Let Yourself be Loved

Step number one of the 3 step process to Finding Your Dream is Realize that You are Loved.

The first thing is to get to the point of non-judgment.

We have to start with a life review. Go through you life and catalog all the bad things you did and all the good things too. It seems easy to say but it’s about being honest with yourself. You don’t have to get into those places where you have deep trauma, just do an overview, but go as deep as you can.

This can take some time, as you will have a tendency to gloss over your faults or blame other people. It’s not about them, it’s about you.

You are not judging yourself, just cataloging.

Once you have the list, see if you can come up with a percentage of good to bad. Is it 50% good, or 70%, or 30%? Can you put a number on it? You will find out that you can’t do it. You really don’t know if the good outweighs the bad, because you don’t know how bad or good each item on the list is.

How do you know if you are good or bad then? There is no way to tell…or, in other words…judge yourself. You might have this feeling that you are bad, somehow, but confront it. Tell it that you don’t know…and can’t know.

So why not just forgive yourself for all the bad in you life. You might say that you can’t because of all the bad, but what about all the good? Maybe they equal out…

Maybe it doesn’t make any difference, because you don’t know. So why not just let it go…both the good and the bad…and just let things be as they are. It’s called self-forgiveness…the letting go!!! You have basis and the reason to do so now!

So you are neutral. I would call it clean! That makes you loveable.

Now who loves you? Well your family and friends do. They love for who you are. They made a judgment about you and decided that you are more good than bad and are worthy of love.

How about God, or the Universe, or whatever you want to call it? It does the same thing…deciding that you are worthy of love, and doing it ultimately, and unconditionally. IT LOVES YOU!!!

What if it didn’t? Would you still be alive, or would it just absorb you back into itself and make a new soul….one that is better? Well, it didn’t, so you must be ok!

Now you are Loved in spite of all the bad. You can’t judge yourself, and your friends think that are good enough to be loved and the Universe does too.

That is something that can be thought about and meditated on for the rest of your life.

Leave a comment or email me at vsalzer@vincesalzer.com to find out more!!!

A New Paradigm!

Doug Casey, an anarcho-capitalist, says that the State is a “Parasite on Society.”

The members of society are becoming less individually responsible, and, therefore, the country has to be held by force.

That is the basis for government to take more and more control…the lack of self-responsibility!!!

Once people are responsible for themselves, government becomes mostly unnecessary.

The only thing government is good for is to protect You from coercion inside the country’s borders and from other countries…the police and the military…and a court system to adjudicate disputes without resorting to force…which might include arbitration.

The current system is only marginally competent in providing these services, and tries to do almost everything else conceivable!

That is why I keep talking about Loving Yourself. If you Love Yourself, you will become honest with yourself and others. Your main concern is your self-growth…becoming accountable.

It’s the way to Finding Your Dream!

Vince

 

Review of My Life…2014 and “Later”

2014

Now for the Big One!!!

I wrote about my journey up until Oct 2014 in a previous post. I hadn’t written anything for 3 years! And I had just moved to Ecuador, which was a big change for me. I shut down my business in the States (real estate appraising) which I realized was very stressful.  I said I had only posted occasionally, because I felt I didn’t have much to say, but there was still something on the inside that needed to be let out.

I then detailed my journey…how I became disillusioned about the lack of power in the churches I had attended. Fortunately, one of my acquaintances introduced me to someone (who I won’t name, for political reasons) who was teaching the secrets of the rich. That opened my eyes. He said things were intentionally kept from us to protect their power! But even if we knew about it 90% of us would never use it! Wow!!!

Actually, I heard similar things from other authors and people on social media. He just said it in a different, more open way. He said there are 2 camps of “rich”  people, one who wanted to keep their control, and one who wanted to reveal the “secrets.” He said he was part of the whole space, both the control and “reveal” side. He left the space and started doing several things to reveal the secrets to us outside the “rich” groups, and he got into a lot of trouble, but not before he set up a system to teach the secrets to us…lonely, depressed, broke peons…as they call us!

That started a different story and journey for me, which will take more than a lifetime to fulfill!

The first secret I was given was we are all Responsible for where we are in life…and that’s good… because then we can change it. But that’s scary and why 90% of us will not apply this first secret.

The second is about Control, which is related to the first.  It’s about letting ourselves be influenced and distracted by all the advertising, TV, Facebook, and all the rest of the images, emotions, and feelings we let into our lives every day. It’s about how we think we “deserve a break,” but that’s giving our responsibility…our control…to someone else. How many of us let others influence us, and keep us stuck, but inherently know that we are ultimately responsible? What do you think? I think way down deep we all know that we are totally responsible.

I took this knowledge to the people in my church, including the pastors, and received a very lukewarm response. Many wouldn’t even look at the info, and the pastors said it wasn’t “of God.” I thought, what is so “anti-God” about this? It increased the questions and doubts about the “Church,” about how people have twisted what Jesus said.

Then, since the blog was called God Things back then, I wrote how science could explain creation by God wanting to “know Himself.” The theory said that from a point, which coalesced from the Void, a circle was created, or realized. Then more circles were naturally formed. (This is a very simplistic explanation of a very deep, in-depth topic.) For more info check out Sacred Geometry.

Since we all started from “a circle,” we are all made up of the same stuff, which is not only a shape but a vibration…a frequency…another very deep subject.

Also since we all come from the same thing/place, when we hurt others, we hurt ourselves.

Science and mystics say we are self-aware, meaning we create our own through reality…. our perspective, and our “stories.”

Back to control….does “giving our lives to Jesus” sound like being responsible or like giving up control?  Jesus never talked about it…but St Paul did…sort of. Just saying…

Once we give our lives to someone else, does it relieve us of responsibility? I have experienced that many, many times…like, don’t worry, Jesus is in control, or the devil is making me do it.  What I did read…more than once… is that the Kingdom of God is within us and that our works show our Faith.

Summing it up, in order to fulfill our Destiny…Find Our Dream:  There is a Plan,  it is our Responsibility to be in Control of our lives and Focus on the things that matter…that brings us closer to realizing our Dream!!!

Nov 2014

Finding a Healing God” I related God Within Us to healing, and how that makes everything else fall into place.

I stated that we have the energy and ambition to go after what completes us and makes us happy.

To know that we are in command of our lives, and, therefore, our health. Also, to stay in the present to let ourselves be who we really are, so we can access God Within Us to fulfill our lives.

Next was “Healing from a God Perspective.”  I said that healing comes from within. We are sick in ourselves, so that’s where healing has to come.

But our mind wants us to think it comes from outside ourselves, which then gives control to something else.

Once we realize that we are Eternal…Perfect and Complete…that Love is the controlling factor, that we can begin to change.

So search within yourself, to Find God, because that is all there is, and that everything is right where it should be.  

“Right, where it should be” is a very powerful statement. It says that everything is in order…Perfect! That may be hard to understand, but we don’t need to know how or why. We just need to know it!

Just think about it…if we are part of a perfect Creation, then healing is a part of us, and all we need to do is access it!

So visualize it…being part of God…and realize it. God is everywhere, everything, throughout time.

In “Mind Control” healing comes from within, and knowing who God is was stated again.

Then the next thing was who is in control.

The Present is all there is, but our mind is always taking us back into our past and then projecting that into the future. It wants to protect us, which is its role.

But, once we realize that have a Divine Self within us that is really what should direct us, then the mind can do its job, which is making plans, taking care of everyday decisions, and regulating our body.

I call it our True Self and by focusing on that we find our Calling (This was the start of the Finding Your Dream concept.)

It’s not selfish…like getting what I want no matter what happens to other people. It means to ask what is Best for me and all of Creation, which is the same! That begins to quiet the mind. As an example, have you ever had a new idea, an inspiration? Did it come from your mind, or did it just appear? It came from our True Self communicating with you. It is integrated into healing as well because you cannot access healing without your True, Divine Self.

So put your mind in second place…where it should be. I am not saying it will be easy, but it is simple!

Just begin to think on God, and Creation, and watch yourself think. Watch your thoughts of fear, guilt, and shame come bubbling up, and then, watch them go! They are not yours. They are just figments and they want to trap you. They want to destroy your control.

Just think of “everything as it should be.” Your mind wants you to believe it is not, but you are now realizing that it is just right!

Remember we are totally responsible for ourselves, and we have everything inside of us to meet any challenge!

Next was a Treatise on “Free Will.” (I write with a lot of ellipses.) Do we have free will? Well, only if we exercise it…for the right reasons. That is not taking advantage of others, or going for the “bling,” which doesn’t make us happy anyway.

It comes from control…self-control…or a better word would be command. To be in command of our reality is the ultimate free will.

It is the freedom from our mind that truly makes us free! It is the quieting of our mind…looking at it from the “observer” perspective…which brings us to our True Self.

That brings compassion…accepting that the way they are…and loving the way we are…which will give the ability to change…to US.

Next, the blog title was Treatise on Control. I noticed a lot of grammatical errors in this post, which have corrected. Must not have been in my “right” mind.

Anyway, this is one for us control freaks!

Many of us think that control means, “doing what we want,” and not having anyone “telling us what to do.” But actually, the media, parents, authority figures, and those we want to please, really control us more than we know. Also, we have incessant thoughts going through our mind all the time. It really comes down to who you listen to.

So to regain command of our lives we need to control the messages. Stop the chatter, the reliving of the past, and the fantasy of the future,

We can start by admitting that we have problems and that we can’t solve them by ourselves, and that we need help…from our Creator…who resides in us. Then once we are honest, we can begin to deal with each issue as it triggers us, which allows us to see ourselves as we truly are…the way God sees us. It returns command and control to us. Now that’s what I like…being in control!!!

In Dec 2014 I wrote 1 post called The Important vs. The Urgent.

I wrote about all the “Urgent” things that were interfering with getting the “Important” things done. The Urgent things were buying a different car. It took 3 weeks to find one and another 10 days to transfer the money. Going to visit a friend was another “had to be done.” They were important, but no blog writing or other important things got done.

That’s how life is…full of interruptions…such as today…my computer crashed and I had to start over on this blog post. But we need to stay focused, and get back to our Dream…relentlessly…never giving up…always going on. Seeing the end…feeling it…living it!!!

I then got the inspiration of the Steps to Finding Your Dream! I go into detail in many other posts. This has been my focus since then.

Think I will stop here. I might add more later, but in a different format…maybe even a book!

This has been a good exercise for me to write about what I wrote about from a different perspective, as in later in time…kinda like the future, which I don’t believe in. There are posts on what the future really is.

Thanks for “listening!” If you want more of this, leave a comment. If there are a few, maybe it will inspire me to write more.

I am now more focused on the “present” and how we can successfully navigate and create our own reality!

To Your Best

Vince

vsalzer@vincesalzer.com

Review of My Life…2011

2011

The blog was called “God Things” back then, so I wrote a lot about God from a Christian perspective.

The first post was about being recompensed. That all evil must be paid for…and we all know it because we beat ourselves up for our own evil. We create our own hell, thru our own guilt and shame. Then there is God who saves us from it, which is the most important thing.

Side note: the concept of an ultimate evil or hell is hard to reconcile with the Christian idea of “God.” God is all-knowing, everywhere, everything, and all-powerful. So where is there a place for “no God,” or hell, an interesting puzzle? The idea that God is Ultimate is, by definition, the only Ultimate there is…there can’t be 2 of them…heaven and hell. Otherwise, there are 2 Ultimates, and that’s a problem. Anyway, we will get into that later. See, I graduated.

Then I wrote about trying to educate a “fool,” who doesn’t listen. I wonder how many times I haven’t listened…and that makes me a fool! How about you? Let’s get real here!

Next, I wrote about a missionary having a crisis of faith in the face of the devastation in Haiti. He had a frank conversation with God, and how he needed to keep his faith. I then questioned how our faith is. Do we blame Him when times are bad…or run to Him to save us… and, otherwise, ignore Him. Or do we realize that Faith is rewarded, and, really, there is no other one to turn to… I like that!

Then I talked about how St Paul called the Galatians poor, silly, thoughtless, unreflecting, and senseless. Whoa, pretty heavy… Am I, are you the same… with our 1 hour of church, 5 minutes of devotions, and then…what. I said God has many deeper things for us…actual miracles… to do. I like that too.

Next one was about becoming free of our addiction and constant temptations…that we give in to… and realizing that we are Sons and Daughters of the Most High…and the way to Freedom is having an intimate relationship with Him.

Then I wrote about not having a past…as relating to our sins. God doesn’t remember them, so why should we? We should be the person with “no past.”

The next one was a God Thing. He has a purpose for us. I wondered what that might be for me. I then said that all that needs to happen is to “rest in Him,” and that doesn’t seem like a lot of work. I then prayed the prayer of Peace. I feel better!!

Next was how do we get “There?” What, or where is “there” anyway. We all have an idea. Living a good life might be a good goal…but who has ever done that? Then there is the thing about being on your path. Well, that doesn’t work for psychopaths very well. We are too apt to become deceived…with the best of intentions. Then I said God has the right path and following Him will get us there. Brings up a lot of things that we can get into. Such as: how do we know the right path…and if we are getting it from God…and does any creed of religion know the right path…for us? We’ll talk about that.

Next, was Where is our Place? Where do we Fit In? Doesn’t it say that we are all part of One Body and we all “fit?” So we are part of The Plan, so we can have confidence and be Free, knowing the Creator is perfect and has a perfect place for us. That’s comforting, and also compelling and exciting!! So we all should get to know the Creator…intimately…overcoming the “I’m such a worm” mentality.

The Gospel of Mark…in the Bible…chronicles many miracles. They have caused much controversy, but they are there. The glaring absence of them in the “Church” is disturbing. Wonder what it would take to get a taste of that again. Again, intimacy and receiving love would make a very great impact.

How Fear Keeps Us From Being Honest!

This is a great blog post from Ling Wong on Firepole Marketing.com. It starts talking about honesty, then gets into fear, which keeps us from being honest. Then it tells us how to cure the fear. I like the last point about talking to it…thanking it for protecting me, and then telling it to do something positive…like get out there and do it. Which I am going to do RIGHT NOW!!!

Leave a comment here or on the blog. We’d like to know what you think!

Vince

http://www.firepolemarketing.com/honest-copywriting

If Honest Marketing is Possible, Why Are We Sucked Into Cookie-Cutter Copywriting?

Close up of pink cookie cutter in doughRecently I came across several blog posts, articles, podcasts, and videos talking about “being honest” and “finding your inner voice” in content creation and marketing communication.

It’s refreshing to find posts like these, because many online marketers have a reputation for being sleazy, manipulative, and only after a quick buck.

And it’s true – there are people online who are all of those things. They give everyone a sour taste in their mouths, and they give those of us who are trying to build honest online businesses a bad rap. But despite their sleazy tactics and “buy it now!” marketing copy, it’s all too easy to fall into using that same kind of hype in our marketing.

Why do we do this? If we want to build trusting, honest, profitable relationships with our clients, why aren’t we doing more of it? Why are most of us still stuck in cutting and pasting sleazy copy from some cookie-cutter templates, then feel “yuck” about it but keep doing it anyway? How can we get off the hamster wheel?

It’s Time to Own Our Vulnerability

To write content that is honest and truthful, we need to own up to our vulnerability – be human, show some emotions (in a constructive way), and be passionate to make meaningful connections.

Putting ourselves out there in such a “straight up” manner requires that we have complete trust in ourselves and our message.

When we take the leap to be raw and upfront, parts of us freak out. We have all been hurt by saying what we mean. We have been rejected for giving voice to what’s true for us. We have been told to shut up. We have been ridiculed for “TMI.”

Those experiences make us feel unsafe to speak our minds, so we hide behind “other people’s stuff” in our content and marketing so we don’t feel the “rejection” when things don’t work.

Our subconscious mind uses fears to keep us from doing things that we *know* we need to do to progress our businesses, leading to what most identify as “self-sabotaging behaviors.”

The key to breaking the cycle of sleazy, cookie-cutter copywriting is to examine these fears and overcome them. Or at the very least, to know when they occur, and when they’re interfering with your ability to produce honest marketing!

Exploring the Fear Factor

Fear is part of our human nature. Back in the caveman days, it kicked in when we felt unsafe and was therefore a very handy thing to prevent us from being eaten by the saber-tooth tiger.

However, in the modern days when the feeling of “unsafe” mostly comes from mental and emotional triggers, rather than the physical environment (i.e. we won’t die), fear can hold us back from taking actions that our subconscious mind interprets as “risky” or “unsafe” – such as putting ourselves out there and risk being rejected.

These sorts of unsafe fears are often rooted in experiences from our childhood. For example, a child who touches a hot stove learns not to touch a hot stove again. In the same way, we learn about emotional or mental fears based on how others react to our childhood selves.

To overcome these fears, we have to get a handle on what they are and how they come about. Below are 6 primary fears I have identified to cause us to sabotage ourselves when we try to put all of ourselves honestly into our communications.

We may not be exhibiting the “extreme” version of these fears. But trust me: we all have them and they do rear their ugly heads as we strive to create authentic, honest relationships with our subscribers.

The Fear of Inadequacy (Not Being Good Enough)

The fear of not being good enough comes from struggling to live up to other people’s expectations as a child. At some point, someone in authority told us or made us believe that we weren’t good enough. This fear can block us from taking risks if we think we won’t be good enough to handle the challenge.

Those driven by this fear tend to stay in the background, as it feels very uncomfortable to step fully into their gifts and messages. This fear can manifest as self-deprecation and self-effacement wherein they diminish their abilities and accomplishments.

Our belief that our voice isn’t good enough can cause us to think what comes from others (i.e. “gurus”) are always better than what we have within ourselves. This fear also makes us hide behind templates and checklists, so if something doesn’t work we don’t have to own up to the failure, which can be interpreted as evidence that we are indeed not good enough (which can be the most scary of all!)

I work with many coaches who hold themselves back from being fully “out there” because of this fear. Some feel they need to take that one more training or have more certifications or acronyms after their names before they can claim their expertise and work with clients. This fear has tremendously delayed their progress and the growth of their businesses.

Some would buy a lot of “done-for-you” content without considering how to add their voice and adapt these materials to support their big message. I have worked with clients who got completely sidetracked by doing the busywork of implementing other people’s stuff but completely abandoned the reason they went into business in the first place!

The Fear of Losing Control

This fear comes from experiencing alternating periods of abuse and neglect in childhood. This fear blocks us from self-acceptance and makes us self-critical.

This fear can be very difficult to recognize from the outside. Those driven by this fear may appear that they “have it all together.” They tend to have tightly managed behaviors, routines, and environments, creating the illusion that they are taking charge.

This need for complete control over the environment and outcomes of our actions can hold us back from being honest in our relationships with others – whether it’s personal or business.

Being open and vulnerable in a relationship means two-way communication. Since we can’t control what others may say or do in reaction to our content, putting ourselves out there can mean relinquishing control over how we are perceived.

I have seen people giving up on opportunities to share their opinions because they feel that they could not control the comments and feedback posted in response to their content. As a lot of us have learned from the Audience Business Masterclass, guest posting and commenting is an essential part of the audience business-building process and this fear can slow down our progress.

The Fear of Change

The fear of not being prepared for changes comes from feeling unprepared for a sudden major change that happened in childhood. This fear can make us resist doing things differently, even if logically we understand why it’s a change for the better.

Those driven by this fear can be very stubborn and set on the way they do things. They are afraid that change will result in disaster.

Standing up for your vision can mean breaking out of the mold and doing things differently. It can mean deviating from the status quo (or what you have been told to be “proven” systems). This can be scary because even if things are not working perfectly, we are surviving, and change introduces the possibility that we will not survive. This means that our caveman’s brain is gonna fight this one!

Many people I have worked with don’t even know they have this fear because their perspective is so dead-set on one way of doing things. Having someone who plays devil’s advocate and challenges our perspectives can help us cultivate awareness of our resistance – and this is the first step to making positive changes.

The Fear of Not Having Enough

The fear of not having enough comes from being given stuff instead of love in childhood. This fear can block us from contentment and compassion. This drive to have more and more blocks us from feeling much compassion or empathy for others since the focus is on amassing ourselves.

Those driven by this fear struggle to acquire more of what they seek in an attempt to fill a hole that can never be filled. It is never enough and losing whatever they are seeking (money, attention, love, etc.) can be devastating and therefore to be avoided at all costs.

Obviously, the lack of compassion can make it challenging for us to communicate to our audience in a relatable manner. It can hold us back from creating deeper personal connections because of the focus we put on what we want to amass.

This fear also makes us stick with the “tried-and-true” because what we have achieved so far (with the cookie-cutter stuff) may not be all that we want but that voice in our head may be saying, “What if I don’t follow those ‘templates’ and I lose what I already have?”

The Fear of Being Vulnerable

This fear comes from being criticized or ridiculed in childhood. It can block us from fully opening up and relating to others. It can push us to act as if we know it all, can do it all, or bear it all.

Those driven by this fear may avoid asking legitimate questions for fear of looking like they don’t know something. This fear can manifest as arrogance or as becoming “small” so as not to be seen as a way to avoid criticism or ridicule.

To avoid being scrutinized and criticized, we may hide behind exaggerated claims, big words, and jargon to “puff up” to avoid being criticized. We stay aloof and avoid connecting deeply so as not to be “hurt” – and that is the opposite of building trusting relationships!

I don’t know about you, but I have seen my share of these “puffing up” behaviors in those bold red headlines and yellow highlighted sales pages. These pages also tend to diminish the readers in an attempt to put the seller on a pedestal.

How do you feel about such copy? They may get you to buy because they pulled the “fear of not good enough” trigger, but do you feel good about it? Do you feel they are making a connection with you? Are they making you buy out of trust?

The Fear of Missing Out

This fear comes from feeling particularly disappointed after not being allowed to do something as a child. This fear results in the feeling that “the grass is always greener” over there and often manifests as impatience.

More and more of us are driven by this fear in this age of instant gratification. We can compare everything and everyone, and this comparison trap makes us not want to miss out on anything that others have. The internet allows us to look around as much as we want. Unfortunately, if we are spending all our time looking at what others have, or what others are doing, we are not focusing on where we want to be heading.

This fear can make us think, “Everyone is following this formula or that template. If I don’t, I am going to miss out.” “Everyone is saying these things, I better do so as well so I don’t lose my customers.” (Hmm, if everyone thinks this way, and sticks to the “what is” even though nobody believes in it… isn’t that twisted?!)

To help my clients get refocused on their goals instead of being afraid of missing out, I put them on three “diets” – the social media diet, the newsletter diet, and the group program diet so they can dig out of the comparison trap and start to find their true voice for their actions and communications.

How To Overcome Your Fears

Now that we’ve talked about the six fears that are holding you back from developing honest copywriting – and honest relationships – let’s talk about how to overcome your fears.

First of all, we need to acknowledge that it’s ok, and even human, to have fears. This is not the time to beat yourself up.

Next, you want to cultivate awareness and be intentional in your business and marketing activities. When choosing a certain marketing strategy, be sure that it fuels your big picture, reinforces your uniqueness, and is true to how you roll. If you are tempted to use tactics not aligned with your value and how you want to express yourself, then it’s time to see if one or more of these fears are kicking in.

When you know how to identify your fears, they no longer have a grip on you. When you become more aware, you cannot do things that don’t serve you.

Below is a 5-minute process to help you deal with your fear from a different perspective. You will be able to address it and move on to doing what you need to do without having one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake.

Step #1: Visualize It

Visualize your fear in your body. Where is it? What color is it? What shape is it? What is the texture? Is it big or small? Does it make a sound? Does it move?

(Once, I had a fear that looked like a blue Sponge Bob. Go for it – if it’s something ridiculous, that’s even better because you won’t be able to take it seriously!)

Step #2: Objectify It

See if you can take it out of your body and hold it in your hands. Examine it, and see if it shows or tells you anything. By doing steps 1 and 2, you are taking the fear out of your body and identifying it as something outside of you, so you can deal with it from an objective perspective instead of taking it personally.

Step #3: Name It

Now look at this fear – either outside or inside of your body, and say 3 times (aloud or in your head): “This is just my fear of ________.” Naming it heightens the awareness that your feelings and emotions are being triggered by fear, which is now no longer part of you.

Step #4: Frame It

With this fear as an object that is separate from you, look at it again and declare 3 times: “I am NOT my fear.” Framing your fear allows you to deal with it from an objective perspective.

Step #5: Have a Chat With It

Then ask the fear: “What do you want to tell me?” Listen. Then ask: “What do you want me to do, and why?” The fear may tell you to do things that it *thinks* will protect you from harm (or at least, something that worked in the past but no longer does) yet does not serve you or what you want to achieve.

Thank your fear, tell it that it’s been heard and you appreciate the concern. But you are a “big boy/girl” now (a lot of our fears came from our childhood) and you are going to go ahead and take action.

Step #6: Tame It

Repeat your empowering mantra* 3 times, aloud or in your head.

* You will need to come up with an empowering mantra that works for you. You can have multiple mantras based on the different fears you experience. Here are a few examples:

For the Fear of Inadequacy: I know enough and I am good enough as I am right now.

For the Fear of Change: I am confident in my ability to ride the wave of change.

For the Fear of Being Vulnerable: I find strength in my vulnerability. Living my truth frees me from the opinion of others.

Being Honest Doesn’t Mean It’s Easy… But It’s Worth It

Putting your ideas, content, and products out there means you will face rejection. “Unsubscribes,” “un-likes,” and “un-follows” are par for the course. But these are good signs  – they indicate you are standing up for something that matters!

When your content is honest and personal, you are being vulnerable with your audience to establish a relationship with them. And when you care about someone and want them to understand you, any rejection of that message is going to hurt.

But it doesn’t mean you have to deny the feeling or hide away from that type of marketing. Because the truth is that no matter how honest you are, some people just won’t connect with you – and that’s ok.  You want to focus on the connections you do make with your readers and grow those connections into a set of relationships that sustains and grows your business.

There are days when sitting down at the computer and writing your guts out hurts. Lean into it, write, then hit “publish” anyway. That’s what being different from sleazy marketers and turning pro is all about.

Which of the fears listed here is holding you back from being honest and truthful, and fully expressing yourself in your content and marketing? How does this fear manifest itself in your business? Share your insights and experience in the comments below… I will write back. ;-)

Vince

On Christianity…

Not sure what to write in this entry. Have been learning lots about just writing anyway, and things will come. It’s been slamming doors and moving things around. So maybe I should listen….

First of all….who are we? We are an everlasting spirit that never dies. That brings up some things about Christianity that I have questions about. If we are a spirit, but we have one life to live, what happened(s) to us before we were born and after we die? We must have had an existence somehow, somewhere. Christianity doesn’t allow for that unless it’s heaven or hell, but how can we be in either place before we were born? How could we “accept Christ” before we were born? No one ever said anything about that. So where were we…in heaven or hell? Does that make any sense?

Another thing, since we are an immortal spirit, what have we been doing for 14 billion years, as scientists, and many other religions, say….or even 6000 years…as Creationists say. We will live forever but only has less than 100 years of experience. Doesn’t make sense. There is a story in the Bible where Lazarus, in Abraham’s bosom, (What does that mean, and where is it?) is talking to someone suffering in “hell.” So that means there is experience after death, and it’s a lot longer than life here on Earth. Maybe we should spend some time thinking and researching that!

Maybe that’s why some religions say that we reincarnate, or have many lives. Seems to make sense, since we must be doing something. That could also mean that we could be anywhere in the Universe, wouldn’t it? That would be a “life” too. It just isn’t explained very well, and when there are unanswered questions, we begin to wonder and research…and learn.

Another question is that if we don’t accept Christ in this life; we spend the rest of our existence in hell. Wow, that’s a long time!  And what does “accepting Christ” mean? Every denomination has a different definition. Some say you have to be “reborn” and some say you have to be baptized, go through some sort of training, and be made a “Christian.” So what is the answer, and do we decide what it takes, or does Christ?? It says in the Bible that our faith is shown by our works. Well, Christians are not doing so well in that area. They have as many or more divorces, and generally have about the same life, as “non-Christians.” So, even most of the Christians are not even “saved,” as shown by their works, and are not going to heaven. So that leaves at least 90% of all the people that ever lived in hell, or are going to be.

Doesn’t sound good for God, does it?

Looks like the devil is winning. Is that possible? It says not in the Bible…that in the end, God wins. That’s not much of a victory, since they can’t ever leave hell! (as evidenced by the Lazarus story..the man in “hell” could not escape. ..Luke 16:19-31.)

And there’s the unanswered question of what if Christ was never preached to them, how will they know? (Romans 10:14) Someone explained it this way. Everyone has a chance to accept Him, because He will appear to them, and then they have to make a decision. Well, there goes the need for a church and teaching and living a good life, because for some Hindus, Christ will appear to them and they just have to decide one way or the other. My head hurts from that logic…or illogic!!!

So this is why I have been doing much research into what is really “true.” Since we have a long time to live, what is our purpose here on Earth, or wherever else we may be before and after? Since we have God living on the inside of us (The Bible says the Kingdom of God is within us, Luke 17:21.), wouldn’t a better way to think about it is that we are here to learn about realizing more of God in us…and the more we learn, the more God grows within us. God might be “out there,” but what difference does that make since the whole Kingdom is within us? Maybe we should pay more attention to what’s happening inside of us. Maybe should be responsible for our lives, and our “salvation.” Maybe we should be aware of who is trying to control us. Many forces are saying, “My religion is the only way to God,” and they go out and kill all others who don’t “believe.” (All religions have done this.) That’s their definition of Love, because “God is Love.” It’s like they know God better than God does! Some have said, “We create God in our own image,” instead of the other way around!

So Christianity has some holes in it….it can’t answer all the questions, such as….What gets us into “heaven,”  or 90% of the people in hell…come on!!! These questions have to be answerable, or we walk around in doubt, which is the opposite of faith. That does not work in our lives. We live by faith… not doubt our destiny…our “ending.” The questions need to be answered.

To Your Best

Vince

vsalzer@vincesalzer.com

Treatise on Control

This is for all of us “Control Freaks.” >)

What does it really mean to be in control? Most people think it’s to satisfy every desire…to not have anyone “telling them what to do.”

But it comes down to “Who do you listen to.” I think we all are controlled by something….our income, our family, our upbringing, and mostly our mind. It’s the way we think that controls us mostly. So are we really in control of anything?

Yes, we are! We created the circumstances we are in. WE did. Not anyone else. Again, taking full responsibility. The good thing about this is that we can create the life we want by TAKING CONTROL OF OUR MIND.  You know that little voice (yeah, right, little) that keeps talking to us all the time. That’s the one we control freaks need to master, and that could occupy us for quite a while.

So instead of trying to control our outer environment, how about controlling the inner one? Stop the chatter, stop going over and over the past, and stop the fantasy of the future.

Start by admitting that you/I have problems that we can’t solve, so we need to be completely honest about them. State them…truthfully, and say I can’t control my guilt, my shame, my anger, and the issues those things bring up….like drinking too much, waiting for the weekend, because we hate our job, or our spouse who is always telling us to do stuff, or exposing our faults. Admit them, and then they will respect you for it….and ask for help from them, from God of the Universe which resides in us.

Once we start being honest, we can begin to deal with the issue as it manifests. As we let each one go….forgive ourselves, everyone involved, and GOD…we can heal. It’s like peeling an onion…never a pleasant job….and it’s layer by layer. The more layers that come off, the more we SEE ourselves, and our power returns. That’s being the best control freak there is!!

Vince

vsalzer@vincesalzer.com

Treatise on “Free Will”

Do we really have “Free Will?” Well, sort of, but only if we exercise it…and it’s not free. It takes a lot of effort and exercise.

If we think free will is doing “whatever I want,” we are right, but what do we really want? Do we want the money, the toys, the prestige? Does that bring us happiness? Not really…we want the happiness that true free will creates.  We limit our free will by thinking that the spiff, the bling, is what we want.

Free will comes from control… self-control. Knowing what we want and controlling ourselves to get there, is the ultimate free will. Freedom means free from our controlling mind.  Being in our hearts or our God-self is true freedom. We limit our free will by what we do. There are many forces that are trying to control us, and that is what is taking away our freedom.

The “will” of free will is our attention and intention…what we focus on. That becomes free when we control it. So for all of us control “freaks,” this is something to focus our attention on…our will. To have an iron will means that we control our minds..by quieting it, and looking beneath all the advertisers and the media, (for one thing) that are trying to keep us in fear… and start living in love and compassion.

Compassion comes from  accepting things just as they are. They may not be as we like them, but they are the way they are. We need to accept the present situation. Once we are not tied up in knots about how everything should change, we might be quiet enough to hear….from our hearts….how WE can change to make the situation better.

So just look at things as are, and quiet down and listen…for the solution…or maybe just the next thing that can be done.

Vince

vsalzer@vincesalzer.com

“Mind Control”

So why do I keep repeating myself….God is within us…our healing comes from within…etc??

Well, that is the first thing that one needs to really know, who and where GOD IS, and where healing comes from. Once we get that … and that’s the most challenging, everything else follows. For us to “get it” we need to learn about our minds, and how it works. Then we can learn how to control it and manifest our healing.

So let’s discuss this “mind control” thing.

First of all, our mind created our present situation. This “present” situation is all there is, but our mind is always taking us back into our past or projecting our past into the future. It makes our present reality based on things that happened in the past. It compares things that we are going through to things that happened in the past. It makes a judgment on those things and tells us how they will turn out, which is mostly negative. That way it can remain in control, and the present reality can stay as it is. It doesn’t want change, and it doesn’t want you to “get better,” because then you won’t need it as much. It surely doesn’t want us to realize that there is something else but it.

That something else is our Divine Self…which is our Real Self. Once we know that we don’t need the mind, except for making plans, everyday, mundane decisions, and to keep us breathing. We will never get well until we access our True Selves.

We do that by focusing on ourselves…what we want…what is our “calling.”  I don’t mean selfishly, like what I can get, no matter what happens to other people. It means to ask what is best for me and therefore, all of Creation. That begins to quiet the mind. Have you ever had a new idea, a new inspiration? Did that come from you thinking about it, or did it just appear? That’s our inner selves communicating with us. That’s where healing comes from.

So put the mind back where it should be, in second position. I’m not saying this is an easy task, but, as all Truth, it is very simple. Just begin to think about God. Think about Creation as everything there is. Begin to just watch ourselves think..all the thoughts, fears, guilt, and shame that come bubbling up from our subconscious.  Just watch them, and then let them go. They are not yours. They are “figments” and they want to trap us. Just think of everything is as it should be. That will destroy mind control. Our mind traps us into thinking that it should be different. That this situation is not right..someone did us wrong….it’s their fault. It tells us that we did everything right, so it’s someone else responsibility to fix our lives.

Remember we are totally responsible for where we are, and where we are going.

It’s not someone, it’s us!!!

Vince

vsalzer@vincesalzer.com

Healing from a GOD Perspective

Where does Healing come from? We are sick in ourselves, so it follows that healing must also be there. If it had to come from somewhere outside of us, we would be dependent on that external force. Our mind wants us to think…believe, that some outside entity made us sick, so we would have to depend on it, to get what we want. That way it can remain in control. We need our minds, obviously, to live in this world, but it should not control us. Our healing comes from our Hearts, where God resides. It is our Eternalness that is Perfect and Complete, and if we really are, we will manifest it in our lives. That means healing, peace and abundance. It really comes from Love, the all powerful force in the Universe. All we need to do is access It and things begin to change.

We are the creators of our Existence…Sacred and Holy. We create what we think and know of ourselves, so if we know that we really are healed in our GOD-Self, it must happen, and so many other things.

So search after the God within you, because that is where it all is. One sage said the whole Universe is in the smallest particle, so everything is right there, where it should be.

That “where it should be” statement is very powerful. We must realize that everything as it is, is Perfect, because that’s the way it is, and Creation is perfect. We don’t need to know why or how, we just need to know, and once we do, we have the right perspective on who we are, and what we are made of…the Perfect Creation.

I know that’s hard to grasp, but just think about it for a second. If we are the example of a Perfect Creation, and a part of GOD within us, then healing isn’t a problem. It’s already there; we just need to make it a part of ourselves.
So begin to visualize that part of us that is GOD, and things will just fall into place. The more you realize the GOD within, the more you will know that the whole you is GOD.

Cool, isn’t it.

What else can you be, as He is everywhere, everything and throughout time.

Thanks for “listening.”

Vince

vsalzer@vincesalzer.com