Hello

[David Field]

Hey everybody. Good to be here, and looking forward to learning. I've been really impressed by many of the responses I've seen on other threads. I read the beginning of a thread and form my own opinions and impressions about the poster, start formulating harsh criticism and sarcastic responses in my mind, but then I read your responses and encounter genuinely helpful attitudes and no assumptions about the original poster's background or motives, and I'm humbled and reminded how much I have to learn about human relations.

Reading books like TMF and UNSCRIPTED , and maybe working on myself in general, is kind of like working a really difficult sudoku puzzle. I started each of these books with a quick skim, listening at 1.75x speed and not trying not to rewind, just kind of absorbing the overall picture. Then I went back and re-listened for comprehension, at 1.25x speed, rewinding as many times as necessary whenever I felt I was missing something, reading the ebook concurrently, and bookmarking both. There were a few places I gave up on thorough understanding and moved on, usually because I was allowing some other distraction. Then I re-listened a 3rd time, bookmarking more and making some notes. Each time through I've picked up more details that allow me to understand something else a little bit better, or reveal something I didn't know. With TMF I re-listened to most of the last half or third many times - at least twice, maybe 5 or 6 times for some of it. With UNSCRIPTED I've re-listened to chapters 31 through 49 twice in the note-taking mode.

I've realized two things: 1) I currently think like the competent self-destructor (UNSCRIPTED chapter 47), except that I don't have a CENTS business; 2) without identifying and defusing my self-limiting beliefs, further re-reading on idea generation and execution would be action-faking.
A couple years ago I listened to and read another book that was similarly mind-opening: Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas. It's nominally about trading stocks and bonds, but it's really mostly about recognizing and overcoming self-destructive beliefs and other mental blocks to success. Maybe having read TMF and UNSCRIPTED has given me new keys to go back and unlock new insights from Trading in the Zone. The problem I'm finding with both of these books is that I read concepts like the Frugality Scam and Survivor Spotlighting, and think, "Yeah, I understand that, no problem, ready to move on." There's nothing there that I feel any resistance to, nothing that feels like I need to accept it. And yet I'm not taking action - and I'm certain it's because I have unidentified self-limiting beliefs. I've even wondered if my self-limiting belief is that I have self-limiting beliefs and I just need to get up and do something.

I've learned over the years to never approach a boss with a problem and no solution in mind, so in that mindset, here are the next steps I'm proposing:
I'm re-reading UNSCRIPTED chapters 16-27, and after that I'll re-listen to the relevant chapters from Trading in the Zone, more than once if it still feels productive. I'll take more thorough notes and apply the polarizers to different aspects of my life and ideas to ferret out contradictory assumptions.
To make sure I'm not just getting stuck in paralysis by analysis and action-faking when I really just need to get off my butt, I'll start a daily practice of creating value and offering it to the world (tasks associated with my 9-5 don't count). It might be just a heartfelt smile like MJ's challenge in the book, but I'll make a conscientious effort to create and offer new value to the world every day, and pay attention to my reactions to whatever responses I get.

I'm not looking for permission or accolades, but feedback/criticism on my thought process and conclusions.
Thanks in advance for the help,
David

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)