Dr.Mani blogs about Mark Joyner wisdom!

How To Find Your True Self

2006-06-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

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personal development brain puzzle cartoons.

Dr.Mani comments:

The moment I saw the cartoon, I was reminded of a story Joshua Shafran shared as part of his N-POD training program.

He tells it with a slow build up to the climax, and it is definitely more impressive that way, but I'll summarize it for you here.

A guy wants the secret of success. He trudges up a high mountain, overcoming many obstacles, and reaches the 'guru' who lives on top. Asks him the question. The guru doesn't say anything, but beckons to him to follow.

He walks DOWN the mountain, all the way down, and takes the man to a lake. Tells him to bend down close to the water's edge. Then, grabs him by the hair and forces his head under - and holds him down.

The guy is strong, but the sage is stronger. Soon, the guy begins to choke for breath. He struggles and squirms - nothing. Almost about to drown, he fights his way free and gasps for air. The guru watches, speechless.

Few minutes later, the guy recovers, and turns on the old man angrily.

"What the h*ll did you do that for?" he demanded.

"You wanted to know the secret for success, right?" the guru asked.

"Yes, but..."

"Remember how it felt with your head under water? Think about how badly you wanted air. When you want success that badly, you'll get it! That's the secret"

POWERFUL story. In a sense, it changed my life.

Now, to Mark's cartoon.

There's an equally powerful moral. How often do you see (or experience yourself) the paradox of asking for advice, help or validation of something you already know... and pay a stiff price for it... and do it gladly... and be delighted with the result?

Come to think about it, it isn't quite uncommon after all.

Worse, we sometimes let charlatans and clowns brand us with their opinions and judgements - and even accept them as DEFINITIONS of ourselves.

Yes, gullible the guy certainly is - but he's attempting to learn. Hopefully, he'll learn from the experience NOT to keep repeating this behavior. But going by the gleeful expression on his face, he probably will do it again.

Lesson? Learn from ONE mistake. Don't keep repeating it over and over. The obvious is obvious - even without validation or confirmation from a 'guru'.

Stephen Covey uses a nice analogy. It's important to climb to the top of the ladder. But it's even MORE important to make sure the ladder is leaning against the RIGHT wall!

Choose your guru - and only then, climb the mountain and pay your price!

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Another World

2006-06-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani's comment:

I have a favorite aphorism (of my own creation, I believe):

What YOU Believe Is YOUR Truth

It used to be, earlier, "What you believe IS the truth"... but after a debate with my wife for an hour one summer day many moons ago, I've modified it a little :)

The realization has brought me a LOT of calm and peace in my life, both personal and professional. I went through my twenties, trying anxiously, passionately, desperately to get the world to accept my point of view. I even had a banner across my room reading: "A room with a view... MY point of view!"

I no longer do. I believe it just as passionately, though. Just don't try and convince anyone else that hard any longer!

The blindfolded ignoramuses in the crowd are representative of a herd. "We know it all already. Don't try and tell us we're wrong!"

And the 'crackpot' on the mountain is in an unenviable position of being a front-runner, a 'messiah', a trend-setter, a pack-leader, a... dare I say it?... a Mark Joyner!

Except Mark succeeded in persuading his herd to follow him - not everyone is so lucky (or talented)

On the positive side, though, the majority of the blindfolded crowd ARE watching, listening and hopefully learning. Maybe they'll believe something different after all, about another world - and then, of course, it will become THEIR truth!

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Tinted Windows

2006-06-20T06:31:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani's comment:

The Grass Is Greener...

"Tinted Window" - nice title for a book or movie!

It speaks to me in just one way... the grass ALWAYS looks greener from the OTHER side. If only you KNEW!

You see someone you envy. You imagine the joy, luxury, fantastic lifestyle, perfect health, intense ecstasy that floods their very being... and all without knowing what's going on on the other side of the 'tinted window'.

And in reality, if you DID indeed know, you'd probably not want to exchange places with the 'envied rich' or 'famous superstars'. I know I didn't after reading biographies of Michael Jackson and Diego Maradona - even if both are still heroes from my childhood!

From another angle, maybe this is also a wake-up call for us to remove our own 'tinted windows' and replace them with transparent glass. Our prospects would understand us better, so would our customers, shareholders, partners, colleagues, family, friends... Would Enron have happened without the opaque shades? Would Iraq?

Smokescreens may be necessary. But they come with price-tags attached.

And finally, what good is a Rolls with a chauffeur if you can only ride in it with an i.v. dripping into your veins, your eye swollen shut, and your face darkened by a deep frown?

External comforts are only enjoyable if they are accompanied by a free, happy, satisfied soul within. Else, it all becomes worthless. Food for thought, there.

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The ONLY Choice - Belly!

2006-06-18T04:32:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani's comment:

Wearing my marketer's hat, this cartoon is a masterpiece.

It's symbolic of the USP argument - become the ONLY choice in your prospect's mind.

EVERY other bottle on the shelf looks the same - only ONE brand stands out in the customer's eye.

(Oh, and is that because of the powerful imagery? The ad conjures a vivid picture in his mind, and he's hoping a glass of booze will get him to exchange places with the pot-bellied slob... but, will it?! )

It could also relate to the power of targeted advertising. Place your ad where the best prospect is likely to view it, and bingo - you'll make the sale!

And as a satirical ad, it might also be aimed at the self-destructive element inherent in many of us - we ask for a drink, knowing we'll get a 'belly' (flabby paunch) if we over-indulge, yet wanting the 'short-term' pleasure fix.

It seems, then, like he's ASKING for the undesirable end-result... naming his poison, so to speak!

The smug smile on the bar-tender's face could also be Mark's subtle kick-in-the-n*ts to unethical vendors who'd sell 'death in a bottle' to gullible buyers - as long as it makes them a buck.

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The Great Mystery

2006-06-16T06:33:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani's comment:

Another multi-dimensional cartoon from Mark!

Looking at the cartoon literally, I got 3 take-aways:

- As parents, teachers and role-models, we like to think of ourselves as the only (or at least dominant) influences on the minds of our wards. But there's a wide, large world of 'instruction' outside our 'zone of influence'... and there's no way to really 'control' it.

- Media (including T.V.) exerts a considerable 'educational' influence on minds, especially young ones. Modelling behavior they see or listen to seems a uniform phenomenon globally among youngsters. Lesson? Surround young minds with positive 'influencing' media.

- Strangely enough, the behavior being modeled is VERY rarely something useful, practical or positive. It's more often bizarre, unusual, worthless posturing... mimicry for the sake of it, and very little else.

But on another level, the message in the cartoon to me was this:

We create an environment conducive to a certain kind of behavior or learning. We foster it, nurture it, encourage it. We fail to put into place any limitations, restrictions or safeguards.

Then, when the natural outcome of such a situation shows up, we act surprised. What did we do to create this result? Or "Where does he learn such stuff?"

From YOU, stupid! (Or what you did / didn't do / created / didn't create)

:)

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Have you seen the cat?

2006-06-12T05:41:00.000-07:00

Visit Mark Joyner for more of his

personal development brain puzzle cartoons.

Dr.Mani comments:

Stephen Pierce was once speaking about how some folks viewed an online business from a totally different standpoint than a regular offline business - and often, a very unreal one.

"It's like they want to build a house. They draw up a plan on day 1. And on day 10, they want to see the house all built and ready to move in. Except, there's one little problem here. They don't want to work all week to put their plan into action!"

Stephen might have been speaking about the lady in the cartoon!

She's sitting in a mess, watching a TV program - that's incidentally showing a couple sitting in a neat and clean room (which probably sparked off her line of thinking).

She's dreaming about her home being as neat as the one on the program. That's a good first step.

But she isn't making the slightest effort to start clearing up the clutter.

Planning + Action = Results

Take either of the first 2 components out of the equation, and it gets skewed.

What's more interesting, however, is that Mark's cartoon applies just as aptly to the inside of our HEADS as our homes.

Thinking clearly, keeping thoughts organized and positively oriented, clearing up cluttered and negative feelings, and achieving a success-focus are not difficult. But they will not happen automatically, just because we wish for it.

It requires action. And the kind that doesn't even require getting out of a chair! Mental action. Thought exercises. Brain power usage.

The rewards are just as rich - and visible. They'll even translate into order, cleanliness and positivity in the world around us.

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Serious Problem - Expand Your Horizons

2006-06-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani's comment:

For some strange reason, this cartoon reminded me of a true story I once read about the way Pentagon staffers go about discussing defence budget and spends.

Surprisingly, the administrative staff (often middle level Government employees) who were charged with the preliminary phase of preparing projected costs for different programs had no difficulty approving expenses of several million dollars for new technology or weapons.

But when it came to discussions about the few bucks per pack of staples or white paper, there were intensely emotional debates, with many arguing that the prices quoted were hugely inflated.

Let's analyze the rationale behind this. The average staffer has absolutely no idea what a missile should cost - and takes the defence expert's opinion without questioning it.

S/he is also almost certainly unfamiliar with what exactly a million bucks is... having never earned or managed such huge amounts.

But everyone knows what the cost of a pack of staples is, or a sheet of white paper. And handling family budgets of a few thousand dollars is within every staffer's realm of experience.

Because these are 'familiar' expenses, staffers felt competent to question the figures - knowledgeably and confidently.

What's this got to do with Mark's 'Serious Problem'?

Well, considering that the message is being viewed from a 'beyond the Earth' perspective, by a 'being' above worldly matters, there's a difference in viewpoints.

What is 'familiar' and 'comfortable' to the 'being' that's viewing/hearing the message is in the realm of the vast unknown to the 'smaller' mind on Earth... who has one pressing immediate concern viz.

"Where's my bag of chips gone?"

Maybe it's not so much an issue of being obsessed with small, trivial, peripheral issues to the neglect of vaster, wider, more universal concerns.

Maybe it's just an issue of IGNORANCE... of not being able to see beyond one's own nose, and sense or grasp the concept of a wider world, a bigger Universe, a limitless Outer Space.

The lesson to me: Expand your horizons. Constantly.

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Your Fairy God Mother

2006-06-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani's comment:

As kids, we love to listen to fairy tales. Stuff like geese laying golden eggs, fairy god mothers waving wands and transforming our surroundings, or climbing up beanstalks to slay giants and finding fortunes.

Many of us remain kids (at least deep inside). We are inherently looking for (or hoping/dreaming about) finding equivalents to those childhood fairy tales in our adult lives, too.

That's why we buy stuff for the 'Free Prize Inside' - incidentally the title of a intriguing book by Seth Godin.
That's why we get lottery tickets and eagerly scan newspapers to see if our number was 'lucky' today.
That's why, like Charlie in Willie Wonka's 'Chocolate Factory', we tear open chocolate bars to see if the golden ticket is inside.

Most of us also EXPECT to NOT find the ticket - and aren't really surprised (though certainly are disapointed) when we 'discover' that we are not 'instant winners', as the cartoon depicts.

But there's a LOT of truth and sage wisdom locked inside fairy tales - and if you read them to your (or someone else's kids) like I often do with my little girl, you'll find yourself pausing to think as you narrate those age-old classics.

Viewed through the prism of our 'adult' experiences, we see connections and relationships that probably eluded us as kids. And we realize there's more to this than at first meets the eye.

For instance, the cartoon's candy bar wrapper urges you to look inside to see if you have won a million bucks. And you CAN indeed win it - just that you'll have to view the act of 'looking inside' as being symbolic... and realize that it's actually the equivalent of intense, focused, relevant ACTION.

We each hold in our hands the 'candy bars' with a winning ticket. All we have to do to extract that winning ticket and claim our prize is 'unwrap the candy bar' (a.k.a. taking massive action).

But instead, all we often hope to do is very literally tear open a wrapper or envelope or click a few mouse buttons and find we have 'won' a fortune! Sorry, but chances are better than even that we'll be as disappointed at the result as if we pick up a frog from our neighborhood pond, kiss it, and hope it will become a prince(ss)!

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Cure For All That Ails You

2006-06-09T05:54:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani's comment:

"I have seen the enemy, and he is us..." - Pogo

As a doctor, I relate to this cartoon in a special way. All around the profession, I see this behavior - treat the symptom, ignore the disease.

How typical of the average Joe or Jane is the young guy with an egg-sized lump on his head?

Mark's cartoons always get one thinking on different levels, in multiple dimensons. Taken purely from a physical health point of view, the guy represents everyone who abuses their good health.

Smokers. Heavy drinkers. Drug addicts. Over-eaters. Workaholics. (Yes!)

By necessity (or more often, by choice), we keep 'beating ourselves on the head with a frying pan' - and then, when the natural result appears, dash over to a 'doctor' who treats the symptom... THANK him (!!!)... and all the while continue holding the 'frying pan' in place, ready for the next 'bang'.

Why do you think Doc's smiling? He's getting PAID for letting you keep doing it, eh? Bad, bad dog... oops, I meant, 'doc'

But look at the cartoon from a different perspective, as representing your mind or thought process.

How often do you find YOURSELF beating upon yourself, hurting your confidence, self-esteem, personality?

Here's the 'young man' (your own thoughts) hitting 'himself' and causing harm. Maybe it's early conditioning, maybe bad parenting, maybe social feedback. Whatever, the seed has now grown into a weed - and it (the thought) is destroying him (the man).

But instead of being radical, destroying the 'weed' itself, he's searching for Dr.Feel-Good - who prescribes a pain-killer instead of a weed-killer. Think it's going to work to help this poor guy? Especially considering he's saying 'Thank you'!

Recommended Reading:

"The Wellness Revolution" - by Paul Zane Pilzer. There are (interestingly enough) some great business ideas in there for the next decade or two!

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Intellectual Honesty means...

2006-06-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani's comment:

A pretty interesting and cryptic cartoon, this one had me thinking for a long while.

Here's dad, blindfolded, a beach-bum, authoritatively telling Junior he's about to reveal to him the 'wisdom of the ages'.

Now, here's a thought. If 'everything I've learned' in life has turned me into a beachcombing wastrel - and a blindfolded one at that, who can't even enjoy the beauty of Nature (which is probably one of the few perks of such a 'career move') - then what's the real VALUE of what I've learned.

In other words,

if you want to make money, ask a rich (wo)man - or marry one.
if you want to be healthy and live long, ask a hale and hearty octagenarian - or his grandpa.
if you want to be wise, talk with smart, intelligent, well-read scholars - or their teachers.

Or to put it another way, you can't teach what you don't know - or follow - yourself.

Is it any wonder, then, that Junior is scratching his head, puzzled. He doesn't know what to make of what pop's about to tell him!

Of course, I could be completely wrong.

Dad ***might*** be a billionaire who finally realized money really didn't mean much. So he decided to chuck it all and loiter happily on the beach.

Now he wants to impart his richly earned and well-deserved insights struggling and winning battles in the corporate (or money-making) world to his off-spring - in the fond hope he won't make the same mistakes, face the same hassles and do the smart thing!

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"The harder I work, the luckier I get!"

2006-06-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

To see the cartoon, click here

Dr.Mani comments:

He reminds me of... ME. In 2001. I can ***feel*** this guy's pain.

It came from believing that 'Content is King' - and devoted 'subjects' would come automatically to pay homage to the monarch!

From 1996 to 2000, I studied online marketing. Built a few non-profit websites. Then, in February 2000, I launched the Ezine Marketing Center. For over 18 months, I loaded it with valuable content. But did what I now know is very primitive promoting. My ad budget was literally zero.

I expected the content to sell itself. Just like the guy sitting at the checkout counter - of his empty store.

Look at what the other guys are doing.

There's attractive signage. A discount offer displayed on the banner. Another placard offering 'Hot Deals' at the front door. A third banner just inside the store, featuring a 'Great Offer'.

One salesman is out there welcoming a hesitant prospect. Another is standing outside with a sheaf of flyers, very likely offering more great deals, and handing them out to every passer-by (notice the few lying on the floor).

They are drumming up TRAFFIC to their store.

And that's when the viral effect kicks in. A powerful concept of 'Social Proof'.

If you were the guy in green holding his bag, turning your head right and left to try and decide which store to enter... which one would you choose?

The empty one? Or the one with a big crowd already inside, SHOPPING?

A no-brainer, right?

Today, having done more 'right' things than 'wrong', and being in a more advantageous position, I can look back at my early experience and advice the envious storekeeper of the empty shop that he's wrong... there's no 'luck' involved here, just good old fashioned MARKETING.

If I had grabbed the fantastic suite of tools Mark's Aesop.com offered at the time, I could have skyrocketed to my present level and higher - much sooner. Hindsight is always 20-20.

But no matter what the specifics of the situation are, the single biggest take-away from this cartoon is to never rely on luck alone.

Sure, you need luck.

But keep Sam Goldwyn's words in mind. He said:

"The harder I work, the luckier I get!"

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Introducing Mark Joyner's Atomic Mind Bombs

2006-05-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Mark Joyner is a best-selling author, top-class marketing expert and an amazing, inspiring teacher.

Recently, he launched a fantastic blog. In it, he posts his 'Atomic Mind Bombs' - you'll see why he calls them that when you read the posts - or simply view the stimulating and instructive cartoons.

On this blog, I'll be sharing some of my personal insights gained from studying Mark Joyner's cartoons. Hopefully, you'll find something of interest and value in them.

If you do, please do 2 things:

- tell a friend
- keep coming back often

Enjoy.

Dr.Mani

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