Foreword

“If you walk away with one or two good ideas—for the price of a book—you have received a wonderful bargain.” (Location 121)

Note: Quote from Tom Peters, the author of In Search Of Excellence .q

The great challenge of leadership is not—understanding the practice—it is practicing our understanding! (Location 127)

Introduction

In sum, the way to become a powerful leader is to understand the power of energy. (Location 211)

1 Thank God It’s Monday!

Get This

I’d like to introduce you right now to the first of five empowerment principles that shape every interaction in this book. (Location 350)

Here’s the first part of the principle: There are no problems. There are no challenges. (Location 353)

Problems and challenges are creations of a fear-based perspective on life. When we transcend fear, what remains is opportunity. (Location 355)

The real power comes in living a principle like this as truth. (Location 360)

Empowerment Principle 1

Life offers neither problems nor challenges, only opportunities. (Location 366)

2 What Energetic Level Are You?

We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are. —The Talmud (Location 393)

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Energy Leadership: Key Words and Phrases

ENERGY

Energy is the potential people have for success in life. When most people talk about energy, they’re referring to “output.” For example, a 75-watt light bulb puts out 75 watts when lit. Humans, however, don’t always put out the same amount of energy as their potential; most humans have, say, a 10 million watt potential, but put out much less. (Location 407)

Our potential output is our overall latent energy, which is based on our level of consciousness, or awareness about our potential. (Location 411)

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is how you interact with everyone, including yourself. (Location 414)

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Everyone is a leader either by choice or default. (Location 417)

If you don’t think of yourself as a leader, then you’re limited in your thinking. Leading is the way we help move people into action, including ourselves. The question is not whether you are a leader, but how well you lead. (Location 418)

ENERGY LEADERSHIP

Energy Leadership is the process that develops a personally effective style of leadership, one that positively influences and changes not only yourself, but also those with whom you work and interact, as well as your organization as a whole. Energy Leadership is also the ability to shift, or lead, energy to make it work for you, those around you, and your organization. (Location 422)

ORGANIZATION

An organization is two or more people in a relationship with a similar purpose or goal. Organizations are not limited to business. (Location 426)

Your organization includes all those who are grouped within your many circles of influence. Each of us is a part of many organizations. (Location 428)

CONSCIOUSNESS

Consciousness is the level of your self-awareness, how fully you realize your true self, as opposed to the self you have been “trained” to see and accept. True Self is unlimited and perfect. Your level of consciousness is determined by how you see yourself, the world around you, the people in your life, and life in general. (Location 430)

Your level of consciousness, and the energy it produces, will actually attract or repel desired or undesired people, events, and outcomes into your home and work life. The higher your level of consciousness, the more energy you have, and the more productive, peaceful, powerful, and healthy you are. (Location 433)

There is a direct relationship between consciousness and success. (Location 436)

ANABOLIC AND CATABOLIC ENERGY

Anabolic energy is constructive, and catabolic energy is destructive. When the mind perceives a threat, anabolic hormones, such as testosterone, decrease, while the catabolic hormones, such as cortisol and adrenalin, increase. The increase in catabolic hormones serves a short-term purpose by creating enough physical energy to meet the stressor. However, on a long-term basis, a constant release of catabolic hormones deteriorates the entire physical system. (Location 440)

Both types of hormonal releases stem from thoughts; therefore, thoughts are either anabolic or catabolic. Each of us has trained ourselves to automatically react to many of our life situations. These “default tendencies,” if catabolic, actually cannibalize our entire system. (Location 443)

Anabolic leaders have the ability to motivate and inspire themselves and others to do extraordinary things. They have the ability to make energetic shifts in all levels of the organization. Catabolic leaders break down all aspects of a company, including the people in it. (Location 446)

AVERAGE RESONATING LEVEL OF ENERGY

There are seven levels of energy (consciousness). Your energetic level is noted as your Average (the combined values of the energy of each thought we have) Resonating (how your level vibrates, attracts, and repels) Level of Energy (your inner energy, which manifests into your outer energy).   Your Average Resonating Level of Energy (ARL) is something we also call your E-Factor, meaning your energetic indicator of success. (Location 450)

CORE ENERGY COACHING

At the heart of Energy Leadership is the Core Energy Coaching process, which is a system that was formalized about a dozen years ago to implement the various principles, skills, and strategies described in this book. (Location 455)

It’s called core energy because the focus of this work is on addressing the energy behind the core thoughts that drive people forward or hold them back. Core Energy Coaching deals with cause instead of effect. (Location 458)

Figure 2.1 Energetic Self-Perception Chart (I Chart) (Location 470)

Note: Insert image of chart

Each of these three circles represents a general level of awareness or consciousness. • The seven numbers represent more specific, and ascending, energy levels. • The first circle of awareness (the innermost circle) contains energetic Levels 1 and 2. This is called the circle of self. The second, which I call the circle of self-mastery, contains Levels 3, 4, and 5. In the outermost circle, Levels 6 and 7 appear. This is the circle of self-transcendence. (Location 513)

People are sometimes more willing to accept the pain they know than to face the fear of things they don’t. (Location 547)

“Your thoughts determine your feelings and emotions, and your feelings and emotions shape your actions. Based on what you think and feel about yourself and the people around you, you create your world. Although your world is totally real to you, there’s no ‘reality’ to it, except how you personally define what you see.” (Location 553)

“Each of us has an Average Resonating Level of energy,” (Location 558)

“As human beings,” I continued, “we’re like stocks with our energy going up and down on this chart all day long. Based on simple math, you can determine your average level. Thoughts and feelings such as nonjudgment and joy raise the price of your stock. Their counterparts, like victimization and anger, can easily lower stock value. “At any given moment, Richard, you’re somewhere within these seven levels. (Location 564)

Your current state of consciousness is composed of your existing energetic makeup, which encompasses every thought, feeling, and emotion you’ve had today, as well as your recent actions. (Location 568)

The First Circle of Awareness—Levels 1 and 2

the first step in making positive changes is being aware of the changes that can be made. (Location 602)

As we polished off our food, Richard brought up a point that had occurred to him earlier. While he understood how someone’s energy could attract “like” energy in other people, he wondered how that fit with the widely held notion that opposites attract. ... told him that to most people, right and wrong, happy and sad, even blue and orange might appear as opposites, but they actually contain exactly the same resonating energy. One person’s abuse and another’s acce ptance of that abuse are similar energies, akin to fuel and a fire. Both attraction and conflict occur when energies match, not when they don’t. (Location 662)

The true opposite of the color blue isn’t orange; it’s the absence of color. The true opposite of being happy isn’t being sad; it’s a lack of emotion. By the same token, the real opposite of wrong isn’t right; it’s our abstaining from making any judgments. Energetically, things like good and bad aren’t opposites, because they’re both judgments. (Location 669)

The Second Circle of Awareness—Levels 3, 4, and 5

At Level 3, you are prepared to take responsibility for what you think and feel, knowing no one can make you feel anything. It becomes your choice, and your responsibility, to react or not to react to anything that comes along in your life. ... At Level 3, you’re willing to work with people you like and tolerate those you don’t. The result is cooperation. (Location 678)

At Level 4, judgment, anger, guilt, resentment, and other self-directed thoughts and feelings begin to fade and are replaced by a genuine desire to help others. The core thought when operating at this level is concern, which leads to compassion and service. At this level, you no longer take words or actions personally. You don’t waste time worrying about what others may have done “to” you. Instead, you consider what each person’s current problem may be, and how you might be of help in fixing it. (Location 691)

The core belief associated with Level 5 energy is reconciliation, specifically reconciling differences, instead of identifying and focusing on them. At this level, you now less frequently view things as good or bad and right or wrong. Things just are. Because of this attitude, you’re much less afraid. You feel inner peace, which leads to acceptance. (Location 705)

Instead of making you passive, energetic acceptance produces something quite different. You accept the natural process of living that constitutes human existence. As a result, you no longer try to control life, and a paradox now presents itself. Because you’ve let go of your need for control, for the first time you actually gain it. (Location 710)

At Level 5, you always have the power to make choices. Unlike the levels below, when you vibrate with this high level of energy, you’re driven not by fear, but by opportunity. Many entrepreneurs and potential leaders have a lot of Level 5 energy, but are not sure how to tap into it consistently, usually due to doubt and fear. (Location 714)

What’s more, when you resonate within the second circle of awareness, you’re relatively happy and secure. You have a strong ego. On the chart, this equals a strong sense of self. This means you’re not afraid to be who you are. In other words, you’re comfortable in our own skin. Your focus is on having instead of needing. Moving from a perspective where your focus is on needing to one where your focus is on having is a critical step in the transformation of both individuals and organizations. (Location 720)

The Third Circle of Awareness—Levels 6 and 7

The last circle of awareness is called self-transcendence. When you enter this realm, you actually transcend your ego. You succeed in becoming one with everything. This is your highest frequency of energy by far, and it can lead to amazing breakthroughs and results. (Location 732)

Level 6 is the level of synthesis. You can define this process as combining separate elements or substances to form a coherent whole. When you’re able to generate this whole, you experience both joy and wisdom. Unlike happiness, which can be fleeting, joy is permanent, no matter whatever else you may feel at this level. At Level 6, you might feel sorrow, for example. But simultaneously, you are still at a level where you can experience joy. (Location 735)

Finally, when you reach Level 7, you completely leave judging behind. You are flooded with absolute passion for all of life’s experiences and are able to tap your talent for being deeply creative. You have now touched the core of who you truly are. At this level, you have the potential to manifest almost anything into your life in an instant. Most important, at this level, you are able to consciously use any of the lower levels to your benefit. (Location 741)

The higher your level of consciousness, the higher you are on this chart, and the faster you can turn ideas into reality. (Location 749)

3 Just Give It Six Months

Core Energy Technique

VALIDATION

Validation is a technique you can use to help someone release anxiety and truly feel heard. Its main purpose is to normalize emotional responses. A perfect icebreaker, validating someone’s emotions begins to shift the energy by letting the other person know he or she has the right to feel whatever emotions are present. (Location 799)

To do this, you must become aware that any emotional response is always normal. The response arises from whatever someone’s experiencing at that moment. Responses are also linked to temperament, personality, frame of reference, and perspectives on life—and based on all those, whatever someone thinks and feels is normal for that person. (Location 801)

Core Energy Technique

REQUEST ACTION

I never tell anyone what to do. Instead, I ask people to take action, with the actions specifically tailored to the coaching session we’ve been involved in. Asking people rather than telling people to do something enables them to choose, which can solidify their buy-in. (Location 825)

However, a good choice really needs to exist for this approach to work. Nothing costs you credibility more than offering people several choices such that you are forced to ask, “Are you sure that ’s what you want to do?” when they take the unintended choice. (Location 827)

In addition, it’s vital to remember that all requests can be negotiated or even turned down. If people accept what you propose, you’ve produced a verbal agreement and an energetic commitment to meet mutually accepted goals. (Location 830)

Little did Richard know that getting pissed off was actually a positive sign, as he was beginning to move from Level 1, victim and passive mode, to Level 2, anger and conflict mode. Anger has much more energy and action than victimization, as it signifies a willingness to fight instead of hide. (Location 883)

sometimes we learn more from what we don’t do than from what we do. (Location 994)

Those with Level 1 energy have great difficulty facing current reality and envisioning a future. Even if they can create a future vision, it is usually blurry and obscure. Here’s a simple formula: No faith equals no miracles. (Location 1002)

The Core Energy Coaching Process

People find power when it dawns on them that their true success isn’t rooted in you helping them. It’s grounded in you helping them help themselves. (Location 1060)

“Consciousness is the process of awareness, and the awareness of the process,” ... Once we are aware of this process, we play the game of life differently. We become the rule maker, the coach, the player, and the spectator, all at the same time. (Location 1074)

“When it comes to bacon and eggs, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed,” (Location 1094)

Note: There's a big difference in being involved and being commited

4 “I Want It Now!”

If you want to build a ship, don’t gather your people and ask them to provide wood, prepare tools, and assign tasks. Call them together and raise in their minds the longing for the endless sea. —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, writer and aviator (Location 1132)

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Look Inside

If anyone tells you he or she doesn’t know the answer to something, remember that the person actually does. People sometimes just don’t know how to find the answer within themselves because it lies in a place they’re not used to accessing. (Location 1267)

I’d estimate that nearly 85 percent of all human beings spend most of their time living in the first circle of awareness, in Level 1 and 2 energy, buffeted between victim-passivity and anger-conflict. Their fear-based energy makes them accustomed to focusing on problems instead of solutions. The solutions are there, they just haven’t paid attention to them. (Location 1270)

Empowerment Principle 2

The answers to all questions lie within. Every one of us is greater and wiser than we appear to be. (Location 1276)

Core Energy Technique

EMPATHIZE

In the Core Energy Coaching process, empathizing connects one person emotionally with another. It’s not sympathizing, which is feeling sorry for someone else. It’s feeling emotions with someone else, without judgment. (Location 1304)

Core Energy Technique

GET AN ENERGETIC BUY-IN

A poll of more than 100,000 employees in America showed that 55 percent are “physically” at work, but mentally and emotionally disengaged from what they’re doing.3 Job satisfaction is an emotional issue. Once people connect emotionally to what they’re doing, they’re more engaged, focused, and productive. The way to engage people is through an energetic buy-in. This technique motivates employees more than any other, because they’ve emotionally connected to what they see as a positive future. The “high” created from such a connection can shift energy and motivation in dramatic ways. (Location 1358)

How much of an energetic buy-in someone has for a specific goal can be measured by their “core intention.” This is what someone is really thinking, not what he or she says. (Location 1364)

We usually censor words before we speak. But our core intention—what’s really going on for us—is deeply rooted in the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that are actually doing the “speaking.” (Location 1367)

Intention is the crux of commitment, and commitment is equal to your level of engagement. (Location 1369)

How engaged are you at work and at home? Your level of energetic engagement is in direct proportion to your results and satisfaction. For each relationship, role, or task, your level of engagement varies. (Location 1374)

Tackling Challenges at the Root Cause

Higher consciousness enables you to balance all areas of your life. • You can break through your limiting beliefs, your fears, and any other blocks that prevent you from living a more joyful and purposeful life. • A conscious leader can help company personnel achieve a higher consciousness as well. (Location 1410)

I listed some of the more profound things that could happen: • He could tap into what the psychologist Carl Jung referred to as the collective unconscious, linking with the universal energy that permeates and surrounds all living things. • He could also unlock his innate ability for genius, accessing brilliant ideas and unlimited energy from everyone and everything around him. It’s like tuning your radio to a station that allows you to be totally clear and fully powerful. (Location 1414)

• He could become an extraordinary leader for his company. In his new ability to lead, he could: • Discover how to assess where any of his employees were, energetically, at any given moment, and help them become more engaged. • Make fast, accurate decisions. • Reduce stress in himself and others. • Prompt sustained excitement. • Inspire everyone in the company. (Location 1419)

People who resonate with a higher level of energy feel much better physically and emotionally. This higher energy level lowers blood pressure, increases oxygen circulation, and improves digestion. It also enables people to relax more deeply, release stress and improve sleep, reduce physical and emotional pain, lessen how hard their heart works, improve physical vitality, and even lengthen their lives. Most important, their quality and appreciation of life is vastly improved. (Location 1449)

Social plusses are also a result. People who put the Core Energy Coaching process to work develop awe-inspiring friends who enliven them. (Location 1453)

Laying Off the Fear

5 All That “Matters” Is Energy

“And as we’ve discussed before, everyone’s energy vibrates, or resonates, at a different rate. A person’s energetic resonating rate is directly related to the individual’s level of consciousness. The more conscious a person is, the closer to their potential that person lives, and the more positive energy he or she has available to use. (Location 1583)

Core Energy Technique

ASSESS ENERGY

There are three primary ways to “watch” energy to see what level someone is registering:   1. Visual: Observe facial and body expressions to see how much and what type of energy the person is showing. 2. Auditory: Listen carefully to the person’s tone of voice, volume, word emphasis, and silences. Also listen for intention behind words spoken. 3. Intuitive: Use any of your senses to detect clues about energy that aren’t readily obvious. (Location 1593)

Catabolic versus Anabolic Leadership

at the cellular level, catabolism usually refers to a breakdown of complex molecules, while anabolism is the opposite. When we’re talking about a person’s catabolic or anabolic energy, however, we’re making a broader statement about destructive and constructive forces within that person, who is made up not only of individual cells but also of thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors, and these have energetic force, too. So you can have catabolic and anabolic energy in a single cell, a particular organ of the body, a certain system in the body (such as the nervous or digestive systems), and the entire person. (Location 1609)

By constantly responding to their circumstances with worry, fear, doubt, anger, and guilt, people at O’Connell Consulting were constantly catabolic. (Location 1615)

nonlocality, which means that parts of a system (in this case the cells of a human body) remain connected to that system whether they remain physically close or are separated (non-local). If you can see that people who work in a company are part of a whole system, then you can also conclude that although they may appear physically separated, they profoundly affect one another. And the effect of one on the others is simultaneous and the same. In this way, a company is indeed alive, not just an organization but a kind of organism. (Location 1624)

Anything anyone feels, everyone feels at some level. Thoughts and feelings are indeed contagious. When even a few people in an organization have negative feelings, it can spread like a virus. “Group think” sets in, and their thoughts become group “fact.” Once that occurs, the company can implode energetically in a swirl of gossip and negativity. (Location 1629)

“At its core, an organization strongly reflects how its leader thinks, feels, and acts. Think of the leader as the heart: if you beat erratically, your people will follow erratically, and if you beat steadily, your people will follow steadily. Whatever you think, do, and believe gets transmitted to everyone in the company. (Location 1632)

“Also keep in mind, Richard, that catabolic energy can be either chronic or situational. I suspect that much of the Level 1 and 2 energy here has been situational, brought on by stress and exacerbated by the general atmosphere of chaos. Yet, there may be some cases where chronic catabolic energy is present. What I mean is that, for some people, the Level 1 and 2 energy is more deeply rooted. “We’ll be able to help transform the situational negativity far more easily and quickly than its chronic, intrinsically negative cousin. (Location 1678)

6 Time for a Corporate Shock Treatment? (Level 1)

When people’s energy resonates with problems, they attract and are focused on what they don’t want. (Location 1722)

“You have the choice to see anything you wish. You can direct your attention to the beautiful rose or the thorns on the stem beneath. (Location 1724)

greatness won’t be achieved by tiptoeing around, but instead by taking some bold leaps of faith. We’re all waiting for your next move to see what kind of leader you really are. I already have a sense about who you are and what you can do. My question is, do you?” (Location 1741)

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Energetically, employees see and feel weakness when they don’t see emotion. (Location 1758)

Without emotion, Level 1 leaders have no passion or commitment to the company’s mission. Often, they don’t even remember it. They have no real plan for where they’re going because they’re almost always reacting to crises. Their communication skills are poor to nonexistent, as is their ability to truly inspire and motivate others. (Location 1759)

“Nearly all people need to shift one level at a time. Later, I’m going to offer you an assignment that will help you jump into the higher levels without advancing one level at a time, which I think you’ll find intriguing. But when you’re helping someone else, it usually needs to be one level at a time. (Location 1775)

The Truth about Level 1 Organizations

Organizations with an ARL between 1 and 2 eventually implode; that is, they spiral downward into bankruptcy. (Location 1897)

Business Biology 101

The corporate body is not unlike the physical, or corporeal body. The corporeal body is made up of individual cells. There are brain cells, heart cells, skin cells, and more. The corporate body is much the same. There are many kinds of living cells, or aspects, within a company. Some of the organizational cells include: • Mission, goals, and strategies • Team dynamics • Sales and marketing • Customer service • Recruitment • Retention • Job design, implementation, and work productivity • Succession planning • Performance appraisals The health of each of these kinds of “cells” is vital to the host entity. (Location 1911)

Centering is like clearly tuning in to your favorite radio station. When you zero in on your channel, what you experience is like energy at Levels 6 and 7. When you add some of that energy to your current level, your entire average rises. (Location 1931)

The benefits of centering are wide-ranging. They can occur for you not only in the realm of spiritual energy, but also in terms of psychological, emotional, and physical energy. In fact, with regard to the psychological benefits, science is just now beginning to understand concepts such as psychoneuroimmunology, or the mind-body connection. In addition, there is the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, which shows that brains form new neural connections throughout life. This discovery is in dramatic contrast with the antiquated notion that the brain stops learning after childhood. (Location 1934)

Basic Centering

The idea with this technique is that it helps you get to a deep level of relaxation and a sense of oneness with everything around you. This is something you can do just about anywhere, any time, because it’s a breathing exercise, and you don’t need any equipment. (Location 1947)

When you have practiced this enough times, you will feel yourself entering into that centered state, and you’ll be able to center yourself “on demand.” (Location 1950)

7 Without Fear, What Could You Do? (Level 2)

Core Energy Technique

PLANT THE UNCONSCIOUS SEED

What kind of seed? In Richard’s case, it was an expectation that he would be the one to come up with the ideas necessary to resolve things with Don and Tonya and effectively run his team meetings. Because I expressed my confidence in his ability to do that, the thought will linger in his mind. Whether he consciously thinks about it or not, a part of him will be working on a solution. (Location 2177)

Saying things like, “I’ll ask you again later because I have complete faith that you’ll have come up with something,” puts positive pressure on the psyche and, more often than not, results in creative solutions.   This is a wonderful way to empower the people around you to come up with their own solutions instead of waiting for you to “fix it” for them. (Location 2181)

The Frequency of Success

Each person has his or her own “success frequency.” In Richard’s case, the rock represented a psychological/energetic “anchor,” or internal point of reference.   Once the pattern had been established—that he could discover answers by the process he’d described—each time he looked at the rock, he was able to tune into that same frequency for success. (Location 2256)

Advantages and Disadvantages at Each Level

LEVEL 1

Advantage: You don’t have to lift a finger. You spend little effort and energy. (Location 2295)

Disadvantage: There’s a lack of engagement in roles and tasks, plus the lack of ability to lead yourself or others. (Location 2296)

LEVEL 2

Advantage: Your aggressive behavior leads to getting a lot done by yourself; you can also motivate others. (Location 2299)

Disadvantage: Others’ motivation is from anger or fear thus, results will not be satisfactory, nor most likely, will those results sustain themselves; you can’t inspire others and your forcefulness will cause them to be dissatisfied, unproductive, to quit, or worse, give up and not quit. (Location 2300)

LEVEL 3

Advantage: You don’t allow other people to stand in the way of what you want; you have the ability to avoid, block, and/or release the negativity of others; you’re able to engage. (Location 2304)

Disadvantage: You could be manipulative and self-concerning; hopes and promises are not given from the heart, but from the head; you’re not concerned if things don’t work out because you “did your best.” (Location 2306)

LEVEL 4

Advantage: You take little personally; you truly care for and help everyone to do their job the best they can. (Location 2309)

Disadvantage: You can get caught in the drama/sympathy; others’ motivation can be more for being liked than for being productive. (Location 2311)

LEVEL 5

Advantage: You find opportunities in all challenges and take little to nothing personally. (Location 2313)

Disadvantage: You can experience paralysis by analysis and be disengaged from emotions. (Location 2314)

LEVEL 6

Advantage: You’re empathetic: you have the ability to feel and connect without judgment. You’re also able to access intuition. (Location 2317)

Disadvantage: You might not be grounded and could be out of touch with others and viewed as aloof. You may be a high risk-taker. (Location 2318)

LEVEL 7

Advantage: At this level, you can create anything you choose, whenever you choose to, as quickly as you believe possible. You are connected to an intelligence of the highest order. (Location 2321)

Disadvantage: If any, there is less emotional drama as nothing is seen as real (which is why there are six other levels). (Location 2323)

Level 2 Leaders

even if someone’s behavior reflects a certain level, that doesn’t mean they’re at that level. People can repress feelings as well as express them. Either way, it’s the same energy. It’s not what’s said or done that matters; it’s the intention of the person who says it. The true measure of your energy is based on your core beliefs. So what matters most is the focus of your thinking. (Location 2345)

Conflict occurs when energy matches, not when it doesn’t. (Location 2512)

at your core, you are connected to universal truth, whether you are consciously aware of it or not. In other words, you can’t just fake your way through life and be successful.” (Location 2520)

there are two types of conflicts. The first is interpersonal. It arises from our personality and is ego-based. The second is task-focused, which is created simply by a difference of opinion about how something should be done. (Location 2529)

8 The Big Four Energy Blocks

What You Believe Makes You Who You Are

Today’s version of you is the result of everything you’ve ever experienced. From your birth right up to the meal you ate last night—every thought, feeling, and emotion you’ve ever had, and every action you’ve ever taken shapes who you are today.   Yet today’s version of you is a work in progress, as if it were created in clay and not set in stone. The past doesn’t determine your future. Instead, by carefully examining the sculpture that’s you today, you can choose to remold yourself and increasingly become more of who you truly want to be. (Location 2593)

Empowerment Principle 3

Each moment describes who you are and gives you the opportunity to decide if that’s who you want to be. (Location 2600)

The four blocks are:   1. The limiting beliefs that you hold 2. The false assumptions from the past that you bring to today 3. The false interpretations that you make 4. The fear that you are not enough, the inner critic, or what is sometimes called a “gremlin” (Location 2607)

I pointed out that stress isn’t something that happens to someone. It’s something someone feels about what’s happening. Your capacity to deal with any outer situation is based on your inner perspective. (Location 2673)

how we see ourselves determines everything.” (Location 2679)

Your current self and world view is based on your life experiences and how they have affected you, and the Big Four energy blocks are the four greatest barriers to seeing yourself the way you truly are, (Location 2681)

Energy Block 1: Limiting Beliefs

If you don’t believe something is possible, you’re not likely to attempt it. Even if you do, you won’t devote much energy to achieving that goal. (Location 2688)

More often than not, you accept a limiting belief as true because you’ve learned it from someone else, from something that happened to you, or from another “authority,” such as the media, a book, or a movie. (Location 2690)