Podcast 239: The Courage to Be Free with Guy Finley

Guy FinleyI always enjoy my interviews with Guy Finley, over the years we have grown our friendship and I sincerely appreciate his wisdom and insight.

In this interview we discuss his new book entitled “The Courage to Be Free“.  For my listeners who enjoy and listen to the wonderful content that Guy Finley offers then you are in for a treat with his new book “The Courage to Be Free“.  We discuss the ideas about overcoming our fears and becoming liberated.

Guy states ” that out task is to awaken to the fact that we are perfectly equipped to overcome our fears, by understanding that we are greater than our fears.  Our fears are present learning moments that are gifts that allow us to see that we are greater than any fear we might think has domain over us; fearlessness is our ability to awaken to this realization”

The only thing we already know is that worry, doubt, resentment and fear–whatever their shape or form–hold captive anyone unwary enough to fall into their web of woe.  Buy your reclaimed birthright authorizes you to be naturally free of these negative states as it is for you to be full of “grace under fire,” regardless of how dire circumstances my seem.  Yours is also the right to effortlessly recognize and release anger and frustration, to be able to see them for exactly what they are-false powers disguised as helpful guides in tome of duress.

This new book “The Courage to Be Free” is a very easy read packed with ageless wisdom, but articulated in a way that really connects with your heart.  If you are ready to release and let go of your fearful thoughts then this little book will reinforce your power to become free.  I highly recommend not only the book, but the hours of recordings that Guy Finley makes available through his Life of Learning Foundation.  Please avail yourself of this vast library of audio recordings, they are a powerhouse of transformative material.
If you would like more information please click here to be directed to the Life of Learning Foundation, or click here to be directed to a 5 minute video about the book.  Enjoy my interview with a wonderfully inspiring and knowledgable man who speaks from his heart and soul.

Podcast 234: Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation with Anne Steiner

Anne SteinerI recently had the very good fortune of being introduced through a friend to Anne Steiner.  Anne is not an author, but is the director of the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation in Seattle, WA.

What is so interesting about my introduction to Anne, is that in the process of researching the Foundation for this podcast Anne offer to have me to take a very extensive aptitude test which revealed strong aptitudes in several areas of my life that corresponded with the writing and work that I do for my podcast and blog at Inside Personal Growth.

In my interview with Anne we discuss the importance of aptitude testing, and how it can be valuable in providing guidance with relation to career choices or changes.  Those that are fortunate enough to engage in this type of testing, I believe have a distinct advantage over others that do not take aptitude testing.

Just think back to the days when you were in High School or early in college, you know the time when you frequently wondered what you would do with the education you were getting.  I know that many of us also remember the long nights of studying, and wondering if we would ever use the stuff we were studying again.

If you are like most, an aptitude test would have been a wonderful gift of guidance.  It would have given us a glimpse into our own natural strength and abilities, and we could have spent more time developing these abilities vs. studying for that boring calculus class…sorry if I offended any of the engineering or math majors.

The Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation offers the most comprehensive aptitudes and knowledge testing of any organization in the industry, and they have been doing it the longest so their research on the finding is very accurate.

If you are in the middle of a career change, or a student that would like to know more about your natural aptitudes then I would highly recommend that you take these series of tests.  The results and guidance the you receive from the counselors as Johnson O’Connor is wonderful.  I wish that I would have taken the aptitude tests so much earlier in my career, for I know it would have made an impact on the choice of my vocation.

If you would like more information on the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, then click here to be directed to their website.

I hope you enjoy this interview with Anne Steiner the executive director of the Seattle, WA office for Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation.

Podcast 232: The Productivity Epiphany with Vincent Harris

Vincent HarrisI recently interviewed Vincent Harris the author of a new Tremendous Life Book publication entitled “The Productivity Epiphany“.   In my interview with Vincent we discuss the many different topics addressed in this wonderful book, but most importantly we focus in on what keep us from being more productive.

As Vincent states in the forward to his new book ” It’s the greatest challenge we all face: getting ourselves to do things we want to do, but we can’t get past the inertia to build momentum…to actually do those things.  I think that all of us understands the inertia that frequently keep us from reaching our human potential, and in “The Productivity Epiphany” the author provides us with easy thought provoking ideas to have us shift our behavior and thoughts.   Vincent states “we are being invited to consider an alternative”, and I love this approach because he is not telling us to act or do something in a certain way.

In my dialogue with Vincent we discuss how we frequently make comparisons to self and other, and how in so doing we are incisively creating a no win situation.  You see if we constantly use comparisons to others there is always going to be someone who is better, stronger, has more money etc.  But when we make self-to-self comparisons we can look at how we are improving from month to month, year to year and this is a much better comparison to make in developing a positive mental attitude.

Vincent’s book is an easy read and complete with thought provoking stories and ideas to assist the reader in having more epiphanies about their work and life.  Albert Einstein once said that ” a problem cannot be solved on the same level that is exists.”  If you keep this statement in mind, then you are going to love reading Vincent’s book.  You will be taken on a journey of exploration that will shift your thoughts and ultimately behaviors associated with how you are approaching life and work as you know it today.

I hope you enjoy this interview with author Vincent Harris, and if you would like to learn more about his organization please click here to be directed to his website.

Podcast 230: Living as a River with Bodhipaksa

Bodhipaksa I had the distinct pleasure of recently interviewing Bodhipaksa who recently published a new book through Sounds True publishing entitled “Living as a River“.  In our interview together we discuss the constant change we are living in as well as our impermanence as human beings on this planet.

Something that Bodhipaksa points out is that sometimes the things we think will make us miserable actually make us happier.  He points out a study done at Kent State University where they studied a group of people who imagined the death of their partner, and they reported feeling more positive about their relationship and less troubled and annoyed by the quirks or odd behaviors that may have troubled them prior to this exercise.

The point Bodhipaksa is making by referencing this study is that we are all going to die at some point and our life here on this earth is impermanent and the sooner we realize this the sooner our perspective about how we live our life will shift for the better.

He speaks at length in his book “Living as a River” about letting go of our self-definitions to become more liberated and free.   In the Six-Element practice that Bodhipaksa teaches he challenges our assumptions about the body and the mind, the two things we take to be the locus of our core self.  We observe how everything that we identify with as being ourselves is in fact what comes from outside ourselves.  We note that everything we identify with as being ourselves will eventually no longer be part of ourselves. Because everything that constitutes us is in fact a process, rather that a thing or object, we realize that there is in fact nothing to grasp onto, any more than we could hold onto water flowing through our fingers-thus “Living  as a River”
Bodhipaksa’s book is very well written, and for anyone who is interested in learning how to let go of what we perceive as self, and be liberated to live a life with more joy, bliss, love and happiness.  Then you will want to read this book.  Bodhipaksa has a website that is full of resources.  I would recommend that you click here to gain access to this wonderfully rich resource.

Enjoy this interview with a great author and Buddhist teacher. If you would like to know more about Bodhipaksa, then go here.

Podcast 229: Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Success with Don Green

Don GreenDon Green the executive director of the Napoleon Hill Foundation is a man with deep wisdom and knowledge about any aspect of Napoleon Hill.  In my second interview with Don we discuss one of Napoleon Hill’s book entitled ” Keys to Success”.   This book is a wonderfully easy read, and really carries the essence of Hill message by conveying the 17 principles of personal achievement.

I know many of you are going to say that you have heard it all.  That you know more than you want to know about personal growth and mastery.  Well that might be true, but this particular book provides the reader with the foundational principles—and they really do work if you work them.   One of the things that Napoleon Hill emphasized was a “definiteness of purpose“.  We know that this principle is fundmental to our success, and I don’t just mean monitory success.   You have to love what you do, and when you have that passion almost anything is possible.  If you are willing to toss your fears to the wind, and really live your life with purpose and passion your dreams are possible.  As I have said, don’t get to attached to the way your dreams manifest, just go with the flow and enjoy the journey for your “definiteness of purpose” will carry you a long way.

Napoleon Hill writes in the “Keys to Success” that faith is one awareness of belief in and harmonizing with the universal powers.  The key principle is faith and belief in something greater than yourself.  We are all aware that their is a power greater than us that resides in the universe, call is God, Universal Power whatever you like. The key is that you believe and have faith in something greater than yourself.  You might be saying how silly, of course I believe in a Universal Power—that is great but the larger issue is never to doubt that power.  Listen to your intuition, follow your heart and co-create with this wonderful energy.
I can’t say enough about a simple book, with so much wisdom “”Keys to Success” by Napoleon Hill.  Please if you would like more information about the Napoleon Hill Foundation then click here to be directed to their website.  Enjoy this wonderful interview with Don Green the executive director of the Napoleon Hill Foundation.

Podcast 227: Visions of a Universal Humanity with Barbara Marx Hubbard

Barbara Marx HubbardIf you have never heard Barbara Marx Hubbard speak, then treat yourself and take a listen to this wonderful podcast we just recorded about her new DVD entitled ” Visions of a Universal Humanity“.

Barbara and I have a very engaging dialogue about the new story for humanity. In the documentary DVD Barbara brings together some of the finest minds of our time including world renowned physicist Freeman Dyson, biologist Bruce Lipton and scolar Jean Houston and others who present cutting edge perspectives on humankind’s potential to create a positive future for Earth.

In a time when so many people are asking the question. “why on earth are we treating one another this way“, the insights from VISION’S brilliant luminaries give us a glimpse into a world where competition is replaced with cooperation and violence by compassion.  A world where artificial trees can create more oxygen than naturally occurring trees and where GOD is described as existing inside the universe rather than outside of it.

There is not doubt that our world is shifting, and that all of our institutions including our monetary, education, government are being tested. We are most likely going to see a reinvention of most of these system over the coming years, and as is articulated through the scientists and spiritual leaders interviewed in the movie the alternative viewpoint to doom and gloom Armageddon scenarios currently circulating is one an evolution of the consciousness of  individuals on the planet where co-creation and harmony pervade.  Biologists Bruce Lipton, states”we need a change in our beliefs” our old beliefs are not serving us any longer and it is time to awaken to new possibilities.

If there were every a documentary that will assist the viewer to awaken to their own personal possibilities, and have renewed hope for our humanity then you need to watch this documentary “VISIONS of a Universal Humanity“.
Barbara Marx Hubbard is sponsoring a no cost a program entitled “Three (3) Keys to Evolutionary Metamorphosis” staring October 14th and continuing for 14 weeks.  I would highly recommend that you click on this link and join in on this teleseminar to understand more how you realize your human potential and contribute to the evolution of our world in a very positive way.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with an amazing futurist, author and activist who is having an impact on the positive evolution of our planet–Barbara Marx Hubbard.

Podcast 222: From Immigrant Housemaid to Harvard Ph.D. with Jin Robertson Ph.D.

Jin Robertson Ph.D.I believe that the story that Jin Robertson has to tell is amazing.  She has a new book coming out in November, entitled “Major Dream-From Immigrant Housemaid to Harvard Phd“.  She is certainly someone who has overcome the odds.  She was born and raised in Korea in very poor conditions, and worked as a factory girl, waitress, and housemaid. At the age of 22 she immigrated to America to become a housemaid, with practically no English skills and $100 to her name.  At the age of 28, Jin, a battered wife and mother of an eight(8) month old daughter, joined the US. Army as a private to escape from the domestic violence.

As we discuss in our interview through pure determination, imagination, and sheer will, later she retired as a  U.S. Army major and received her MA at the age of 43, and her Phd from Harvard at the age of 57.  Jin has been motivating millions of Koreans and Americans with her amazing story of preserving, persistence, and determination.

I know that our economic times are challenging, but after listening to my interview with Jin you will most likely look at your personal challenges just a little different.  Even in the worst of times, Jin never gave up, and always had a strong will to succeed.  I am not certain if this is something that people are born with or not, but if you only take away from this interview with Jin that “you can do it” then you will have received the most important message from this podcast.

If you would like to learn more about Jin Robertson’s story, then I encourage you to visit her website by clicking here.  You can also purchase her DVD which chronicles her story from the website.  Please do yourself a favor and take the time to listen to a great story of inspiration and triumph over adversity, you will be glad that you did.

Podcast 221: Awakened Wisdom-Part Two(2) with Patrick Ryan

Patrick Ryan It is always a pleasure having author Patrick Ryan on our show.  This is Patrick’s second visit to Inside Personal Growth, and in this podcast we take a deeper dive into his book entitled “Awakened Wisdom“.

In my interview with Patrick we discuss the eight (8) states of an Awakened Life.  Patrick covers in depth two of the eight (8) states of being: A Good State of Being, and A Good State of Effort.  As Patrick states in his book, a good state of being is to be in relationship with all that there is.  To be without any sense of separation from each other, the plants, animals, and even the rocks and all the other things and beings that exist.  Any sense of me versus you or we versus them or I versus it is separation.  We must relearn and find out way back to our knowing of this fundamental truth.   So in essence, he is speaking about the oneness of us–all of us.  If can can learn to live in this state of consciousness our lives will be more fulfilled and blissful.

The other state of an Awakened Life is ” A State of Effort” as Patrick refers to it.  Moving through the world in a Good State of Effort will have the most profound impact on your life if practiced well.  You have no doubt heard the expression that life is about the journey, not the destination.  That’s at the center of a Good State of Effort.  It is important to be present as you move through each moment and each task of your day.  When you move with presence you are aware of the quality of the moment that you are in while moving forward with the objective in mind. Both of these ideas must be present at the same time in order to be and remain in a Good State of Effort.  Be in the present moment and be aware of the effort that you are putting forth.

I believe that the states of being that Patrick articulates in his book ” Awakened Wisdom” are something that everyone should learn to apply in life.  They should become as natural as breathing!.  If you are interested in learning more about the “Awakened Life Programs” please click here to be directed to Patrick’s website.  He has lots of resources that you can avail yourself of at no charge.

Please take advantage of this website, it is a wonderful resource for anyone on the path of enlightenment!!!

Podcast 220: Leaders Without Borders with Doug Dickerson

Doug DickersonI believe that Doug Dickerson has written a book that not only leaders need to read, but everyone.  Doug’s new book entitled ” “Leaders Without Borders-9 Essentials for Everyday Leadership” really spells out the necessary attributes and skills that one needs to be a great leader.  He discusses the “why” of leadership not just the “how-to”of leadership.

We are all leaders, no matter what our occupation, and one of the keys to being a good leader is to remove “the borders” as Doug mentions.  Frequently, we are influenced by other’s good opinions of ourselves or we listen to the little voice within us that is limiting our human potential as a leader.  We need to identify these factors, and remove the borders allowing us to flourish us much better people and leaders.

One of the most important aspects of becoming a good leader is our ability to be optimistic.  Optimism is not only a positive attitude but the ability to move forward in the throws of adversity.  Doug speaks with me about the three (3) factors associated with someone who is optimistic.  1) The factor of positive response.  This factor is associated with how you react to a problem or circumstance that is out of your control.  If you can keep a cheerful temperament then your customers, family, or co-workers are going to react so much more favorably.  2) The factor of positive attitude.  Doug quotes Herm Albright’s observation: ” A positive attitude may not solve all of your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort”. What a great quote and axiom to follow. 3) The factor of positive perseverance. When you choose a positive response to negative circumstances, you begin to experience exponential growth as a leader.

Doug’s new book “Leaders Without Borders” is a great book to read, and is packed full of wonderful stories and examples of leaders that we should all model.  If you are looking for a short, easy to read book with new information on the attributes of leadership, as well as, revisiting some of the ones we always need reminding of, then you have come to the right place.

Please visit Doug’s website for more information, videos, and writings on the subject of leadership.  Also if you would like to purchase the book please click here and you will be directed to the Tremendous Life book store.

Enjoy my interview with a wonderful man and a great leader himself.

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