There's an old saying, Knowledge is Power. Or I've heard a modern version: information is power. I agree to some extent. But today I want to challenge that cliche. The knowledge may, in fact, even produce devastating results if we're not mindful about what we see and hear. Let me show you how.

Since most of my training is in martial arts, and I've been doing quite a bit of training staying at home, I thought I'd share with you perhaps my greatest martial art victory. It's from the past, but it is as much, and maybe even more valuable today...

Not a medical advice! This winter has been pretty cold. We had a lot of rain. That resulted into some waves of cold and flu in the community. Today I will talk about one way of dealing with cough I've used. 

We often live with this idea that we'll be there for each other forever... Why don't we start practicing Love while we're still here?

Humans, no matter if they are introverts, extroverts or whatever ..verts, are social creatures. Majority of us has a need, either conscious or subconscious, to belong to the pack, or a herd, and to receive an approval from our peers. And this is a foundation...

Today I’d like to talk about one clever, I’d say genius method of dirty propaganda. I read it was created by Joseph Goebbels, famous Nazi politician and minister of propaganda. Whether this is true or not, the method is quite powerful, in my opinion, and I am sure you can see it being used nowadays...

Horrifying details of the story are so disturbing that people may get emotional scars from the story itself. So painful that they cannot be erased by any logic explanation.

"Rotten fish" is a very widely used technique, so obvious that I'm sure you will immediately recognize it even though I won't point at anyone in particular. Let's say I want to make a rotten fish. I come up with some kind of a dirty story...

The whole purpose of military propaganda is to confuse and psychologically destroy the enemy to make them very vulnerable for easy termination. What does it have to do with Mindfulness? Everything! These techniques are used on us. Now. Practically every day!..

There’s no status quo. You and I cannot freeze our state of health, state of finances, or whatever you want to freeze. The cruel truth is, everything is changing. Every second. However, there’s a good news...

I survived... I was going downhill at 200 mph, metaphorically speaking, of course, and trying not to die. Until I finally got a moment to slow down, regroup, take a deep breath, look back and look at myself. And I did not necessarily like what I saw. That was when I got the idea of 50-50-25 campaign.   

It has been a while since my last episode came out. For quite a long while in fact. But I promised I'd come back, so here I am. Now let me ramble for a few minutes.   First of all, why did I stop? There are several reasons, and I hope my explanation will give some of you helpful hints. 

Changing direction or strategy is not quitting. There’s a difference between falling back on default program of actions and failing forward, meaning simply redirecting actions deliberately.

In case with the light it is so obvious! We know how to address the issue, and what to expect as a result of our actions. However, there many other things in life that are not...

Yesterday I started talking about being naive and how devastating it could be. And I’ve experienced it myself However, there’s much bigger issue that also comes out of that mindset. That’s what I’d like to remind you about today...

But I learned a couple of lessons. One, never forget that the outside World is not my friend. This is my and my only responsibility to follow the rules. So I have to stop being naive and pay attention to what I am doing...

As you can probably guess, it is about mindfulness. But we will look at it from a different perspective. One of the key points in my stress management program is what I call a Controlled Tension...

Today I want to make a trip back to where my podcast actually started. You hear this every time you listen to it, but unless you listened to the very beginning, you may not know where it comes from. So you heard it: Let’s breathe and smile!

Yesterday I was talking about some really serious and quite obvious flaws in communication. Today I will continue, but we’ll look at it from a different perspective.

There are several flaws in our communications I’d like to point out. One, sometimes we listen to answer, not to understand...

Don’t know about you, but I take a personal responsibility in saying Hi and starting conversations with people. Every day. Some people look scared...

Look at the water: it does nothing until we push it with a hand. Then it yields. And after we take the hand out, it fills up the space like it never happened. All interaction happens at the moment it happens...

Our own limited perception multiplied by our ego often tells us that we know all we need to know. We are so used to cause and effect phenomenon, that we may take the most obvious sequence of events and make a statement...

My talk today is about why. Why am I doing things I’m doing? Why things are going the way they are going? Do I really need to get what I think I do?

Do you know the story behind the Valentines day? Well, there are many legends. One of them is talking about a Roman emperor Claudius II...

Today I will talk about stupidity. Oh yes, the World has plenty of it. And I have a perfect example - me. The story I will tell you will make me look like...

I called this episode Genies Decisions, where I made the word Genies from Genie. There’s a famous fiction story in our country about a regular school student. One day he was swimming in the lake and found an ancient bottle win a Genie inside...

I know I’ve been often waiting for a perfect moment to do what I planned to do. To start a new training program, or change my morning routine, or implement some business plan. Whatever. And finally I discovered the most perfect moment to do it...

Even when I was a kid, I noticed a very obvious phenomenon. At that time, however, I did not know that it was so universal. But it definitely is. Let me explain what I mean.

When I start something new I want to learn, for example, as I was changing my career a couple of times in my life, the magnitude of learning was scary. And that’s not just a simple trade.

I see the idea of continuous learning as, let’s call it, an emergency plan. I am amazed how people prepare for apocalypse by storing water and food, but they ignore work related emergencies.

I see so many people who may feel they are on the top of the world. Especially those who achieve great results. It may look like they don’t even need to worry any more about anything. They got it. They are kings in their situation...

Look at your average day. Now IMAGINE that it start repeating for you every day. All the same. For 34 years. Would you change anything you do with your time?

Whoa! I’m not sure if I would ever write something like that to my parents. But I think this joke demonstrates nicely the relative nature of our happiness.

I understand, not everything that happens in my life I can justify right away. Neither do many other people, I hear you. But here’s the point I’d like to make today...

We always want to think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. The other people’s burden is lighter. And their life is much more successful. In reality...

Let’s pretend you found a magic control panel, which has a reset button. The power of the button can transport you back to any moment in your life you specify. Wouldn’t that be nice?

People have a tendency to feel bored wherever they are. There’s a concept of finding fulfillment in new job, new toy, new whatever. And then immediately after that we start looking for the next thing...

We need to make memories by living our dreams. But I’ve heard many times, if your memories are bigger than your dreams, you are moving backwards...

Today I will shift gear and talk about the other aspect of the Path to success. That is coaching. I like this topic because I’ve been teaching and coaching for a while. For over 30 years in fact...

Since I was talking about a path to success, I think I need to mention this very important topic. Perhaps, the most important on the way to achieving our dreams and goals, whatever they are.

There’s no other way to put it then just face it. The reality is, not every pleasant path leads to success, and not every successful path is pleasant. Then how can I determine the right path?..

We like to compete. And some of it is OK, but unfortunately I see too much of competing that may even hurt us. I will talk about three forms of it.

Yesterday I started talking about how to make mundane routine more interesting or at least less boring. I’ve used all kinds of tricks for that, because this is something we all have to do. There’s one more I wanted to add...

I mentioned quite a few times mundane routined we have to do. Yes, we cannot get away from them. And I am in the bunch. However, I’ve used several approaches to perform those tedious routines. I will talk about three today.

We have a tendency to forget. And it’s not out of our head forever. We just lose it covered by the whole lot of other things. It is not always easy to predict what will stay and what will be forgotten soon...

Humans have a great memory. That’s why it’s possible to hypnotize a person and get to the deepest memories from the childhood. However, everything we learn gets buried under so much other stuff we receive daily, so it starts fading away really quick...

There are SOME topics I may be understanding better than other people, but that was not because I’m such a quick learner. The only thing I can take credit for is being persistent...

We’re often trying to fix the World. And then we wonder why it’s not happening? That’s simple, we just need to put a man together...

I thought one day, what if ever after meant forever. When I was a kid, I thought, what would that be like to live forever? Would YOU like to live forever?..

The topic of success is rather large. I will point out a couple of things that make the most sense to me. It means, there are some things I may not be aware of or even ready for. This statement alone makes two points...

I can testify that when we want to do something, we find the solution. And when we don’t want to do it, we find an excuse. And in many cases those are excuses for us...

Just to finish the topic about achieving our goals, I will tell you an old fairy tale from India. I read it several decades ago...

Yesterday I was talking about excessive chaotic activity, and how it can lead to losing the Path. Today we’re going to stay focused. Yes, really focused on one single goal. And you may say, that’s really good! Right? Not necessarily...

To recap the last episode I’ll state that - listen carefully - the resolution itself Is. A. Failure. For many people it is more of a tradition than a conscious decision to make a change. However, today I’d like to talk about the other side of the coin...

New Year is a great time to talk about New Year’s Resolutions. I know many people make those, and that’s great. I used to make them myself. Not any more, though. Let me explain why.

My coach told me, the way we do anything is the way we do everything. That means, we develop the habits in some areas of our life, that spill over into other areas...

I am given a free will and ability to choose, and I choose to spend my resources to develop myself. Keep it in mind, my friend, the money made at work, or saved at a big sale, or collected on the street, will be gone...

Today I’ll be talking about success. Yes, again. But we will look at it from a different perspective...

I learned from John Maxwell, who loves teaching about personal growth, I need to select 5 things I have to do every day. No matter what. Not all day...

One of my questions was about Christmas. Why are you doing what you’re doing? I have nothing agains the tradition, all right. I have a small Christmas tree and some decorations in my house. But why is it called a Christmas tree?

This is what I believe, and this is my story, all right. I believe that we were created with a freedom to make our choices. They may be extremely limited at times, but I believe we all have them. I’m not talking about reincarnation...

I see so many people are obsessed with me-me-me syndrome. Everything is about them. They are the center of the universe. It’s like, I’m the only person who can be a king...

Whatever I can do to leave a positive vibe behind myself, I do. I don’t see it as I have to do what society does. I see it as humankind begins with me. What am I bringing to the table?..

I was listening to one of the coaches several years ago, and he was talking about his kids. His son was not doing well at school, not paying much attention to the teacher. So he got called to the principal...

I’ve had a number of jobs, and I’ve owned several businesses so far. And I noticed, at least in my case, I start a new venture with great excitement. Yes, something mew, it’s fresh, it has big potential. And then, after a while, it becomes boring. Some things have lasted for quite a while, and some wear off very fast. Why is that?..

I’d like to continue the topic I started yesterday. And I was talking about intellectual bottleneck. People just may not understand whatever we’re saying. I know that happened to me quite a few times. Should I try to explain myself more clear?

There’s a phenomenon on the planet, I will call it intellectual bottle neck. We all have areas we understand good, and others - we don’t, or we may think we do, at our own level...

I’d like to remind you one of Murphy’s laws. It says, the details we’re paying attention to the least...

I have a tough question for you today. And I know it can be really tough, because there’s no way you and I can lie answering it. That was something one of my coaches told us a while ago...

Yes, I can teach you how to simplify your path to your goals by doing this simple trick. And I will give it to you for free. I have a lot of experience, both productive and not so productive. But they all prove the point...

In The phrase Somebody’s happy with the fraction of what you got, many people put their attention on the word fraction. But the key word here is...

We have this imaginary door, and our mind is refusing to accept the idea that our limitations and restrictions are imaginary. There’s no wall. We don’t have to look for...

Today I will tell you an old Russian folk tale about a goat. The tale is kind of bizarre, and hardly translatable in other languages. But I think it makes a point I want to make...

I am pretty much convinced that it is not challenges that stop us from achieving goals. Not difficulties. We can overcome whatever comes our way, if we really need to. The most dangerous place is...

My friend, I don’t know how old you are, and I won’t ask. But I can promise that you have experience that nobody else in this world has. And by sharing that...

We have millions of voices surrounding us online, on TV, radio, work, coming from everywhere, sometimes even friends and relatives. Sometimes they may sound really nice. Maybe too nice...

We’re so used to high volume of emotional and intellectual noise in our daily life, that a day without it will taste like a plain food to somebody who’s not used to it. The danger of this so called white noise in our life is...

I’ve been learning, practicing and sharing various mindfulness techniques for over 3 decades. And the one I will talk about today is, perhaps, the hardest to master. Not just for me, for everybody I’ve met...

Quite a few hears ago I watched a movie Phenomenon with John Travolta. In that movie something happened to his brain, and all of a sudden he became a genius reading several books a day, learning language in 20 minutes. Wouldn’t that be nice?..

One of the frequent questions I’m asked is about controversy between chasing the dream for greater live vs. being happy with what we have. Before I answer, I tell you a tale...

I can recommend a couple of things. One, I can guarantee that no matter where you are in life, you can do better. This is what champions do. They strive for a little better every time. Use a coach if you don’t know how. Two...

I’ve heard so many times from my coach, that we have already what it takes to be successful. But we may not believe in ourselves, that’s why I see so many people just getting by in life...

Before I do anything, I am trying to answer two questions: 1 - What would I think if I was on the receiving end of my actions?..

I like looking for some wisdom everywhere I go. So today is another episode of my extraordinary mindfulness, so to speak. And this one comes out of the shower. Wait, wait, I won’t say anything bad!..

Have you ever wished you had a magic pill? For anything. For personal and financial success, for health, for fitness. I know many people who’d love to have it. I think the history of magic pill goes at least several thousands years back, whether it was a pill or a potion, or whatever...

No matter where in life we are, we have a tendency to compare ourselves to others, and put “right or wrong” labels on everything. This is quite obvious when people...

I often hear something like, “Oh, the traffic was horrible!” I can totally relate to that because I used to be that way too. But I realized that if I keep thinking about how bad it is...

Most of us are talking a lot every day. What are we saying? Working with people, l had to train myself to filter every word coming out of me. Some of these things I learned from not so pleasant experience...

Do you ever think how you sign your name? I know in most of cases I don’t. I just sign it. How about signing it with your other hand? Ok, ok, let’s do it with your writing hand, but sign it backwards. Can you easily do it?

Sometimes people can make life changing decisions based on this 2-dimensional snapshot of what happened. They throw assumptions and they may not even bother to come closer and see, what has exactly happened there...

Freedom is not free. Somebody has to pay for it. That’s why I am saying thanks to the veterans, as well as all military...

Mindfulness is not a physical concentration, but rather an inner state of awareness. We know...

Have you ever wanted to save the World? I know I have. I still think I can. And many other people do...

Some people like cats, they just like sitting in the box. But I’ve met quite a few folks who are genuinely looking for a way out, but they only focus their attention on the closed door. They miss so many opportunities!..

I recently read a quote online, and that brought to memory a story I heard many years ago. There was a method described how to catch a monkey. Some variations talk about spider monkey, but the meaning is the same....

This is a conclusion of the week, and we’ll talk about communication. In my opinion, it’s failing in two areas: 1. In many cases we are listening to others to answer, not to understand. 2...

Sometimes I feel that our communication is going in a different wave frequency, like radio. We talk to each other, create noise, but it does not register...

I see people coming up with wrong statements, wrong assumptions, and even totally bizarre facts that they think up. If not corrected, this false information may become permanent very quick. And then, which is very sad, other people start making their conclusions and assumptions based on the previous false information...

I started this week with a story, so I have another one for you today. This time I’ll be talking about children’s fairy tale. I watched the movie many years ago, and the book was called Gelsomino in the Country of Liars. The tale was about a boy who had a magic voice...

There are people who will whine and complain about their life. But there are those who will say nothing, they just keep walking, or crawling, towards the goal. Which side are we on?..

Rules and regulations exist as guidelines for a normal day. But if somebody’s life is on the line, we may be forced to make a decision. When we have one life against just following the rules, the answer is pretty obvious. But what about making decision...

Anything’s possible. But I am following two principles: 1. Most of what we hear and read, is speculation. Nobody seems to know exact details. And I believe most of so called predictions given to us after the fact are false anyway. 2. Stop worrying about...

I think somebody is trying to point at specific numbers in whatever, climate, economy, politics, etc, just to distract us from the bigger picture. It’s like being scared of high tide...

We make assumptions that if we go by the rules everything will be OK. If you are dealing with people, I can guarantee that Merphy’s law won’t fail...

This topic is about assumptions. My driving case is just an example of how things may go wrong. We assume. The worst thing we can do is bet somebody’s life on our assumptions...

Let’s have a nice and hopefully funny talk on Friday. And I want to talk about Disney cartoon called “Frozen”. I don’t know if you watched it, but it’s pretty cool. There’s a funny character in the cartoon...

Today I will talk to you.. hmmm.. how to say it, about being an idiot. And since I will be using my own resent example, I’ll be talking about me.

I was reflecting today on my previous years in training, and I thought I’d share some of my thoughts. This is what I discovered to be true for me, and also many coaches told me about that. However, we have a tendency to forget about this key principle...

Today I will talk about how to actually win the argument. And since I am coming from a martial art background, I will introduce you to a real martial art principle of winning the fight. Any fight. Every time...

I have a bizarre joke for you today. I did not understand the meaning of it until I grew up. Now I see it all the time everywhere I go. People get in a fight, in the arguments every day. For what?..

Today I’d like to talk about the key to success. Any kind of success in whatever you’re doing. It is indeed universal.

I still remember quite a few moments from my childhood. Not everything I’m proud of, like what I see nowadays in kids and especially teenagers. That’s talking about people around us. And most of the time what is being said is not very pleasant...

To continue with the topics of success, I’d like to talk about one crucial component that makes a difference between successful people and those who are still struggling to make the ends meet. I’ve heard this many times, and recently I was listening to the coach...

Yesterday I was talking about us blaming somebody or something else for our actions and especially for consequences they produce. Whether you agree or not, that’s another story. But today I have another very similar topic about so called root of all evil...

I have another topic today that many may disagree with. But remember, my goal is not to make you to like me. It is to make you think, because remember, assumption is the mother of all.. mistakes. Right?..

I discovered that there’s a big difference between excellence and perfection. As I mentioned before, perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Who set the standards for the perfection?..

In life we just take a snapshot of what we see, and we can make life changing decisions based on what we saw. We may be completely off, but nobody can convince us that what we saw was not true...

...If we loose the sense of a present moment we may easily get hypnotized by this game thinking they really got a valid point. But in reality we totally miss everything...

Today I’d like to talk about us. Meaning men. There’s lots of talk going on about men losing their values and becoming just male specimen...

The question came from a teenager. If it’s not possible to reach an ideal in life, then what’s a purpose of living? For you and I this may sound like a bizarre, but for somebody entering the reality of adult life this may be, in fact, a serious question...

Today I want to talk about perhaps the best remedy against most of health disorders. In fact, I think it can help with most of life disorders as well. Yes, I’m talking about mindfulness.

In medical filed this is very obvious. However, holistic is not just about medicine. We can use this approach in business, finances, life in general...

There’s a well-known rule, “Physician heal thyself”. I started this week talking about medicine, but this principle applies to many other areas...

The main principle of any medicine, which was reflected in Hippocrates Oath over two thousand years ago, is Do No Harm. I think it relates to any sphere of activity when we’re dealing with other people.

Conventional medicine is not healthcare any more. It is sick care. Sorry, I don’t mean to offend anybody personally. It is a system, not necessarily doctors. My friend, this is a rule number one in medicine...

Everybody likes talking about themselves. When we’re kids playing in a sandbox, it’s perfectly acceptable. However, as we grow up, we look like a bunch of grown up kids who are creating our own bubbles...

I believe the success of any dream depends on a rule that was summarized by Teddy Roosevelt: “Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground. When we look at our dreams, we may be easily carried away...

Today I’ll discuss another point, which keeps coming up at practically every leadership meeting I go to. I’ve experienced that more than once. But first let me ask you, do you have a dream?

Contrary to popular belief, the change has to start with me. And it’s not Love your neighbor part of the Commandment...

In life we like to compare everything, especially things like how much money we’re making, or how much work we have to do, etc. Also most of people, including yours truly, fall into this trap as a result of commercials, sales...

Today I will make another point which is, from my experience, causing by far more resistance than the last topic. I talk a lot about it because this is one of my favorite topics...

Whenever I have to drive on a freeway, quite often I observe at least one accident during my trip. Sometimes the freeway may be practically empty, and still there may be one. Usually I am trying to stay away from pointing at somebody and calling them guilty, except when I do. Well, today is the day. Let’s determine who’s guilty...

I’ve been learning, practicing and teaching various mindfulness modalities for over 3 decades, and I have done it as a community class, free or sometimes donation based, if I did it at somebody’s studio. But let’s look at this free stuff from a different perspective...

This may be a bizarre joke. But it shows, in a bit ugly form, the problem of our society. And the problem is, we don’t listen to understand...

Do you like fiction? I do. I read quite a few books when I was a teenager. And one of my favorite writers was Herbert Wells, who’s known for his famous novel The War Of The Worlds. But the one I will talk about is called The Country of the Blind...

There’s a proverb about a man who was ill. His health was not good, but he heard a bout a magic temple somewhere on the mountain...

I’d like to talk about another phenomenon that can create such a catastrophic psychological trap. And it does, for many people including myself...

One of the topics discussed the most often, as far as I can hear, is the issue of cause and effect. I already discussed it before, but I keep hearing it again and again in various forms and different contexts. I think this is one of the most important topics to understand...

Life is throwing different things at us. Every day. And if we have a goal, a dream that we are chasing, quite often when we see something flying at us, we may mistake it for the real target.

As I started playing the Japanese bamboo flute and even performing in a quartet, I learned several things about music I’d love to share today. I think they really relate to our every day life, and maybe somebody can relate to them too.

Usually, the biggest challenge people may face after they get here is a language barrier. I did not have that problem. However, I discovered another challenge, which I call the context mismatch, for the lack of a better name...

Some people just say they are happy where they are and they don’t need anything else. And to be honest, I am one of them too. I’ve been pretty happy with what I had. So if you are, that’s quite all right. As long as you understand the main law of Nature...

A man came to a teacher and asked to give him a lesson about Success in life. They met by the river. A teacher grabbed a student by the neck and pushed him under the water...

I made an observation that people, yes including yours truly, are actively looking for reasons why they cannot do something, or why they are suffering from something. Those reasons can be different...

Last week we had a solar eclipse. And it was kind of a big deal for somebody. I know people were traveling to other states just to see it. There’s nothing wrong with it, in my opinion. I did not even go outside to look at it. It’s OK if you did. But there’s one thing I thought I could bring to your attention...

Besides learning Math, I also got three important lessons about my learning skills. I know everybody’s different, but hopefully this will make you think...

Our learning ability is the biggest blessing, but also the biggest distraction on the way to success, or any kind of personal development for that matter. Let me explain...

I already said many times: don’t give advices, because smart people don’t need them, others won’t use them. Today I’d like to look at this phenomenon from a little different perspective...

This may be a logical sequel to the yesterday’s topic. Just to refresh your memory, it was about our perspective, and how it can limit our perception. However, our perspective can be widened...

Many years ago I heard a statement from somebody, who said, “I accept everybody’s opinion, as long as it confirms my own.” At that time I thought, “What an arrogant statement!” However, as I grew up, I found out that it was just a manifestation of a very well documented phenomenon...

Many years ago I understood one simple thing: there’s no free lunch, or free ride, or whatever you call it. Everything has a price tag. People tell me periodically that training takes time...

I was listening to my coach a while ago, and he was talking about setting goals. And he mentioned one side effect of goal setting, if it’s not done properly. Let me give you an example...

I usually practice in a place where there’s nobody around. But one day I was doing it in the park, and there were some people there. As I was standing on my head, I saw a person. Don’t remember if it was a guy or a girl, but one of two for sure. The person was walking in such a strange way...

I think that famous quote, “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye and don’t see the log in your own” is not just a cute phrase from the Bible. Our brain is so used to seeing our own reflection, then even flipping it makes a huge difference for our perception...

Our subconscious mind is always looking for two opposites everywhere, like good and bad, right and wrong, white and black, and so on. So if something’s not right, then it means it’s wrong...

We all are trained in basic math, and we think one plus one equals two. However, if you take two combined forces pulling in opposite directions, then sum total will be zero. Many years ago a coach told us...

The bigger challenge we have, the more we like to complain. People came up with various philosophies, whether it is about bad Karma, or punishment for our sins. Everything we say is just our belief...

We all have inner value, as I was talking this week. It is important to see it, and to properly open it an polish. And in case of humans it is done through education, association and practice. But also it is quite important to find our niche...

Just like gem stones, we have our value inside of us. Quite often we need to look inside to find it, as I discussed last time. But we have it. However, there’s one misconception people often have, and I had it too...

The other day, I was discussing the lessons I learned from making jewelry. Well, what can I say, I like making it. But also, I like learning something from everything I do. And this week I’ll talk about several lessons I got from gemstones...

The topic I’ll be discussing today is so obvious it’s not even fun to talk about it. Unfortunately, so many people are doing this, that I cannot ignore the elephant in the room...

Today I will talk about the most important tool we can use to change the flow of cause-and-effect chain. But many people miss importance of this mechanism. Yes, including yours truly. So I had to correct myself...

I started this week talking about pain. I told you that I damaged my both knees in my early years. I did it almost 3 years apart, and I promised to tell you why.  But before I do it, I want to talk about the law of compensation...

I was talking about pain, and how we can get ourselves in trouble if we get too comfortable. However, like in any Yin-Yang combination, everything is good and bad at the same time. Yes, even pain...

The bottom line is, we get too comfortable where we are. We may start taking things for granted, totally forgetting the boundaries that keep us out of trouble. And when we cross them, and Stuff happens...

There was one point about teaching I initially missed, and I had to re-discover it much later. Basically, my teacher said, Don’t give advices...

The question today is, why are we talking? I read once that wise man speaks when he has something to say. Not so wise - when he has to say...

Success doesn’t happen overnight. But at some point we have to be willing to let the balloon fly. That is a leap of faith...

These are conclusions I’d like to make: 1. If I want to get to the quality change, I have to add quantity. More reading, more practice, more whatever routine I need to do...

Today I will tell you the story that can, potentially, make a huge difference in somebody’s life.

My martial art teacher said, sometimes you have to let people make mistakes and learn from making them, then make another enemy just because...

I’m going to tell you a story in which I may look exceptionally stupid. But I hope I can make a point out of it. As I was driving today...

There are some scenarios when competition may become destructive. It may destroy our goals, or even our life...

While debates are an obviously active way to argue, there’s a passive way, which sometimes we can overlook...

Today I’ll be discussing one of my key topics. And I consider it to be one of the main subjects because I am so guilty, it’s not even fun. I don’t know whether to be ashamed of it or to be mad at myself. But following the philosophy I’m teaching, I should be neither...

I came to see Zen teacher, and I saw a stone instead of a Buddha statue. This is Zen. So where’s a catch? I’t been around us all the time. We just need to stop chasing enlightenment and see it...

In every area of life and business, there are levels that can be called “Black belt”. We usually see those people as teachers and mentors...

I was blessed, or lucky, depends on what you believe, to meet some people in life who are very, I mean very successful by all standards. And they taught me a secret of success...

I noticed, when I see somebody who achieved a certain level of success, I have a tendency to study what that person is doing so I could duplicate it. Unfortunately, in many cases it does not work...

I already talked about this before. However, so many people do it, and trust me, I’m the most guilty offender. As I was working out on Sunday, I had to remind myself to stop. Yes, to stop. Let me explain...

The speed of time does not change. Our perception does. I think when we were kids, we did not have much going, so the present moment was stretching to be long. Like waiting for the water to boil, or watching the grass grow. But you know, these expressions indeed reflect the secret of perception...

When I was a kid, I learned one skill that helped me many times. I learned to always do things I needed to do, whether it was a home work, or a promise to bring something to school. How? I learned what is called the DIN attitude. Let me explain...

Have you ever had this feeling when you finally reach your goal you’ve been working towards for quite long time, and you stare at the result thinking, “Is that it? What’s next?..” 

Have you ever played video games? If you haven’t that’s OK. I just use this analogy to explain how to progress in business. I learned it from one very successful businessman and business coach. He made this video game analogy...

Last weekend I was listening to one of the coaches, and he made a statement that really resonated with me. He said, “There’s a difference between playing the game and knowing how the game is played..."

I sure hope that it was a joke, not a real story. However, it demonstrates one of the major issues in our society, both business and in personal life. Especially inside the families...

Would you like to have more time to get things done? Most of people I ask usually say Yes! What kind of question is that? Many years ago our teacher at school told us he had 26 hours every day...

I will be talking about a very simple word that has enough power to make us successful, or miserable. It has a power to save lives. I can think about a couple of situations where it might’ve saved mine. The magic word is...

I will give you an interesting perspective I first got many years ago from the book. And this past weekend one of the coaches I was listening to, mentioned the same analogy. So I thought I talk about it. Imagine that you have a house full of old furniture...

My teacher said, “Relax! We’re not making mistakes. We’re improvising during performance. Just keep going like it was supposed to happen.”  And that helped to some extent...

Do you do everything on time? If yes, honestly, you may skip today’s episode. I’m talking to somebody like myself, who’s a chronic procrastinator. Oh well, I have to be honest...

I hear people quote Biblical verses all the time. But I also hear people quote them taken out of the context. And that makes all the difference.

Since I was a kid, I’ve heard one statement, and I’ve heard it in many different versions. It says, “Nothing lasts forever”.    I totally agree with it. However, the interpretation I hear most often is conveying the message, “Nothing good is forever”.

As I was listening to my coach, he gave us a magnifying glass analogy. And I can really relate to that well, literally, so I thought I’d share it with you. The first point he made, the magnifier will magnify whatever we focus on...

I was the same person looking at the same object within the same time interval. So I could see both perspectives and realize how different they were. Now - and this is the key point today - If I had to make a decision based on just one eye’s perception...

Everybody has a daily routine. Period. If somebody’s deliberately changing the behavior pattern every day, changing the sequence of actions, the schedule, that itself is a routine...

What dreams have you had? Maybe as a child, or a teenager? Maybe you’re having some dreams right now? What are they? Putting all restrictions aside, if you had a chance, what would you do?..

I managed to make my commute almost zero time, functionally speaking. How? I don’t waste my time listening to the radio. I listen to...

Many years ago I was reading a book by one famous yoga teacher, who wrote that Yoga does not promise anything, like a good health, or a long life. He wrote that promising that would violate...

People are often asking questions about my personal practice. And yes, I wish I had more time to dedicate to that, but I get what I can from life. First, people want to know how my life changed as a result of my practice...

Many years ago, Zen teacher told me, people are trying to get somewhere, or achieve something by means of meditation. But all they need is to realize...   Episode #520: hpln.org/520-mindful-creations/  

My second though was about the length of my job. It took a bit longer than I anticipated. Should I get frustrated? I’ve met quite a few people who got frustrated over some things... Episode 519:  hpln.org/519-missing-goals/    

I did this work on a shoestring budget. For real. One penny. But honestly, there are things we can do to change the World that don’t cost even that much. Like a sincere smile, for example. Or... Episode 518: hpln.org/518-shoestring-mindfulness/  

Just like in carving, I cannot rush with changing myself. Tiny steps and consistency are keys to shaping my life the way I want. But if I see that the problem is bigger...

Would you like to feel like a king? Seriously! I thought I might start a week with a little bit of King’s attitude. As far as I understand it, of course, not being a real one...

I’m known for my attempts to find mindfulness lessons in any situations, even when most of people don’t see it this way. Well, today’s one of these cases. Can you imagine eating apple...

My coach told me, a man is worth pennies from the neck down, and millions from the neck up. Which of those parts are you using to achieve your dream?..

I am bringing the topic of money quite often because this is one of the biggest causes of stress in our society. Families are falling apart. People commit crimes and suicides. Because of lack of money...

My friend, I’m not going to beat around the bush today. What is your contingency plan? Don’t tell me you don’t have one. If you think your job is secure, remember...

Today is a Memorial Day. How many people are taking a moment to remember? I don’t want to say “celebrate” because this is really not a celebration. This is remembering...

One of the keys to productivity is keeping our workspace clean and organized. But let’s look at it from a different perspective. The question is, What are we leaning?..

Do we really need to learn what we think we do? Or what the educational system tells us to learn? And this is something I cannot really help you with. We have two factors we need to consider...

I studied myself and discovered some ways to better memorize things. I already talked about my memorizing techniques I used to study, a while ago. But also I was finding ways to make things easier...

This is not a discussion about where the life is better. This is a reminder. For myself. I’ve made mistakes before...

Do you like free stuff? As far as I can see, most of people I’ve met like free things. I must admit, I like it too. And it feels really good in fact, to get something for free. Whatever that may be: free office lunch, free stuff at the store, buy one get one free, whatever...

when I was still studying at the university, we had a class about basics of different religions and philosophies. When we were talking about Daoism, the professor told us that the main approach in it was doing nothing. At some point I did have an impression that  Daoism was a way to just sit and do nothing...

It was said, The Nature doesn’t hurry, but it has everything done on time. Everything in Nature is done when it needs to be done, and we don’t really question it. But we do question our own activities...

I was listening to my coach, and he reminded us about one of the most important laws of Nature we can learn from it. But first, let me talk to you about one serious misconception I used to have, and I can see it in many people I meet...

Have you heard the expression “Dig your well before you’re thirsty”? There are many variations in different languages. But the meaning is the same: do things in advance before you need it. Like many things I teach, this statement is reflecting various aspects of our life...

I hear periodically people say about their kids something like “This generation is so different!” Well, there are two things I can add to that...

The question I have today: who is responsible for our growth and what’s the process? Perhaps you already know the answer. Yes, I am the one responsible for myself. How?..

Sleep is perhaps the best way to restore our power, recharge out battery, and to repair our body. If you don’t feel good, take a nap, and sleep it off, so to speak.  Well, there’s a flip side to the coin...

Every butterfly was a caterpillar before it was transformed. And if we look at the process, we can see it as a death of the caterpillar. However, in reality, it is a beginning of something really beautiful...

The professor was teaching a group of students at the Psychiatric hospital. “This young patient,” he said, “got in a really deep depression after his fiancee left him right before wedding for the other guy...” 

Not long ago I was listening to the coach, and he said something that stretched my imagination. He made me think in a way I’ve never thought before. But first, let me set up a foundation for the topic. In a business or employment world, there are two types of mentality: business owner and employee...

I learned some lessons in life, and I know better not to discuss my big dreams with people who most likely won’t understand them. In Matthew chapter 7 verse 6 Jesus told us not to throw pearls in front of the pigs. Those are not my words, but His...

Have you ever had a chance to fly by airplane? At the very beginning of the trip, the flight attendants go over some instructions. And one of them is telling us in case the plane is de-pressurized, and the oxygen masks fall out, put your mask first before helping anybody, including your kids if you have them with you...

Today I will talk about another very important rule the coach reminded us this past weekend. Let me tell you first, this rule is not new. I kind of learned it many years ago when I was studying Autogenic Training. There were certain sets of statements...

Point number three, and that’s the name of the topic today, the most important mountain in our life is actually not the Everest. That’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.

As I am making a free online video course about brain development and prevention of Alzheimer’s and Dementia, one of the topics I will be covering is Tea. You can subscribe on my site HPLN.ORG 

Even if we know that we’re being tricked with some magic, our brain is still being tricked. Amazing! We know we’re being fooled and we are fooled...

When we fall into the trap, we get surprised: what happened? Well, we’re just getting tricked by life. Sometimes we can laugh it out, and sometimes it may cost us a fortune or even our life...

One day I was listening to my coach, and he made a statement that forced me to think. I looked back at my previous life, and I found the statement to be true in many cases. Here’s what I learned about myself...

We don’t have control over time, so we cannot manage it. But we can manage our priorities. We can prioritize...

The topic for today’s podcast actually crossed my mind this weekend after I finished my short 20 minutes workout. I did break a sweat even though my workout was not long. This is one of my teaching topics these days...

...it dawned on me that it was the moment every coach is talking about. The most important moment for my success. And I sincerely believe, for yours too, my friend...

I see so many adults holding on to that most dangerous part of their childhood. That is making life changing decisions based on partial ignorance...

You see, when we are born, all we have is fear of loud noises and biological reflexes. Everything else is acquired...

When Jesus was crucified, how many people were wrong? Perhaps, all of them? So, it is possible that majority is wrong...

As my coach said, often it is not what you say, but what you DON’T say is what makes a difference...

Have you ever played chess? There’s a scenario we called “The Fork”. That is a situation when one player makes a move, and the other player will have to lose something no matter what he does...

Today I’d like to talk about success and mindfulness from a little different perspective. The same principles though. I called it ABC of life for the lack of a better term. When I was growing up, the life was relatively slow...

I’ve heard the statement that money is a root of all evil. I think this is one of the most misleading phrases in our lexicon for at least.. hmm… last several centuries, perhaps. Money is neutral...

Today I’d like to talk about jobs. Well, most of us have it, at least at some point of life. So we may as well talk about that. I’ve been both employee and employer, I’ve been unemployed and I’ve been an freelance independent contractor...

Today I will talk on one controversial subject, and some of you may start hating me. That’s OK as long as I make you think. Humans are very stubborn creatures...

As I grew up, people started asking me questions about life. Like what to do, how to live, etc. I did not read about that in encyclopedias. But I also became much smarter, and I can give you answers to basically any life question you may have. You may not like the answer though...

Today I will talk about putting the team together. I’ve been a part of the team, and I’ve been a leader of the team as well. And I know I made some mistakes, and they were very costly...

I realized that because of the disconnect between me and the surrounding life, my knowledge in many cases was not practical. I was a good specialist and a very poor communicator. As I was learning about the leadership and success, I had to do what John Maxwell told us...

Many-many years ago I was reading a book about network security. No, no, I won’t be teaching you computer stuff now. The book is obsolete with today’s technology. However, there’s one example the author gave that stuck with me all these years...

Have you even wanted to be a hero? Let’s be honest. I know I have. There’s one catch, however...

In today’s society dream is often seen as something almost negative. Like, “he’s a dreamer.” Yes, I’m a dreamer. But there’re some secrets of the mindful dreaming, so to speak. If you want your dreams to come true, of course...

This week I was talking about successful Path, and today I will talk about another quite important component...

Like I said yesterday, today I’ll talk about the third component of the Success equation...

I don’t see anything wrong with enjoying my present situation in life. We need to be happy with where we are. However, I disagree with staying in one place. There’s no status quo. We either move forward or backwards. The Path of success does not necessarily mean...

The only way I see to achieve my goals, is to get outside of the box set by the system, and become somebody. Chase my dreams. I know I can. And you can...

Some of my hobbies played a major role at some point of my life. But today’s question is, how can we learn multiple things when everybody’s teaching single purpose?..

The same 24 hours a day, different results. It is not a matter of having to not having time. It is about how we choose to use it...

Not sure if you can relate to that, my friend. But if I can make a suggestion, don’t see yourself as a doctor, a teacher, an engineer, a cook, a musician, or whatever you do...

I was growing up thinking that good Path has to be smooth. In fact, if it’s not going easy, then it is most likely the wrong path. Have you met anybody with similar mentality? Perhaps, I’m the only one here...

Looking through the history, you can find some gruesome examples of mass extermination of people in the name of the good cause, which was either better progress or protecting the nation...

True passion does not have to be really smooth. It may cause a controversy in other people. You may be ridiculed, even by people close to you...

There was question I had on the back of my head, and I know so many other people have it. Do you know the question? Now I sound like Morpheus in Matrix movie. The question is, “Is this it?” 

Unfortunately, there’s no free lunch. People often look at the double income part of the deal, and they forget that there’s a payback. So, are we really winning?

I’ve been reading about this analogy many times, and I’ve been using it myself. But as I was reading a book “Delusion of Passion”, the author talked about flying airplane 1 degree off course...

Today’s question is rather rhetorical: What is freedom? What does it mean to you?..

The life is much faster now. We have a lot of technology to make it easier. However, here we go, there’s a flip side to the coin.

I heard a saying: “A piece you throw away during abundance equals the piece you’re missing during starvation.” When we have more, we may not even think about controlling our expenses. Just do it...

Today I’ll take you into the moment about 45 years ago when my mom was making cookies. I was a little kid...

Napoleon said, “There’s only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.” And I can testify he was right...

I will tell you a coaching testimony that will make me look like a fool. There was a moment when I had to take a license exam...

Today I’d like to do something a little different. I will talk shorter than usual. Over the years I collected some significant points on how to make myself more effective as a speaker and a teacher...

Aristotle wrote, “Whatever lies within our power to do lies also within our power not to do.” It was true 2400 years ago, it is still true today.

Many people keep the childish attitude: they need to win the battle. To overpower the opponent. But why? We often look for the solution how to win. Are we also looking for the ways...

It doesn’t matter what we think and how much we know., but the gravity, for example, will be gravity. Always. For as long as we are a part of our 3-dimensional World. We don’t conquer forces of the Nature, but we can choose ...

If you are a procrastinator, welcome to the club. There’re quite a few of us in the guild. We know who we are, and we’re learning to deal with it every day. Here’s what I found that works for me...

The more distractions we have, the less we’re likely to succeed. Trust me on that, I know. Are we smart enough to learn from Amoeba?

Most of dreams are just what it’s called: dreams. Wishful thinking. Saying “I want a new house” has the same value as saying “I want to fly to the Moon”. That’s fine! Dream on!  Our dreams will remain the dreams. Unless...

People address the emotions as the reasons to act the certain way. Like I said, I’ve done it. If you have, welcome to the club. However, the emotions are not the initiators...

There are some moments when we need to get it out. But making it a habit demonstrates our inability to handle the situation intelligently...

Imagine if everything we say would be coming true. Ouch!  Well, some of it comes true. We are programming our brain, and it does not know the difference between real and fake...

Count the blessings you have.  I am grateful for today. In fact I think there’s one major component that makes my life great. Perhaps, the only component I need. That is...

No matter what idea you have, there will be somebody, maybe even a majority, that will call it stupid. They may even call you names. Just ignore them...

Today I’ll continue talking about achieving our goals. Again, I came up with this topic after listening to my coach. I’m so guilty in doing what he said not to do, it’s not even fun. But it is what it is.

The legend says that many, many centuries ago, a Young Wind was flying at the early Spring time. And he saw a beautiful tree covered with amazing white flowers. The Wind fell in love...

Have you heard about the importance of goal setting? New Year’s resolution, etc? Well, today’s topic may sound contradicting all those concepts. But I think it gives the answer why many of those resolutions fail...

How often are we acting like the Hog in the fable? Look around, my friend. We are killing the World we’re living in. We’re cutting, destroying, polluting and poisoning...

I think fear kills more lives than failure ever will. Definitely fear kills more success than anything. I remember talking to a guy who served in Afghanistan...

Two major things I learned from this fable. One, be selective who you take help from. We say, “Complaisant fool is worse than an enemy.” So be careful about whom you consider to be your friend...

There’s one phenomenon I’d like to discuss today. I learned about it three decades ago. I’ve seen so many people do it. I have also done it, and I know about it. Duh! And I have been a victim of it many times. Let me give you an example...

Many people won't believe you because you act against their ignorant opinions. They sometimes won’t believe you even when you show the results...

Today I’ll talk about one mistake that can cost you a fortune. It can destroy your success and your carrier completely. How I know? I’ve seen so many people do it. Sorry to admit, I am one of these people...

All fantasies aside, do you know how many people actually are trapped in their life? Day in and day out, they wake up every morning, do exactly same things, go to exactly same places...

I remember I had always thought about myself as non-competitive. Who cares who comes first to the finish… as long as I do. Much later I found out that I was actually somewhat right. Unfortunately, over the course of life I lost it partially getting consumed by the widely accepted theory of success. And my mistakes were really costly...

For as long as I remember myself, there’s always been a trend among guys to prove who’s stronger. And I think that goes back to the beginning of the humankind. Perhaps, these are our biological instincts. Survival. Now men compete...

Have you ever wanted to be a hero? Have you? OK, I have, I admit. Maybe not necessarily a Superman, but perhaps a Spiderman, or even a Captain America? We had our heroes on the other side of the Globe...

The more I was learning, the more I knew how much I didn’t know. I remember one day I was training and I asked myself, what have I really learned? I think I may be getting closer to understanding the statement that Zen mind is a beginner’s mind...

We, humans, have a tendency to believe something that the crowd is talking about. Their belief may become our belief, and we may not even care if it has a real foundation or it was just a delusion of one single individual...

As I was trying to get ahead in life, to fulfill some of my dreams, for some reason it didn’t work. I felt like I was stuck in the moment like in a fiction movie: I could not escape. I felt like Neo in Matrix...

There's a big gap between the mediocrity and somebody who really made it. And somebody did. I am not talking about inherited money or winning a lottery. I am talking about self-made success in any field. One thing I discovered, people who are successful...

Can you ride a bicycle? I learned that skill many, many years ago. You may or you may not know how to ride it. But I’d like to look at my learning experience from a different perspective.

I’ve heard it from several coaches: you need to make a list of things that need to be done. Of course, with toy chemistry set the list was already there, but for business, for life, for whatever we need to do, it is suggested to...

This is our life, my friend. We are driving forward full speed. And in many cases its OK because we know where to turn. What if life takes an unexpected turn? Well, that’s when we can lose our balance, so to speak.,,

Somebody who’s learning with me is like a baby. I cannot feed them too much. They won’t digest it. I cannot tell them every small thing I’ve gone through. I have to feed them a little bit and give them room. And I have to let them walk, and fall...

I’ve heard it many times from her and from different coaches. Success won’t make us happy. New toy, new job, new trip, new spouse, new whatever - don’t make us happy. What does?..

Sometimes I see online questions like “If you could eliminate one thing in the World, what would that be?” That made me think. Well, I can sure change some things to make the World better. Instantly. All right. But on the second thought...

I read this quote online, actually, and I totally agree. Why are we always saying rest in peace? Why not to try to live in peace?..

If you have something special to wear, why not now? If you want to do something, what can be a better day than today? Or if you, maybe, have something important to say to somebody, now is a great time...

I’d like to take a moment to appreciate my life I have today. No past regrets. No future day dreaming. Just here and now. In fact, why don’t we do it together...

What I see today, people try something, it doesn’t work, and they drop it because odds are against them. But how many people became great just because they were going against the odds? Even when nothing works...

The question I have for you today, are you working in your element? Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? When I was growing up, my definition of well rounded was somebody who was excellent in all areas of life. That means all qualities have to be developed. And I did not fit that description. I think that might create a bitter feeling, like I was not up to par...

People become successful by seeing opportunities where others may see disaster. But we need to give up the idea of control, we need to stay humble and be in a present moment... Episode 410: hpln.org/410-successful-mistakes/   

Have I lost my enthusiasm? Oh yeah! More than once, to be honest. What got me back was a roadmap. Robert Schuller had a book “The Peak to Peak Principle.” He taught it to John Maxwell, that’s how I learned about it...

I was listening to John Maxwell, and he said, many people think it takes a whole lot to achieve their goals. But it’s actually not. It takes...

Because we are conditioned, we are trying to find the opposite. So when we’re sure we’re right, that means, in our mind of course, that any other opinion is wrong...

I am not emphasizing New Year Resolutions because I see so many people wait until January 1st to begin working on their goals. My motto is Do It Now. If I decide to do something, I will start the same day even after midnight. I don’t care. Just do it. But that’s me, I am not saying you have to do it.  So I do have my goals for this year...

This is my last episode in 2016! Many people are making New Year resolutions. I’m trying to start them as soon as I set them as long as it is physically possible. There are some areas where I’d like to see a better result in this coming year...

I see way too many people who make a choice in favor of Ferrari. I understand that. But I didn’t tell you about the road...

In our head we are reflecting each thought, especially bad ones, multiple times from every angle. Our head is like a room surrounded by mirrors...

My friend, being mad, angry, disappointed - all these are products of our mind. They cannot hurt us unless we let it happen. The emotion is not a reason for something, it is always a consequence. It does not hurt us. However...

People often look at any task thinking how long it would take, and it scares them. And it may stop them from starting. They forget that 1-2-3 years later they will be 1-2-3 years older anyway, regardless if they do it or not...

This is not the first time I noticed such a fine thread connecting the events and making life run smoothly. It looks like somebody’s keeping an eye on me like a parent who lets a child to make some mistakes, but not enough to hurt himself...

Aristotle said, "For the things we have to learn before doing them, we learn by doing them.”

When I set a new goal and start walking towards it, I know it takes time. So here I am, knight in a shiny armor. Ready to conquer the World. After several days in a new project I’m thinking, it’s not working! What’s wrong? The answer is...

Do you believe there’s such a thing as quick overnight success? I do. Let me tell you how you can do it...

There are actually ways to change our lifestyle and delay or even prevent brain aging and avoid Alzheimer's. I am putting together a FREE online video course. Get it on my site HPLN.ORG/freebdc

Today I just wanted to remind you about difference of opinions. This is my belief: we all are entitled to our own opinions! In fact, I think everybody should make up their own mind about whatever they believe...

I came to the conclusion that getting lost is not as bad as we may think it is. What makes it unproductive is our close-mindedness...

People have an idea, and it may be a good one. And way more important that just ancient music. However, somebody disagrees. And that throws people off track, they start doubting themselves...

Is there such a thing as true altruism? We say we like helping other, but are we helping others or are we creating positive emotions for ourselves?..

I grew up with an idea that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Well, when you draw it on the paper, yes, I agree. But let’s picture a large rectangular field...

From the very young age they learn the rule: lying is allowed. And it can be also used to avoid negative reaction from parents. Though we are trying to teach that lying is not good, we behave to prove the opposite...

Convenient opinions eventually become ours even if we know that's not right. Beware of that! We catch it, like a cold of a flu. The only way to avoid it is...

We often have an idea, but we don’t want to voice it because somebody said it differently, and the rest of the people agreed. This popular opinion starts growing like a snowball, destroying everything...

Our brain believe everything you tell yourself long enough. You will become more and more of what you tell yourself. Choose wisely!..

This tale reminds us that everything has a price. Our actions have a price too. We can do anything, but we cannot do everything. We have to make a choice, and sometimes not an easy one...

There’s a huge power in duplication. Can you imagine if you and I bring our positive vibes and share with somebody? Just by smiling, saying hi, saying thank you...

I’ve always appreciated somebody’s ability to turn the most devastating situation into a neutral event. Like, well, life happens. These are several steps that helped me to change my attitude from destructive to constructive...

This is a challenging question. Can you imagine being really thirsty. Now you see an old pump, and you have no idea if it is working or not...

Our daily activities, no matter how small, make all the difference. They are so easy to do, and so easy not to do. Nobody will notice until they accumulate enough to show the compound effect...

It’s great you got a dream. Dreams are free. What are you doing on daily basis to get there?..

Use things and love people, not use people and love things. How about chasing love, friendship, forgiveness, compassion, gratitude, vision?..

I’d like to express gratitude. It’s a Thanksgiving. All my life is a result of the combined effort of people around me...

Sitting and meditating on my own definitely has a lot of benefits. But that is like playing chess with myself. I win. Feeling relaxed in emotionally controlled environment is easy...

Some people are saying that things like love, kindness cannot be overdosed. Well, let’s look at this scenario. Imagine you are driving the car...

Every step of my life is based on a total faith. I believe that what I think will happen, actually will. I live by faith, my friend. And you know what? You do too...

Many years later, I returned to the cartoon as instructional video. You see, quite often we overlook somebody’s importance. Or even our own for that matter...

I’ve done it, and I’ve seen other people do it. We start putting our attention to the details that are literally irrelevant. Detailitis is one of the failure diseases, and I’ve been affected.

Have you ever had to drive in a fog? I have. There’s one phenomenon that happens to everybody in such low visibility. And it happened to me...

There was a really cold winter one time. A little sparrow was flying looking for a place to hide, when the cold wind blew, and the sparrow fell on the ground...

Let me tell you a story about a small mountain village. People who lived there, hired two guys to carry water from the river in the valley. Those guys were paid by the number of buckets they were bringing every day...

I see way too many people complain, look for excuses and blame somebody else for their failures. They may blame the weather, or the politics, bad luck, or geomagnetic storm. Whatever. Just to avoid personal responsibility. Relax, I’ve done it too... Episode #370: hpln.org/370-own-your-life/  

Majority of people I’ve met, at some point of their lives experienced some degree of emotional disturbance. Yes, including yours truly. At those moment there’s absolutely no desire to do anything. I think some people define it as a state of depression...

Imagine that you are a driver. You vehicle is your body, and your dash board in your brain...

Ask yourself an honest question: are you following your dream or are you just going through the motions every day?..

My coach said, don’t run excited and tell people what to do. Do it yourself and then tell people how you did it and why it worked...

People in today’s society are often seeing the World in black and white colors. Like, things are either good or bad, and there’s nothing in between. Well, I disagree with that. But that’s another story. I’d like to talk about a side effect of the black and white vision...

If something unpleasant happens, we may try looking at it isolated, like a single light in the middle of the darkness. And that may hurt our eyes and create really unpleasant feelings...

As I was growing up, I only knew 2 types of projects: those that were done perfectly, and the rest. You’re either #1, or you fail. And I was not criticizing anybody...

People have their own truth based on their perception of the World. Going against it is basically a crime against that person...

Today is Halloween. Perhaps some people might expect me do an episode about that. Sorry, I won’t. But I will talk about something that I think is more scary than this holiday...

Sometimes we do something we shouldn’t have done. And we start blaming ourselves. And then blame creates more negativity, and negativity starts manifesting through our actions...

Many years ago I read an ancient proverb. It was talking about a Demon who decided to become a Saint. So he put on a white robe and made his home in one of the caves not far from town. And he promised to fulfill anybody’s deepest desires...

My teachers told me, the skill or the habit doesn’t develop overnight. It takes time and consistency, not the quantum leap. And if you stop and lose a momentum...

Today’s topic is about something I see again and again around me. In my opinion, it is one of the main reasons why people argue and fight...

I was watching a cartoon. Well, I have two daughters, so I can quote many Disney cartoons. I was watching one called “Barbie in Rock ’N Royals” about princess in a Pop music summer camp. If you haven’t watched it...

Recently I was reflecting on my previous years, and I realized that my teacher was right. “Some Days” never come. Sorry to be a dream stealer! But if you are like me, if you are putting things away until some day, that day will never happen. Not until you stop procrastinating...

People quite often complain to me that meditation doesn’t work in the middle of emotional hurricane. I know, I’ve been there too. That’s why I practice and teach moving meditation approach...

One of the questions I hear periodically, is when is a good time to start teaching? Right now with all yoga teacher’s training, sometimes people see becoming a teacher as a line in a sand. To me, honestly, certificate is just a permission to learn on the higher level...

Many years ago, one of my teachers said, that we can achieve a certain level of mastery in yoga or martial arts, or whatever. However, there’s a price we have to pay. That is our time...

My coach talking about the Dash. He said, when we die, we’ll have two dates on our tombstone: the date we were born and the date we die. But there’s a little dash in between...

Have you ever had a feeling that you are not accomplishing anything? Even if you are working on the subject. I noticed that one of two things may happen: either dream looks too big, or steps to achieve it look too small. Like nothing at all. I’ve experienced over-doing. I think the most noticeable, at least for me, it shows in working out. Everything hurts the next day. But I’ve learned the secret...

A listener asked me a question about Self-Esteem. I think the question is greater than the person trying to answer it. You see, I’ve been at the bottom of emotional hole too. I had moments when I was feeling very low...

Have you ever heard that rules exist so we can break them? No, no, no! I am not asking you to do anything illegal. The law is the law whether we like it or not. Today I’d like to discuss bending rules...

Moving forward is important. My coach told me, you can’t steer a parked car. But I think people more often than not get in trouble because of their inability to...

What does the green light mean? I think many people would answer the same way I answered: “It means GO!” Right? Wrong! Many lose their lives because of that...

Achieving any degree of success is usually associated with increased interaction with other people. Success is not built on individual level...

Do you think my mind would be free from BS after years of practice? I think I need a few decades more. And I am not even reporting to anybody. What if I had a boss? Isn’t it what so many people do? Come up with excuses even in small things...

My coaches recently, and he said, “You can count seeds in the apple, but you cannot count apples in a seed.” I looked up on internet and found this quote by Karen Jensen. It has the second part...

Have you ever failed? Come on, don’t be shy! I have. And I’ve never met anybody who’d never failed at something. So everybody has. And everybody will. The question is not “Will I fail?” Yes, you will! And I will. The main question is...

I learned from my coach that neither you nor I can pass or fail a human being. We are all individuals, and failure is an event, not a person and even not a lifestyle. We cannot define the person as a failure. What we can do...

Perhaps the most important lesson I received from him, was about personal learning. He was not coming to teach us. He was coming to practice for himself. He was not trying to convince me to come in. In fact, it took me a while...

I was listening to my coach this past weekend, and he was talking about perhaps the most important quality of the leader. And no, that was not a great knowledge, or ability to organize, motivate, develop vision or set the plan of actions. That’s not even a work ethics, even though that’s essential. My coach was talking about…

This is what I see people do a lot in every day life: they talk, argue, philosophize, but they miss most important component for their success...

If you want to achieve success, find somebody who has what you want. We cannot share what we don’t have...

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.” I understand, if you are in life exactly where you want to be, and you absolutely don’t want to improve anything, this statement may not apply to you. That’s fine with me. But if you are like me, a person who is trying to improve and grow personally and professionally, then I am talking to you...

Leo Tolstoy said, “Everyone thinks of changing the World, but no one thinks of changing himself.” Do you want to live in a better more peaceful World? How about changing? Changing yourself?..

Many years ago when I started working at the university, the same one I graduated from, my boss, who was my former professor, told me the most important rule of working there. He said...

Quite often the solution cannot be placed inside certain boundaries. It has to be wider, and the outline of the solution may not match the outline of the original problem...

Someone asked Socrates, “Do you know what people are saying about you?" Socrates stopped that person and asked him to use three filters. I think they are still applicable today as they were over 2,000 years ago...

Are you investing in your health? I know, you may be a busy professional. You have no time to invest in yourself. Here’s a new perspective for you...

When I tell people I’ve practicing meditation, Qigong, Martial arts for over 3 decades, I often hear, “Wow! You must be a master!” And that’s what I used to think many years ago when I saw somebody who was practicing 10 or more years...

Many years ago I was reading scientific history book, and it was talking about the Plague epidemics during medieval times. That was devastating. However, Plague forms a strong stable immunity. People who survived, could work with sick people without any risk of getting sick...

Have you ever had to deal with a large problem? I mean, the one that can make radical changes in your life? Well, I have. And I’ve heard many people talking about how to overcome large problems in life...

Have you ever met somebody who likes trouble? I haven’t. And to be honest, I don’t like them either. As a kid, I’ve seen any problems as something we need to avoid at all cost. I agree!..

I think most of people got out of emotional balance one time or another. I know I’ve done it, and have not met anybody who hasn’t. I won’t speak for everybody, but what I found out to be true for me, I cannot calm myself down in the midst of emotional hurricane...

In our every day life we often have a single solution for common issues. That would not be a problem if it did not create lots of problems. In reality this single mindedness is as far from mindfulness as it can be...

I see people today who base their actions of the same principles as I used in my restroom story. They see or hear something, get a small bit of information, then they fantasize the missing parts...

Our brain does not have moral judgment. It will do anything we tell ourselves long enough. What are you confessing? Because whatever you and I tell ourselves, that is what we will get...

Many people, I’m sure, heard the saying “Dig the well before you’re thirsty”. I’ve heard it many-many times. However, what I found out, it became a catch phrase, and many people are saying it, but not everybody’s taking it seriously...

The biggest obstacle on the way to success is not the toughness of the journey. It is the comfort of the present moment...

Everything goes the way it goes. Perhaps humans are the only species that are trying to express a judgment about the Nature. And even more, they are trying to modify it...

We create our problems in our heads. Most of them don’t exist, but once we start thinking about them, even trying to tell ourselves not to think, the brain will keep this image in our head and make it real eventually...

Satan never comes to people as a horrible looking creature. In fact, he comes as a friendly, handsome and a very kind fellow. Somebody who will deceive people and lead them into sin and of course towards what happens after that...

Having been in martial arts for over 3 decades, I’ve seen a lot of people who have no concept about martial arts. Let me point out one significant myth about martial arts. You can find at least 4 reasons people practice...

When people talk about sowing and reaping, they often concentrate on planting the seed and then receiving the harvest. And yes, those two times are very important! But don’t forget about what’s in-between. 

As I started learning about personal and business success, some of the issues seemed to be insurmountable. John Maxwell told us one rule that changed my whole perspective of success. He told us that this rule is applicable to absolutely any area of growth in life...

Vince Lombardi nailed it by saying, “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” If you keep cutting yourself some slack, you will eventually be slacking everywhere, even where you know you should not. But there’s a good news...

Just like martial arts, life can become very overwhelming. However, if we learn the basic principles, or basic laws, if you will, then things become very simple very fast...

Criticism has many reasons, but most of them have Ego-related foundation. Some kind of inferiority complex. The attempt to bring others down in order to get higher in life. When I had employees, I had to learn the constructive criticism...

I’ve heard long time ago that criticizing is much easier than doing something yourself. And I agree to some extent. There are two exceptions though. I will talk about one of them today. That is self-criticism...

Pretend you are in a sail boat in the ocean, and the wind is agains you. What are you going to do? The optimist will say that the wind will change soon...

We often take our dream, or rather daydreaming, into the real world, and we confuse the fantasy with the plan of actions. We start concentration on and arguing about things that don’t matter...

Not everything in life is easy. Some things  are real, and they hurt emotionally. Life happens, my friend. And the best response I found to uncontrollable chaos...

When I was growing up, I had this false assumption about the beauty. For some strange reason I assumed that perfection in human body meant symmetry. Well, this may come as a surprise to you as it did to me many years ago...

There’s one phrase I hear a lot in today’s holistic community. That is Yoga Teacher Training, or YTT for short. You can get 200, 300, 500 hours. I’m not getting into details, levels, etc. Let’s look at the foundation.

We needed to make our body comfortable in every possible situation, in any position. Once we do it, we don’t have a specific pattern any more. We become more flexible, more relaxed throughout the day, and thus less susceptible to stress...

We smile, hug, kiss and sing Kumbaya. We believe what we choose to believe. We preach what we think is right. But when it comes to actions, we do what’s convenient for us to do...

The trouble you may get in life, may actually be the path to the blessing. The answer to the prayers. Even though it may not look like that at the moment it happens...

I believe that our body is a temple for our Spirit. And whoever is not taking care of that temple is actually showing great disrespect to the creator...

People are practicing certain things, like meditation, yoga, whatever, with the intention to get somewhere. They are trying to achieve a certain state of mind. And I am guilty as well...

My coach taught me one simple principle: I can do anything, but I cannot do everything. I have to make a choice, and not just in training, but in many things. If I want to achieve success in career or in business, I have to chose what’s important for my goal...

The information we receive is gathered, mixed, twisted and concentrated in such a way, that we may believe what we see and hear is actually true. Unfortunately, many people don’t even realize they are being mislead...

We can get bits and pieces of information, and our imagination builds up the whole picture of who knows what. And we, yes, I’ve been guilty too, we don’t bother for some reason to get close to the issue and study what that really is...

What if I told you that when you and I are looking at the Society, we don’t necessarily see what it is. We see what our brain tells us to see. So the idiom “Looking through the rose-tinted glasses” is not far from the truth...

Our brain is capable of adjusting really well. Our life nowadays becomes a routine, for the most part at least. We know when we go to work , when we have lunch, when we go home, what we’re going to do, etc. So our brain identifies a pattern...

We live in the society that requires a lot of regulations. I got it! But people have a tendency to make very simple things so complicated. There are many reasons why, I’ll just concentrate on three today...

Laugh at yourself, and your opponent won’t have a reason to do it. All those bullies and jokers around me were going for one thing only: my response to their jokes...

Most of people I’ve met follow the path of what I call, “Convenient, or Selective mindfulness”. We have a tendency to believe what is convenient for us to believe, and deny what is not serving our goals...

You see, being a mindfulness practitioner does not mean you will silence your mind. I certainly didn’t. It doesn’t mean you will know your every move. I don’t even know what will happen next second. I just believe I will have one...

Why do people like scandals? Is it a chance to break all the rules in a fight? Or just a moment to shine and draw the attention? It's a good food for our ego!..

Now I will make a profound statement. Humans are stubborn creatures. We don’t like changes. And sometimes God sends us little helpers, just not in a way we may expect...

When is it OK to be rude?  And you can find tons of different answers online, from receiving unwanted attention to standing up for justice; from breaking up with another person to protecting our families. My first intention was to tell you that it is not OK to be rude. Ever. But..

Isn’t it what we do? Many people, including myself, often create our own world in our minds based on a single perspective. And quite often people refuse...

Do you believe in Miracles? I don’t. What I mean, I believe they are not miracles, they are simply things that we are not able to comprehend. 

Many so called spiritual people see money as evil. Like there’s a moral code about how much you are allowed to make. However, have you ever noticed that people who tell that money’s bad, in most of cases run out of the door daily chasing dollar bill at work, or they simply refuse to make any money, and rely on government assistance?

I like to dream. I’ve been a dreamer for as long as I remember myself. My dreams were not always supported or understood. I might say, "I want to do this and that”, and the response was, “Yeah, right”. So, what society offers today is...

Nowadays, we are all busy. Some are more, some are less. But unless you are a full time mindfulness or meditation teacher, in many cases it may not be easy to find time to meditate. Besides, most of people spend their training time on things like...

People do have a tendency to overdo what they cannot feel right away. They want to lift a bigger weight, run more miles, or spend an hour meditating on the first day of their practice. Just because they don’t feel immediate results...

I meet a lot of people. And very few people smile these days if I ask a simple “How are you?” It feels like many people are afraid if their face would crack if they smile...

What I learned form my coaches and teachers, I am either becoming better in something every day, or I am going backwards. I don’t know about you, folks, but I don’t like the idea of self imposed mental and physical degradation...

Today I will address one of the fundamental questions about meditation I get. And I’ve been talking about it more than once in different topics. But I keep getting this question from people, and I’d like to address it today...

The most obvious detail can become the reason for the biggest mistake. Think about it, my friend, when you make your next assumption. 

I watched a cartoon today. What’s so remarkable about this cartoon, was that it reflected major problems in our society. While major issues can be easily recognized by an adult only, I think there’s an extremely important lesson our kids can learn. Have to learn, I should say. Because not learning this lesson can be devastating to their future...

It doesn’t matter what labels somebody puts on other people, they are people. Be nice, and it will come back...

When I came to the US over 20 years ago, what I saw here was a freedom. The freedom to be whatever and whoever I wanted to be, as long as it’s legal, of course. This kind of freedom was the deciding factor for me...

People constantly argue about something so insignificant. For what? The only explanation I can find is they’re feeding their ego. Like little treats. However, these little argument, when they accumulate, may totally destroy people’s lives...

Have you ever heard the saying, “If it’s not broken, don’t break it”? I certainly have. I can understand the reason people say that. I and don’t advise anybody to go and start breaking things. However, there’s a couple of side effects of this philosophy I totally disagree with.  Episode 274: hpln.org/274-deliberate-breaking/   

I grew up thinking about mistakes as something really bad. Seriously! Kindergarten teaches kids to do things right. Schools grade students on things done right way. Colleges, universities - all the same. At work people are getting write ups and they get fired for making mistakes. So mistakes are bad, aren’t they?

When I was younger, I had a major misconception about successful people. I saw success as study-study-study and then work-work-work. And to some extent it is true. The basic principle was, but the application was not. A lot of people study, but not everybody’s applying the knowledge they received to get desired results. A lot of people are working, but they are just going through motion without much productivity. I am one of them.

We have a saying, “Nothing is shining on those who are standing in a shade.” Yes, being humble is considered to be a good thing. However, how else can you let other people know what you can and cannot do, what you learned, unless you tell them?

Definition of courage is, basically, ability to do something in spite of the fear.  I am not talking about situations when people risk their lives to save others. This is about every day bravery. It is about something we look at and think, “WOW, they must be so courageous to do it!” I want to mention three different reasons for this every day courage. 

I will continue with this mini series, and today we’ll talk about meditation on what did not happen. Well, you may say, it is called fantasizing, or daydreaming. Not so fast! Today's exercise is intentional, not just wandering around in your dreams...

Every coin has two sides. We often see the one that affects us the most. We start thinking about that. And sometimes people don’t even remember what got them upset, but they do remember emotional pain. They remember the feeling...

The word meditate means think, contemplate. It is just a generic word people picked to call a wide variety of practices. Today we will talk about meditation on the past...

Many people scream success, but when it comes to a real action, they do what they feel, not what they need to do. And I’m guilty. I know what I need to do, but well, I don’t really feel like doing it today. Can you relate? Episode 266: hpln.org/266-destructive-feelings/   

With Nature example it is easy. Now let’s take it one step further. I believe that the law of compensation exists not just on physical, but on spiritual, emotional, and other levels. Even though our ego may not like it.

People have the tendency to jump into conclusions, like “this is good, and this is bad.” Good or bad for whom? Who benefits and who has to pay? Remember, somebody always has to pay in one way or another. 

Exactly one year ago, on June 15th last year, I released my very first episode of Morning Mindfulness. So today’s episode is one year anniversary edition. I think it is a good time to remind what mindfulness really is...

Folks, it’s impossible to avoid every rake in our path. But doing it again is just a waste of energy...

Something what may look totally unfair at the moment it happens, over time may prove to be the biggest blessing that could ever happen to us. But you know what, my friend? Here’s a catch how to discover the blessing...

The approach I learned when I was training with my teacher was opposite to that in Zen. I was not allowed to repeat the same move more than several times. I had to change and even create my own combinations of moves as my homework. And then I’d show it to the teacher...

Most of what I am teaching, in terms of mindfulness practice, stress reduction, meditation, is based on ancient martial arts techniques. Over the years, I’ve had two major arguments against my practice...

Where can I start? I think the best place is where it all started to begin with. I mean here and now. No matter what is going on, just stop and take a deep breath. We already hear. All we need to do is just listen. Listen to free tele seminar today by Julia Mikk. Check it out at HPLN.ORG/JM   

I found out that we can point out at least 4 areas of life we have to be aware of. There are things we know about ourselves, and everybody else knows about us. That is called Obvious. That is our major habits, preferences, likes and dislikes, choice of music, etc...

By admitting our weaknesses as teachers, coaches, leaders, we may become more vulnerable. But this is what gives us strength. We can relate to more people. We can help more people by our own example. What can you teach me if you don’t have any flaws? How can you make me a warrior if you never been hit by life?

Courage is not a lifestyle. It is just a moment. Once you’re in - you’re in. But it takes courage to make the very first move and overcome anxiety. 

Once the vessel is ready, the spirit will enter it on it’s own. We don’t have to worry about that. Then the form becomes redundant...

You see, we like being busy. I didn't say working, I said being busy. This is our lifestyle. We are getting trillions of bits of information into our brain every day. We’re constantly doing something. Our day is full, and our time is still 24 hours per day...

“Don’t be afraid of friends for all they can do is betray you. Don’t be afraid of your enemies, for all they can do is kill you. Be afraid of indifferent because with their silent agreement all betrayal and killing happens.” 

Today is the Memorial Day. People gave THEIR lives so you and I can enjoy ours. It’s up to us to make sure they did not die for nothing. Think about that.

When we achieve this top level dream, we accomplish it, in our mind we achieved the highest level. We lose that momentum that took us to the top. And if we stay at that level long enough, we may even become rigid. In our mind we are on the top. Unfortunately, there’s no status quo in life. We either going up or down.

Sometimes, the whole world may be saying whatever we do cannot be done, because nobody’s done it. Just don’t let them get in the way of those who are doing whatever the World is saying cannot be done.

If you come up with an idea, you will face opposition. Especially if it’s contradicting the main stream school of thought. Every brilliant idea will go through 3 stages of acceptance...  

People make quick decisions, often without considering any circumstances and without waiting for or searching for any additional details. This is what I call "Yo-Yo Mind.”

We make life changing decisions, and we judge others based on our assumptions. That may be dangerous, my friend. And I believe, it has little to do with mindfulness.

I learned, no matter what I do, no matter how great my idea is, or how bad my ideas is, for that matter, out of every 10 people, on the average of course, 1 or 2 will support me. On the oner hand, 1 or 2 will deny and even criticize me. Whoever's in between will be silent observers.

Positive mental attitude is based on reality. Telling yourself “I got $10 for the remaining 2 weeks of the month, I’ll be all right” and then sitting and watching TV, is not a positive attitude. I call it “blissful stupidity”.  But you can tell “I got $10, but here’s what I can do to make more”, and then just go and do it. That is a positive attitude. Positive mental attitude is defined by what we do, not just by what we say. 

Physical and psychological battles are identical. People respond to emotional push the same way as physical. And that results into what we see so often in the society. Conflicts. Stress. Psychological disorders. Depression.

We never know how small act of kindness can change somebody’s life. We never know what impact will it make on the World. There’s often such a thin thread leading to a global changing event. My friend, if you ever see yourself small and insignificant, try sleeping with a mosquito.

Too many people will tell you, my friend, what you can and cannot do, how you should live your life. Who are “They”? How credible this “Committee of They” is? Do They have in life what you’d like to have? Do They live their lives the way you’d like to live?  Did they do what you are trying to do?

Internet is the largest public restroom in the World. All junk goes there, and everybody has to use it. How much credibility do you give to the writing on the wall in the public restroom? 

As humans, have a tendency to complain. We constantly don’t like something. But we often forget that no matter where in life we are, there will always be somebody who’s life is better than ours, and somebody who’s life is much worse.

Long time ago I read an ancient fable about a Fox, supposedly written by Aesop. In that fable, a hungry Fox saw a nice ripe grapes hanging down from the vine. The Fox really wanted the grapes, however it was hanging too high. No matter how hard the Fox tried to jump, he could not reach it...

I think we are responsible for our own alienation. What will people think about me? They won’t care, because they’re too busy thinking, what will you and I think about them.

I believe we were created in God's image. You can call it Divine Nature, or whatever you believe. But I believe you and I have some great powers inside of us, more than we can even comprehend. Would you like to receive it? First let me ask you, my friend, are you ready to receive? 

When I was growing up, we had popular kids and not so popular ones, which I was a part of as well. The problem was, not so popular kids sometimes were trying to do things to mimic “popular” ones. They might smoke, drink alcohol, and do other things that  could get them in trouble...

One day a young boy came to his father and asked, “Dad, what is the next thing a man needs to learn after he learns to speak?”  “To keep his mouth shut,” dad answered.  I read this story several decades ago, and over the years I’ve heard a number of similar statements, just in different words...

To me, success is defined by our ability to live in a place we like with people we love. To me, it is about being able to do what we enjoy. To me, it is about seeing other people benefit from what we are doing. To me, it is about having inner peace and living in harmony with the surrounding world... What does success mean to you?   Episode 233: hpln.org/233-true-success  

When I started practicing mindfulness techniques over 3 decadesago, my goals were very practical. There was nothing divine orspiritual about my practice. I used it for my mind just like we usephysical training for the body. I am not saying it’s write orwrong, but it was my way. My friend called me a fakir, not a yogi.Later though it brought me to Taoist philosophy. But I still likepractical application of these techniques.

In today’s society, we like making profound statements. We like fantasizing, day dreaming. Let’s do that, let’s change the world. But when the reality of life hits, what happens?   Episode #231: hpln.org/231-loud-talk/  

We become faceless. It started a couple of decades ago with forums, where people were writing whatever they wanted. They would argue, use bad names, whatever, and I can guarantee, many of them would not even have a back bone to say it in person...

My Grandma said, “Greedy man is paying twice, and lazy man is doing twice.”  It was a nice catch phrase for a long while, until I got into my own business. How true this statement is! When I was getting busy, I would still try to do everything that was necessary, and sometimes I would cut some corners. You know what? Eventually I had to pay more for my own laziness in one form or another... 

Have you ever tried to communicate a message to somebody, and then realized that people don’t hear you? In general, people don’t care about what you offer and what you know. Until they know it can help them and you care.

You know what makes us all so different? Nothing! We are the same. We are humans. Why don’t we just start acting accordingly, love and respect each other?

Have you ever been hit by life? I mean hard. I mean when it takes some time for you to even catch your breath after life knocks you down. I certainly have. And it is not fun when somebody pretending to be your friend, kicks you full force below the belt, metaphorically speaking, of course. What happens then? 

Loving your subject and even having passion about it has nothing to do with the ability to teach, whether 1-on-1 or in groups. It is not about what you say, it is about what they hear... Episode #225: hpln.org/225-mindful-teaching/

Many years ago my mom said to me, “Unloaded gun shoots once a year.” At that time I did not pay much attention to it. I wish I did. But the older I grow, the more I realize that’s true. And not just about the gun...

Jim Rohn said, “Success is something you attract by the person you become.”  According to John Maxwell, Everything rises and falls on leadership. And leadership can be developed...   Episode 223: hpln.org/223-mindful-leader/ 

It’s so easy to love the whole World, isn’t it? When everything is going great. When life is good, even negative people become positive. Everybody’s smiling, hugging each other and singing Kumbaya. But what if the World around you begins to crumble?

I truly believe that ability to give is the one of the highest forms of blessing the man can receive. God gives us a chance. He thinks we still got enough goodness in us to share with others, in spite of all of our mistakes and failures.

I was listening to my coach a while ago, and he said something I have to agree with. Any success, whether in business, personal life, sports or even martial arts for that matter, is a result of a competition. He clarified that for us. Success is not about me competing against somebody... 

You see, for as long as I can remember, we had some fortune tellers, who were predicting various major catastrophic events. In fact, at some point it became really popular. It seemed like there was always somebody making predictions about the end of the World.

If I am stuck in traffic, there’s nothing I can do about that. It won’t make any difference even if I get furious. For me, instead of getting anxious, I started implementing these three things.. Episode #218: hpln.org/218-embracing-inevitability  

As I am working on my Stress Reduction online course, I thought of one skill I acquired as a kid. Perhaps that skill helped me to be straight “A” student at school. Or maybe because of that skill I stuck with Martial Arts, Taoist Yoga and Qigong for over 30 years. No, no, I am not the sharpest knife in the draw, trust me. But I developed this ability to say what I think is one of the most important words in my life. I will teach you that right now... Episode #217 and links: hpln.org/217-painless-success  

We just become experts in that particular Path. We run it so smooth, until life takes unexpected turn. Then we either run full speed into the wall, or completely get off the Path, or stumble upon unexpected obstacle and fall... Episode #216 and links: hpln.org/216-delusional-mindfulness/   

Are we helping our kids to become responsible adults or are we building a wall by reprimanding them for their mistakes?

I learned from my coach, that success comes in CANs, and failure comes in CANNOTs. Think about it. Whatever you  may be doubting, like “Can I?” Yes, you can. Will you? Only you can answer that. 

There’s no success that comes out of great ideas. There’s no success that comes out glorifying our own intelligence. The most genius ideas won’t work unless we do. 

We are not paying attention to the present moment. And I am guilty too. And once we notice the change, it may be already too late. So we push ourselves into changes trying to maintain the equilibrium. And we often overdo.

Dream is extremely important, all right! It’s number one on the list. But we often start paying too much attention to it. We think in global categories, and we often forget, and I will quote John Maxwell, “… dream is free, but the journey is not.” It does require daily work...

However, precision calibrated mindset does not have room for errors. And this is how I was growing up. Everything had to be absolutely perfect! And if it was not, then it was a sloppy job. That would irritate me and seriously undermine my self esteem. My ego told me that everything I did had to be perfect...

The ego sees no difference between positive and negative to create the illusion of control and not letting go of the past, whatever that past may be... Episode 209: hpln.org/209-risky-meditation  

There’s an old proverb about a peasant who saved monk’s life. The monk invited a man to his cave where he stayed. Once they got there, the monk brought three items - needle, staff and mallet - and put them in front of his savior...

Today I’d like to discuss my observation about my own personal trait, which is perfectionism. You may or may not relate. I grew up measuring and calculating everything. I had to know exact process from start to finish before getting into anything. Thanks God I educated myself enough to recognize the downside of it.  Episode 207: hpln.org/207-dangerous-perfectionism  

We get some life experience and some wisdom, all right. However, in a process of growing up, we often forget where we came from. We forget how we saw the World as kids... Episode 206: hpln.org/mindful-parents  

Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of emotional hurricane when we don’t know what to do and where to get started. I’d say, start right where you are... 

In business or coaching, We are trying to force-feed other people with what we think we know. And I am one of the most guilty offenders. When I started practicing Yoga, I thought everybody had to follow the same Path. Until my teacher told me, “Who said you’re right?”  Episode 204: hpln.org/instant-connection-magic-spell 

Here’s an interesting concept I learned from the cartoon called “Alice in Wonderland”. The book was actually called “Through the Mirror”. Why don’t we celebrate unbirthdays? What is unbirthday? Any day of the year that is not your birthday... 

As we run this Circle of life, most of the time we live in one of two dimensions: dreams and fantasies about the future or happy memories and regrets about the past. There’s only one moment in between...

A couple of days ago I saw the post on internet that said, and I quote, “… I’ve survived everything I’ve ever encounter in life. I have a 100% survival rate…” And I’ve heard it before from my coaches and mentors. Let’s talk about that for a minute. 

Humble leaders are strong people who understand their strength, but choose to use it for the benefit of other people. They don’t think less about themselves, but they sure choose to think more about others. Episode #200: hpln.org/mindful-humility-strength-love  

Many years ago I heard a joke, about a man who had a chance to talk to God. God said, “I will give you anything you wish. But there’s one condition: your neighbor will get it twice as much.”  The man answered, “Father, can you please take out one of my eyes?”  Episode 199: hpln.org/mindful-sharing-with-neighbor  

I read an interesting quote recently. It says, listen carefully, “I am not what you think I am. You are what you think I am.” Think about it for a second. Yes, it's just another version of famous saying “A man sees in the World what he carries in his heart.”  However the former is addressing more specific topic, which is connecting with others.  Episode #198: hpln.org/ultimate-selfie-heart-picture  

When I was growing up, calling somebody lazy was not the nicest label to give. I think it is still true today. But let me change your perspective a bit.

If you practice Yoga, you should know about Yama and Niyama, first two out of 8 limbs of Yoga. But I will talk about Meyama today. Have you heard of it? Get the book I am talking about in my notes 196: hpln.org/daily-meyama-6-damaging-components  

Today we’ll talk about a very popular cartoon: Kung-Fu Panda. I like it. And I am not going to debate the quality or accuracy of every small detail. But there are some concepts that really resonated in me. I think even adults can learn a lot, but especially kids because they are the primary viewers. 

The habit of stereotyping may become much more dangerous when we start doing it to ourselves. Like I am too old or too young, too short, too tall, too slow, too whatever. This stereotyping is practically destroying our life. Moreover, even positive, constructive stereotyping can be as damaging as negative. How?..

My communication skills used to be a total disaster. On one hand, I was assuming what people thought and wanted to say or do. But on the other hand, I was assuming how people were perceiving me. And trust me, that did not improve my self esteem...  Episode 193: hpln.org/disastrous-assumptions-biggest-mistakes  

Being smart does not necessarily mean being a good communicator or being a successful business person. We can create our own obstacles that will significantly delay or even stop our success. Episode #192: hpln.org/communication-barriers  

When I was reading John Maxwell’s book about Communication, I wanted to say, “John, did you study me as a role model for the mistakes you are writing about?” I think I got them all covered. We live in the society where neither you nor I can succeed in life without successful communication with other people. That’s why I keep talking about it... Episode #191: hpln.org/destructive-miscommunication-sabotaging-success  

Listen folks, guys and especially girls! I have many friends, yoga and meditation teachers. Beautiful souls! I am teaching Qigong, meditation and Taoist Yoga too! And I teach to do everything possible to avoid fighting. But when it comes to your life vs. his, you won’t be able to yoga him into submission...

I read in the book, that people use different representational systems as their primary basis for thoughts or feelings. They can use sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Even in a verbal communication. Just imagine you’re going on vacation... Episode 189: hpln.org/clear-connection-communication-mindset 

These are four things I found out to be true for myself: 1. Neither You nor I will ever achieve the goals if they are outside our belief zone. Period. You can overcome other people’s disbelief, but you won’t cross your own boundaries. Episode 188: hpln.org/unbelievable-success-achieving-goals/ 

...I am an ex-military, I was trained to make decisions under pressure. However, I must admit that I’ve done some dumb things. So for me, this is the first hand experience. And I am telling you, the worst thing in those situations was trying to correct my mistakes by making another greater mistake...

One of the students got astonished by this skill. He asked another student, “If our teacher can turn stones into gold, how come he did not become the most powerful man on the Earth?” The other student answered, “Yes, he can do it..."

There’s an old story about stone of knowledge sitting in the ground by the intersection of two roads. Many people were walking by. Two women began to cry when they saw the stone. Two warriors met by the stone. They started fighting and they killed each other. Two landlords came up with agreement to put the border line through the stone...

Many years ago I was watching a kid’s fairly tale on TV, and one interesting phrase got stuck in my mind. The guy said, “Don’t be afraid of those who speak without thinking, but be afraid of those who think without speaking”. 

Dwelling on the past is like trying to drive your car while staring in the rear view mirror. It won’t take you far ahead. It may get you off the road instead. In fact, people who look back all the time, most likely will go backwards in life.  Episode #183: hpln.org/destructive-memories-losing-your-power/  

John Maxwell said, “The secret to your success can be found in your daily routine”. So what you and I do on daily basis, which is our habits, will determine how successful we become.    There’s a common belief that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. However this concept is debatable... Episode 182: hpln.org/creating-destiny-change-your-life-forever/  

In this episodes I am discussing 4 business personality types. Knowing this can help to develop a consistent business networking strategy. #181: hpln.org/business-networking-strategy-with-types-of-business-personalities/  

I believe that we create our own world with our beliefs. I believe that numbers really mean nothing without our beliefs. Many of those signs come to reality not because a magic number turned out to be true, but because we set expectations...

We create artificial patterns for ourselves, we stick to those pattern, and we call life boring. Life is like music: every day is so different even though it may be using the same scale.

Many years ago I read a book by famous Bagua master Park Bok Nam. And in his book he’s talking about interesting concept. He suggested to be aware of four points in our training career, and those are 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months and 3 years. And I understand that timing is not that precise, but the whole concept made total sense to me.

So these are 3 things I’ve observed in good leaders or teachers. 1 - They've done what they are talking about. This is teaching from experience, not from books. John Maxwell said, never speak on electives in your life. Only speak about what you live... Episode #177: hpln.org/three-qualities-of-great-teachers  

I’ve heard many times a statement from a leadership guru John Maxwell. He said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership”. When I heard it I realized what was the reason for some of my greatest mishaps. Even if I did not see myself in a leadership position, in fact I was. Episode 176: hpln.org/mindful-leadership-2-rules-to-define-your-role  

Whatever you say and think is funny, other person’s subconscious mind will take as a new reality. Mindfulness has no moral judgment, and it may work both in constructive and destructive mode. Episode #175: hpln.org/dangerous-mindfulness-can-destroy-peoples-lives  

I’ve learned a couple of things along the way. And one of them is the statement that people don’t care how much I know until they know how much I care. And that comes dow to a famous acronym WIIFM, which stands for “What’s In It For Me?”  Episode 174: hpln.org/reality-check-who-cares-how-much-you-know  

Remember the story about Ugly Duckling. How do our kids form their belief system? From their immediate environment, their parents first of all. Episode 173: hpln.org/mindful-parenting-making-or-breaking-your-kids  

I’ve heard many times people talking about the Second Chance in life. Somebody might’ve screwed up in life really bad, and now they have a chance to make things right. They say, “I’ve got the second chance”. I know quite a few people who’ve been through some really tough times. I’ve been through some really tough times. Oh yeah, I can write a book about that. However, I don’t believe in second chances. Let me explain what I mean.

It took me a while to learn the difference between excellence and perfection. And here’s one thing I’d like to mention today. Did you know that a flying missile is off about 95% of the time? That’s right! The missile that has a very precise target is 95% failing! Episode 171 - hpln.org/successful-failing-the-most-important-thing-about-failure  

We are known as analytical, self-disciplined, and very organized. We follow instructions. And we are very compliant, in most of the cases at least. We like to plan everything, and there’s no detail too small to be given a considerable amount of time for planning. Episode 170 - hpln.org/ultimate-planner-no-detail-too-small 

Phlegmatics are known as steady personality. We may be a bit slow, so please stop running circles around us waiting for the answer. It may take a while before we give it to you, but it will be well thought out. Episode #169 - hpln.org/steady-walker-man-who-doesnt-stop

Fast paced and people oriented are those we call sanguine. They love having fun, and they love to party. If there’s no party around, they will make one. They are very easy to communicate with. They don’t know the word “stranger”.  Episode 168 - hpln.org/inspiring-hearts-life-is-a-big-party-every-day   

if we know strengths and weaknesses of people we are dealing with, we can give them roles where they can maximize the use of their strength. It will benefit you, and most important, it will benefit them. Episode 167: hpln.org/dealing-with-dominant-player-choleric  

My friend, I meet so many people talking about love, forgiveness, acceptance of the past. And that sounds so wonderful, until… they have to give somebody gift of love at their own expense. What happens to their graciousness then? Episode 166: hpln.org/true-human-love 

As I said before, I’ve been in martial arts, yoga and similar studies for over 3 decades. I used to jog years ago, and sometimes I go to the gym. Besides that I’ve owned several businesses along the way, and have embarked on numerous projects. So I qualify to talk on this subject, but also I observed and listened to other people, and I read some books about that. I believe, the hardest step you’ll ever take on your Mindful Journey is... Episode #165 hpln.org/mindful-journey-hardest-step/

I remember my teacher said, 10 years later you will be 10 years older whether you practice or not. Today, looking back at those years, I can assure you, that 33 years later I am 33 years older. So my teacher was right, ha ha!  One thing that helps me to keep going with training is a mindset that...   Episode #164 - hpln.org/lifetime-journey-are-you-taking-advantage/ 

Have you ever been reprimanded by somebody? Like your parents or boss? Have you ever had to reprimand somebody? I’ve been on both sides of the fence. And I’ll be honest, I don’t like either one. But I’ve also seen people who could hit you really hard, but it was almost pleasant. Like a massage for the ego. So today I will talk about the art of reprimand. Episode 163: hpln.org/art-of-reprimand-6-rules/  

My coach told me, “Stop asking yourself a question, Can I do it?” Because our brain may answer not in a way that will benefit us. Instead, I am asking myself a question, “How can I do it?”  Episode 162: hpln.org/changing-paradigm-achieve-impossible-goals/

I am sure most of you have heard a saying, “When in Rome, Do as Romans Do.” In Russian we have a saying, when living with wolves, howl like one. It basically means the same: blend in with traditions of the place where you live. But have you thought about the flip side of this famous statement?.. Episode 161 - hpln.org/when-in-rome-other-side/   

Communication is so crucial for any business and for personal life. So unless you plan to move to the desert island, I’d suggest you learn how to to connect to people. And here’s a skill I found to be the most crucial when I am talking to people. That skill is…   Episode 160 - hpln.org/best-conversation-skill/

Last time I started talking about communication mistakes I’ve made. Today we have another one, and it’s a biggie. Oh yeah! The question is, how important am I? Especially if I study a lot, get more degrees than a thermometer. Gosh, I’m smart. For sure I have to be leading the conversation. Right? Not quite.   Episode 159 - hpln.org/important-communication-rule-about-me/  

When I was growing up, I had never been a popular kid. Total introvert, homebody, a certifiable nerd. I won’t go into full story today, but you can imagine that even in such a slow pace 20th century, relating to people was the hardest thing for me. I had straight “A’s” at school, and I read every book I could find in the library on a subject I was studying at the university. But I did not have any friends. Do you know anybody like that? Episode 158: hpln.org/communication-mistake-number-1/

To become successful, I need to grow myself, but I need to have a self esteem before I invest into my education, but self esteem comes out of success. You see how it circles around? Not easy to break out! Trust me, I’ve been there too!..

I was listening to John Maxwell, and later I bought his book, called “15 Invaluable Laws of Growth”. In this book he’s talking about number one law responsible for any kind of success, whether financial, business, spiritual or personal. That is the Law of... Episode 156 hpln.org/achieving-success-in-any-area-of-your-life/

As my coach told us, “set the strict rules, but develop a soft implementation plan.”  It works for setting goals, for developing business systems, for communicating with a team, etc. We have to develop flexibility, whether we are driving in the car or moving towards our goals.

I read a great book by Terri Savelle Foy called “The Leader’s Checklist”. She is talking about setting core values. She’s talking about acronym TIES: Timeliness, Integrity, Excellence and Smiles. Those are her core values. Do you have yours? Episode 154: hpln.org/core-values-importance-of-predictability/

We forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness, but because we deserve peace.

Have you noticed that cats don’t waste their energy? They like having a good time, all right, but if they don’t like something, they’ll ignore you and whatever you have to offer. Animals can teach us many things.. well, I’m talking about myself here. Just got to be smart enough to learn. 

I have this tendency to trust people, to give them a chance. And unfortunately I’ve been stung by those who I thought were close friends. Almost drowning in the River of Life, I’d think, WHY? And the answer is in the fable: because this was their Nature.

Do you know what you really want? I met so many people who can talk about their goals, but that’s not what they are looking for. Let’s say for example, I set goal to make more money. Why? To buy a new car. Why? I can’t care less about cars! I just need to get from point A to point B faster and safer. Why? And this can go on and on, until we get to the bottom of it. Find your real reasons behind what you do.

I made some decisions that later I looked at thinking, “where did that come from?” It came from the delusion, programming caused by the environment, close friends, media, whatever, Matrix perhaps. And our mind can rationalize anything we do, because at the moment we think of that idea as the greatest thing in the Universe. Is it? 

Yesterday I promised to elaborate on prioritizing and categorizing daily tasks. This is what worked for me really well, especially when I was going to the university full time, training 3-5 hours a day and reading the whole bunch of books at the medical library. Busy enough? Oh yeah, I studied English on the top of that. By myself mostly.   I would begin with setting priorities. Not numbers as usual, but rather, identify immediate need, must do, should do, want to do, like to do, wish to do...

Perhaps the main and most important concept of Mindfulness is being in the present moment. However, our mind has this habit of drifting away from NOW into the past or future. And I am guilty too, I admit. With multiple projects in life, we simply forget to be present. I am giving you 5 simple steps that help me to develop a habitual mindfulness.

Have you ever been judged for things you’ve done? Or for something you were accused of but have not done? Now, what about you judging somebody? Passing judgment is a natural human response to everything. Even if somebody is judging us, we immediately return the favor: like, how dare you judge me?    I’ve been on both sides of the fence, and trust me, this is a trap you don’t want to get into, regardless which side you’re coming from.

Many years ago, my teacher said to me, if you take all the languages in the World, every song, every piece of music, they all sound so different. However, they all have a common denominator. They have a component that is universal to all of them. That component is silence. You remove the silence, and all that music and languages will become just a white noise. It won’t make any sense. 

Quite often people don’t succeed not because they are weak, but rather because they have too many choices. And that is paralyzing their actions. Trust me, I’ve been there too. And even now sometimes I find myself staring at this metaphorical four legged stool or chair.

Today I will suggest we throw a coin. Shall we? You can use a coin in case you need to make a very important decision, and you have two seemingly equal options to select from. This is where coin comes into play. (This is not a play, but rather a psychological trick... try it!)

Many years ago I heard a saying, “If you have one clock, you know the time. If you have several, then you’re always in doubt.” I totally agree! I see people get stuck in so called analysis paralysis.

I often see people who are so fixated on finding the ends of the rope and untying the knot. I’ve done it too. While this may be a good exercise, I think the knot can be solved easier by thinking outside of the box, or using the legend’s terminology, by cutting the knot.

Today I just want to share an old story about what happened to me many years ago, when I was 12. At that time I was spending summers at my grandma’s house. She was keeping rabbits. People had them to eat. I don’t think I could ever eat a rabbit I was watching growing up. But my job was to cut the grass and bring to feed rabbits, and I was using a sickle to do it. Yes, just like the one on the Soviet Hammer-and-Sicke emblem.    So one Sunday I went to cut grass, and I cut my finger all the way to the bone. No, it did not really hurt. In fact, I was curious to look at my own bone...   Listen to the rest of the story...

Have you ever experienced a Workload Paralysis in your life? I certainly have. That is when people have so many things they need to do, that the brain just shuts down. Like, I don’t know where to start. It’s a total mess, chaos. Those are moments when I have to remind myself that I am not Clark Kent. But I can do things one at a time. And I will get them done, if I keep going of course.  I am talking about some tips that helped me.

The year is basically over. Christmas is coming in two days. And today I’d like to address specifically the topic about how to reset the goals we did not reach. I’ve done it myself many times. And I had to reset. Here’re some things I've learned about resetting goals.

I think many people have heard the concept of sowing and reaping. I am not going into discussion of the Biblical origin of this particular saying. Whatever you believe, it doesn’t matter. You may believe in Karma. The fact is, whatever you give, you will get back. And I think this is something that comes in mind when we hear about sowing and reaping.   But there’s more to that than just return on investment. I think this may be quite interesting to entrepreneurs. 

The third law of Newton says, “For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.” Yep, this is basic physics. You push on the ground with your weight, and the ground pushes back with equal force. They are equal, that’s why you are not sinking or flying up.   I think this basic physics law is applicable to our every day communication and dealing with the World around us. I call it “immediate reciprocity.” 

A lot of gossiping comes as a result of low self esteem of the person creating the gossip. These people are looking for the approval from their friend, like, look at him, he’s bad and I am good. And when friends agree with the statement, that creates a really positive emotion to feed the ego. 

My teacher taught me to look at every action, every event from a different perspective. We jump into conclusions based on our own experience. But what I learned from my teacher, we’ll never know the whole story behind the other person’s actions. So stop judging...

What I am trying to do in my classes is to give people options. There’s more than one Path to the top of the mountain, and they all may be right. However, my Way may not work for you. I believe everybody has to find their own Path, and also be flexible enough, just like water, to adjust the course if necessary. I’d love to tell you that my secret Path is the best one, but I know by now it’s not. It’s just something I chose to walk and enjoy.  

People wait until New Year, or next month, or Monday, or when stars align, or when numbers on the clock are set in Fibonacci sequence, whatever, I don’t know what they’re waiting for. If you want to do something, do it now. Today! Don’t wait until the whatever mark you set. 

There’s a very famous quote by Zig Ziglar that says, “You can have everything in life you want if you just help enough people to get what they want.” Also John Maxwell, for example, an amazing leader and a teacher, every time asks himself a question, “What can I do to add more value to people?” 

Today is part two of discussion about my memorization techniques. Yesterday I mentioned flash cards and my way of using them. One of the main issues I’ve discovered is that people forget the info as easy as they remember. And I was not an exception. 

Previously in several episodes I mentioned my method I used to memorize some random information. I did not use it to memorize text books, maybe you can try. But I used it to learn English on my own. I had to memorize lots and lots of words. I used it to study Latin when I was at the university. I learned shorthand. Yes I was writing all my lectures 25-30 years ago using shorthand. And you know what, I can still write, even though I got a bit rusty since I haven’t used it for several decades.

Do you know why are you making the change? Yes I understand we always come up with a reason why we do what we do. We can rationalize anything. But really, will the result justify the effort?   

Everything we practice is a combination of opposite approaches: like Yin vs Yang, Deduction vs Induction, learning old vs inventing new. This is how we progress. When it comes to learning, we have different approaches too. I’m not talking about visual vs audio, like we are use to. I am talking about what makes us interested to learn. 

Many years ago my teacher told me to take some time at night to reflect on the day I was about to complete. And this is what I’ve been doing for quite a while. In our school it is a form of meditation on the past. 

I’ll start today with a Quote by Max Frei: "I am leaving forever, and everybody's always leaving forever. It’s impossible to return: somebody else is always coming back instead of us..."

Almost everybody I’ve met has a habit of dwelling on the past. We worry about whatever happened yesterday, or a year ago, or even last millennium. How about that! Indeed, everything that happened before and including year 2000, is a last millennium. Why do we keep thinking about that?

So many people I’ve met in my life have past they wish has never happened. And you can count me in. Yes, I have things in my past I wish have never happened. But past is past, and we cannot change it. We have to live with it. There are several things I’ve used to deal with my memories.

I remember many years ago I’ve heard the statement that all genius things are very simple. People have an incredible ability to make things difficult. Every second we have numerous options we can choose from. But our mind often does not like to stay in the present. We start thinking several steps ahead, creating basically an infinite number of possibilities. If we are not careful, this can build up really fast, and we get trapped in our own thinking.

One of the phenomena of human mind is that we constantly return in the past. We’re thinking about what happened or what could’ve happened yesterday, a week ago, last year, etc. Also we may be fantasizing about the future. My personal approach is based on the belief that everything has time and place.

I’ve read the story about a man who sold his mine literally for pennies. He gave up when he was several feet away from diamonds, and his successor got the richest diamond mine in South Africa.    So, how can we determine, should we keep digging or should we turn back?

Many people think that Thanksgiving is an American holiday. Well, it is now. But don’t you forget that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in the US in 1621 by pilgrims, who were in fact immigrants from Europe. So actually it is an immigrants’ holiday, whether you like it or not, which later became a US Federal Holiday. But I think regardless of whose holiday this is, it’s a great time to express Gratitude.

Many people may already know how to be successful, but they are not. Why? For the same reason people don’t work out even if they know working out is good. Knowing the path and walking the path are two different things.

My teacher said, “Don’t be too hard because hard can be broken. Don’t be too soft, because soft can be bent. You have to learn to adjust according to the situation. Once you become flexible, you’ll be virtually undefeatable.” 

Revenge is not restoring the balance. No matter if I hit my opponent back one second later or one year later, I am late. In martial arts timing is everything. My response has to be right on time to stop the opponent or to step aside. If I have to hit him to restore the balance, so be it. But if I miss — I miss. If I get hit, and the opponent is walking away, running after him is not restoring the balance. It is initiating a new attack. Basically, an ego trip.

I think many people, including yours truly, have experienced moments when thoughts are getting out of control. Something is boggling our mind, and we cannot stop thinking about it. What can we do?   Meditation often does not work in such cases. It may actually aggravate us instead. So I would suggest physical activity. Sometimes the best solution is find a punching bag and beat the.. whatever.. dust our of it. And that’s OK. That was what my teacher suggested.  

When we are using positive affirmations, they need to be kind of assertive, positive and articulated in a present tense, just like it is already happening.

Usually I see two major mistakes people make during self-talk.   One of them is using a negative form of positive affirmation. Let’s say somebody is making a statement, “I don’t smoke any more, I don’t want to smoke!” This statement definitely has a positive intent. The person is trying to stop smoking, pretty obvious. However, let’s look at the mechanism of action.

Many years ago I read the book called “What to say when you talk to yourself” by Dr. Shad Helmstetter. The author was stating that 75% of conversation is actually a talk to ourselves. I believe him. We are constantly talking to ourselves.   I already started this conversation in my previous episodes, and today I will give you a couple of practical advices I’ve learned so far.

When kids are born I believe they have no concept about what their life should look like, other than basic human needs and the fear of loud noise. As we grow up, we absorb the belief system of those who are around us most of the time, beginning with parents, then school, and so on. At some point that becomes our belief system, and we don’t even question it.    I am not saying this is right or wrong, it is what it is. Our belief system determines what we do, what profession we choose, what path we take in life, and so on. You’ve heard perhaps, that our thoughts affect out words, our words affect our beliefs, our beliefs affect our actions, our actions form our habits, and our habits create our destiny.