of someone’s experience and share your love and talents… its that simple. There’s no need to wait to self-actualize- you are complete already.

Kindness, compassion, gratitude, love… these are all innate qualities that we were born with and existed before we came here. A vast majority of people walk around in there own heads not realizing the tremendous power of what they are already equipped with. They are stuck inside their heads with grandiose problems that they themselves created-

• How will I make more money?
• What is this driver in front of my thinking?
• Who does he/she think he/she is?
• Why is this taking so long?

Here are a few people who had problems:

• Martin Luther King: His problem wasn’t being born of a particular race or stature. His problem was social inequality. His problem was how to create a world and culture that embraced everyone.
• Helen Keller: Her problem was not her impairments. Her problem was how to to make those with disabilities able to learn so they can experience a world where others neglected them.
• Lance Armstrong: His problem wasn’t overcoming cancer. His problem was becoming a beacon of human potential, showing the world how disease and ailments are fake and the only thing real is one’s soul and passion for excellence.

Sure, giving material gifts can help someone else. But they will eventually go away. When you can give of yourself, it is a moment and an experience that the recipient can always carry with them.

But do you know what the funny thing is? In giving of yourself, you actually receive more. Love, kindness, gratitude, appreciation vibrate at such a high energy that we will never be able to see them- we can feel see their effects. But when we give of these gifts from ourselves, the recipient isn’t the only one who feels it. The giver feels it too. When we give unconditionally, it increases our awareness of the power to increase the quality of life in others and in ourselves. And because of the Law of Reciprocity, it comes back to us 10 fold. Because we give from our deepest being, see that same depth in others and bring it out, the Universe gives back unconditionally.

The two axioms of life that I have figured out so far is this:

1. We are all going to die.
2. Because we are all going to die, our time is limited.

We will never control when we will die, we will never control time because it is linear. What we can control is how we use our time…

How will you use your time?

“The first step – especially for young people with energy and drive and talent, but not money – the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art.”- Chuck Palahniuk

Found this inspiring video from www.OneConciousness.org.

Want to know how you can control your own world and reality? Be genuine and authentic to others, but verbalize it and let the world know what you think of them- its easier thank you imagine…

Your awesome

“…in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter.”- Barrack Obama

The story of Obama’s rise to the presidency has been well documented and came to fruition yesterday. Regardless of your political stance, yesterday was historical on many levels.

The above quote was from Obama’s inaugural speech and should strike a chord for everyone in their own personal development. Your ultimate success will be dependent on many factors. But one of the primary factors is the CHOICE you make. Who do you want to be? Who do you want to become? What do you want your legacy to be? These are all choices that you must make.

Once you have decided to your choice, true success remains in facing your fears, obstacles, adversity, or as Obama says above, “that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter”.

The path towards your destiny is individual in the realm that only you can experience the full ride for yourself. As there will be people and situations helping you on different parts of the journey, so to will there be people and situations trying to hold you back. When you make a choice, there are only two options afterwards… follow through or falter.

Yes, it is true we can consciously create our own reality through making a choice in our minds of what we want. But when we get the 1st, 2nd, 3rd,etc. round of adversity and obstacles are you willing to step up to consistently stand up to it and move through it?

Found this gem from Brad Bollenbach of www.30sleeps.com. The full post can be found HERE.

For anyone who is entrepreneur or is still thinking times are tough, I invite you to watch this short segment of a man who lost 30MM euros in a failed business, net worth, house, and is still excited about the possibilities of his startups:

Ever since I read “The Four Hour Work Week”, I have been a big proponent of outsourcing. I’ve used it on a personal basis and primarily now use it in my start up ventures. The results have been mixed, some of my outsourced work has turned out phenomenal with a quick turnaround time. Other results were not congruent with what I had in mind and the timing was unclear. Interestingly enough, the results came from the same outsourced firms/individuals.

The reason?

Clarity. If my project goals were not clearly outlined and if I could not establish a defined end result that was known to all parties involved project, the results were as unclear. As I began focusing on making my working relationships with my virtual assistants more efficient, I realized the most significant factor in getting quicker and better results was from getting clear from the very start.

It got me thinking of designing my lifestyle and creating goals.

In my goal setting and achievement process, I realized most of my goals were weak. They were not clear defined goals, more like milestones to reach. As with my experiments with outsourcing, my results have been mixed.

Instead of working towards your goals, work from your goals. Don’t worry about the process, because in the long run it is not as important as what you are trying to reach for. Get crystal clear of the end result you are trying to achieve and don’t get caught up in the process. There will be obstacles and failures along the way, and your path might take longer than expected. Get clear of what you want and who you want to be and the rest will follow.

I posted my goals for the month HERE.

Wanted to share the process of achieving these goals:

1. Finish Atlas Shrugged- “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand was a book that changed my life and the way I thought completely. Atlas Shrugged is her magnus opus and beautifully describes her philosophy of Objectivism. I have about 520 pages left which means I should be completed by the end of the month if I can read 20 pages a day. That means taking out some time each day to focus solely on reading. Often times I find myself not giving myself the space to concentrate and fully enjoy reading, so I am giving myself at least 30 minutes a day to read something that inspires and stretches my mind.
2. Lose 15 lbs. I have been training extensively since about July of 2007. My weight and body composition is beginning to change but not getting the results I had initially anticipated. I compounded my exercise with a trainer every morning by trying to do HIIT (high intensity interval training) when I get back home from work. The exercise is a cardio workout that takes about 10-15 minutes to do and is physically strenuous. I did it about 3 times last week and shed about 8 lbs (probably went a little up from taking a break over the weekend). Also started to eat the same balanced meals everyday. While it is not the best, I changed my vocabulary to help get over the monotony. Instead I am going to eat or I am hungry, it has changed to I need to get some nutrition in me.
3. Earn $1500 in gross profits solely online. This is taking a while to get off the ground. I had an amazing business idea that has been brewing inside of my head. I tried to get people to freely volunteer for it, but no one seemed to believe in it. Instead of letting that slow me down, I decided to take massive action and test the product on myself. I have a team who is working on the process and should have results this week. If it goes through, I brainstormed an amazing idea to market it. I chose only to see the good in everything coming together to make it work.
4. Make a minimum of 5 new contacts through networking. COMPLETE. You can read the details of how I made this happen quickly HERE. Not only 5 new contacts, but hundreds.

Take massive action… get out of the stands and into the game. There will be obstacles and it will seem overwhelming, but enjoy the process!